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"Well, in case you haven't picked up on it until now, things have beenamisswith Elspeth for a while now."
"This is different. It felt like our coven bond had weakened, and I was afraid if we didn't find her, our bond would break."
"Did you check the garden?"
"Yes, and the streets near her apartment building. While we were searching, we heard that the priest had told you to come here, so we came to find you."
Blair taps her nose and interjects. "We thought that your nose might help us to track Elspeth down faster than if we just kept trying to trace her with magic ourselves."
"This isnotgood," I say as I stand up and hold the flower tightly in my hand.
"Yeah, we know," Sybil agrees. "We fear that the dark magic may have taken over Elspeth completely, and if so, we may never find her."
"I don't think she would just abandon her coven, do you?" I ask.
Sybil shrugs. "It depends on how much influence the dark magic has over her. But if she doesn't return, then our power will disappear. And that won't be good for the supernaturals in the city."
I don't need to be reminded of that of the fact that this whole little quest will all be for nothing if I can't get the flower to Elspeth in time. That stupid priest didn't even tell me what I'm supposed to do with the flower once I find her. Am I supposed to just hand it to her? Or try and shove the blossom in her mouth? I'm getting frustrated about the lack of clear answers.
"Come on," I say as I motion for them to follow me.
"Where are we going?"
"I'm going to enlist the help of the entire pack to track her down. We don't have any time to waste."
When we reach the den, every shifter is willing to help, even those who were put off the first time Elspeth visited me. Now things are different, and everyone treats her like one of us. Within minutes, the wolves are searching the city for her.
But after hours of searching, we still can't find her.
"We've scoured the city," Gregory says, winded from the hours of constant running and sniffing. "There's no sign or scent of her to be found."
"That's impossible," I say in frustration. "She has to be here somewhere."
I turn to the witches and they stare back at me with blank faces. They are just as confused as I am.
"You guys can't use magic to teleport to other places in the world, can you?" I ask, knowing it's a longshot. If my wolves say that there's no trace of Elspeth in the city, I believe them.
"We can't," Blair says. "But the limits of dark magic are different. There's no telling what Elspeth has learned to do by now. She's been stuck in her apartment with her nose in her grandmother's grimoire."
"I don't think she could have gone outside the city using magic," Sybil says, sounding like the voice of reason. "But what if there was a placeinsidethe city where your wolves couldn't detect her scent?"
"Like where?" Gregory asks. "We can pick up a scent through just about any material from miles away. Even if she was in the underground sewer system, we would still be able to track her."
"Or if she was on the subway train, or in a crowded public market, or on the top floor of high-rise building," Renna adds. "There's nowhere we wouldn't be able to track her."
Just as she says that, an idea hits me. Maybe thereissomewhere the werewolves wouldn't be able to pick up a scent—a place where we aren't welcome and don't like to go anyway.
"What is it?" Gregory asks, recognizing the look on my face. "Do you know where Elspeth might be?"
I nod.
"I think we might need to pay my friend the priest another visit."
20
ELSPETH
Ihave no idea why I am drawn out of my apartment and toward the cathedral. I've never once set foot in there. But when I arrive at the entrance to the church, I am startled to find a strange-looking priest staring at me, as if he has been waiting for me.
