by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Sixteen
“It didn’t make sense how they reacted,” Rachel surmised, pacing in front of Valor later that evening in the conference room. “It was like they saw something in us that made them realize that they couldn’t touch us.”
Valor looked to Shanna, who nodded in agreement. “It was weird, and is maybe tied to the dream that Rachel mentioned.”
“So you saw that creature in my room too?” Quinn asked, frowning.
“Definitely,” Shanna said, not meeting Cameron’s eyes.
They had all returned to the mansion, more or less intact, in small groups. Jade would have to stay off of her foot for a few days, but was otherwise fine, and Amelia would be observed carefully overnight, as she had suffered a concussion. But they had been lucky. The werewolves had been sent after them intentionally, that much was clear. And they hadn’t suffered a single casualty.
“Well, I’m proud of how you all handled yourselves,” Valor told them. “You truly kept clear heads for such an unexpected attack. Especially you, Quinn.”
Quinn nodded and looked away, embarrassed.
“I think it’s safe to say that you’ve earned your place here,” Valor continued to watch him, as if enjoying watching him squirm. “Welcome to the team.”
Brett leaned in close to Quinn. “The initiation ritual’s usually not so intense.” He elbowed him playfully before straightening up, a smile on his face.
“Anything?” Valor asked, looking up at Felicia expectantly.
Shanna glanced back at Felicia, who was hovering behind Shanna and Rachel, looking for anything amiss. “Nothing yet,” the psychic admitted with a sigh. “But my power’s so random…”
“We don’t know that it’s just the two of them that this dream creature is interested in either,” Natalia spoke up. “Everyone here may be of interest to this monster.”
Valor nodded slowly. “For now, let’s assume that it’s just the two of them, until others recall similar visions, which hasn’t been the case so far. Hunter?”
“Well, we have this symbol to work with for now,” Hunter leaned forward to inspect a sketch of the mark that Jordan’s team had discovered on the werewolves they’d killed. “And the clean-up crew should have the bodies back any time now, so we have something to work with at the very least. Odd behavior for the Common Australian Lycanthrope, however. Something is definitely off here, and I have a feeling that this symbol holds the answer to exactly what that is.”
“Do you need help doing research?” Krystal asked.
“No, thank you. You’ve done more than your share already. I’ll work closely with a team of scholars on this, so the rest of you can get some rest.”
Valor nodded. “Agreed. If anyone thinks of anything else that may be of help, don’t hesitate to seek me out, but I think rest is a good idea for now.”
“Rest?” Rachel winced as the hunters began to push back their chairs and leave the room. “I don’t know how good I feel about sleep right about now.”
Shanna nodded, shivering at the thought of the creature hovering over her, waiting for her to fall into unconsciousness, so that it could…what? Separate her soul from her body? What exactly was it doing?
“You two are sleeping in the infirmary tonight,” Felicia said, clapping a hand on their shoulders. “We’ll be monitoring you closely, so no fear.”
“Great,” Rachel sighed, then glared in Shanna’s direction. “You’d better not snore.”