Wolfsbane (17 page)

“But they can’t be human,” I protested. “They’re immortal.”

“No, they aren’t,” Monroe said. “They wanted you to believe they are because of the way they wil use their powers and we won’t, as Tess just said.”

“What do you mean?” Shay asked.

“Reverence for the earth, the natural power inherent in creation, and its cycles,” Connor replied with a mocking smile.

“Searchers believe that mortality is a good thing rather than something to avoid.” Silas ignored Connor, diving into a lecture. “We grow old and die.

Death is a part of the natural cycle. Keepers use their power to extend their lives to preternatural lengths. Mixing with the Nether changes the essence of who they are, but they stil started out as human and remain human at the core. They extend the life span of their Guardians as wel . That’s why there are rarely new packs. Only when it’s deemed necessary are they asked to bear offspring. Our records show that there hadn’t been new wolf pups affiliated with Haldis until about two generations ago. Then the Keepers seemed to take a new interest in establishing stronger family ties between their packs again.”

Shay glanced at me; a fresh look of horror had overtaken his face, and I nodded to confirm Silas’s words.

“But the Keepers have children,” he protested. “I mean, there were Keeper children at our school. And Logan inherited your pack.”

Silas smirked. “The Keepers are incredibly vain, and they guard their powers jealously. Too many Keepers would inevitably lead to struggles within their own ranks, which they won’t risk. Only the most powerful among them are al owed to have children to continue their legacy in this world. Some of them reside in Vail, as you’ve seen. The rest are scattered across the globe, concentrated near the sites of power. And we have Searcher outposts to track their activities in those same locations. But their numbers, though greater than ours, stil don’t rival the human population. So the Keepers have taken to using humans as pawns in their own game of life. Politics, global markets, al of it.”

“But how did they get the advantage?” My mind was reeling from the deluge of new information. Lies, al lies.

“Yeah,” Shay said. “I get that they use their power to be quasiimmortal now, but didn’t you have even numbers at the beginning?”

“More or less.” Silas scowled, looking put out that his speech hadn’t rendered us silent and awestruck at his erudition.

“This would be the part where they gained their advantage over us.” Connor leaned back in his chair, shoulders slumping.

“I don’t understand,” Shay said.

“Maybe it would be better to start with who Shay is and let the history fal into place,” Monroe said.

“But—” Silas began.

“Keep it simple,” Monroe said. “Start with Shay’s lineage.”

“Fine.” Silas sighed. “The Scion is the descendant of the first Keeper, Eira, and the son of the traitor.

That’s how the Searchers identified him. That and the mark.”

“The traitor?” Shay looked even more confused. I was completely bewildered by the conversation.

None of the Searchers appeared surprised; apparently this was old news to them.

“Yes, yes.” Silas drummed his fingers on the table.

“The portent of the Scion was that a Keeper, a powerful descendant of Eira herself, would abandon his kind, turn against them, and his heir would cause their downfal . The child of that Keeper is the Scion.”

When Shay continued to frown at him, Silas flipped through the pages of his notebook, turning it to face Shay. “It’s right here.”

“That’s in Latin,” Shay said.

“Don’t you read Latin?” Silas asked, incredulous.

“Not without a dictionary,” Shay snapped.

“Silas, most of us don’t read Latin as ably as you can,” Monroe chided.

“Can we move along?” Connor had put his head in his hands.

“Wait,” I said, throwing him an apologetic smile.

“I’m tel ing you, even if the Keepers are magic-laced humans or whatever, there wasn’t any of that on Shay. He didn’t have their scent. I know Keepers, but I never identified Shay as one of them.”

“Yes,” Monroe said. “I know that. But that’s because Shay’s mother was human.”

“His father betrayed the Keepers for love,” Adne said.

“Why?” Shay stil looked dumbfounded. “Why did he leave the Keepers?”

“Oh, come on, Adne, that’s so cliché,” Silas said.

Adne glared at him, and he just stared back at her.

“It’s cliché because love matters, Silas,” Tess snapped, eyes misting over. “It’s one of the few things on earth that actual y makes people take risks.”

