Crescent (Tribes, Book 1) [completed]

Chapter 26

Conner stormed into the Council Hall with all the rage of a king prepared to go to war. Wolves trailed in behind him, each drawn by Conner's alpha energy. Not one of them was under the impression that they had a choice about joining this meeting.

The knapsack full of parchment and paper thudded against the table where Conner dropped it. He sank into the chair at the head of the long oak table, braced his hands on the table before him, and leveled a discerning stare at each of the wolves as they took their own seats. In this room, someone had been enchanted or done the enchanting. Conner needed to figure out which it had been to understand the level of danger.

Landon entered last, closing and locking the door behind himself as Conner had already instructed him to do.

"Is everyone here?" Conner asked, more directed at Landon than anyone else.

Landon shook his head. "Several are missing. I couldn't track them down."

The hunters again, no doubt. Conner took a steadying breath as he once more perused each wolf in the room. The numbers were off, indeed, but that was one of the things that Conner needed to address.

"Did you look into the records?" Conner addressed Landon again.

Landon nodded this time. "We have three surviving descendants of the Mages. Konan and Tieg are both missing. Sean is here, though." Landon motioned a hand toward a wolf about halfway down the table's length.

Sean—a young wolf not more than nineteen—rose to his feet, everything about him screaming trepidation. "The Mages? Alpha Conner, what is this about?"

Conner lifted the knapsack and dumped its contents onto the oak table. "Can you decipher these and tell me what they're for?"

"Uh..." Sean rose form his seat and padded to Conner's side. Warily, he lifted apage and scanned the contents. "Various things, I think. It would help if you were looking for something specific."

"So they are from Tribe Crescent?"

"Yeah," Sean confirmed. "My grandparents had a couple of these in a book. Others look... ancient. But I can read the runes."

"Can you find what all the spells have in common?" Conner asked, figuring it was the easiest way to narrow down their scope.

Sean nodded as he lifted another page. "I can, but it'll take a long time. I'll have to go through each one word by word."

"That's why we're going to help you."

Conner shot a look down the length of the table, looking for and feeling out any dissention. No one dared to say no. They all had too much at stake. Mates, children, family members. If they couldn't figure out the hunters' plan, all would be lost.

"You lead the search," Conner demanded of Sean, turning his attention back. "Tell us what to look for and check when we think we've found something."

"Okay." Sean grabbed his own pile of papers and went back to his seat.

Conner distributed the rest between the remaining wolves. Only Landon was exempted from the search, as the resident sentry in the room. Should any of the wolves in the room be in on the plot brewing below the surface, Landon would be able to spot any odd behavior. Conner needed someone on the lookout, until they decided who was behind this ploy.

Bit by bit, the wolves at the tribal council weeded through paper and parchment. Occasionally, a set of pieces would get handed to Sean, who would either nod or shake his head. How fortuitous that they had a single Mage descendant to help them decipher the runes.

Conner paused, considering the other two missing Mages. Coincidence? He wouldn't bet any money on it. The Mages were the key to discovering the connection between all the spells before them. Whoever had used ancient magic had used it for a purpose. As a step toward something. Conner couldn't fathom their intent. But he would know. Soon.