“Everyonecould die this time,” Edith says slowly, sounding terrified.
I can’t blame her. Bea is here, and her foster parents just arrived.
They’re the only family she has left.
“I know,” I say gravely. “That’s why I have a backup plan.” I turn to Val. “You know the lupine canisters we carry in case a berserkr student loses control?” When she nods, I continue, “Well, I have an idea. Since we can’t be certain the killer won’t attack the dance, what if we had a larger canister of lupine gas?”
“Kind of like tear gas?” Edith asks. “What about the berserkir?”
Val nods. “That could definitely work. Lupine gas only causes mild irritation in humans, even berserkir, unless they’re transformed. Which the killer will be if they’re going to attack the dance.”
“Exactly.”
Edith worries her lower lip. “Even so, I think we should warn the other berserkir. At the very least, I want Tala, Isaac, and Kris toknow.”
“Fine,” Val adds. “Butonlythose three, or else the killer could get wind of our plan.”
Edith doesn’t seem happy about it, but she agrees.
“We’ll tell them everything in Heightened Senses tomorrow,” I finish. “But first I have to speak with my father.”
I head for Father’s office next. There’s still something I need his help with. I knock on the door, only to realize it’s already cracked open. Father is leaned over his desk, a map of Skallagrim’s campus spread over it, along with floor plans for the gymnasium. He looks haggard, exhausted in a way I’ve never seen before.
I hesitate, trying to find my resolve to finally confront him. Talking to him isn’t as easy as Helga made it sound. The door creaks, betraying my presence.
Father looks up, frowning. “What is it, Amund?”
“I had an idea.” I head inside his office, unclipping the berserkr spray I carry with me at all times and place it on his desk. “What if we made a much larger version of this for the Unity Celebration in case the killer decides to attack?”
Father picks up the spray. “You want to create our own tear gas?”
I nod. “But we’re going to need a lot of lupine.”
He sets the spray down before walking over to a cabinet nearby. He pulls the doors open, revealing shelves upon shelves of vials filled with purple liquid. Concentrated lupine extract. There must be hundreds in there.
Father grins. “Will this be enough?”
We get to work, grabbing some vials and an assortment of bottles. Father removes a large metal cylinder from his wall of weapons and sets it down on the table. “In my spare time, I’ve been working ondifferent methods of dealing with our wild berserkir problem.”
“Is that a grenade?” I ask.
“Only a tear-gas grenade.” He unscrews the lid. “Don’t worry, it’s empty. We can create a tear-gas-like mixture using the concentrated lupine extract and some seiðr. You had an excellent idea, son. You should be proud.”
I have to fight a smile. “Thank you.”
As he gets to work on the mixture, I decide now is as good a time as any. He seems to be in a pleasant mood. And Helga is right: I have to talk to him. I can’t avoid acknowledging this forever.
“Helga mentioned something interesting to me earlier,” I begin. “She said that you’re a seer.”
Father pauses. Looks up at me. “Is that so?”
“Why didn’t you justtellme?” I ask, meeting his gaze.
He looks away, his brow furrowing as he empties one of the vials into a flask. “Honestly? Because I’m ashamed of what I am.”
Whatever I expected, it wasn’tthat. I stare at him.
I know that feeling all too well. For years now I’ve felt ashamed of being a hunter.
