131
Maryanne
I’ve spent much of the time since the curse was planted searching for the culprit. There’s no way that Ameerek should have gotten past my wards. Someone on the inside must have helped the treacherous bastard.
What I couldn’t figure out, however, was who. Oh, no doubt that Talon is my prime suspect, but I have this nagging feeling that he was just taunting Alistair to throw him off.
Which is why I’ve been tailing the fool for the last day or so. He’s been all over, skulking about. He even scurried out the rear gate, where Esme believed she saw Ameerek’s vessel escape, scurrying like the rat we all know he is. Alas, I shouldn’t insult rats so, they’re quite intelligent little creatures, not at all as vile as one such as Talon and those he associates with.
Regardless, I’m back at square one, having lost the idiot’s trail shortly after following him beyond the gates. I half expected it to be a trap, but it doesn’t appear that it was. Between one step and the next, he just vanished. At first, I expected a concealment charm, but there was no trace of magic in the area. There was no veil that he crossed. Nothing.
I’ll need to ask Mercy and Alistair what abilities he has. Andreas wouldn’t turn someone who didn’t have the potential for potent secondary skills in their afterlife.
Sighing, I trudge back towards the estate, making certain to remain vigilant.
Esme is watching me when I slicked back through the gate, a frown on her face.
She looks worried, but I don’t have time to stop and chat with her. I need to find the source of the leak, the culprit behind granting a harbinger of evil access to my wards before their trail grows cold. And I need to tight then wards. No longer will people without my or Alistair’s personal approval be granted the ability to bring others in through the wards. It’s just not safe with everything going on.
~
Bellamy
Despite merging with Thewkane, I’m still struggling to control and make sense of my visions. Rather than giving myself a migraine trying to force it, I’ve decided to head down to the training ground with Rosche, who has promised to teach me how to shit.
“Skin walking and shifting are really similar, Bellamy. The main difference is that skin walkers generally need a token of their animal, and aren’t normally limited to a single form like your average shifter.”
“I don’t have a token, though,” I mutter.
“No? No feather? No hide? No claw?”
I shake my head, frowning.
“What about any new marks? Often spirit beasts will leave a mark that acts like a token, since they’ll be your strongest form.”
At her words, I pull my shirt out, glancing at the mark on my chest. She smiles and nods.
“If that wasn’t there before the merge, it’s probably your token. Your spirit animal’s form will be easier to assume initially, and since the token is marked on your skin, it will be the hardest for your enemies to part you from.”
Her words made sense logically, but I was struggling to wrap my mind around the intricacies.
“Are you saying that, when I master Thewkane's form, I’ll be able to grab a discarded claw, fur, feather, or scale from other creatures, and take their form too?”
She grins and nods.
“Even better, the stronger skin walkers can assume the form of bipeds too, basically anything with a less potent magical signature than you.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yea. You’re going to be a major asset, Bel. We just gotta get you trained up first.”
“Okay, yea. What do I need to do?”
~
Anthony
We’re nearly to the estate. The journey has been difficult, however. Solomon’s men have been on our tail constantly.
I can’t help but wonder where Lucille is. She’s always kept in touch as best she could, but being so far under cover makes the chances to communicate infrequent.
If everything is going to plan, she should be on her way towards Esme now. Hopefully Amelie is on her way, too. They’ve both been under cover for so long, that I often worry if their allegiances have truly shifted.
I sigh and rake my fingers through my hair, pacing through the temporary camp that my elite soldier and sons have made. The air is charged with magic and malice, making worry fill me.
What if all of our carefully laid plans fail? What if one of our insiders has defected for real? What if we have defectors in our ranks of carefully chosen soldiers who are content to sabotage everything, ready to watch the world burn?
“You need to rest, Dad.” Matthew’s voice momentarily startled me, but before he finishes speaking, I’m already pacing again.
His hands on my shoulders finally startled me out of my spiraling thoughts.
“Dad. Breathe.”
He inhaled and exhales, and before I realized what I was doing, I was matching him breath for breath.
“Better. Now, you need to rest.”
My brow furrows, but before I can refute his order, he’s shaking his head.
“No, Dad. You’ve done all you can. You said you’ve been preparing for this for over a century, right?”
I snap my jaw shut and nod stiffly.
“Then you’ve done everything you can. What’s going to happen will happen. All we can do now is play our part. And a big chunk of your part is having your head on straight. For that, you need. To. Rest.”
I deflate. He’s right, of course. How strange to be the one getting counseled by my headstrong, eldest son.
“Alright.”
He smiles and ushers me to my tent, staring threateningly at me until I wrap myself in my sleeping furs and close my eyes.
~~~
Author’s note: wowza. What would happen if someone ELSE betrays them? Can they even survive all the crazy that’s coming? And what’s up with Anthony? So far, all we know is that he’s immune to compulsion, but that can’t be all that a Demi human can do, right?