Free Nocturnal by Jami Lynn Saunders

already raining in the foothills, and it will be upon us shortly. Our first line of defense is most likely drenched by now.”
    â€œThe rains will dampen their sense of smell,” Pippa said. “They might not sense the ferals until they’re on them.”
    â€œI’ll send more men with firearms to the first line with the hyenas,” Rebecka said. She departed to dispatch more men.
    Jack returned to his work, knowing time was short. With the aid of Olympia’s doctors and scientists, and dozens of city workers delivering gas canisters to the small hospital lab, they worked together to clone the cure, then convert it to a gas. By morning, they had successfully made fifty gas grenades, each capable of affecting two hundred ferals.
    â€œThis isn’t nearly enough for the swarm that’s coming,” Jack said. “We’ll need more canisters. I believe I can inject teargas bottles with the cure as well. Your lines of defense can use the teargas for both controlling and curing the ferals.”
    â€œWhat about our own men?” Rebecka asked. “Will they be affected? Will a werecat return to a human? Might humans become sick?”
    â€œNo,” the doctor responded.
    â€œHow do you know?” Timothy Adel asked. “We haven’t tested any subjects other than the ferals we injected.”
    â€œBecause I know,” the doctor said.
    The prophetess Mariana entered the room. “We are close, I can feel it,” she said. “I’ve heard that there will be thousands of ferals upon us soon. The prophecy is being fulfilled.”
    â€œWe should have enough of the cure to slow them down,” Jack said.
    â€œThat’s good news,” Mariana said. With that, she left the room.
    â€œShe claims she’s psychic,” Piper said. “I have my doubts.”
    â€œWhy is that?” Jack asked.
    â€œBecause the original prophecy said the time was still another year away. When I requested leave of absence to search for my children, she seemed agitated but then supported my request before the council. Before I left, she told me she had another dream that the prophecy would happen sooner, so I’d better hurry.”
    â€œShe’s not a prophet,” Jack said. “She wanted you to hurry to get you killed. She conceals lies behind her eyes. I can sense it. I sense that she’s the cause of the feral infestation, but I can’t probe her mind to prove it. It’s as if she’s blocking me from entering her thoughts. But I know she’s upset that we’ve created the cure.”
    A humanly inaudible frequency swept across the air, bringing Jack, Aiden, Pippa, and Abby to their knees. Excruciating pain filled their minds, driving them toward rabidity.
    â€œWhat’s wrong,” Salvatore yelled as Rebecka ran to lift Jack from the floor. Unlike the hybrids, he couldn’t hear the sound.
    â€œSome sort of frequency,” Jack rasped. “The prophetess—find her.”
    Salvatore, Piper, and Rebecka darted from the door, the two werecats morphing as they ran. Piper and Salvatore sniffed the air and found Mariana’s scent. It led them to a small, heavily guarded prayer room.
    â€œThe prophetess Mariana wishes not to be disturbed,” a guard said. Rebecka kicked the man, and the others backed away as Piper and Salvatore bared their teeth. They swept into the room and found it empty. The werecats sniffed out a set of stairs hidden behind an altar. Mariana was at the bottom of the stairs, twisting a dial on a large electronic machine.
    The prophetess turned and hissed. Rebecka smashed her face and dropped her to the ground. “Destroy the machine,” she shouted to the two werecats beside her. Piper gave her a look of uncertainty. “Just do it!”
    In seconds, they reduced the machine to a pile of rubble.
    â€œWhat was it?” Salvatore asked.
    â€œIt produced frequencies to keep ferals