Trapped

returned, but this time it was mischievous. » So this means you’re not my sensei anymore? «
    » That’s what it means. «
    » Right. Well, I’ve waited long enough. « She grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me to her mouth. » Come here. «
    I went there.

Chapter 21
    › Okay, for the record, what you’re doing is nothing like dogs barking, and I object to the whole bow-chicka-bow-wow meme in principle. ‹
    Oberon, please. This is not the time .
    › This is the perfect time! It’s the first time you and Granuaile have participated in this bow-chicka-bow-wow behavior. ‹
    It’s not meant to mimic dogs barking! It’s mocking seventies’ funk music heard in pornographic videos, specifically the bass line. May we have some privacy, please?
    › What? You want me to go away? ‹
    Well, just don’t stare at us! I didn’t sit and watch and make comments while you were with Fifi, did I, talking about givin’ the dog a bone and such?
    › Fine. But human mating habits are stupid. ‹

Chapter 22
    We did stop eventually, but only because Oberon threatened to chew off his leg as the sun set for the third time since we’d begun. › I’m desperately bored of being a watchdog, especially since I have to watch you two be grody together. ‹
    Now, hold on! First, you didn’t have to watch, because I specifically suggested that you not do so, and, second, it wasn’t grody. It was the stuff Al Green sings about .
    › You were the one who told me that proverb thingie: » Grody is in the eye of the beholder. «‹
    No, Oberon, that was beauty .
    › Whatever. It works for grody too. ‹
    Nothing could ruin my mood right then, so I laughed and admitted he had a point.
    How about a hunt, Oberon? Would that suit you?
    My hound put his nose in the air. › That depends. What are we hunting? ‹
    Anything you want. Anywhere you want. Granuaile needs to practice shifting planes and shifting shapes .
    › I want to hunt dik-diks. ‹
    All right. Tanzania, here we come!
    While Granuaile was now a full Druid, she still needed some coaching and practice on what had been theory until this point. She’d memorized the words and the forms of the knotwork admirably, but because we’d been so … busy lately, she had yet to cast anything.
    We thanked Pyrenees for his hospitality and help before we shifted to eastern Africa. Granuaile and I both placed our hands on a tethered tree, and I showed her amongst the myriad trees where to shift in Tír na nÓg.
    » You go first. We’ll be right behind you. «
    » What if I get lost? «
    » You won’t. I’m going to follow wherever you go. «
    She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and shifted.
    › She’s going to be talking to me soon, isn’t she? ‹ Oberon said.
    Yep. Very soon .
    › Well, before our conversation gets put on speakerphone, I want you to know that you’re my favorite human. ‹
    Aww, thanks, Oberon—
    › Even when you’re grody. ‹
    That’s … very generous of you .
    Oberon’s nose lifted in the air again, but not for the display of any attitude. His nostrils flared. › Atticus, I smell the dead. Lots of them. Coming this way. ‹
    I frowned at my hound. Vampires?
    › Unless we missed the zombie apocalypse, I’d say so. ‹
    All directions?
    › No, from this side of the mountains. ‹
    So they would be French vampires. Perhaps the vampires from the Iberian Peninsula wouldn’t be far behind. After my conversation with Theophilus, I could well imagine that he’d given the command worldwide to hunt us—I certainly hadn’t ceased to train my apprentice, so I must assume that his promised pogrom had begun and the world’s vampires were sniffing us out.
    It probably wouldn’t be all that difficult to find me, provided I stayed in one place; my ancient blood smelled different from that of modern humans, and if they’d been told by their mysterious Fae connection that I was binding Granuaile to the earth, they’d know to search the wild places in Europe.
    I had no desire to remain and take on an unknown number of vampires, so I shifted to Tír na nÓg and found a relieved Granuaile waiting for us. She did a couple of pogo jumps in the dark. » I did it! «
    » Indeed. And now let’s go to Tanzania. Lead the way again. «
    We spent some time finding an appropriate place to shift. We chose some acacia woodlands in Lake Manyara National Park, and then we went ahead as before, with Granuaile going first.
    › Are you going to