Page 27 of Shifters Unifying (Shifters Destiny: Willow Creek Shifters #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

emma

Logan lifted Marcus into the air, body slammed the big cat onto his back, and he rammed his forehead into Marcus’s nose. A sickening crack made me wince.

Marcus convulsed as he tried to refill his lungs with oxygen. Blood already streaked his face, pouring from his nose, and he coughed out a mouthful. He landed a right hook to Logan’s jaw, and Logan brought his elbow down on Marcus’s cheek.

The two wrestled across the ground, grappling for dominance and spitting nonstop expletives and accusations. At least neither of them had drawn on their magic.

“Of all the ridiculous…” I was now too furious with both of them to form any kind of sensible end to my angry thought. They were both leaders of their clans, and they were acting like badly behaved children. “Fine. Figure it out, but don’t ask me to heal either of you when you’re done.”

From the other end of the deciduous gym, Salali came running. “Multimorph! What should we do?”

“Leave them,” I said, biting back the stream of colorful language I wanted to unleash.

“For some animals, the pecking order must be established before a truce can be called. Let them work it out.” To be honest, East Nuttal was probably the only place their fight could happen without interference from other members of Six-Mile or Ville Platte.

“But if they want healing after, they’ll have to shift or go back to their own packs to get it. ”

Salali stopped short with a frown on her face. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. Thank you, Salali.” As the multimorph, I’d decided. As Logan’s mate, I’d probably regret my decision later.

Despite the uncertain look on her face, she nodded.

“If they’re still at it in an hour, I’ll grab them by the scruffs of their necks and stop them,” I added.

“Meanwhile, Dr. Wise and I have some information to review.” I watched the two alphas a minute longer before turning to Dr. Wise.

I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “They’re probably going to be at that a while, and I don’t have the time or the energy to referee a couple of shifters behaving like warring toddlers, fighting over toys.

Would you like to step into my temporary office? ”

Dr. Wise’s mouth twitched. “Warring toddlers fighting over toys?”

“What would you call them?”

“Toddlers seems fitting. At least currently.” She studied them, as though she was taking mental notes. “Hopefully, they work it out before they kill each other.”

“Hopefully,” I agreed and waved her ahead of me. “Shall we?”

She followed me inside. “Not much of a room, is it? Tech or otherwise.”

I closed the door and warded the space once more, glad to mute the painful sounds of Marcus and Logan’s fight. “I have strong doubts that either of these desktops work, but we have a table and two chairs. Were you able to bring the jump drive and my laptop?”

“Yes.” She placed her briefcase on the folding table and pulled both from inside. “I believe I prefer conducting research in Six-Mile.”

“Nevertheless, this is what we have, and I don’t have a lot of time,” I said. “We’ll have to start our review. What did you want me to see?”

She pulled out her own laptop, placed it on the table, and put the flash drive in the USB slot.

She opened several files, scanned copies of texts in fragments of parchments she’d been cataloging.

She pointed to a section and highlighted it.

“I found mention of another relic that’s meant to link all of the shifters together. ”

She read, dragging her finger across the screen.

“In the moonlight, accept the fight.

In the moonlight, colors burn bright.

In the moonlight, all become one.

In the moonlight, the battle won.”

She toggled to another screen, a drawing of a hewn, cube-shaped rock with multiple colors streaming into it, and one beam streaming out of it.

On the other side of the sketch, a figure laid on the ground beneath the Magnolia tree, probably the one from the previous conclave location.

Another screen showed a similar etching, badly deteriorated.

“This is referenced several times, in several different places, each time a drawing seems to accompany the verse. In the surviving texts from the last emergence, several notes imply that this was used by the multimorph, but I have little additional information on the how or why or where.” She selected another window.

“But it seems this could also be used for evil. It may be the only reason Acheron has not come against us in full force. If he uses it, I believe he’ll be able to force all shifters into subjection to his bidding. ”

“Perhaps his attacks are meant to distract us while he searches for the relic himself.”

“Likely,” she said.

“Do we know anything about what might happen if he finds it before we do?”

She shook her head. The folding chair creaked as she leaned back. “I haven’t been able to find anything.”

“Does that mean it’s never happened?”

She sighed. “I’d like to think so.”

“Why didn’t more information survive until now?”

Dr. Wise made a face and pressed her glasses up her nose.

“At some point after the last multimorph emergence, the packs and prides separated. Each one became more secretive, concerned with keeping as much power for themselves as possible. Much of the information was destroyed during that time. I call it the dark times.”

Dark times…

The words hung heavily in the room. Unifying the clans was my job, but if Marcus and Logan were any indication, we were a hair’s breadth away from living through our own dark times. If we fractured now, we’d be ripe for Acheron’s picking.

“Is this relic back in Six-Mile?” I asked. Though, I had a suspicion I already knew the answer. What were the odds… All the pieces coming together…

“According to what I’ve been able to piece together, I don’t think so. Nothing in the relic storeroom there matches the descriptions or the drawings I’ve been able to find.”

“And you’ve rechecked recently?”

“That’s where I was when Logan found me and said you wanted to see me.”

I pressed the smooth pendant between my palms, the inset rubies felt like smooth pebbled against my skin. “Is that so?” Gingerly, I laid the pendant on the table. “I might know where another trove exists.”

Dr. Wise blinked. Her eyebrows knit together as she studied the red-eyed bat, and she scooped the bat from the table and smoothed her thumb over the gold surface. “It resembles a relic from one of the partial lists I have. Where did you come across that?”

