Page 27 of Flock This

He turned a bored look on me. “Living things hold imprints best. Do you know why some stakes can kill vampires and some merely wound them?”

“Sharpness level? Or is it a ‘size matters’ sort of thing?”

“Plants retain life longer than fauna. It isn’t the actual item piercing the heart that kills the vampire, but rather the introduction to living tissue into the heart that breaks the magic that animates vampires.”

“So fresh stakes work best?”

He nodded, bringing the stake closer to sniff at it. He curled his lip into a disgusted sneer then shook his head like a dog who had caught a scent it didn’t care for. “You didn’t kill the vampire.”

“I’m glad you think so, but how do you know?”

“For one, I can tell just by looking at you. Ending the life of others causes wounds in one’s soul. You lack those wounds, so you’ve never killed anyone directly. Also, the echoes in this stake show you didn’t touch it until after the stake was used.”

“So I’m innocent?”

“You didn’t end his life directly, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t involved. Your aura is cloudy, confused, so while I can say you didn’t kill anyone with your own hands, I can’t say you weren’t involved or are a person who wouldn’t do so.”

“Harsh and unhelpful, but fair.” I sighed and sat on a log turned on its side. I’d been hoping that he’d clear my name, that he’d give me the answer to figure this out right away.

Instead, I had nothing. Who killed William? I had no fucking idea, and it still could have been me.

The log groaned beside me, causing me to glance over to find deer-man seated beside me. He still had the stake in his hand, but his gaze was forward, on the horizon. Was this supposed to be support by osmosis? He just sat next to me and thought that would make me feel all better? It seemed absurd, but at the same time… He wasn’t entirely wrong. It did help to not feel quite so alone.

“What now?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I can’t clear you, but I can tell you one thing—it had to be a vampire or thrall who drove this stake into the heart of the vampire. When a being dies, it stains the item, like an echo. Only Grave energy is on this, so only a vampire or thrall could have held it. Another trace would show if anything else had touched it when the vampire died.”

“So I’m looking for a vampire or thrall?”

He nodded. “There’s a reason Nature Spirits are considered the best trackers. We don’t track by way of scent or sight or anything so mundane like other Spirits. We sense life force and follow that, since it bleeds into other living objects.”

I blew out a long, slow breath as I stared off, the sun just starting to set and dip behind the mountain. The sky had started to light up into brilliant reds and oranges, lovely shades that made it appear on fire.

“Maybe you’re right about out here,” I said. “It’s sort of nice.”

He nodded, the action causing his hair to shift around again, the strands moving so freely it almost seemed as though they were underwater. “It is. Cities are loud and busy and unnatural but out here? It feels as though I can breathe finally. If you find yourself similarly overwhelmed, return here for a break.”

“You’re inviting me back to your secret little hideout? How do you know I’m not some crazy killer?”

“Crazy? Yes, that’s likely, but I’ve already told you that I know you haven’t killed.”

“Knowing I haven’t actually killed anyone with my own hands seems like a pretty low bar. Maybe I’ve tried but just suck at it?”

“You’re different. You aren’t nature, but you smell of chaos. Not the chaos of people, but a more natural chaos, like the way plants sprout up after throwing seeds to the wind. It isn’t dangerous chaos, but a pretty sort. I find it strangely reassuring.”

I frowned, trying to make sense of his words. It felt like the sort of compliment someone gave when they didn’t really mean it, when the statement was so confusing it might as well have been an insult. Still, the gentle expression on his face took away any sting. He seemed oddly content there, by my side, so I let myself taste a moment of that same contentment.

Everything was going wrong anyway. What was the harm in indulging in this short moment, in forgetting all my problems, and just losing myself in the sunset?

All the world would be waiting—whether that was a good or bad thing.

* * * *

“You look weird without blue hair.” Bray frowned as she stared at me, her gaze on my now-dark locks.

“Yeah, well, I have a feeling people might recognize the blue.” I touched my hair, able to smell the dye even after three showers. The blue had happened after changing, so it was now my natural color. I’d tried to dye it before, but it only lasted for a few days before reverting to the bright blue. To make up for that, I had special shampoo with dye in my personal bay to touch it up during showers.

“Are you sure about this?” Bray had bags under her dark-brown eyes, her hair black and straight to her shoulders. She always looked exhausted, as though she might topple over at any moment. In fact, there had been times she’d fallen asleep in the middle of conversations in the past.

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