Skulk of Foxes Read online

  Once the door closed behind her, I rested my head on my hands and cocked an eye up at Johannes. I knew that while his cooking might not tempt my palate, he was a fount of knowledge and, unlike Betsy, wouldn’t go opening his mouth to the others. I debated whether to pump him for more details on this afternoon’s revelations or not. It might save me a few hours of digging around in the library. “What do you know about wichtleins, J?”

  He looked up, somewhat appeased that I was asking him for information. “Scary bleeders those ones,” he said slowly. “Seen one ’ave ye?”

  I shook my head. “Just a…rumour.”

  He sat down across from me. “Wichtleins ur trouble. Mah grandfaither saw one once, doon the mines. Knocked three times befaur disappearing. He hud enough guid sense in ’im tae get the hell oot of Dodge. Less than ten minutes efter, the roof collapsed ’n twenty-three men were kill’t.”

  That fitted with what I’d originally thought. “So they stay underground?”

  “For the maist part. If’n ye see one on the surface thae, ye’d better skedaddle. ’Parently they on’y dae that when thair’s summat big abrewin’.”

  “What about tokens? Do they usually leave signs behind them?”

  “Thay like tha mines and th’underground, so often stanes.”

  “Stanes?” I was momentarily puzzled.

  “Aye, lass. Wee hard pebbles.”

  Oh, stones. Now I got it.

  Johannes regarded me gravely. “Stanes as smooth as silk and black as a witch’s heart. Find one o’ them and running for the hills willna do you ony guid. ’Cos then yer card’s marked.”

  But I hadn’t found the stone – John had. I pursed my lips, worried. Perhaps I should go after him just in case. I knew he could take care of himself but a harbinger of doom directed at him in particular was not good news.

  I thought of one more thing. “What about bits of material?”

  “Material? Nae that Ah’ve heard, lass.” He leaned back and folded his arms and frowned at me with a serious expression on his weathered face. “You teck care of yersel’ min’?”

  I nodded. I appreciated that he hadn’t asked me why I was suddenly so interested in wichtleins but the gnawing worry for John ate at me. “I don’t think I’ll be eating dinner after all, J.”

  Concern flickered in his eyes. “Aye, mebbe best not, love.”

  I stood up to leave. “It’s Mack.”

  He looked puzzled. “Eh?”

  “Never mind.”

  I headed for the door, checking the straps on my arms that held my daggers as I left. I did briefly consider picking up a bow and some silver-tipped arrows as well. The shifters wouldn’t go near silver, but it didn’t affect me and was a powerful weapon against anything not wholly of this world. Though chances were I’d make a mistake and end up hitting John himself instead. I was a mean shot, but I knew enough of the vagaries of prophecies of doom to know that they were as likely to come about by your attempted actions to stop them as anything else. Perhaps it had been clear that the wichtlein’s token wasn’t intended for John though, and I’d just missed it. He was at least as knowledgeable as Johannes, and would surely know how the stone worked, and therefore would have acted more appropriately concerned for himself if he’d believed that he was the target. He’d certainly been aware enough to appreciate that it was to be taken seriously. I mean, after all, he was calling the Brethren in for goodness’ sake. He wasn’t anyone’s fool.

  Yet despite taking the sudden appearance of the stone seriously, John hadn’t appeared that worried about his own safety this afternoon. He’d been laughing and joking around, in fact. I paused. Or had he? I tried to think whether it had been both of us laughing about the repeated bunny adventures or whether it had just been me. Dammit.

  I stopped to grab my trusty hunters’ backpack and leather jacket to stave off the cold night air on my way out. Hearing Julia moving about on the first floor, I called up the stairs to her. “Julia?”

  There were a few thumps and I could hear someone cursing. Her head eventually peered down from above the shiny first-floor banister. “Yes, dear?”

  “Something’s wrong. Where did John say he was going to?”

  My question hung in the air for a heartbeat and something flickered in her face. Fear?

  “He didn’t say.” There was another moment’s silence before she cleared her throat. “Should I muster the troops?” Her voice was quiet.

  I thought about it for a second. Perhaps I was just being paranoid. But if I wasn’t and John was really in danger, then he’d need all the help we could give him. I’d rather look like an idiot and have him safe than risk the fact that he might be hurt. Shifters might regenerate cells and heal at phenomenal speeds, but they were still more than capable of being mortally wounded.

  I flicked a serious glance at her. “That might be best. I’m going to head for the beach by the old cottages. Get the others to fan out from here and see if they can find him.”

  Julia lifted back her head and roared. It was unbelievable that such a small woman could create such a racket. Almost immediately the sounds of shifters running for the hall could be heard. I couldn’t wait even for them, though. The fire inside me was already rising with every moment that passed. I shrugged on my jacket, swung the pack on my shoulder and left.

  About the author

  After teaching English literature in the UK, Japan and Malaysia, Helen Harper left behind the world of education following the worldwide success of her Blood Destiny series of books. She is a professional member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and writes full time, thanking her lucky stars every day that's she lucky enough to do so!

  Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland.

  She currently lives in Devon in the UK with far too many cats – not to mention the dragons, fairies, demons, wizards and vampires that seem to keep appearing from nowhere.

  You can find out more by visiting Helen's website: http://helenharper.co.uk

  If you would like to subscribe for Helen’s email based newsletter to ensure you never miss a new release and get the chance to receive special content, you can sign up here.

  Other titles

  The complete Blood Destiny series

  Bloodfire

  Bloodmagic

  Bloodrage

  Blood Politics

  Bloodlust

  Blood Destiny Box Set (The complete series: Books 1 – 5)

  Also

  - Corrigan Fire

  - Corrigan Magic

  - Corrigan Rage

  -Corrigan Politics

  -Corrigan Lust

  The complete Bo Blackman series

  Dire Straits

  New Order

  High Stakes

  Red Angel

  Vigilante Vampire

  Dark Tomorrow

  The complete Highland Magic series

  Gifted Thief

  Honour Bound

  Veiled Threat

  Last Wish

  The complete Dreamweaver series

  Night Shade

  Night Terrors

  Night Lights

  Olympiana stand - alone

  Eros

  The complete Lazy Girl’s Guide To Magic series

  Slouch Witch

  Star Witch

  Spirit Witch

  Sparkle Witch

  Wraith stand-alone

  The Fractured Faery series

  Box of Frogs

  Quiver of Cobras

  Skulk of Foxes

 

 

 
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