Her declaration startles me, and I can’t hide it.
Is she saying there are four bones?
One wand was difficult enough to destroy, let alone another three.
A smile flashes across her lips. “Oh, that shocked you. You didn’t know there were four bones, did you?”
Does this mean there are three more wands?
Oh, hell no.
She begins to pace around me, and for the first time since I landed here in the park, a shiver of apprehension runs the length of my spine.
This woman may have been overcome by grief only moments ago, but now she is sharply focused.
It feels like a very bad thing.
“I fear you’re out of your depth, Fury,” the woman says, stopping in front of me again. “Those bones can’t be controlled. Not by anyone. Whatever you’re doing with the one you possess, you’ll only come to regret it.”
My jaw clenches. It sounds like she’s warning me, but again, any reply I make will only give her information.
Desperately, I try to sense her intentions, but I come up blank. Where humans and other supernaturals are open books to me, this woman is closed off. The harder I try to sense her thoughts and memories, the more my mind fills with the memory of fire and ash.
My choices now are to either hurry away from this place or… to take a chance.
I choose my words carefully. “If I had this bone, what would you tell me to do with it?”
“Rid yourself of it!” She darts closer to me, her eyes wide and her voice earnest. “It will only bring you pain.”
I allow a cynical smile to form on my lips. “I suppose you would suggest I give it to you instead.”
“No! A creature like me must never possess any of Typhon’s bones.” Her hand closes around my arm. If it wasn’t for the suit covering my skin, I’m certain her fingernails would claw me.
I’m not alarmed. My snakes are ready.
“A creature like you?” I ask. “What sort of creature is that?”
I expect her to delight in the fact that I haven’t figured her out, but instead, the corners of her mouth turn down. “A wretched one,” she says, tears glistening in her eyes. “Those bones hurt my family long ago. If you have held one, then it means they’re out in the open again.”
Her shoulders slump, and her hand slips away from my arm. “They will tear others apart, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it… Not even me. I couldn’t even protect the ones I loved the most.”
She moves away from me and reaches for the nearly empty bottle on the ground, bringing it to her lips and draining the remaining liquid from it.
I take another chance, watching her reaction carefully. “There is hope. The bone I held was destroyed.”
Her forehead creases as she looks back at me. “Not possible.”
“I saw it happen.”
“Then your eyes deceived you.” Her expression is despondent, and her claim unnerves me.
I saw the bone burn in the fire of Striker’s heart. I know it was destroyed.
Before I can demand answers from the woman, her eyes glaze over, her focus becoming dull and fixated on the statue.
“Pretty rock…” she mumbles, stumbling toward it.
Damn. Whatever was in that bottle must not have been regular alcohol. Many supernaturals aren’t easily affected by human liquor, so they seek out substances to enhance the effects. I can’t smell anything in the air that would tell me the liquid dripping across the statue was laced with something, but some substances are colorless and odorless.
