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“Once the shadow-beasts were all gone from the world, things got dark for the Varulvka.”
“Oh, they got dark for the victors in that battle? How sad foryourpeople.” Yes, I sounded bitter, but so what? Ideservedto be bitter. What was wrong with the world back then that genocide seemed the answer?
Jahrdran sighed. “Look, I’m just telling you what was recorded in our historical records. Don’t blame the messenger.”
“Fine. Go on.”
“The elite hunters who had carried out the Execution Order started dying, either by their own hand or by sheer reckless folly or by misadventure of some sort. There were so many deaths, the Council instigated a wave of investigations to make sure there was no foul play involved.
“What they found was an entire generation of elite hunters in a crisis of conscience for being forced to do something they were opposed to in every way. There were records, journal entries, meetings with therapists, letters written to loved ones and the theme that emerged over and over again was their devastation and guilt over their participation in the persecution of millions.”
“So they developed a conscience,” I said bitterly, “but entirely too late for the ones they killed.”
“There’s nothing in the records to make me believe this, but they’re so carefully worded that I came to the conclusion that many of the Varulvka fought the oath long enough to help groups of Shadow-Monsters flee. I’m not positive, but I believe it’s possible that some, if not all of the self-terminations, were because there werestillmonsters to be hunted, but as long as no one knew about them, the oath would die with the Varulvka.”
“So where are they? If there are some Shadow-Monsters still alive, if the Varulvka truly helped some escape, where are they?”
“I don’t know, but it gives me hope.”
“Why?”
“Because if those long-ago Varulvka could ignore their oaths in order to help strangers they didn’t even know, surely I can do the same to avoid killing my mate.”
“They did it by killingthemselves, Jahrdran!”
“Yes, well, obviously, I’d like to avoidthatresult.”
I stared at him.
This was the first time in the past two months that he’d given any indication that he might be willing to try.
I wasn’t going to lose that chance.
“So, what’s the plan?” I asked him.
“Well, first of all, I think we need to conduct a thorough investigation of the list of suspects I found.”
“You found a list of suspects?”
“I did. The Council kept careful records of every step involved, from the moment they first realized there was a killer hunting from the shadows, to the very end, when shadow monsters and their hunters were all gone.
“There was chaos for quite some time in the aftermath, at least until the next generation of Varulvka managed to grow into their powers. Unfortunately—” He hesitated.
“There was no next generation of shadow monsters to act as public servants and heroes, so the world had to go on without them.”
“Exactly. The Varulvka Council looked around and realized what exactly had been wrought by their decision to accept the Hunter’s Oath for an entire species. This is a story every young Varulvka studies, so that they understand both the potential power and the potential horror in taking an oath. We learn that even now, generations later, we are still bound by that oath.
“The Council spent a lot of time investigating every supernatural who signed the Execution Order naming the Varulvka as the Hunters of Record. They also investigated anyone close to those who signed it. They eventually narrowed that list to three suspects.
“Don’t tell me. One of those is a shadow-beast’s dragon mate.”
“Yep. The other two were an unmated witch and an unmated necromancer.”
I nodded. “Because maybe they had an incomplete mate bond with a Shadow-Beast who died.”
“Exactly.” He hesitated, then, “Look, Kasi, I know it’s tempting to hang your hopes on one of these three suspects, but there’s no guarantee. It could as easily have been a shadow–” He caught himself, then finished, “–beast.”
“I know, but I’m going to do everything I can to prove otherwise.”