I met Shay’s eyes, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

“Right.” Silas sounded bored. “Anyway. He left because Keepers, loving their power as they do, have forbidden permanent unions between their kind and humans. Tristan eloped with Sarah and attempted to hide out with her. Birds and bees . . .

baby.” He pointed at Shay.

“So how did you find him?” I asked. “If he was hiding, then how did the Searchers even know that the traitor from the prophecy existed?”

“We didn’t have to find him,” Monroe said. “He sought us out.”

“He did?” Shay’s eyes widened.

“Yes,” Monroe said. “He wanted protection for his wife and child. He knew who he was; he knew we would give it. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.”

“The Keepers found them?” I asked.

He nodded. “On the Aran Islands. We thought we’d isolated them, kept the location in absolute secrecy, but we failed. They took the family, kil ed Tristan and Sarah, and Bosque Mar kept Shay under his guard. Until now.”

Shay stared blankly ahead; his hands were stil trembling.

“I don’t understand why he’s not a Keeper,” I said.

“Doesn’t it matter who his father was?”

“It matters for the prophecy,” Silas replied. “But in terms of his essence, his being, it’s the mother that matters. It’s always the mother that matters.”

“Huh?” I frowned.

Tess smiled. “Because the power of creation rests in women.”

“Gloat al you want, Tess. At least I get to keep my figure.” Connor patted his flat stomach.

“Battle of the sexes aside,” Silas said, “Tess is right. The mother’s essence always seems to dominate, determines the nature of the child. That’s why you only perceived him as human—in al respects he was. His father’s use of the Nether’s power didn’t pass on to him. The only sign of his mixed ancestry is the mark.”

“What do you mean, the mother’s essence always dominates?” I asked. “Has this happened before?”

“With the Keepers, no,” Silas replied. “None but Tristan ever dared repudiate the Keepers’ taboo on reproduction outside their own ranks. The reason we know about the pattern is because of the era of the Harrowing.”

“But that was just a war,” I countered. What could it have to do with children?

“Al iances form for many reasons,” Monroe said quietly. He turned his face away from the rest of us, his eyes suddenly distant.

Silas nodded. “In the years leading up to the Guardians’ revolt, the ties between Searchers and the wolf soldiers grew very strong—in many respects. The records tel us that children from resulting partnerships always reflected the mother’s line. If the father was a Guardian, the child was a Searcher, if the father was a Searcher, the child remained a wolf.”

My eyes widened. “Searchers and Guardians had children?”

“A very long time ago,” Monroe replied; his jaw tightened and he continued to look away. “The Keepers did their best to wipe out al those offspring, to sever the ties forever.”

My hands were trembling. “But Guardian females can’t just have children—”

I stopped, feeling heat rushing up my neck into my cheeks. I hadn’t meant to say that. The words had just blurted out. So many secrets about my life had been spil ed, but this was one I’d wanted to keep stashed away.

When I spoke, it brought Shay out of his own far-off thoughts. “What?” He looked at me sharply.

I stared at the table.

No. No. I don’t want to talk about this.
It was too private. And too horrible.

Monroe cleared his throat. “Part of the Keepers’

attempts to exert more control over the Guardian packs was through the regulation of partnerships and births among their soldiers. Something they started doing after the Harrowing. They use their power to stop and start the reproductive cycles in Guardian females, so they only become pregnant when the designated mate and the right time are established by their masters.”

“Oh my God,” Shay murmured.

I was finding it hard to breathe.
What will he think
of me now?

“It’s not your fault, honey.” Tess slid her arm around me. Her scent was al comfort—apple blossoms and honey. I let myself lean into her, grateful for her constant kindness. “They’re real bastards.”

Silas spoke. “But the Harrowing was the advent of that practice; the Keepers hadn’t been so careful about such things before the revolt.”

“Your mother was human, Shay,” Monroe said with a brief, sympathetic glance in my direction. “Your human essence was that with which you were born and the one that Cal a perceived.”

“So my father’s betrayal of the Keepers signaled that I was the Scion,” Shay said.

I was relieved we seemed to be moving on in the conversation and decided to continue to push it forward.

