Wolfsbane (13 page)

He grimaced, looking at his hands.

“Shay?” Monroe leaned forward, brow furrowed.

“It’s just . . . so predictable,” Shay mumbled. “I never real y saw myself fighting with swords.

Particularly now that I’m a wolf.”

A warm current rushed through my veins at his last words, and I had to look away from his face to slow the sudden lurching of my heart.
Maybe he does
understand what it means to be a Guardian.
If that was true, he could help lead my pack, which in my mind was worth more than any weapon.

“These aren’t just any swords,” Monroe said.

“You’re the only one who can wield them.”

The only one? That was impressive. I looked at Shay; his expression was curious but wary. He laced his fingers together, frowning again.

I laughed, suddenly putting together his frustration and regret. “I’m sure it wil be fine, Shay, but maybe not as exciting as a whip . . . or ice picks.”

“Ice picks?” Connor perked up.

Shay nodded but kept his eyes lowered.

“I bet you’re wishing you’d read more of those ninja comics now, huh?” I couldn’t stop my laughter.

Adne glanced back and forth from me to Shay.

“What are you talking about?”

“Shay’s childhood aspirations,” I said, grinning.

“And his favorite training manuals.”

“Swords just seem so . . .
ordinary.
” He shook his head.

“If you’re looking for graphic inspiration,
Path of
the Assassin
or
Shaman Warrior
would be the best,” Silas offered. “Lots of sword fighting and dual wielding, which you’l need to master. I could lend you my col ections.”

Shay brightened a bit and smiled at the Scribe.

“We’l continue the training you began at the Academy this week,” Monroe said. “It won’t be a problem. Connor can take care of it.”

“I can help.” Adne shot a dark look at Monroe. He frowned.

“She’s right,” Connor said. “I know she’s not a Striker, Monroe. But Adne’s got some serious combat skil s.”

He winked at Adne. “I’m sure we’l al be lined up to see your first match against the Scion.”

Adne grinned at him. “See, Monroe?”

“Very wel .” He sighed. “Adne wil help with the training.”

“We stil have to get al four pieces of the cross before that’s even an issue,” Silas added.

Despite my anger, my thoughts were churning.

Pieces of the cross. Shay had said there were four maps in the Keepers’ text. Was Haldis one of the pieces? And what kind of a piece was it? It didn’t look like any kind of weapon I’d seen . . . unless. The Elemental Cross was two swords. The cylinder we’d found in the cavern obviously wasn’t a blade, but I knew what it could be. Particularly since Shay was
the only one who could wield the swords.
And he was the only one who could touch Haldis. It had to be.

“No,” I said quietly. “We only have to get three of the pieces.”

The room fel silent, al eyes wide and on me.

“Excuse me?” Silas said at last.

“Shay and I went to Haldis Cavern,” I said. “He has the piece that was hidden there.”

Shay blanched. “Uh, I haven’t told them about Haldis yet, Cal.”

“I know.” I let my gaze tel him exactly what I thought of
that
decision. “It’s a hilt. Isn’t it? A sword hilt?”

“Yes . . . it is.” Monroe turned to face Shay. “What haven’t you told us about Haldis?”

Shay reached for his inside jacket pocket. “Sorry.

It’s just that I didn’t know if we could trust you. But I guess that’s a moot point now.” He withdrew the shimmering ochre cylinder.

The silence in the room had grown so thick it felt as though I could reach out and gather it in my arms.

“When did you retrieve Haldis?” Monroe final y murmured. His eyes were locked on the strange object.

“Cal a and I went to check out the cavern in October,” Shay said, rol ing the cylinder back and forth in his palms. The more I looked at it, noting the way his fingers curled perfectly around its shape, the more convinced I was that I understood.

“That’s when Shay used the ice picks,” I said. “The Keepers had a giant spider guarding Haldis. He kil ed it.”

“With ice picks?” Connor’s eyes widened.

Shay shuddered. “It was horrible.”

“I don’t know,” I said, a smile pul ing at my lips as I recal ed the fight. “You nailed that beast without too much trouble.”

“With ice picks?” Connor said again, gazing at Shay as if truly seeing him for the first time.

“Yeah,” Shay said, but he looked a little il . He gripped the shimmering cylinder more tightly.

Silas snorted and leaned over to dig through a leather satchel half buried under papers on the desk.

