Chapter 20

20

VIOLET

Not only have I just shown a group of humans my aggressive hybrid face, but I've also demonstrated how fast I can move. One moment, I'm arguing with them about semantics, the next, they hear the bell over the door tinkle as it closes behind a blur of hybrid movement.

The guy across the street must know I spotted him because he's already moving away at equal speed to me. He is a shifter. All feline or canine shifter types move exceptionally fast, and this one's no exception. This must be the shifter from last night. There's no other explanation.

Our vantage point in the window allowed us to study passersby, but I never expected one to stop and stare. If the guy wants to talk, why not approach? Well, many reasons, including my violent reputation, and he's a shifter who attacked my friend.

A wolf shifter in human form would beat a human sprinter's land speed records and also equal me, but once he shifts, I'll struggle to catch him. Behind, Leif and Grayson call my name, and, when I don't stop, Grayson catches up.

"Don't follow him into the woods," he says, swiveling to face me and blocking my route.

"Why? He's a suspect."

"Who could be leading you into a trap," Grayson calls, as I deftly sidestep him and continue my sprint to the park.

Grayson's move blocked my view of the guy for only a moment, but enough that he's sprinted out of sight. He must've run into the woods—escaping me by charging through the town in wolf form would lead to trouble, and possibly a stint in a cage in an animal control center.

"Track him," I demand as Grayson catches up to me again.

"Violet. Stop. Wait for the others."

Rain soaked the lawns at the edge of the woods earlier, and I smile that this time the weather will aid me. I can track him—via footprints in the mud. "If he's leading me somewhere again, I want to follow."

Again, I sprint away from Grayson who swears and catches up to me a second time."Violet!"

"I can't let this person disappear," I say. "He's connected to Holly."

"Slow down slightly. If the guy is taking us to an ambush, I'd like prior warning." He scratches a damp cheek. "And if the shifter scent grows stronger, that means there could be more than one, and we definitely stop."

Neither of us pause as the conversation continues, and I'm forced to slow in order to follow the imprints that change from sneakers to wolf paws. I forge on as Grayson calls the others on his phone and tells them to meet us back at the academy "while I deal with her latest crazy move". I huff to myself but don't reply.

The weather brings darkness earlier than normal this evening as our long day moves towards dusk. Rowan and Leif couldn't assist in the dark, anyway.

Grayson bumps into me as I stop and slant my head. "The guy isn't headed back to the crime scene. Prints lead further into the woods."

"No, Violet. We've lost him."

"No, Grayson. We have not. Is there anywhere nearby where he might choose to leave the woods again?"

"This direction leads to the fields that cross to the estate outside town."

"Not towards the shifter settlements or the lake?" I ask. "Perhaps he lives in one of the human houses."

"If the guy does, he's unlikely to wander along the streets shifted." Grayson lifts his head and pulls a face. "The wind is in the wrong direction. Unless the guy's bleeding again, I'll struggle to sense which way he ran."

"And is there any other location to hide between here and the housing estate?" I ask, slowing in annoyance. "Abandoned house? Cave?"

"Nothing."

The tracks continue, and our trip through the woods doesn't end. I've never explored the area fully, unaware how much the woodland dominates this part of the locality. I'm on the verge of stopping after losing the tracks in the thickened vegetation, when I spot human footprints again. Footprints that indicate he paused and walked around the tree.

"Interesting." I circle the trunk, a large oak tree, examining every inch of the bark. "Grayson!"

A hollowed part of the old trunk is large enough to place items in, and I crouch down, patting the inside.

"Anything?" asks Grayson.

I shake my head. "Oh. Wait." Not in the trunk, but something out of place pokes out from the dense briar bushes beneath the tree. Ignoring the thorns prickling my hands, I pull out a small, rectangular card, which almost snaps in my grip.

"Thornwood ID card." I clench my jaw. "Holly's."

"Huh?" Grayson takes the card from me. "How?"

