Page 44 of Secrets and Ruin

“Um…”

“Do it,” I confirmed, taking a deep breath. Every minute we had to wade through Niko’s secrets, the less time we had helping him and Dirk if they needed it. It was going to be a rough call, and I had little time to prepare for it, but I wouldn’t put it off because of my feelings. “Don’t say it’s me. They won’t be able to smell a lie. Just tell him it’s Niko. If he knows it’s me, he’ll have the entire family on the call, and we’re not ready for that.”

18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ten minutes was all the time I had to prepare to speak to Davor. Every minute, I was subjected to a war of emotions while trying to remain cool-headed enough to figure out what to say and how to say it. As Ansel reached out to Davor’s household and they chased down Davor to let him know, I was pacing in view of the camera. Landon boldly sat where he could be seen, not bothering to hide.

“I think you should step off-screen,” I finally said, knowing we only had mere seconds before Davor connected.

“Fine,” Landon huffed, moving away to sit in a corner armchair.

“Thank you.” Before I had time to look back at the screen and camera, I knew the call connected.

“Jacky? I was told Niko was reaching out to speak to me.” Davor’s confusion sounded angry, which was the best I could get right now.

“I asked them to lie because we need to be fast and careful,” I said, turning quickly to see Davor’s furrowed brow and deep frown. I didn’t know him well enough to know if he was concerned by the development or if he was holding back anger. I couldn’t smell through the screen.

“What is it?”

“I need to get into Niko’s armory. I’m going into the Black Forest to find him and Dirk. I have reason to believe a very old werewolf named Rainer Brandt is alive and gunning for Niko.”

The moment Rainer’s name dropped from my lips, Davor paled.

“Rainer can’t be alive,” Davor said in a fearful whisper. “Niko killed him.”

“Who is he?”

“His… his brother,” Davor said, the moment of hesitation pointing to how uncomfortable the thought was to Davor. “Not as you and I are his siblings, but—”

“An original member of the Black Forest Pack… a son of the Alpha, one of Niko’s blood relatives.”

“You don’t understand, Jacky. Any werewolf who survived what Niko went through as a boy pledged their loyalty to the other werewolves. They and Niko feuded through the War. He hunted them down and killed them, both family and old packmates. Rainer was the oldest of his siblings.” Davor started to shake his head.

“Niko said Rainer was being groomed as a boy to be the next Alpha, but also that all of them had that sort of training because they learned from their father. Rainer was already a werewolf the night it happened, but still young. I believe he might have only been fourteen. Niko would remember much better than I do.”

Landon’s coughing fit of surprise at the Alpha remark hadn’t broken Davor’s explanation, but he certainly noticed. As he finished talking, his eyes flicked as if he was trying to see around the screen.

“It’s Landon Everson. He’s here to assist me with this because we’re dealing with an old, powerful werewolf,” I said quickly, not wanting to pretend as though nothing had happened when something clearly had. “Heath is staying with the rest of the pack because some of them had been hit with a fae sleep spell.”

“Why?” Davor asked, his eyes going sharper, reminding me more of the angry Davor I was used to. Now, I saw it differently. He didn’t like the lack of information and confusion. He was trying to put the pieces together in a complicated puzzle where he was missing information.

I tried to find a way to explain as Landon got up and walked toward me, stepping into view. While I struggled, he jumped into the silence I left behind.

“We think he’s been posing as a different werewolf for several centuries and sprung a trap to get away without us being on his tail. We didn’t know if he was a captured victim or not and needed to gather more information. Jacky found what we needed to realize Niko and Dirk were in potential danger—”

“If it is Rainer, Niko is in more danger than he has been since the War,” Davor said, cutting Landon off, but it didn’t seem condescending or rude. He was worried. I caught it now, the fear in his voice, the concern for Niko, all thanks to the implication of one of his blood relatives being back. “Rainer was always ruthless during the War. He did a number on Niko back then.”

“Davor?”

“I was there when Niko came back from that fight,” Davor said softly, shaking his head. “I don’t know how it all happened, but Rainer nearly killed him. Niko had been hunting him down for a few years because he learned Rainer was behind the deaths of a few other werecats and some allied witches. I don’t know it all, but Niko said that fight was one of the hardest of his life. Even today, hundreds of years later, it’s probably still the top of that list.”

“Then he needs help, and so does Dirk,” Landon said decisively. “I’ve killed strong werewolves. I can take him. Tell us where the armory is so we can get all the advantages we can.”

“It’s in the basement of the keep. You won’t see a door. You’ll need to use your nose or another trick to find out where the keyhole is. It’s not technological. It’s magical. It goes to a pocket dimension. It’s existed longer than Niko and I have been alive, passed down by the pack for who knows how long. I wouldn’t doubt if it was as old as Hisao. Niko updates it, but it’s been there for a very long time, with that permanent door and only one key.” Davor drummed his fingers on the desk. “The last time I was down there, it was at the back of the basement hallway, the dead end. I don’t know if he could renovate the location of the door or could find a being powerful enough to move it. Try there. You’ll smell… a draft of magic through the keyhole, like a leak.”

“Have you ever been inside?”

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