Page 81 of Shifters Awakening

I racked my brain, searching for some reference to a constellation or a star inside the information Dr. Wise had spent decades compiling. “Come with me.”

He followed without question, and I led him into my study. He didn’t speak while I inserted the encrypted thumb drive into my computer. I gestured to the crystaldecanter, and he poured a glass of the amber liquid, not bothering with any ice from the ice maker. Using Algol as the search term didn’t flag any documents, but the wordconstellationdid…

Three separate documents. The first two offered no insight.

After I double-clicked the third, my eyes widened. Dr. Wise had scanned a sheet of paper which seemed to define the best ways to cast dark magic spells, specifically referencing the power in the “demon’s head.”

However, several terms on the page had been highlighted and circled by Dr. Wise. In the margin, she wrote,Did the instructions refer to the actual constellations in the sky or the way to lay something out on the ground? Unclear.The last word in her margin notes had been underlined twice.

“You mentioned Algol,” I said, glancing up from the computer screen. “What do you know about Algol?”

Torbin turned toward me. “It’s in the constellation Perseus. The second-century astrological text of the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy, Algol is referred to as ‘the Gorgon of Perseus,’ and it’s often associated with death by decapitation. Historically, it’s been an unlucky star and worth mentioning, given Acheron’s heritage.”

The clues were important; they had to be. That was the only reason they would be hidden. But how, why? Maybe the page reference had something to do with Acheron’s grimoire. What had been completed?

Dammit.Without context, it would be nearly impossible to work out.

I came around the desk. “Will you show me where your niece found the scraps? We might find more.”

“Indeed,” he rumbled, returning the empty glass to the table. This time, I followed him as we made our way back to the porch. “The tree is not far.”

As I pulled the front door closed, my phone rang, and I answered before the first ring finished. “Yeah?”

“He’s here. Acheron is here,” Olivia shrieked.

“Where? Olivia! Where?!” I yelled into the phone. What had they stumbled into?

“Logan, he’s here between the park, the campsite where she—” She screamed, and the line went dead.

My gaze cut to Torbin. “They’ve been ambushed.”

“Show me.” A windy gust exploded between us, and he morphed into his bear self without hesitation. His clothes ripped at the lacing, falling away without being ruined. The moonlight glinted in the bells in the white fur beneath his chin. Most shifters couldn’t keep anything on themselves when they shifted, and it highlighted his skill with the ancient magic.

But I had no time to gape at the beast beside me. I shifted, landing on the gravel in front of the manor. Torbin landed on the ground beside me, shaking the ground as his heavy paws touched down. He chuffed and snorted at the air, the tiny bells tinkling.

Olivia had to mean where Emma originally showed her multimorph self.

We tore through Six-Mile, shifters joining behind us as we ran. Soon, ten wolf shifters and a giant bear thundered through the forest, crashing through theunderbrush. In no time, we reached the border between Six-Mile and the state park. I sailed over the fence, and nine more wolves followed. Torbin charged through the fence, and it parted as though it had been made from toothpicks. A moment later, we arrived.

Site 52.

Where it all began.

In the center of the campsite, a darkly shadowed figure stood alone. As we entered the clearing, he whirled to face us, his skin stretched tightly over his skeleton. His flesh plumped as his lips peeled back from his blackened teeth.

Acheron!

Olivia hung limp in his arms, and her eyes were closed as Acheron chanted words I didn’t understand. A glow began in the center of her forehead and moved down her body, turning her nearly transparent as the glow brightened. What was he doing to her?

The scent of blood tainted the air, and she seemed to fade from view, becoming one with the wizard behind her. Dark shadows circled the mage the way our shifter magic danced in the wind. The shifters who had been with Olivia were nowhere in sight.

I barked to the others, and they positioned themselves closely behind me, growling and snarling. Suddenly, Torbin launched himself at the wizard, and a burst of power flung him backward, splitting the skin on his snout, sending bright red pouring over his whitened fur. He roared and charged again.

Acheron turned away from us, toward Torbin, and weseized the brief window of distraction Torbin had provided for us. Nine of us sailed through the air, impacting the dark mage one by one, sending him staggering back. But he didn’t release Olivia.

Although caught unawares, he opened his mouth in a shriek, echoing with a thousand voices in pain, sending terror splitting through our minds. But I didn’t stop. I threw myself at him once more. My jaw closed around his cowl, and I yanked it to the side, catching his ear with my teeth. He turned to the side and disappeared in a flash of putrid smoke, leaving his robes hanging from my mouth.

Olivia dropped to the ground where Acheron had been, no longer transparent. I shifted to my human self, hooked my hands under her armpits, and dragged the unconscious Olivia away as the other eight wolves and Torbin searched for our shared enemy.

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