Blood Song

Angus, I thought, shutting my eyes tight. Hurry the hell up.

Rebecca

I couldn't believe it, that it had happened again. In one way I was relieved that I hadn't been the one abducted, but in another way I wished I had. At least I was an iron metaboliser, and I knew I'd be able to look after myself, more or less. Certainly more than Mark would. I was desperately afraid for my little brother.

Angus' face looked strained. I knew that this was the type of work he usually relished, but not when someone he knew and obviously liked was involved. I could feel how deeply affected he was. I wondered if he'd been the same when I'd been taken. Probably worse. My heart filled with love for this man, who cared so deeply for a couple of teenagers who were nothing but magnets for trouble.

Fergus had decided to divert to Scotland again, and Angus and I ended up dropping poor Mina at the vet again and driving back up to the family estate in Aberdeenshire. It seemed pretty reasonable, given that Mark's phone still seemed to be heading north, and that's where Jack appeared to have hung out when he still had a head. I hoped Mark's phone was still with Mark, but when I mentioned this to Angus he smirked at me and told me he'd put GPS trackers in various items of Mark's clothing, so he had a pretty good idea of where he was now, and his position corresponded nicely with that of his mobile. I grinned at him in relief.

"Do I have GPS trackers on me?" I asked curiously, wondering where he could have hidden them.

"Several," he said laconically, and gave me a mischievous half smile.

"Good," I said. "I should be able to track you too, you know. Especially now that you're going off into God knows what to find my brother."

"OK," he said. "I have a two trackers at the moment. One in my mobile, and one in my watch. Fergus has the code for following them plugged in his mobile, Marcus too. I'll get him to give you the same."

I smiled at him gratefully. I knew that over the coming days it would be a small comfort to be able to know where he was. And watching a tiny blip on a screen would be better than watching nothing at all. At least I'd feel like I was still attached to him somehow, still part of his world.

I'd packed at speed again. Lucky I wore nothing more complicated than jeans and t-shirts most days, so it wasn't hard. Angus had managed to get a locksmith to unlock the wooden box I'd found in my mother's wardrobe last night, so I'd brought that along. Angus packed too, but not clothes.