Page 1 of The Tracker's Revenge

Chapter 1

The door to the agencyburst open, and Damien staggered into the room, swaying, his eyes rolling back and forth, disoriented. He collapsed to the floor, face first.

A great weight settled on my chest. Pain. Regret.

Rosalina and I rolled him onto his back and stared into his ashen, pain-twisted face.

Please, God, no.

A large hole was carved in his chest, the edges glowing with crackling magic—bones and sinew visible.

Damien. Damien!

Dread suffused my regret, coating it in a heavy layer.

“You’ll be all right.” Rosalina’s voice trembled with emotion. “Someone will be here soon to help you.”

I stared uselessly, hating myself. I had no healing abilities to help him, to save his life. Death hung over him, slowly lowering its shroud.

“Who did this?” I asked.

“M-midnight Witch,” Damien managed.

He didn’t know her, but she must have been powerful to do this to him.

“Can you heal yourself?”

His voice trembled. “Too... weak.”

Seconds ticked by like hours, like years. Damien’s breaths grew more ragged. No one was coming. No one to help as his life slipped away. It hurt so bad to be unable to do anything, to watch him wither.

He glanced pointedly toward his hand. It lay open and limp on the floor.

“What is it?” I asked.

He whispered a few words under his breath. A spell? Maybe he had enough strength to heal himself, after all. When he was done, he exhaled in relief.

“T-the cure,” he murmured.

I frowned and glanced toward his hand again. Two small vials that hadn’t been there before now rested on his palm. They shimmered with a clear liquid. They were accompanied by the coin-shaped carving he’d used to gain passage to Elf-hame.

“Make sure... my daughter gets it. Please. She must drink it all.”

I shook my head. “You’ll give it to her yourself.” My voice wavered with emotion, my hope slipping away.

“Promise.” He moved his hand a fraction to recall my attention to the vials.

I carefully took them and the token from his palm and stored them securely in the breast pocket of my jacket. “I promise.”

His entire body seemed to exhale with relief.

“The token is for you.”

I would’ve argued about him giving me something so valuable, but I didn’t have the heart, so I just nodded.

He turned to Rosalina.

“I wish... things would’ve turned out differently.”