Heidel spoke up. “I’ll speak with him,” she said.
“Good. Thank you.”
She gave me a sidelong glance. “But I wish for you to accompany me.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because I won’t face his temper alone.”
She didn’t say it, but I remembered the stories of what he’d done to her. Heidel was an expert at hiding her fear, but I knew it was only a disguise. She was frightened of Kull.
“Very well,” I answered. “Let’s get this over with.”
Chapter 11
I followed Heidel into Kull’s chamber. Only a few candles lit the small space, giving off just enough light to see the room. Kull sat on the edge of a vine hammock. I glanced briefly at him and saw only his chin and lips. His eyes were partially hidden by his cowl.
There was a time when I’d have sworn I would spend the rest of my life with this man, but no longer. This was not the Kull I had known. I kept that thought with me as Heidel and I stood across from him.
“We’ve come to speak with you,” I said in my most commanding voice.
“Why?”
“We want to know what injured you.”
Our gazes met. In that brief instant, I felt I heard his answer.
You, he seemed to say. Your absence has injured me beyond repair. But then he looked away, and I rationalized that I had imagined it.
“A beast,” he finally said, “not of this world.”
“What did it look like?” Heidel asked.
“Impossible to say for sure. I tracked it most of the day. It led me in circles through the forest, taunting me, using magic to stay hidden. When it grew weary of being chased, it appeared briefly, attacked me, and then retreated.”
“Can’t you tell us anything else about it?” I asked.
“It had unusual claws or nails. Long, sickle-like. Unnaturally long.”
“That is not much to go on,” Heidel replied. “We are searching for a beast with long nails.”
“Unnaturally long, I believe, were my exact words.”
He almost sounded like the old Kull again. Almost.
“Any other details you can remember?” I asked.
He was silent for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “I heard the sound of chains clinking.”
The candles sputtered, making shadows dart around the room. “Chains?” I asked.
“Yes. It was only on a few occasions.”
“But how can that be?” Heidel asked. “If the creature has chains dragging behind it, wouldn’t you have heard them more frequently while you tracked it?”
“You are right. I should have heard them more frequently. The creature should have been easy to track if it were carrying chains.”
“Then you are failing in your tracking skills,” Heidel said.
“No,” I said, “if it’s a beast of magic, then it could have been changing its shape, which means the creature is most likely a shape-shifter as we suspected.”
“It could be a phøca,” Heidel said. “But if it is, then its powers are limited. They can only take two different forms—that of a beast and that of a man.”
“Then that’s a good thing,” I said. “If it’s limited to two forms, we should have an easier time of finding it.”
“Yet we still aren’t sure what either of its forms—beast or human—looks like. Can you remember anything else about it, Brother?” Heidel asked.
Kull seemed to ponder. “Yes, there is something else.” He reached into his cloak’s pocket and pulled something out. I focused and found he was holding a few strands of coarse hair. “This was in the forest. I found it in several spots wrapped around briars. It’s possible that it comes from an ordinary Earth beast. I wasn’t sure.” His eyes flicked to mine. “I thought perhaps you would know.”
He held his hand toward me, but I hesitated before touching it. Finally, I mustered my courage and took the hair from him, doing my best not to let my skin touch his. I failed. My fingers brushed against his hand, making my heart race. How would I ever be able to get over him with crap like that happening?
I buried my feelings as best as I could and turned to the strands of hair instead. They were thick and dark colored, and when I ran my fingers along the strands, they felt coarse. “It might be boar or horsehair—or perhaps goat hair—although I can’t say for sure. The story from the fairy tome spoke of giant rams.”
I studied the strands more closely, this time searching for magical residue. As soon as I reached out, I felt the magic. A wave of blackness washed over me, making bile rise into my throat. I dropped the hairs and stumbled back.
“Are you okay?” Heidel asked.
“I’m all right. But there’s dark magic in the hair. Those strands definitely did not come from an Earth creature.”
“Then what did they come from?” Kull asked.
“I don’t know. There’s really no way for me to tell.”
“Surely there must be some way.”
I studied the hairs lying on the floor. “My stepfather would know.”
“Then we must go to him,” Heidel said.
I hesitated. “For us to do that, we’ll have to wait until morning. My mirror has been acting strangely, and I won’t use it unless I have the first rays of morning sun to negate any residual bad energy.”
“I’ll accompany you,” Heidel said, “as will my brother.”
I eyed Kull. “He’s hardly in any shape to travel.”
“I’m well enough,” Kull said. “It’s my place to see the fairies’ stone restored. I dare not break my forefathers’ oath.”
“Fine,” I said. “Get as much rest as you can. I’ll meet you in the field before sunrise. Be prepared to travel. I suspect that when we get to Faythander, we’ll have work to do, and it won’t be easy.”
I turned and left the room, leaving Heidel and her brother behind. When I stepped outside the tent, low-lying gray clouds obscured the sky, and the air had grown chilly. I pulled my cloak close as I walked the short distance from the tent to my camper trailer, intent on studying a few Faythander texts before setting off tomorrow, but as I rounded the corner and approached the
