Page 30 of Mortal Guardian (Shadow Shifter)
The window opened and shut.Stuck.
“Stuck?” Even Amelia sounded confused. “Stuck where?”
Murderer.
“The spirit is attached to the murderer.” Amelia’s expression turned grave. “How do we fix this?”
Harbinger.
The word struck a familiar chord, and my stomach twisted.
“What does that mean?” Amelia asked. “What does a harbinger do?”
Peace.
And then it was done, suddenly, abruptly, all of the warmth stolen from the air. Amelia almost toppled over, exhausted, but Ryan caught her before she fell. He helped her onto the chair.
“I’m not sure I understood that correctly,” Amelia said. “The spirit wanted peace, but it got stuck to someone who started murdering people. But was thatbecauseof the spirit somehow?”
My stomach turned. “So the killer might not even remember what they did?”
“That’s too cruel,” Perdita said.
“What did the harbinger part mean?” Nathan asked.
“The word usually means a kind of herald to announce something, or a signifier of something that will happen,” Perdita said. “But Amelia, you made it sound like an actual person.”
“I get feelings,” Amelia said slowly. “I felt like they meant a specific person. Maybe I was wrong. I don’t understand how this fits.”
“There was an old man at one of Vin’s camps who spoke of harbingers,” Ryan said. “Messengers of doom, or signs of death. Nobody believed they were actual people, but he said our ancestors tried to wipe them out, that their kind hated ours, and vice versa. I just assumed it was some kind of allegory.”
“But the board said the spirit wanted peace, and when I asked what a harbinger does, the board repeated peace. Does it mean that when we released the spirit, it tried to find a harbinger?” Amelia shook her head. “How does a harbinger bring peace though? With warnings like some kind of psychic? By sending the spirit back? Withdeath?”
“We’ve no way of knowing.” Nathan looked at me. “Are you all right?”
My stomach had been churning, so I shook my head. “The old woman who took care of us… there was one night when a wolf came, looking for shelter. He said a harbinger was coming for him. She sent him away, refused to let him stay in case the harbinger took all of us. It was the only time I saw her scared—apart from when Byron showed up.”
“What happened to the wolf?” Perdita asked.
“She told us stories about the harbingers, how they hate us because we’re strong enough to sway the balance of life and death.” I shrugged. “She made it sound as though that was it. He was dead. And on Halloween, the spirit… it’s gone after Margo a number of times. And Margo, she’s… She looked at that patch of flowers out back like she knew what was buried there. She was with a rabbit I killed, and her eyes were different. And Emma… she was caught in the reeds when she fell into the canal. I was only there because Margo’s eyes changed, and she led me there, and then… I scented her near Alex’s body. I think maybe she disturbed the grave, helped us find her.”
“What?” Nathan’s face almost turned purple. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“Because I knew Margo didn’t kill anyone. She has no idea what’s going on either! But the spirit or whatever keeps going after her, and she’s always around death, so maybe… maybe Margo is the harbinger. She has a problem with sleepwalking. Maybe that has something to do with it. She’s trying to warn us, but she doesn’t know she’s supposed to, so her subconscious is trying to do it.”
Nathan swore loudly. “Of all the idiot—”
“He told Byron about it already,” Amelia said.
“That doesn’t make it any better!”
“Calm down,” Perdita said. “He did what he thought was best for everyone. He waited until he had more information instead of riling everybody up like Dominic and the others have been.”
Nathan rubbed his hands over his face. “Dor, you can’t hide shit like this. It’s not right. How can I keep you safe if I don’t even know what’s going on with you anymore?”
“I was scared for her,” I said, horrified by the disappointment on Nathan’s face. “I didn’t know anything for sure!”
“If the harbinger deals with the murderer, is she supposed to kill him or stop him?” Perdita asked. “It sounded like the spirits think we need the harbinger to fix things, but how exactly? We can’t expect the pack’s safety and future to hinge on a teenage girl.”