She frowns.“Spells?”
“Witches are rare since the murder of them on a mass scale,” I say.“It wasn’t just women who burned, it was wisdom, ancient wisdom.But they couldn’t kill them all, and some lived on, sending down their knowledge in ways that would not arouse suspicion when wise, healing women have been cast as evil by so many men for centuries.”
“Go on...”She tips her head.
“You obviously had an ancestor who was a very powerful, very wise witch, and she has given you the language of remembering.”
“Remembering.”
“Remembering things you have not been taught,” I say.
“You are now walking a path that was buried on purpose for you to find,” Elias goes on.“You’ve found it.You have found us and our world.”
“Wow.”She leans back and closes her eyes.“If it didn’t make sense, it would be outlandish, but it does.”She looks at me.“All those unexplained things that have happened.”
I nod.“Now you understand why.”
“It’s also why you were so easy for us to find,” Elias says.“Your scent is unique and I believe we were destined for each other.”
“Destined for each other?”She frowns.
“Maybe to stop these killings,” I say.“Have you had any dreams about them?”
“No, but I do have these.”She taps her phone.“My friend at the police department gave me these images of the victims.They’re not pretty but perhaps you’ll be able to make sense of them.”
She spins her phone to face us as we crowd close to study them.Elias’s scent fills my nose and his body heat radiates onto my shoulder.A tremble goes up my spine as a pile of memories floods my mind.So many times we’ve joined as one and found breath-stealing pleasure that made me forget the rest of the world even existed.
“Give me strength,” Elias mutters.“That’s savage.”
I look at the mauled bodies.The attacks had been brutal and frenzied.Claw marks, teeth marks, ripped flesh, and severed limbs.
Elias leans back and folds his arms.He’s paled a little.I do the same and beat down a wave of nausea.Nothing like this has happened for centuries.Ancient pacts exist for a reason.We do not hurt humans.Ever.
“What?”Maisey asks.“What are you thinking?”
“That this is no ordinary animal,” Elias says.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s not some escaped exotic pet, in fact, it’s more than one animal.”
“More than one?”
“Yes.”I point to the picture on the screen.“That’s the work of a bear, look at the size of the claw marks and the force behind the attack.”
“And this one...”Elias flicks the screen to the right.“Is a coyote.”
“Goddamn coyotes,” I mutter.Just their name makes my stomach lurch.
“Okay,” she says slowly.“So what does that mean?Two different animals.I mean, it’s not as if bears and coyote are common around here ...oh!”She slaps her hand over her mouth.
We wait for her brain to catch up with her mouth.
“They’re shifters.”She nods.“Aren’t they?”
“Yes.”Elias reaches for her hand.“And this has to stay underground, this information.The police can’t get involved.We will handle it ourselves.”
“But we have to go to the—”
