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“If she’s spying for Eli, that’ll give everything away.”
“She hasn’t left pack territory, hasn’t made one phone call other than the ones we’ve asked her to make,” Perdita said. “She helped defend the pack during your first shift, in your place. She stood with you when you confronted Eli and his friends. I think we can trust her. If not to be a mother figure, then at least to be an ally.”
I considered her advice. It wouldn’t hurt to have some insight from a real harbinger. “All right,” I said. “I'll try my best to include her.”
“She’s at Byron’s place right now. You could pop over today and make a start. Dorian won’t be back for a bit, but I’ll get him to walk you home.”
I hesitated. “Is Amelia there?”
She smiled at my reticence. “I won’t force you. It’s a suggestion.”
It made sense to get as much information from Vira as possible.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll make an effort.”
We soon headed back towards pack territory. I pushed the pram while Perdita called Amelia to explain the situation. Diane was awake, making soft noises of complaint as though she knew the wrong person was pushing her.
“She’s grumpy today,” Perdita said, lovingly tucking the blankets around Diane after she finished her call. “You can drop straight in to see Amelia. Vira will be there, too.”
On the way, we bumped into a couple of pack members who greeted me as warmly as they greeted Perdita. Though both of us were forgotten once they peered into the pram.
“You should go ahead,” Perdita said wryly. “This could take a while.”
I braced myself once I reached Byron’s door, but Amelia opened it before I was ready then bustled me inside. Soon, I was sitting in a chair next to Amelia in Byron’s kitchen, facing my birth mother who stared back at me with a blank expression.
“Are you sure about this?” Amelia asked under her breath.
“No, but let’s do it anyway. She’s the closest thing we have to a real harbinger, remember?”
Vira heaved out a sigh. “I know you’re worried, but can you not whisper about me right in front of my face?”
“Sorry,” I said. “Eli is your brother, and we’re here to talk about our secrets. It makes us nervous.”
“I understand that,” Vira said. “But I promised to stand against him, and I have. I’ll tell you anything I know, but it may not be enough.”
“Well, here’s what we know,” Amelia said. “Eli is a harbinger who has been practising the use of death as a weapon. We don’t know exactly what he can do, but he’s teaching his methods to other harbingers who are nowhere near as strong as him. This leads me to the most important point. He draws power from spirits, but why are they attached to him? Why don’t other harbingers have the same skillset?”
“What’s different about Eli?” I asked Vira.
“He has no conscience,” she said. “He has been working on this for a long time. He’s desperate for power.” She bowed her head. “And he’s a murderer.”
“Of more than one person?” Amelia asked.
“It’s possible,” Vira admitted. “There have been disappearances over the years. People who have wronged him, mostly. He loves to bear a grudge. There have been rumours, but it’s so unthinkable that nobody has confronted him. We may seem like the enemy, but we don’t freely murder. We stay in the compound and avoid those kinds of conflicts.”
“Does Eli stay in the compound?” I asked.
She hesitated. “He used to travel. Said it was on the Elders’ command, but I don’t know what he was working on. It stopped suddenly, and he never explained what happened, but I got the sense he was in trouble. Maybe he hurt somebody?”
“That could be it then,” Amelia said. “He’s a murderer. He’s not afraid to use death against others. What if harbingers who murder end up with spirits attached to them?”
I thought of her spirit guide and the way I had become a shifter. A wolf spirit had been waiting for me. It wasn’t a huge leap to get to Amelia’s suggestion.
“What if they don’t even know it’s happening?” Amelia continued. “What if that’s what makes them lose their minds?”
“What are you saying?” Vira asked.
“Think about it. The old days and your laws or whatever. They say we’re dangerous, right? Your people either died or went mad when they came after werewolves. What if it’s because when your people murdered our kind, they got stuck with a vengeful wolf spirit for the rest of their lives?” Amelia stopped walking. “What if your ancestors’ warnings about us being dangerous weren’t an encouragement to keep us culled? What if they were a warning to stop?”
