Page 74 of Father of the Wolf

“Many would mourn for you, brother.” Athair wobbled and Sgrios braced him upright.

“What’s left to do?” Sgrios asked. “I’ll help you finish.”

“Only to convince the officers they were wrong about what killed Jimmy.”

When Sandulfr and the officers returned, Athair encouraged Sgrios to stay out of sight while he and Sandulfr helped the policemen see the scene the way they needed to.

When they finished explaining how they saw the evidence, they were all in agreement that Jimmy had been in a terrible car accident and had died from his injuries. The bite wounds were explained by a stray dog finding the body afterwards.

As for the supposed witness, that had actually been a hoax. To get the sheriff on the scene quickly, the call had been made before Jimmy had left Hope’s. There simply hadn’t been time for anyone to see Sgrios stop the boy’s car more than a half hour before the sheriff had arrived. Yet Sheriff Blackwell had admitted he and the others were in the next town attending a fellow officer’s anniversary party when he’d received the call.

Someone had purposely incriminated Sgrios. They could all easily guess who it had been.

* * *

Dàn sat at the table in the kitchen. Maura placed a cup of tea in front of him and sat down across from him with her own.

“You are not responsible for the boy’s death,” she told him again.

“I should have known. I should have stopped it.”

“You did not kill the boy, so you are not guilty of any part of this crime,” she insisted. “I know you don’t hate me for what Bequlf did, but I saw it happen and did nothing to stop it. This is the same for you. It isn’t your fault when others get hurt.”

“I just wanted a few minutes of my life to be normal. But getting what I want usually means someone else pays the price. No pizza is worth a lost life.”

“Some might argue about that.” She smiled at him. “I know what you mean. I have seen visions where someone I loved was hurt and I could do nothing to change that. I can never do anything. You at least can save some lives and prevent pain. You should think of the good you do, not about the things you can’t change.”

Díon walked into the kitchen, interrupting their quiet conversation. “Hey, I forgot to give you this.” He held out a long staff for Dàn to take. He remembered that it had once belonged to the oracles. “Well, I thought maybe it could help balance your magic.”

As Dàn’s fingers wrapped around the wood, he felt soft, gentle emotions fill him. But from where?

Díon explained, “Adhar has kept it all these years. She used it for years to help Cradh, but they don’t need it now. She agreed that you would be the best one to have it.”

Dàn stroked his hand over the smooth wood and the staff responded with soothing energy that flooded up his arm. The staff was sentient.

* * *

Hope dropped the window curtain back into place. Finally, Athair was coming back up the driveway with Sandulfr and Sgrios. Athair smiled in response to something Sgrios said. Had he told Sgrios about her accusations? How would he react to her now?

Sandulfr stopped at his van, but the brothers came directly to the house. She stepped back to the doorway of the den, which was now empty.

When Sgrios saw her waiting he said to Athair, “Why don’t you go relax to regain your strength? I’ll make sure everyone gets settled, and I’ll be around for a while if you need me.”

Regain his strength? Hope shifted her gaze from Sgrios to Athair and saw that he looked pale, and his skin had a slight bluish tint. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t tell me that. Something went wrong?” She looked closer, and spotted drops of blood flecked over his shirt, many tiny flecks that Athair brushed off the fabric.

This time, Sgrios answered. “Your mate tried to beat some sense into his head with the trunk of a large tree. Regrettably, it didn’t help.”

“What on earth?” She caught Athair’s eye and noticed the fine white lines of recent scars which faded even as she watched.

“He wrecked that boy’s car to create a convincing scene. But he forgot to buckle up.”

Alarm flared in Hope’s breast. Athair could have been killed. She wrapped her arms around his waist to feel his solid build and reassure herself of his good health. “Why weren’t you hurt worse than this?”

“I was.” Athair said and he held her tight. “Sgrios healed me.”

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