Page 98 of Creatures of Chaos

“Why would someone steal the dagger just to turn around and give it away?” Becks asks.

That was my thought exactly when Talon told me, but at the time he wouldn’t give me any more information. I study him now, wondering if he’s ready to let go of more of his secrets.

Talon rolls his tongue in his mouth. I’m sure there’s something he doesn’t want to tell us, but he’s coming to the realization he’s going to have to in order to get Titus and my cooperation. Finally he says, “We think someone stole Shadow Striker to activate it.”

I sit up straighter. Now this is information I haven’t already heard.

Becks leans forward. “Activate it? What does that mean?”

“If the dagger is linked to a specific creature, its powers can’t be used by another until it’s been activated again. Only one creature can use Shadow Striker’s powers at a time. And that creature is linked to the blade. When the Vampire King wielded the dagger so many millennia ago, it was linked to him, so no oneelse could use its powers. We think the thief knows what needs to be done to sever the connection between the dagger and the creature it’s currently linked to, and that’s what Chaos is really about, activating Shadow Striker.”

“So you think Shadow Striker is still linked to the old Vampire King?” I ask, finally speaking up. Surely the Vampire King from the Ancient is long since dead, but maybe that doesn’t matter.

Talon hesitates before answering. “My family hasn’t had the dagger forever, so we can’t say what happened to it before it came into our possession. But it has to be linked to someone if they need Chaos to activate it. Otherwise they’d already be using it, not making it the prize.”

The way Talon talks about this mysterious “we” makes it sound like some sort of underground spy organization or something.

“Who’s we?” Becks asks, and Talon presses his lips together in a hard line.

“My family and I, mostly,” he says, not giving a straight answer.

“Do you have any idea who the thief is?” Titus asks.

“We have some leads,” he hedges. “And before you ask, I’ve already tried to take out the game master. He’s protected by some sort of shield magic. I can’t get within three feet of him.”

Titus leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “So you want us to help you get back a family heirloom? No offense, but why should we care who has the dagger?”

“There’s a prophecy about the Shadow Striker,” Talon says, looking annoyed he has to give up more secrets. “Real end of the world stuff if it falls into the wrong hands.”

“Easy solution,” Titus says. “I’ll just give you the dagger after I win it.”

Ensley snorts. “Just like that, you’d hand over a powerful artifact that could give you unlimited powers?”

Titus looks over at her and shrugs. “I’m powerful enough. I don’t need it.”

“Then why did you even enter Chaos?” she asks. “For funsies?”

He smiles back at her and winks. “For the glory.”

She purses her lips, but I’m not fooled. There’s interest in her gaze.

“That won’t help,” Talon cuts in. “If you win Chaos, then the dagger will be linked to you.”

Titus shrugs. “So what?”

“So whatis that if you win Chaos, the dagger will be bonded to you, and whoever stole it isn’t just going to let you keep it. The wielder of the dagger is vulnerable before they use it for the first time. If the dagger can be used against the one it’s bonded to before they use it to obtain any powers, then the bond will transfer immediately.”

“And when you sayused against. . .” I ask.

“I mean kill,” Talon says, looking me straight in the eye. “So if one of you wins Chaos, whoever stole the dagger in the first place is going to kill you to bond to the blade themselves, which will probably set off an apocalypse, but I guess that won’t really be an issue for you because you’ll already be dead and won’t care.”

Becks curses under his breath and some color drains from Titus’ face.

“You’re telling the truth about this?” Ensley asks. Her face has gone ashen as well.

Talon nods.

“So you want us to help you win the final trial so the thief will kill you instead of us?” I ask, not believing for a minute that Talon’s as altruistic as that.

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