Page 42 of The Fearless Witch

“You’re smart enough not to get caught with the remains.” I smiled. “As for your nest—”

“It wasn’t them!” He cut in before I could finish. “I know we’ve grown in numbers since the surviving vampires from the other nests joined me, but they follow my lead. I trust them, and even if I had my suspicions, that kill was way too clean. An offspring would have torn that body to shreds and the others…” He licked his lips, looking over his shoulder like he wanted to make sure we were still alone. “The others are too hungry to be this neat.”

When I said nothing, he stared at me with pleading eyes. I hadn’t seen him so desperate since that phone call that had saved them from the ward a week ago.

“I said I believe you.” The relief on his face almost made me laugh. “I’m not here to punish you, but to warn you. Some of the shifters won’t listen to you, no matter what you say.” He nodded, as if he had already come to that conclusion himself. “They might not believe your innocence even if you bring them the person responsible, so you must stay on your guard. Keep your people close, stay out of their camps, and most importantly, avoid confrontations. They are scared and they need someone to blame and they will blame us. It’s just how it is.”

I waited for his reaction, but again, there was none. He knew, he already knew. That had always been the way in our world and suddenly, it felt so stupid.

“The witches might have been the ones that chased them out of their homes, but the witches aren’t here. And until the enemy makes a move, the shifters will be on the defense against everyone. Even each other.” Oscar nodded, his eyes lowering to his hands. I wasn’t sure how old he was exactly, but at that moment, he looked so young, like a child burdened with too many responsibilities. My words sounded hollow, even though I knew they were true. “Our kinds have been enemies since before either of us was born, so a common threat won’t keep us united for long. So if the shifters start bothering you and you feel you can’t control your charges, move your nest to the next city. Start over,” I said, pausing until he looked at me. “I don’t have the time nor the inclination to deal with a massacre on my lands. Especially on my people.”

Oscar shook his head. “This is our city too, we are not leaving. On that, we are all in agreement. And…” He licked his lips, shifting awkwardly as he peered at me. “You saved our lives, so we owe you a debt. Once that is paid, we’ll decide what to do from there.”

“I don’t need your debt, nor do I want it.”

We stared at each other for a long moment before I looked back at the house.

“If you intend to stay, I’ll arrange for blood banks to be sent to you. There aren’t many animals around and getting to the next town over and back is going to be troublesome in a single night.”

The sound of barely audible steps told me he’d moved and a moment later, he was standing by my side. “Thank you.”

I said nothing, and we fell into silence as we watched the wind make the trees sway and rustle.

“Looks homey.” He nodded toward the mansion in the distance. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to avoid confrontation.”

“Good,” I said. “I’m going to speak with Isaac and make him aware that if his people start acting out, there will be consequences.”

When Oscar didn’t reply, I took that as my cue to leave. Just before I reached the trees, his voice stopped me. “Aren’t you going to ask me about what I’ve found? About who might have killed that shifter?” I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. “You already know, don’t you?”

It was plenty obvious. A vampire killed that shifter, a vampire who nobody knew or saw, one that had been trying to provoke me for weeks. One that was trying to create a problem for me to clean up again.

“I caught her scent, you know,” Oscar said, and the surprise had me turning before I could stop myself. The lines of his face sharpened as he clenched his jaw. “That Elder that came to our nest. I caught her scent here. Old and new.”

“Where?”

“Everywhere.” He frowned. “It was in that valley where they found the body, too.” He licked his lips nervously, as if expecting to see someone jumping from the shadows. The forest was quiet, which was no surprise, but I still felt a chill crawl down my spine. “Has she made contact?”

I tried not to wince. I wasn’t sure if the bodies she left in these woods and the fire she tried to burn me in was considered ‘contact’ but since it was her, I could count it as a warm greeting. At least she hadn’t slaughtered everyone on this land to get my attention.

“No,” I said in the end. “But it will be best for you if you’re not around when she does.”

Oscar gave me an unexpected smile, shrugging one shoulder. I wanted to tell him not to be so dismissive of someone who literally ripped apart one of his men, but that’s when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. One look at the screen confirmed what I expected to see.

Isaac. That boy needed to learn some patience.

“I’m on my way,” I said as I took the call. “The guy is dead. He won’t get more dead if you wait five more minutes.”

There was a short pause on the other end, then Isaac spoke in a grave voice.

“We found a second one.”

Chapter 18

Roman

Iclosed my eyes and cursed under my breath. Just what was Maria trying to achieve with this? Did she want me to get rid of them? Or did she want to incite them to fight each other? Whatever it was, I couldn’t let it get out of control.

“Send me your location. I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t touch anything.”

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