Page 24 of The Tracker's Secret
My stomach growled at the sight of bagels and cream cheese and jelly. I had already eaten breakfast, but lately hunger had been assaulting me even more often than before. Mostly, I was hungry for meat, though, and couldn’t seem to have enough of it. I’d eaten an entire package of bacon this morning, while Rosalina watched me over the rim of her mug.
He placed a bagel inside a toaster oven and crossed his arms, waiting.
Rosalina elbowed me and nodded toward the mage, encouraging me to ask my questions. His comment about expecting to read about a massacre in the papers still rang inside my head. I didn’t think I would be able to stop myself from shifting for much longer. I could feel the pressure mounting. My wolf felt like a ticking bomb, and the explosion would not be pretty.
Cocking my head and tapping my chin, I stared at the mage. If I was going to go on a rampage, it might not be a bad idea to start here. It would teach him a lesson for doing unnatural things to people. Or at least, I could get him to blast me with a killing spell and take me out of my misery.
“Is there no way you can help her?” Rosalina asked, since I’d become enthralled by the idea of sinking my claws into Damien’s willowy ass.
“I’m afraid not, love,” he said.
“Each year,” he continued, without turning from the oven, “that I applied my spell on Toni, it grew increasingly more difficult. Amalia was supposed to keep a close eye on her daughter to catch any symptoms that indicated the magic was wearing out. I warned her that if Toni shifted, it would put an end to the subterfuge. You see, the spell has kept the wolf confused. Um, how can I explain?”
He finally turned to face us, making a flourish with one hand as if to draw an explanation from the air. “The wolf was trapped inside a labyrinth that didn’t allow it to see the exit, the light. Every time she got close, the spell would have created a diversion, guiding her away from the surface. But now that the wolf has figured out the exit and has gotten a taste of freedom, there is nothing that can stop her. Nothing that will keep her caged for much longer. Except, of course, Toni herself by learning how to control the shift, a particularly difficult task in cases like hers. If she doesn’t do anything soon, things could reach critical mass.”
“How can she learn to control it?” Rosalina asked as I struggled to process everything he’d said.
“I already told her. She needs to find one of her kind who can guide her. Somebody willing to put themselves through the ordeal.”
“Put themselves through the ordeal?” I echoed.
“Oh, yes. It won’t be an easy matter. It could take weeks, months even.”
“Months?! I don’t have that kind of time. I have a life to live, a business to run.”
“Take that up with your mother, love. I’m not to blame for any of this.”
I stood up abruptly and slapped my hands on the counter. The stool scraped the floor and teetered, though it didn’t fall.
“That’s bullshit.” I growled. “You’re almost as guilty as she is. You enabled her, allowed her to lie to me, to my father. You could have said no.”
He shrugged. “She was pretty convincing.”
He got the bagel out of the toaster oven and, turning back toward us and placing his breakfast on the island, proceeded to apply a thick layer of cream cheese on each slice, followed by grape jelly. Then, he took a hefty bite. He wasn’t going to tell me anything.
“Why the hell did you leave your card behind if you didn’t plan on talking to me?”
“Um,” he lifted his index finger as he slowly chewed. “Yes, indeed,” he mumbled, taking a Mason jar from one of the open shelves and walking to the pot on the stove.
With the ladle, he scooped some of whatever he was cooking and poured it inside the jar. Chunky, brown liquid splattered inside. When he was done, he gingerly transferred the hot jar to the island and set it in front of me.
“This will help,” he said.
I stared at the steaming contents, wrinkling my nose. An awful smell wafted from the jar and quickly filled the room.
Rosalina leaned in to peer at it. “What is it? It smells delicious, and it’s so pretty.”
Huh?I gave her a sidelong glance. Was her sniffer broken? It smelled like shit. Literally. Looked like it. too.
She hopped down from her stool and walked closer, her hand reaching for the jar. I grabbed her wrist and held her back.
“Appearancesandsmells can be deceiving,” I said with a pointed look.
Rosalina snatched her hand back, looking freaked out. “I’m so stupid,” she blurted out, shooting death rays at the mage.
He gave her a disarming smile that made her frown disappear.Oh, God.This wasn’t good. My friend couldn’t buy into this guy’s antics.
Pushing those fears aside, I focused on Damien.