When he stood up, he had donned a pair of thick leather gloves. He reached out toward the gleaming object.

I started to open my mouth but then clamped my lips together and watched. His fingers brushed the smooth surface and he yelped and stumbled back, shaking his hand. The rest of the Searchers stared at Silas.

“That’s odd,” he said, reaching for Haldis again.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” I said quietly. “The pain gets worse every time.”

Al eyes in the room focused on me. I stood my ground, returning each gaze with a chal enging stare.

“You knew it would hurt me?” Silas’s voice bubbled with outrage.

“I didn’t know,” I said. “Wel , at least not for sure. I thought maybe it was just Guardians who couldn’t touch it. But it seems that only Shay is al owed.”

Silas’s eyes bulged. “Even with enchanted gloves?”

This guy was nuts. “You thought gloves would let you touch Haldis?”

“Wel , I had this theory. . . .” He scratched his head.

Monroe groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

“Silas, you didn’t say it was a theory. You swore it would work. We told Anika it would work!”

“Moron.” Connor snorted. He inched closer to Shay, examining Haldis while keeping a safe distance.

“What’s wrong?” Shay asked, frowning at their defeated expressions.

“Silas devised our most recent Striker attacks.”

Adne smiled thinly. “Searcher strike teams have been trying to get to the sites in the hopes that we could pul the pieces of the cross ourselves and keep them safe until the Scion appeared.”

“But none of you can touch them,” I said. My confidence in the Searchers crumbled a bit. Could they real y help my pack if they made mistakes like this?

“We didn’t know that.” Connor glared at Silas.

“And dozens of Strikers were lost in attempts to even get close to the sites.”

I had to look away, al too aware that we’d made the same kind of mistake today.
I can’t blame them.

We’re all doing the best we can.

Silas just looked slightly put off. “I was certain it would work.”

“Why were you focused on the pieces?” I asked.

“What’s so special about these swords?”

“The Elemental Cross is the only force in the world that can banish wraiths.” Monroe’s voice was deadly quiet. “When the Scion wields the swords, he can expel them from the earth, defeat the minions of the Netherworld. Even Bosque Mar himself. Nothing else can.”

Shay stared at Monroe, the boy’s face suddenly chalk white.

“I can fight the wraiths?”

“Yes,” Monroe said, placing his hand on Shay’s shoulder. “You can and you wil . In time.”

Silas, apparently recovered from his moment of humiliation, spoke up. “We must retrieve the Elemental Cross. It’s the only thing that wil give us victory over the Keepers.”

I nodded, trying to imagine the type of power it would take to defeat Bosque and his horde.

“Why did you keep this from us?” Monroe turned on Shay, eyes flashing with anger.

Shay looked around at their dejected faces and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I wasn’t convinced you were the good guys. I wasn’t going to trust you until Cal a did.”

I bit my lip, grateful for his words but regretting what it cost the Searchers.

“Fine,” Monroe said gruffly, folding his arms across his chest. “Let’s move on. At least we know the Keepers can’t take the weapon from him once he has it.”

“It’s good that you have Haldis, Shay,” Adne said.

“That wil save us a trip.”

Shay smiled. “I suppose it wil .” He turned his eyes on Silas. “So who was the lady?”

“The lady?” Silas raised an eyebrow.

“The woman who was in the cavern; she sang, and then al the lights went out and Haldis was in my hand.”

“Ah.” Silas smiled. “That was Cian.”

“Who?” Shay looked at him blankly.

“Warrior, prophetess,” Silas replied. “The only reason we’re here today.”

“She was the first Searcher,” Monroe added. “And your great-aunt several times over. The Scion’s bloodline begins with the forebearers of Eira and Cian.”

“Who was Eira?” I asked.

Monroe’s face clouded and he looked at Shay.

“Your very great grandmother. She was Cian’s sister and the first Keeper.”

“Her sister?” Shay’s eyes widened. “How is that possible?”

Silas cleared his throat.

“Oh, just get it over with.” Connor groaned. He unceremoniously dropped to the floor and stretched out, arranging a stack of papers into a pil ow.

“It’s real y not that long of a story,” Silas muttered.

Connor didn’t open his eyes.

“And it’s a good story,” Silas pleaded.