"A trophy perhaps?" I say through gritted teeth and drop to my knees, dragging through the bushes for other items. An empty wrapper from an energy bar. Loose coins. "The shifter grabbed a bag that wasn't fastened properly. Items fell out." I pass my discoveries to Grayson. "Rowan could use psychometry."

"The shifter must live or be staying locally," says Grayson. "He obviously has knowledge about the woods because he lost us and has a place to stash his gear. Spare clothes, I'll bet."

"Clothes!" My eyes brighten. "Why didn't I think? If he shifted, his original clothes must be somewhere in the woods."

Grayson gawks. "You want us to search the woods for discarded clothes? We've no idea where the guy left them."

"Where his footprints change from human to wolf?" I suggest. "We may've lost the shifter's trail, but if we locate items he wore, Rowan's psychometry can definitely help."

Although I'm tempted to run onward through the woods to look for the shifter, if we find the discarded clothing, we'll have physical clues and a better chance of discovering more.

But after half an hour, even I'm growing doubtful that we'll locate him.

Grayson remains silent as we retrace our steps, but the ongoing rain doesn't help as the soft ground covers with puddles. I enjoy that rain dominates the local weather conditions, but not when a new downpour soaks the mud and makes my detective life difficult. We're forced to trace our steps by memory, frustratingly so since the shifter veered off the makeshift path.

To me, trees are trees and undiscernible from each other. Grayson knows the woods better than me from years using the shortcut to town but spent more time passing through than pausing to admire nature.

"How far ahead of you was the shifter?" asks Grayson. "Far enough to pause and hide his clothes without you catching up?"

"I doubt that," I retort. "Perhaps his jacket and shirt, but I can't imagine he'd succeed in removing his pants while running. If the guy paused, I would've found him."

My phone sounds an alert, again. I've ignored several over the last half hour, focused on something much more important.

"Oh." I scrunch my face up at the screen and pause.

"Who messaged you?"

"Rowan. Then Dorian. Then Leif. Then Dorian three more times. Then Rowan." I look up at Grayson. "Dorian's at the academy, and he's pissed."

Grayson's face takes on the pallor my father's name usually prompts in him. "About Holly?"

"In a way." I straighten and place the phone back in my pocket.

"You haven't spoken to Dorian today!" Grayson snatches my sleeve, utter horror on his face. "Violet! Why?"

I pivot to face him. "In case he arrived, took Holly, or did something that might hurt her."

"Dorian knows not to hurt a human, Violet."

I take a ragged breath. I've fought this decision since I encountered Holly's body, as my care for Holly tore at my duty to tell my father. My hospital visit never gave me an answer to my greatest question, and the answer could threaten Holly's life further if Dorian gets to her before I do.

"What if Holly isn't human anymore?" I whisper. "I never got close enough to tell."

"The hospital would know." Grayson draws me to him, and I tense as his arms surround me.

"Not if she's a construct. You know that from Oz's experience—they took him to the hospital. Holly's body would function as normal, apart from her mind." My voice muffles against his jacket as the thoughts I've stomped on over and over snake into my mind. "Only supes would know."

My voice grows smaller, and I blink away the unfamiliarity of tears. "And if she isn't a construct, Holly is still in danger. If my father hears about the shifter connection and hypothesizes that this links to Viktor or the plot against him, Dorian's priority will be to get all the evidence he can. Quickly. From Holly."

Grayson's silence confirms that I made the correct decision, however much trouble this will cause for me. Holly's life hangs in the balance because, if she isn't affected by supernatural interference in her mind now, she soon will be. The fragile girl, lying in a hospital bed who's fed everything her human body needs to fix her broken body, could have her mind broken too.

By Dorian and his men exploring with magic.

I pull away and rub at the tears on Grayson's jacket, glad the rain camouflages them. "Change of plan."

"Yeah. We go to Dorian. Blood runes. Now."

"No. We return to the hospital and check out Holly. Properly." Controlled, considered thoughts ease their way back in as my brain resumes normal patterns.

"And how do we get past the detectives?" asks Grayson. "No way can you use mind magic on them without getting caught."

I smile, and Grayson sighs, knowing the triumph in my look. "I won't need to. The detectives are with my father."