Page 26 of The Tracker's Revenge
Now, every pair of eyes flicked in my direction. I waited for Yura to say something, but she just waited for me to pick up where Eric had left off, so I nodded, dug into my breast pocket, pulled out the dagger, and laid it on the table. Walter, Ulfen, Craig, and Travis all leaned forward to look at it closely, their eyes shining with interest.
Travis blew air through his nose. “It doesn’t look like much.” He reclined back on his chair, appearing unimpressed. “Are we sure that’s it?”
My wolf snarled, but I stopped any sound from getting out. Was he insinuating we’d brought a counterfeit? Instead of snarling, though, I schooled my temper and said in a cool tone, “I’m one hundred percent sure this is it. I took it right after it was used to create a hybrid.”
Travis’s brown eyes—so much like my own that I hated him for it—assessed me once more. He appeared to be performing a million computations to arrive at some number that would tell him exactly what to think of me. After a beat, he simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Maybe he’d come up with a big fat zero. The witchlights knew it was the same score I’d given him.
“Please explain to everyone how you came to be in possession of this dagger.” Yura extended a hand in invitation.
I proceeded to explain things from the beginning. “It all began with Stephen Erickson’s supposed kidnapping. When Ulfen couldn’t find his son, he asked for my help as a tracker. Jacob Knight and I found him and thought we were saving him from harm, but it turned out he’d fake the abduction. And, in the end, we discovered that Stephen is working with Bernadetta Fiore.”
I glanced apologetically at Ulfen. He tapped his fingers on the table to indicate there was no other way to go about it.
“Four days ago,” I continued, “Stephen took me forcefully to a coven temple where he asked me to join him in his quest to, I don’t know, conquer the city, I guess. Whatever the reason, it’s insane, and it involves turning an entire pack into hybrids using that.” I pointed at the dagger, my emotions rising as I told the story. “When I refused to join him, he made me watch as they used the vessel to turn a member of a small pack into one of those hybrid beasts. Bernadetta Fiore put her blood into the jade cup, then dipped the dagger in it, and fed it to that man. It was hard to watch.” I swallowed thickly. “They had the entire pack there, ready to turn every member, but I was to be next. And they almost succeeded. They almost...” I trailed off and shuddered as I remembered how close I’d been to becoming a mindless monster.
Everyone waited for me to continue as silence hung heavily between us. Yura looked horrified but encouraged me to continue with a slight nod.
“My friend saved me in the last instant,” I said, my throat aching. “His name was Damien Ward, and he was a Copper Mage. Now, he’s dead, and all we know is that a Midnight Witch killed him. For this piece of shit!” I flicked the dagger with my hand and sent it sliding across the table. It stopped right on the nose of the inlaid wolf and spun a few times until it went still. Everyone stared at it with distaste.
“Damien wasn’t the only one at the coven temple. Jake and Eric came, too.” I didn’t mention Rosalina because I didn’t want her involved in any of this. Of course, she already was involved, but I would do as much as I could, when I could, to protect her. “We fought Bernadetta Fiore and her coven. Stephen ran like a coward and took the jade cup. Though I was able to part him from the dagger.”
Ulfen’s knuckles cracked as he interlaced his fingers and stared at them, a mixture of anger and shame shaping his strong features. I felt sorry for him, but I hated Stephen regardless. He was a bastard and would pay for what he’d done to Damien.
“And the hybrid they created, what happened to it?” Travis asked.
“Toni killed him,” Eric answered, sparing me talking to the man.
Travis seemed to pull out his little assessing calculator once more, still tallying my worth. He looked slightly impressed, and I imagined my score going up on his card, which annoyed me. I didn’t even want him glancing in my direction, much less judging me.
“Well, then it seems there’s nothing more to fear from this godforsaken artifact.” He made a dismissive gesture toward the dagger.
“Except for the fact that this morning, we fought another hybrid,” Eric informed him.
Murmurs went around the room.
“So they made more? How many?” Craig asked, stroking his graying goatee.
Eric shook his head. “We don’t know. But all the stories, all the legends about their strength, are true. The creature survived a wolfsbane shot to the head. It took him down, but the beast healed and got back up. We thought it was dead. We should’ve decapitated it while it lay on the floor to make sure it would stay dead. We won’t make the same mistake again.”
My stomach twisted at the image of that monster’s neck spewing out blood.
“Let that be a warning for anyone who encounters a hybrid,” Eric said.
Jake’s grandfather cleared his throat and straightened in his chair. He had been listening in silence, observing everything with narrowed eyes, cold calculation shaping every slight twitch of his face.
“Stephen Erickson is a traitor,” he said. “And he should be treated as such.”
Ulfen balled his fists, his face going red with anger, but he said nothing in reply.
Yura nodded solemnly, her mouth turning down in a grave expression that made me wonder how traitors were meant to be treated.
Travis, Ulfen’s ally, intervened. “Let’s remember the new rules. A trial will be required to determine culpability.”
Walter huffed and reclined back on his chair, looking as if he’d tasted something sour.
Craig, the old man’s ally, spoke next. “The affair seems pretty cut-and-dry to me. Ms. Sunder’s testimony leaves me no doubt.”
“A trial will be required,” Travis repeated, raising his voice and surprising me with his fervor. He turned to Yura. “May you please remind everyone of how things work now.”
