Page 43 of Shifters Unifying

Nobody had said it aloud yet, but she’d gone missing, and she was believed to have succumbed to Acheron. She’d practically said as much before she disappeared.

None of that mattered.

If I dwelled too long, the gravity of everything threatened to knock me flat and becoming overwhelmed and useless wasn’t an option. Not for me. Not ever.

So, I continued. “While we’re at it, we might set them up with Shifter Lore: 101 with Dr. Wise. I don’t think any of them know anything, and it’d be nice to get them up to speed as quickly as possible.”

“Ye got it,” he said and stepped out of the car. “I’ll reach out to the good doctor.”

After wiping the moisture from my cheeks, I followed.

Jasper led the group to the old, converted warehouse behind the manor.

A grim-faced, naked Phil appeared from around the corner, walking quickly and carrying a smoldering stick which trailed smoke behind him.

I stepped into his path and placed my hand on his arm. “Where’s Logan?”

“He called a meeting at the Gathering Place.”

The news felt like a gut punch. “He what?”

“Called a meeting at the new Gathering Place.”

“Why?”

“When we were at the recently visible campsite, he discovered something about Acheron. I’m not sure what it was, but we were attacked by these creepy shadows. They rose up out of the ground and went after Logan, then he did some crazy magic shit.” He paused to run the back of his neck with his free hand. Slowly, his hand lowered, and he peered at me. “Something like you’ve done before. He beat them, but I don’t know how.”

That must have been what I’d felt through the bond. Could Logan tap into primal energy, too? If he could, we might be able to use that to finally turn the tables on jerkface Acheron.

“Can you take me there?” I asked.

Phil glanced toward the warehouse, as though weighing his options.

“What is it?”

“The shadow mages killed Theo, and we must release his magic back into the universe.”

Dammit.Another death.Because of me. How many more would die?

“May I attend?” I asked, softly. “I may be the multimorph, but we can head to the Gathering Place after we’ve laid your friend to rest.”

His eyes widened, probably surprised I was willing to wait to honor the dead. “It won’t take long. Minutes, usually.”

“I’ll be here for as long as it takes,” I murmured. “Should I change into something else?”

He shook his head. “All who attend remain unclothed to share their sorrow without hiding. They wear nothing but the honesty of their grief.” At my puzzled expression, he added, “Clothes are synonymous with hiding ourselves. In times past, shifters never wore clothes, except to hide among regular humans. Now the Death Rite is the only time we purposely clothe a shifter.”

I undressed quickly, tossing my clothes aside, not caring if I retrieved them or not. Then Phil continued the way he’d been going before I had stopped him, but slower this time, and I followed beside him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the Death Rite. What do I need to know?”

“Not much. The Death Rite is pretty simple. The deceased’s closest family attends, and we wrap the body in a shroudwhich represents all colors and comes from a relic inside the warehouse.”

“A relic?”

“The relic is a long cylinder, made of stone. When we take material from it, it creates more, sometimes quickly, sometimes not, as though the object itself knows when another death may occur. No one knows why. We don’t even know what the relic is called anymore. That knowledge has been lost for centuries.” He paused to clear his throat. “These days, most shifters don’t want to be cremated in the traditional Death Rite, choosing to be slowly returned to the earth instead, but this is what Theo wanted.”

“I’m glad you’re able to give him what he wanted,” I murmured.