“It was a gift.”

“A gift? From whom?”

“An unlikely source,” I said, not yet willing to divulge how Marcus came across the pendant or why he’d given it to me. That had to be his story to tell.

“Did they say where they found it?”

“Deep in the only cave in Louisiana.”

“Wolf Moon Cave?” she breathed. “Someone reached the back of it? They closed it off over fifty years ago.”

The name seared my mind, and a shiver tripped down my spine as though destinies might be changed there. I rubbed my suddenly sweaty hands over my thighs. “That’d be the one. He said there were booby traps, but I don’t know what kind.”

Her expression softened as though she stared into the lengthy history of shifters in Louisiana. “Do you know why it’s called Wolf Moon Cave?”

“I’m afraid I’m not up to date on the history of that area. Most of my historical knowledge is limited to Willow Creek and Magnolia State Park.”

She smiled. “That’s where you learned you could shift, wasn’t it?

Magnolia State Park?” After I nodded, she continued.

“Long ago, the family who owned the cave was rumored to be wolf shifters or maybe bat shifters. Newspaper articles from the time mention both. Many historians believe it was a ploy to drive traffic to the cave, but I’m inclined to believe they really were shifters. ”

I scrunched my nose, recalling all the vampire movies I’d seen in my lifetime. “So… Bat shifters? Wouldn’t that make them vampires?”

She chuckled. “No, the one does not equal the other. Though, vampires can sometimes change into bats. I believe the family was probably wolf shifters, hence the name of the cave. As they intermarried with humans, the genetic ability to shift diluted, resulting in the idea that the wolves have since died out of the area. The cave is under state management now.”

“So, vampires are real, too?” I asked, suddenly feeling more overwhelmed by everything I didn’t know about the hidden world around us. “Anything else I should know about?”

She returned the pendant to me. “Probably lots of things, but none of it affects your task as the multimorph. Just know that if there’s a legend about something, it was probably real at one time and may be real now.

Although, shifters are the most common, most others are far less common.

I know of only one vampire coven in Europe.

Though, my lack of research on the topic doesn’t mean there aren’t more. ”

It was my turn to chuckle over the absurdity of it all. “So, apparently, the family who used to own Wolf Moon Cave used to be much like Six-Mile, right down to the treasure trove.”

Her eyes gleamed. “If the existence of the trove is true, there must be a wealth of information inside. We should visit and try to reach the back.”

I shook my head. “Once Acheron’s defeated, we can work on whatever other relics might be in Wolf Moon Cave. Otherwise, we only need the one, and I’d rather beg for forgiveness for trespassing than seek permission to enter. That means I’ll be the only one to go.”

Dr. Wise frowned. “You can’t go alone. Too risky.”

“You have a point.” I crossed my arms, thinking. “I won’t go alone, but too many shifters will arouse suspicion, and we can’t let Acheron know what we’re up to.” The battle at the cabin replayed in my mind. “I’ll take one shifter with me.”

Logan’s going to lose his damn mind.

When we exited the back room a short time later, Logan and Marcus were sitting on the ground in the middle of the sparring circle, panting, covered in sweaty mud, but no longer fighting.

Both Marcus and Logan looked bruised, beaten, and broken.

Cuts striped their faces, and Logan had a black eye.

Marcus had two. I doubted either could see through their swollen eyes.

The metallic smell of blood hit me, and I shook my head.

A large audience of squirrel shifters milled around behind them, including the Izzie, John, Oliver, and Blaze, the newbies I’d found in Willow Creek and Salali’s best squirrel warriors.

Each one trying to pretend they weren’t there for the epic battle between two of the strongest alphas in Louisiana, all secretly hoping the war would resume. I glared at anyone who met my gaze.

Finally, I crossed my arms and cleared my throat. “Good to see you two have worked your way to a better mood. I won’t ask who won.”

They both clamored to their feet and rushed toward me.

“It was a stalemate,” Logan said, leaning close to my ear. “First of my life.”

“Mine, too,” Marcus murmured.

“Well, hurry up and shift,” I commanded, lifting my chin. “I’ve got to make a trip to make, and we need to talk.” Logan started to argue, but I rushed on. “Not here.”

Logan bit down on whatever else he was going to say so hard his teeth clicked.

Marcus bowed slightly. “As you wish, Multimorph.”

All around, the squirrel shifters chittered and barked, a cacophony of noise as the magic filled the space. They both shifted and reformed as men, not whole but in better shape than they’d been.

The crowd split, and Salali approached. “Seems they’ve worked it out. The multimorph is wise.”

I said nothing but flashed a small smile to my new ally.

Salali was the first alpha, the first shifter I’d met who accepted my position without challenge.

It was more than refreshing, it was a relief.

Behind her, Izzie and Blaze waved, and I winked in response as Salali shooed the group out of the structure.

“Would you like to eat, Emma?” Salali asked after the others had gone. “We can have something prepared. A feast in your honor?”

“No, I’m going to take Logan back to my drey. We have things we need to discuss.”

Salali gasped. “But we haven’t widened the door.”

“I know a contractor who can figure it out.”

Logan frowned.

I turned to Marcus. “I’m sure the alpha of Ville Platte would enjoy a meal before he takes his leave.”

“And a healer, if you have one,” he added.

“You’ll have to shift yourself well,” I answered harshly. “Salali will explain why.”

She blanched, but she nodded to Marcus. “This way, alpha. We’ll begin the preparations.”