“Good?” At that Connor’s eyelids snapped up. “It’s a bloody disaster is what it is.”

“I mean it’s
exciting,
” Silas amended.

“Yeah, our lives are ruined and you cal it a literary triumph.”

“Just let him tel the story, Connor,” Adne said curtly, and gestured to Silas. “Once upon a time . . .”

Silas beamed. “The spirit world wasn’t hidden from human beings. Societies across the globe mixed with the forces of the earth and those of the Nether. That mixing is what most people would cal

‘magic,’ but it’s much more than that.”

“How so?” Shay asked.

“Connecting to the elemental powers of the earth is natural. Something that comes along with life as a being on this planet. Everything is part of the same system, the same energies. The ability to tap into those forces varies from person to person, but the latent ability is there for everyone.”

“So what’s the problem, then?” Shay frowned. “If magic is just a part of people.”

“Not just people,” Silas corrected. “Animals, plants, earth, sky, stone. Everything.”

“Elemental forces aren’t the problem, Shay,”

Monroe said quietly. “But the earth’s magic isn’t the only kind that touches this world.”

“You mean the Nether?” I asked. Cold fingers crept up my spine. “Where wraiths and succubi come from?”

Monroe nodded.

“Not bad, she-wolf.” Silas smirked. “The Nether exists as a sort of oppositional force to the earth.

Never truly part of this world but always alongside it.

Like trains on paral el tracks.”

“Or its evil twin.” Adne laughed, but there was no joy in the sound.

“Too true.” Silas nodded. “When more human beings were actively tapping into the spirit world, some thought it prudent to try to harness the forces of the Nether for their own gains.”

“Why isn’t any of this recorded?” Shay asked.

“Even though people always knew about Nether.”

“I’m sorry,” Silas snapped. “I thought you were supposed to be educated. Haven’t you read any history books?”

“Of course I have,” Shay said.

“Wel , if you’d been paying attention, you would have noticed people up until the mid-nineteenth century talking about witches, demons, and monsters nonstop.”

“I thought that was just superstition.” Shay’s brow knit.

“Enter the scientific revolution and the modern age.” Silas smiled. “Let’s al give the Keepers a big round of applause.”

Shay and I exchanged a confused glance.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Silas,” Monroe murmured.

“Of course, my apologies,” the Scribe said quickly.

“The idea of superstition is a modern invention. Its use of course is to explain away frightening beings that have always been very real and difficult to control. As you’ve just demonstrated, superstition was a very useful device and has had tremendous success in rewriting history.”

Shay was incredulous. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“He’s not,” Adne said coldly.

“So what real y happened?” I asked, stil struggling against the wal of lies that had surrounded my life until now.

“As I said before, use of elemental power is al wel and good, but dabblers in the Nether realm created problems for themselves and their neighbors. Creatures of the Nether don’t mix wel with humans.”

“What do you mean?” Shay asked.

“You’ve seen it,” I said. “We’re their food. Wraiths, succubi, and incubi. They feed on the worst parts of this life. Thrive on our suffering.”

Adne’s face was ashen, but she jerked away when Monroe came around the table and tried to take her hand.

“Oh,” Shay mumbled. “Right. Sorry.”

Silas waved his hand dismissively. “Not a problem. But back in the day, some humans of noble character took it upon themselves to reign in the presence of the Nether. They curtailed the practice of irresponsible people who didn’t realize they were playing with fire, and they fought off the actual Nether beings that manifested on the earth.”

“But you can’t fight off wraiths,” I objected.

“Wraiths are new,” Monroe said. “Wel , relatively new, as in five hundred years or so.”

“That’s new?” I gaped.

“Historical y speaking,” Silas answered. “Wraiths came with the Keepers. Prior to their appearance, magicians could only raise succubi and incubi—they have more human traits and thus can cross over without requiring much power on the part of the summoner.”

“How did the Keepers appear?” I asked impatiently.

“I’m getting to that,” Silas replied, unfazed by my tone. “The warriors who elected themselves sentinels of the bridge between the earth and the Nether were successful. Vigilant, patient, and ferocious, they kept the forces of the Nether at bay and the destruction that its inhabitants could wreak in this world in check. But then a knight emerged in the fifteenth century who was beautiful, charismatic, and seemingly invincible in combat. She envisioned a new purpose for her peers. Eira.”