“When he attacked me, his eyes didn’t look right. It was like he wasn’t seeing me.”
“Interesting.” Cah turned back to Keller.
“Psychopaths have dead eyes. It’s a thing,” Loch said. “Keller just fooled us.”
“Maybe,” Cah said thoughtfully, “but maybe not. I’m going to try something.”
Cah knelt down beside Keller, pressing his palm into his forehead. The moment he touched him, Keller’s eyes changed. They looked like shiny, white stones.
Holly gripped Johnny’s arm. “What’s happening?” she whispered.
Johnny said nothing; he simply shook his head.
When Cah removed his hand from Keller’s forehead, his eyes returned to normal.
“This is not good,” Cah muttered.
“What’s the matter?” Lucien asked.
“Keller has become a prisoner in his own mind,” Cah said. “Something else took over and locked Keller away. He’s still in there, but he’s limited.”
“Like possession?” Holly asked.
“Similar.” Cah nodded. “Keller is no more than a puppet right now. His will belongs to whoever holds his strings.”
“Who did this to him?” Holly demanded, her voice cold and sharp.
“I cannot say.” Cah sighed. “Whoever controls him wields immense power. They’re shielding themselves from me.”
“So, there’s nothing you can do?”
“I can give you salves and tonics that will keep him manageable,” Cah said. “As for discovering the culprit, that’s beyond even my abilities.”
“And the wind?” Holly asked.
“She will not help.”
“Will not? Not cannot?” Holly clenched her jaw. “Did she tell you why?”
Cah closed his eyes. His long hair lifted around him as wisps darted around his body.
“She has seen this happen before,” he said. “Bears have become soulless monsters, dark and empty. Vessels of raw power and pure destruction.”
Dark.
“He’s becoming a dark shifter,” Holly whispered.
“Yes.” Cah nodded.
“What can we do about it?” Holly demanded, looking at Johnny and Loch.
“Skin him and throw his bones in a lake,” Loch hissed.
“No,” Holly insisted. “There has to be a way to reverse the transition before it’s complete. We have to help him.”
“Help him?” Johnny scoffed. “He’s chosen his path. He betrayed us and turned his back on you, on everything it means to be part of a bear clan. Why would we ever help him?”
“Do you seriously believe Keller, Keller of all people, would willingly go dark?”
“There isn’t another way,” Loch said. “Dark shifters choose their fate; otherwise, there’d be no way to protect ourselves.”
“He must choose to fight it,” Cah said. “That is the only way something like this can be reversed.”
“You said yourself he’s a prisoner in his own mind. He can’t change his mind if he can’t control it,” Holly pointed out.
“It’s not his mind that needs to be changed,” Lucien said softly. “It’s his heart. No one can take agency over the heart of another.”
“How do you know?” Holly asked.
“I just do.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “How do we convince him to change his heart?”
“The best thing I can suggest is talking to him,” Cah said. “Tell him stories that mean something to his heart. Urge his heart to fight against the holds on his mind.”
“Will that work?” Holly demanded.
“I can’t promise you it will,” Cah replied. “But it’s all you can do.”
Anger welled in Holly’s chest. “There has to be something more,” Holly pled.
“If there was, I would tell you without hesitation.” Cah moved closer to Holly and took her hands in his own.
“You possess the power to restore the balance,” he said. “It glows within you like a beacon. Use your beacon to guide him back to the light.”
“I’ll try.” She nodded. “But if I couldn’t stop him from going dark, how can I protect him? Or any of the others?”
“You will because you must,” Cah said.
Holly nodded, then something Lucien said earlier snagged her memory. “You aren’t a bear shifter, are you?” Holly asked.
Cah smiled sadly. “I am not.”
“What are you?”
He released Holly’s hands and took two steps back. His skin rippled as a brilliant blue light swirled around him. When the light faded, huge black wings sprouted from his back.
“I am the last of the raven flock,” he said. “Humans hunted us relentlessly. They believed wearing our feathers and eating our intestines blessed them with the knowledge of the Old Gods.”
Holly put a hand over her heart. “I’m so sorry.”
“It is the way of things. All things rise, then they inevitably fall. Never forget that.” The blue light swirled around him again, concealing his wings.
“Will you stay here tonight?” Holly asked. “We have plenty of room.”
“Thank you, but there is nothing more I can do here, and I am needed elsewhere.”
Sadness sunk into Holly’s stomach like a cold stone.
“Worry not.” Cah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Our paths will cross again.”
She smiled. “Thank you again for everything.”
“I’ll see you out,” Lucien offered.
“Thank you, old friend.”
Lucien and Cah left the dungeon.
Holly, Johnny, and Loch stood in silence.
“He’s like a husk,” Loch said after a long while.
Keller laid on the floor, awake but not moving or even blinking.
“Whoever is pulling his strings must’ve gotten spooked,” Johnny said.
“Good,” Loch seethed. “It should know to fear us.”
“I’m going to the study,” Johnny said. “Pearl is bound to have something about the dark shifters.”
“I’ll help,” Loch offered.
Holly thought about joining them, but she was rooted in her spot.
“Holly?”
“You guys go ahead,” she said. “I’m going to sit with him for a little while.”
“We’re not leaving you down here alone,” Loch insisted.
“Isn’t this my job?” Holly turned to face them. “Isn’t the Maiden supposed to be able to bring someone back from the dark? Please, give me some time to try.”
Johnny and Loch exchanged a tense glance.
“Fine.” Johnny sighed. “But be careful. Don’t get too close to him. Those chains are strong, but not that
