Page 76 of Bad Witch

My face heated having so much attention on me, but I pushed on. “Uriel was behind their deaths. He found and tortured Eartha and Petra. Somehow, he’d learned about the glyphs, and not knowing which sister concealed them, he…searched them for the markings. Thankfully, Brigid wasn’t with them that morning. He demanded to know the wraiths’ location. The sisters never broke, and they kept the location a secret and protected their younger sister.”

Willow cursed. “So Uriel was trying to change fate even back then.”

“The forgotten prophecy, that’s his goal. Setting us on an alternate path. That won’t just change fate,” Warrick growled, “it will cause a fucking apocalypse. He wants to start the end of times. That’s what the wraiths do, right? That’s their endgame?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t believe what I was saying, that this was happening.

“We need those weapons more than ever,” Warrick said. “You have any leads on them?”

“Not yet, but I think we’re close,” I said. “You see, after Brigid’s sisters died, she was filled with rage and the need for revenge. She searched and bartered for weapons, the kind capable of killing beings as powerful as angels, and slowly and steadily, she built up her own demon army.”

“There was a shrine by the cave where we found Brigid’s remains. Not all of it old, either. The demons still leave offerings,” Fender said.

Warrick’s head jerked back. “You think that’s why there is such a large presence of them in Oldwood Forest? Were they drawn there by some spell? Drawn to Brigid even in death?”

“I think so, yes,” I said. It made sense. “Her magic’s saturated the blue cliffs, almost as if she sent out a beacon calling for help.”

“And the priestesses told you all of this?” Willow asked, a strange look on her face.

She had to be wondering why me? As a Matilda, I was known to them. They trusted me, like all females did in times of fear or strife. They knew I was safe and powerful enough to help them, but Willow had no way of knowing that, and I was forbidden to tell her. “Yes, and I’m honored they did.”

Her gaze sharpened.

“Do we have this bone?” Warrick asked.

Fender leveled his gaze on his alpha and shook his head. “The bone was gone.”

Willow made a pained sound, realizing exactly what that meant.

“So fucking Uriel got to the Stonebridge cemetery before you,” War said.

“Not even an angel could get through a cemetery ward,” Willow said, her gaze back on me. “There is no ward stronger than the ones protecting our dead.”

“No, they found Brigid’s caves in the cliffs. That’s the only way they could have gotten to it,” Fender said.

“If Uriel couldn’t find Brigid back then, how was he able to now?” Willow asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know the answer to that, maybe he had some help? She’d obviously gone to pains to conceal herself from him. The cliffs are strongly warded, but she said something dark and powerful came to her cavern, something that scared her.”

Warrick turned to Fender. “What about the wraiths Loth and Rox encountered?”

Fender cursed. “We haven’t seen or heard anything from them since, but Uriel was behind their release,” he explained. “They weren’t anywhere near as powerful as the Wraiths of Destruction, but even the lesser of their kind are seriously dangerous. They’re bloodhounds, and if anything could find Brigid’s remains, it’s them. They usually stick to themselves, but finding and releasing the most powerful of their kind would be incentive enough to do that archangel’s bidding.”

This wasn’t good, not at all. Wraiths were vicious, relentless beings that never gave up until they found the target they were set to find.

I leaned more heavily on Fender. “I thought I saw…there was a male dressed in black in the clinic, he…there was something about him.” My voice trembled as the truth set in. He’d touched me and I’d been sick all night. If I hadn’t been the Matilda, I’d be dead now. I couldn’t tell them that though. “I saw him again yesterday. He walked through the hall and four people died, all at the same time. It was awful…I didn’t put two and two together. But now… I should have realized, I should have…”

Alarm crossed Willow’s face, and she closed the space between us. “No one’s blaming you, Tempest. No one could have seen this coming.” She held my gaze. “Your help has been immeasurable. Because of you, we have a chance to stop this before it goes any further. We know that Disease caused the virus and what we’re up against.”

I barely heard her, my soul was so sick with guilt. “I don’t think the virus is targeting certain species. I think Disease has been picking and choosing. He’s been locked away a long time. He’s enjoying himself, he’s toying with us…” I clung tighter to Fender. “I should have seen this.”

“You did good,” Warrick rumbled, so deep I jumped. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help the pack, Tempest.”

Fender rubbed my back, and I forced myself to pull it together. I needed to remember who I was. I needed to stand on my own two feet. Growing used to Fender’s comfort would only make the end hurt more.

“If Disease is free, why aren’t Mayhem and Annihilation free? Or maybe they already are?” Fender said.

“If they were, we’d already know,” Warrick said.