Free Web NovelChapter 140: Played Like A Fool
"Harper! You’re back― why are you so pale?" Elijah demanded. "Do you need to see Nicole?"
"No, I’m fine," I said, but then I had to test out a deduction of mine. I pulled out the silver urn that I had stashed inside my bag during my long walk back to House Sirius and gave it to Elijah to hold.
"Elijah, is this silver?" I asked.
Elijah only gave me a pained look and held out one of his hands. He had only touched the urn for a brief second, but there was no mistaking the red mark of irritation left behind. If I looked carefully, I could even see the imprint of the urn’s lily carvings left behind on his palm.
"Can you take it back?" Elijah asked hopefully as he passed the silver urn between his own hands as though it were a hot potato, trying not to hiss in pain. I quickly snatched it from him and put it in my bag, and Elijah shook his hands, as though it would help get rid of the stinging sensation.
"So, it’s definitely silver," I said grimly. Gus had held it without flinching, and I certainly didn’t spot any reddened palms. "No werewolf could have held it without it hurting them."
"Maybe if they were wearing very thick gloves made out of rhinoceros hide," Elijah said with a shrug. His hands were slowly regaining their natural color as he blew on them. "Where did you even get this thing? It’ll kill a werewolf if they hold it for long enough."
I paused, wondering if I should tell Elijah the truth. Damon and Blaise were going to lose their minds once they found out I went to a suspicious location with a rogue, who I was now realizing wasn’t even a werewolf, to begin with.
There was a time and place for that conversation, and now was simply not the right time, not when both brothers had other things on their plate.
"I found it around Everhaven," I decided. Technically it was the truth― the house in the woods was around Everhaven. "That’s all you need to know."
"Around Everhaven," Elijah repeated, his tone verging on disbelief, but he was too polite to call me out on my bullshit directly. "Well, Harper, speaking as your friend, I would hope you do not find any more such artifacts. And please don’t leave it lying around the grounds. A pup might just stumble upon it by accident and it will hurt them."
"Got it." I nodded sheepishly. "Has there been any improvement in Blaise’s condition?"
Elijah paused before shaking his head. My heart sank, but Elijah tried to reassure me. "On the bright side, he didn’t get worse. That’s something you have to remember."
"Thanks, Elijah," I said with a sigh. "I’ll visit him now."
I quietly entered the infirmary. To my surprise, Nicole was not there to greet me. Instead, the first person I saw was Blaise’s pale figure lying on the bed. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping peacefully, and he had a bag of fluid hooked up to his veins. Nicole was slumped over her desk, a pen hanging limply from her hand. There was a dark spot on her notes as the pen continued to bleed through the paper.
Poor Nicole. I gently removed the pen from her grasp, causing her to jolt awake with a small scream. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Ack― oh, it’s you, Harper! You’re back!" Her shock was quickly replaced with joy when her eyes registered my presence, and she quickly wiped her face with her hand. There were new dark circles under her eyes since I last saw her; I supposed she must have been staying up all night, making sure that Blaise was still alive and breathing.
"Yes. How is he?"
"He could be better, but now that you’re back, he will be. Let me wash my hands, I can get started on the surgery―"
I shook my head, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Nicole. I don’t have it yet. Apparently, Damon will come with the machine in a few days."
"A few... days?" Nicole repeated, dumbfounded. "How could there be such a huge delay?"
"The machines were broken. Wear and tear," I explained with a sigh.
"That’s not possible― Harper, those machines were made to last!" Nicole exclaimed. fгeewebnovёl.com
"It had been at least five years though," I said with a frown. "With the state of the town, it wouldn’t surprise me if their machines gave up."
"They were meant to last for a decade," Nicole explained with a furrow in her brow. "I would be more concerned about the technology going obsolete than the equipment being broken or damaged in any way. And most humans wouldn’t be able to damage it any way. They’re weak. I guess it’s just bad luck that their machines had to break down now when Blaise is ill."
"Or someone did it on purpose," I said, palming my head in my hands as I fought the urge to scream. My breath came out in shaky gasps as the puzzle pieces began coming together to form a pretty damning picture.
The facts were as follows: Gus was not a rogue as he claimed. In fact, he wasn’t even a werewolf. But he was on Fangborne’s grounds, on the very same day Elijah had discovered the dead bodies of a father and daughter, Charles and Elena, living alone in their home.
Gus had been injured then. But his injury could have easily been caused by Charles when he tried to defend — then avenge — his daughter. Rage coursed through me as I realized I had helped a possible murderer escape.
Then, he had also let it slip that he knew about Blaise’s condition, which meant that he had to be spying on the pack in some way or another. Either that or someone had accidentally or deliberately leaked the news.
Lastly, Gus was also responsible for fixing the machine. Who knew if he didn’t tamper with it to cause it to break down further, causing extra delays?
A low growl escaped my throat. I had been played like a fool.