“And the mark. But he can’t see it.” I gestured to Shay. “When I told him about the cross tattoo, he had no idea it was there.”

“There’s a ward on the symbol to keep it hidden,”

Silas explained. “It’s not just a birthmark, not a tattoo.

It’s a mystical emblem.”

“So humans are blind to the tattoo?” I asked.

Silas rol ed his eyes, his hand flipping briefly before his face as though brushing away an irritating gnat. “It’s a subtler enchantment than that. They’re good at that, the Keepers: manipulation, subtlety. It’s their art, real y. The tattoo only suggests to those who might take note of it that it should be ignored. We use a similar tactic to keep people from stumbling across the Academy. Humans wil always look away, dismiss it. Just enough so that no one would walk up to Shay and ask who his tat artist was.”

He glanced at Shay, eyes misty with a rather wry sort of reverence. “They’d think you didn’t scrub your neck wel enough after a nasty rugby match or the like. You know: muddied up, that sort of thing.”

“But I could see it,” I said.

“You’re not human,” Silas said. “You’re—”

I cut him off. “An abomination. Right. How could I forget.”

He pushed his chair back as I bared my fangs.

Shay grimaced and gingerly fingered the back of his neck. “Great. So I’m the Chosen One, but I have no skil at personal hygiene.”

Silas’s face il uminated with a startling grin.

“Exactly.”

Adne chortled and laid a devastating gaze on Shay. “Help me, Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope . . .

but could you manage a bath first?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I’d wash your back for you anytime.”

Shay’s pale face went crimson and I threw Adne a reproving glance. But she was looking at Connor, who simply added more whiskey to his coffee.

Silas’s grin didn’t fade. He leaned back in his seat, studying Shay. “But now that your wolf girlfriend here turned you and al , you should be able to see it.

Guardians wouldn’t be affected by the spel .”

“I’m not his girlfriend,” I snapped, and then winced as Shay flushed even more deeply. The Searchers al stared at me, surprise written on their faces.

“Wel , I’m not,” I finished lamely, feeling cold and slippery as marble. I couldn’t look at Shay again. It was harsh, but I’d spoken the truth. I loved him, but I didn’t know what I was to Shay. Everything in our lives was constantly changing. I couldn’t find stable ground to stand on.

Shay put his head in his hands. “I thought knowing the truth would make this easier. But it hasn’t. I can’t believe the only family I’ve known is some sort of Nether creature.”

“Not just any Nether creature. He’s more powerful than any other enemy we’ve faced, and you’re the key to securing his reign,” Monroe said. “The Harbinger couldn’t trust your protection to his minions alone. As you can see, they failed in their duty. I’m sure some have suffered terribly because of your escape.”

At the word “suffered,” I began shivering and found I couldn’t stop.
What is happening to my pack?

Shay put his hand on mine, glancing at Monroe.

“It’s happened before, hasn’t it?” Shay asked. “We read about the last time Guardians tried to rebel.”

“You mean the Harrowing?” Silas asked. “That was a momentous period in our history. The closest we came to victory. Though it ended rather badly.”

“No.” I straightened, looking directly at Monroe because I knew he had the answers to the questions that were burning through me. “That wasn’t the most recent revolt.”

Monroe drew back. “No.”

“Drop it, Lily.” Adne had locked an accusing gaze on me. “That isn’t your business.”

I flashed my fangs at her. “Could you not cal me that?”

“Not when it always gets that reaction from you. It’s nice to know you are somewhat human. That austere wolf thing creeps me out, you know.”

I stared at her.
I’ve known this girl for less than a
day and she can read me like a book. How is that
possible?

“Adne’s right.” Connor leaned toward me. I could smel the whiskey on his breath. “Leave this alone.”

“I wil not,” I said. “What happened to the Banes?

How did Corrine Laroche die?”

“I said leave it.” Connor slammed his fist down on the table.

“Back off,” Shay snarled at him.

“Monroe?” Tess murmured, glancing anxiously at Connor.

“It’s fine,” Monroe said quietly. “They should know.”

Connor shook his head, emptying the rest of his flask into his coffee cup. “So much for no more sad stories.”