Cassius paused, and Lord Damien supplied, “A creature. Something more terrible than even the Nestos or anything you might have encountered here.”
Thalia flicked her gaze to each member of the prince’s council. “And it dwells in the forest?”
Cassius hesitated, then nodded slowly. “It seemed to have spawned from Chaménos, but with Lucarius having been bitten here …”
Lucarius must have been the sick Vampyr he’d killed. “That’s why you were all so worried, traveling through the forest, why you were so adamant about being quiet?”
“The creature likes to hide in the forest. It makes it near impossible to find. Even our best trackers have difficulty pinning its exact location, and it seems to have a particular fondness for the environment,” Keegan said miserably.
“Can’t you stop it?”
Cassius shook his head. “We have tried, but when we have managed to stumble upon it, it is not easily killed. And those who’ve gone up against it …”
“Are they turned?”
Cassius met her stare. “Its bite causes Vampyrs to go mad. They become rabid, not knowing who or what they are, only that they must feed. But whatever is in the creature’s bite, once it’s in a Vampyr’s system, they can spread it to others.”
“That’s why you said that Julian and Francesca had endangered your people,” Thalia breathed out. “And why Lord Adrian let me go at the thought that his son would be turned into one.”
Cassius’s face hardened. “And it was a good thing he bought the lie.”
Thalia swallowed, her stomach twisting at the thought of what could have happened if the lord hadn’t believed Cassius. “Francesca said they were trying to find a cure. Is there one?”
The muscle in Cassius’s jaw flickered. “Not that we know of.”
Thalia shook her head, her mind whirling with too many questions. “You said the prince was looking for a cure up north with the Mages. Was the story about the barrier cracking even true?”
Cassius met her gaze, something like regret flashing over his features before it was gone. “A Magedidcast a spell to allow us to roam during the day, but no. The shield in place is fine.”
Thalia thought she’d be angry at Cassius for lying yet again, but only curiosity filled her stomach.
“You can’t kill the creature?” Thalia asked.
“Its hide is near impenetrable,” Keegan got out bitterly. “It uses the forest as its own personal battleground. But that’s not the worst we’re now facing.”
“What do you mean?”
Cassius finally sank down onto a chair. Heaviness lay around his shoulders, as if great millstones were wrapped around his neck. “It seems the creature has discovered a way to breed.”
Thalia’s stomach knotted. “Breed?”
“It has birthed or spawned two more of its kind. One was spotted near Cupisco,” Keegan supplied. “The one near Cupisco was small; a number of Vampyrs were able to bring it down, but not before a handful were bitten.”
Good gods.
“What happened to those who were bitten?” Thalia was almost afraid to ask.
Cassius met her gaze. “They were killed.”
Thalia’s heart stuttered, and she closed her eyes. When she finally opened them, Cassius studied her. “And there is no cure, truly?” she asked.
“The water from our sacred springs in Chaménos seems to slow the madness down. At least push off the inevitable for a few months,” Lord Damien said, his own frustration lacing his otherwise stoic demeanor.
“That’s why you really needed our rivers,” Thalia stated.
“Yes,” Cassius sighed. “The springs are the only thing that is giving us some hope that there might be a cure out there. If they dried up, the Vampyrs who’ve been bitten would succumb to their madness sooner and could very well spread it to others quicker.”
“Then why didn’t you tell my mother all this?”
