None of this was necessarily any of my business, and I felt a twinge of warning, or maybe reluctance, or both, at getting further involved in anything to do with the shapeshifter war. Nevertheless, I couldn’t keep my mouth from opening and asking, “And it has something to do with Carter?”
“Maybe,” James said.
A whirring, buzzing sound came from the electrical box. James pushed himself off the quad and sauntered back over to it, opening the door.
“And?” I repeated, feeling like I was sitting on the edge of my chair, although I actually had a pretty good seat there on the four wheeler.
“Hang on a second,” James muttered, his attention already diverted.
“You are the worst at telling a story, you know that?”
My grumbling made him chuckle.
“Sorry, Ellie. Some things take precedence. I have to make sure this is working. It’s my job. By the way, none of this I’m telling you about the Stones and deciphering them and intercepting messages and Carter goes anywhere, okay? I mean, nowhere. If I thought I couldn’t trust you, I wouldn’t say a word about it. But you’ve proven, by how tight-lipped you’ve been so far with your family, that you can keep a secret.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Hey, it’s a gift. Not everybody can keep quiet.”
He shut the box and stepped away. “Looks like everything is checking out. Anyway, there’s a whole lot of rambling and nonsense and mumbo-jumbo that nobody can quite interpret. Maybe it means something? Maybe nothing. Ancient folks could be pretty wordy. However, what has stood out is a couple of lines in particular, lines that mention from across the sea will come the one whose body contains the blood of the protector, and the guardian’s power is in his blood. His blood, the gift of the gods, will open the doorway to the realm beyond.”
I frowned, twisting the phrases around in my brain, trying to attach them to Carter. Yes, he was head of security, a bodyguard of sorts, but the guardian? The protector? He wasn’t the only protector or bodyguard in the world, surely.
I said as much aloud to James, who agreed, but added, “You’re right. There are plenty of guardian folktales from around the world. However, the Talos was unique in the way he was killed. Do you know the story?”
I sifted mentally through memories of the online articles I’d devoured on the subject.
“Talos was killed when Medea tricked him into grazing his ankle on a sharp stone. That’s one of the versions, anyway. Seems like there are several variants. However, his blood was ichor, the blood of the gods, and his only weakness was the vein there in his ankle, that contained the ichor. One story said he had a single vein running from his skull to his ankle; it contained the ichor and was sealed there in his ankle with a nail, right? That spot was his only weakness.”
“Kind of like Achilles,” James noted.
I nodded. “Yeah, the story reminded me of Achilles and the fall of Troy.” I paused, narrowing my eyes at him. “Don’t tell me there’s an Achilles shapeshifter running around?”
James laughed. “Achilles was human. We don’t typically shift from human form into other human forms.”
“Wasn’t he also half-god?”
“That’s beside the point, and we’re getting off topic.”
“Okay, well, I’ve seen Carter bleed,” I said. “I know he has more than a single vein, and I’m pretty sure, medically, that there’s nothing special about his blood.”
“You’ve seen Carter bleed, but have you seen his Talos form bleed?”
I blinked several times.
No way, I thought, my mind racing to process this.
“You’re saying all this stuff about the vein and the blood of the gods is actually replicated in Carter?”
I didn’t even try to hide the doubt in my voice. James heard it.
“Not necessarily. But I am saying the whole thing is interesting. The guardian, the protector, whose blood is a gift of the gods and can open the doorway to the realm beyond…”
“The realm beyond?” I scoffed. “What even is that? Like heaven or hell?”
“Who knows? Probably not heaven or hell, but somewhere else. If those realms exist, who’s to say others don’t?”
I chose to brush that aside. “But why would you think Carter’s blood is the gift of the gods?” I persisted. “Is it his blood or the Talos’ blood? Or does it matter?”
And why was I arguing about it? It didn’t concern me; not really. Why did I feel this strange compulsion to protect Carter from being the one the Stones mentioned?
Because it’s ridiculous. Ancient, magical stones with an inscription, a prophecy, about Carter? It’s idiotic. It doesn’t make sense.
That’s what I told myself, but even James, who barely knew me at all, sensed I was acting a little out of character. I didn’t normally get my back up about things that didn’t outright concern me or my family in a harmful way. I wasn’t typically contrary for the sake of being contrary.
“Didn’t know you were so stubborn,” James remarked mildly. His posture remained lazy, but his dark eyes were probing. He swept a hank of black hair out of his face. “Do you not want it to be talking about Carter? I’m not saying it is, anyway. I’m saying the notion’s been thrown around. The prophecy and its interpretation are brand new. Maybe we’re totally off base. Maybe we’re not. But the truth is, Ellie, nobody has seen Carter’s alter bleed, because it doesn’t bleed. That’s unusual, even for a shifter. Maybe there’s nothing to this. Maybe the Talos doesn’t bleed. Maybe this is talking about Carter himself. Maybe it’s not. Who knows? We do know Carter’s unique—we knew that to begin with. His genes are so rare he had no idea who or what he was when he first started changing. He—”
“I know, I know,” I grumbled, interrupting. “Mrs. Costas told me the story.”
“She did, huh? Then even you have to admit the similarities between what’s been translated off the Stones and Carter himself are interesting, to say the least.”
I sealed my lips and looked away, refusing to answer. Maybe I was being stubborn. Maybe I was being contrary. But maybe I was also afraid. Nosizwe had already sent Joab Blake after Carter. That had just been a hit, trying to weaken Mr. Costas, her rival, by taking out a key player in his organization. However, if she found out about the full translation and Carter being the supposed fulfillment of the prophecy? She’d probably stop at nothing to get her hands on him if it meant there was any chance of unlocking and unleashing the Stones’ magic. I’d already seen Carter wounded; I didn’t want to see him dead.
Chapter Eighteen
Fort Worth Police Department, Investigative and Support Command
Evening was drawing on, and Candace should’ve gone home by now. Most of the other cops had, unless they had urgent cases demanding they stay and work overtime. Even Gary had abandoned ship a half-hour ago, saying he’d had enough of staring at screens, and he was going home to throw a burger on the grill. Did she want to come?
She’d wanted to, but Candace had denied herself. She was onto something; she could feel it in her bones. When she said as much to Gary, he’d simply shaken his head.