Page 34 of Fate of the Fallen
We were all silent as she opened our eyes to aspects of the supernatural world that had never been spoken of in our presence. Mostly, because theseeventsgenerally only occurred with Elders, who were notoriously secretive when it came to the ways of the lycans.
“These events consist of the Oracles drawing information from Elders and the knowledge is relinquished involuntarily during a deep, trancelike sleep. It is the same all over the world. At the stroke of midnight on that day, every Elder of every clan participates. It has always been this way. Think of it as a similar process to downloading information. Only the transfer is between the Oracles and the clan leaders.”
This was all so foreign to us, difficult to grasp. So, seeing our collective confused expressions, she explained further.
“Because of my connection, I undergo this syphoning event as well. Meaning, whatever information I have, the Oracles are privy to it as well. It is my belief that Sebastian has been using the stones as a conduit of sorts since he arrived in this state, a means of intercepting information from the Elders within a certain radius as they commune with the Oracles, essentially granting himself access to the same information the Oracles have. Like a virus, infecting the entire system.”
“So, if this only happens once a month, that means he knows nothing that’s been discussed and planned since the last full moon, right?” Elise asked. There was no missing the hint of panic thinly hidden beneath the words.
Hilda’s grim expression answered the question long before she even spoke.
“I believe Sebastian—impatient as he’s known to be—is no longer content to wait for monthly updates. Based on the sheer quantity of biremede,some of the other materials you reported finding … I have reason to believe he’s discovered a way to mimic and recreate these events, a way to read those of us marked for syphoning within a given radius … including myself.”
My heart sank. The pieces all began to fit together at once. It now made sense why Sebastian was always two steps ahead, why we assumed there was a traitor among us. No one had leaked information.
It had been stolen.
It was now clear how he knew the clan’s plan to fake a weakness in the dam, beating us to the punch by creating arealemergency. It was now clear how he knew exactly what Nick was and that the presence of death seemed to fuel his dark side. With this knowledge, we could assume that anythingwewere aware of … he would be, too.
There was a hush in the room as I believe we all tried to take in the breadth of what had just been revealed. If Hilda was right about this, when Sebastian succeeded, we would have absolutely no secrets.
A brief flicker of emotion behind Hilda’s eyes was snatched away when she lifted her head again.
“It is because of this, that I must leave.”
The statement drew the air from the room.
“My presence here has become a liability and I cannot justify putting all of you in further danger,” she expressed. “If Sebastian has not already weaseled his way inside my head, it will not be long until he does. And if that happens, all our plans, every action we strategize to take against him in the future … he’ll see it coming.”
I was right to believe this news was terrible. Having a powerful witch on our side was perhaps our strongest line of defense. But now, it seemed that having Hilda here had suddenly become our greatest weakness.
“I’ll be gone within the hour,” she announced, shocking us all with this abrupt timeline. “Prolonging my exit will only jeopardize your position even more,” she added.
Her eyes glistened and I was aware of what a difficult thing this was for her. She’d sacrificed so much to be here, to make sure we were all safe, at times putting herownsafety on the line. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without her. Her love wasn’t shown through soft words or affection, but rather by her loyalty.
I could relate to that completely.
This decision was noble and I respected that she didn’t keep this information to herself. No matter how difficult it would be to leave us.
“Where will you go?” Elise asked, doing her best not to sound frantic. “Will Sebastian be looking for you?” she added.
Hilda shook her head. “He’ll have no reason to. I’m not the one he’s after.”
That declaration was sobering because we all knew exactly who among us Sebastianwasafter.
“And because Ivan is under my care, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s best if he comes with me. I can continue to look after him and keep him out of harm’s way while you all find a way to bring me the witch that did this to him. Until then, this is no place for someone in his condition,” she added.
Elise gave a nod, but said nothing while keeping her eyes trained on her oldest friend, her sister by marriage.
Evangeline stepped forward, releasing my hand to go to her aunt’s side. A long gaze passed between them. These two, in both lifetimes, had been so much alike. Yes, Hilda was a bit brash and hard to read, while Evangeline was all heart, but … their strength, their loyalty … it was unmatched, only rivaled by Elise’s.
Evangeline didn’t hesitate to bring Hilda into a tight embrace, one that was swiftly returned.
“I won’t be here in the flesh, but just know I’m doing everything I can to keep you safe from a distance,” Hilda said as they clung to one another. “He will not win again,” she added.
Evangeline nodded against her shoulder as the whites of her eyes tinted red, pooling with tears. Hilda stood back, placed a kiss on the forehead of her only niece, and then quickly ascended the steps to gather her things.
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