Page 89 of Hunter

“Last time I was in the catacombs with Quint, they did some kind of blood magick.”

“My brother has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, doesn’t he?”

“It was Gabriella. She’s a witch. Was a witch,” Hunter corrected. “Lost her magick. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. They did this thing. Mixed their blood. Put it on this symbol and bam. Just like that, it worked. First bone found.”

“Bone.” Viktor laughed. “I could use one of those.”

“You’re like a fucking teenager.”

Willa laughed in response and quickly recovered. “There are too many symbols carved on these walls. We’d be here all day. If Ilsbeth says that knife helped create the book, maybe it does something else. Something special.”

“I think you should hold it. It’s tied to the origin of the wolves. Like it or not someone took the skin of a royal and made this book. You’re the key, Willa.”

“I’ll try. But for the record, I’m setting the bar low because I’m no witch. Believe me, I’d cut open my own hand and spill blood to find it, but I don’t think it’s going to work.” Willa stretched out her palm, breathing deeply as Hunter placed the knife into her hand. Her fingers wrapped around its hilt; a slow foreign energy danced over her skin but quickly dissipated. “I don’t know. I thought I felt a little something, but it’s gone now.”

“I’ve seen one before,” Viktor said casually.

“Seen what?” Hunter replied.

“A skin book. It was a phase in the sixteen hundreds, you know. Miss ole Ma? Wrap her up in a book and keep her forever.”

“Ew.” Willa shook her head, gooseflesh erupting over her skin at the thought of it. “I heard humans did that but just no. I don’t care if it was in fashion. Not cool. Just sayin’.”

“I’m with Wills on this one.”

“Some had good intentions. Doctors bound them too. Perhaps a thankful send off into Heaven.”

“Or Hell,” Hunter added.

Willa nodded. “It doesn’t surprise me. Humans. As much as I care for them, they are capable of so much destruction. Evil.”

“One hundred percent,” Viktor agreed. “And we’re the monsters? Hardly. Vampires are simply hungry. Not all of us kill. We give you the best orgasm you’ll ever get. You wash my back…I’ll wash your whole body.”

“Hunter’s right. There’s something wrong with you.” Willa rolled her eyes.

“War. Genocide. Torture. Even remote civilizations engaged in cannibalism. Makes skin books look like fairy dust.” Hunter sighed and glanced to the knife. “Maybe you need to concentrate on it.”

“Flaying was a common punishment. The skin displayed for all to see.”

“Got it Vik. I think we’re good on the history lesson,” Hunter told him.

Willa rooted her feet to the rocky earth. “Whoever decided to hide the skin book here may or may not have known I’d come looking for it. Ilsbeth said researchers found it in the 1970s. Something about a curse. But maybe they weren’t researchers. Could’ve been pirates looking to steal artifacts. Happens all the time.”

“It’s possible,” Hunter agreed.

Viktor sniffed into the air. “There’s no other scent but humans since we arrived. There’s you two, of course, but your scent is fresh. Unique to me.”

“I don’t want to know,” Hunter responded.

“He means that…” Willa attempted to explain.

“Nope. I’m good. Pretty sure what he means.”

“Humans. Their scent. Their blood. It’s distinctive. The scent of wolves is…earthy. Yes, I do believe earthy is the correct word.”

“We’re not a couple of crunchy hippies.”

“Nothing wrong with earthy. The blood is so…organic.”