“Meaning what?” Rowan asks.
“Meaning the bite carries more than just the werewolf virus. It carries dark magic.Forbiddenmagic.” Vyse straightens, brushing invisible dust from his sleeves. “Fortunately, all forms of magic leave a fingerprint. Each practitioner has their own. It’s how the Council traces crimes to culprits.”
“So youcantrace it?” I ask hopefully.
“Not from this alone.” He sounds almost disappointed. “This necromancer was clever. Knew how to cover his or her tracks. There are no obvious prints, and the body of the werewolf is—” He glances at Villeneuve. “—thoroughly incinerated. But if I encounter a similar energy signature in the field, I’ll be able to match it then.”
Rowan frowns. “What will that do? If you find the necromancer who raised the wolf, can you help Killian?”
Vyse turns to face him, and his expression grows serious. “Do you know why forbidden magic is forbidden?”
“Cuz… it’s bad?” Sean offers.
Vyse laughs. “Not quite, farm boy.”
“Because it can’t be undone,” I say quietly. “Not by anyone other than the caster.”
Vyse’s attention snaps to me. Surprise flickers across his features before he smooths it away. “Clever girl. A-plus on the pop quiz.”
He turns back to the group, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. “It’s not merely the distasteful act of raising the dead and all the ethical and practical conundrums that spawn from it that makes necromancy illegal. It’s the fact thatonlya necromancer can reverse his magic and free the affected soul from its bonds. Either willingly, or in death. Agents of the Council are powerless to break such curses, including yours truly.”
“And reanimated beings are notoriously difficult to kill,” Villeneuve adds somberly.
“Unless you happen to be a dragon, of course.” Vyse’s smile is sharp. “Lucky for us.”
Villeneuve might have saved this guy’s ass, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Vyse hates him.
The question is…why?
Micah’s brow furrows. “But who killed the werewolf in the first place? Before it was reanimated, I mean.”
“Dude, my brain hurts,” Sean groans, gripping his head.
“Nowthatis an interesting question.” Vyse moves toward the door. “One I’d very much like to know the answer to myself. But if we find the necromancer, we’ll probably find that out too. And since the witch who hired him is presently on the Council’s most wanted list, we’re going to have to go the old-fashioned route.”
“Wait,” I call to him before he can reach the door. “Is there anything we can do for Killian in the meantime?”
Vyse pauses at the threshold. “No. Keep him stable. I’ll be in touch.”
And then he’s gone, sweeping down the hallway with Villeneuve following to show him out. Or in the dragon’s words, “to make sure he fucking leaves.”
The room goes quiet.
“Dick,” Micah finally mutters.
“Massivedick,” Sean agrees.
Rowan is staring at the doorway with an expression I can’t read. “Do you think we can trust him?” he asks quietly.
“Vyse?” I shake my head. “Not even a little. But he’s our best option right now.”
“I meant Villeneuve.”
I purse my lips, thinking about the bond I still haven’t told them about. The thing that could shatter the tentative truce between wolves and dragon, and then we’ll never find a cure for Killian’s transformation.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “But right now, we don’t have much of a choice.”
Chapter
