Shay reached for his inside jacket pocket. “Sorry. It’s just that I didn’t know if we could trust you. But I guess that’s a moot point now.” He withdrew the shimmering ochre cylinder.

The silence in the room had grown so thick it felt as though I could reach out and gather it in my arms.

“When did you retrieve Haldis?” Monroe finally murmured. His eyes were locked on the strange object.

“Calla and I went to check out the cavern in October,” Shay said, rolling the cylinder back and forth in his palms. The more I looked at it, noting the way his fingers curled perfectly around its shape, the more convinced I was that I understood.

“That’s when Shay used the ice picks,” I said. “The Keepers had a giant spider guarding Haldis. He killed it.”

“With ice picks?” Connor’s eyes widened.

Shay shuddered. “It was horrible.”

“I don’t know,” I said, a smile pulling at my lips as I recalled the fight. “You nailed that beast without too much trouble.”

“With ice picks?” Connor said again, gazing at Shay as if truly seeing him for the first time.

“Yeah,” Shay said, but he looked a little ill. He gripped the shimmering cylinder more tightly.

Silas snorted and leaned over to dig through a leather satchel half buried under papers on the desk. When he stood up, he had donned a pair of thick leather gloves. He reached out toward the gleaming object.

I started to open my mouth but then clamped my lips together and watched. His fingers brushed the smooth surface and he yelped and stumbled back, shaking his hand. The rest of the Searchers stared at Silas.

“That’s odd,” he said, reaching for Haldis again.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” I said quietly. “The pain gets worse every time.”

All eyes in the room focused on me. I stood my ground, returning each gaze with a challenging stare.

“You knew it would hurt me?” Silas’s voice bubbled with outrage.

“I didn’t know,” I said. “Well, at least not for sure. I thought maybe it was just Guardians who couldn’t touch it. But it seems that only Shay is allowed.”

Silas’s eyes bulged. “Even with enchanted gloves?”

This guy was nuts. “You thought gloves would let you touch Haldis?”

“Well, I had this theory. . . .” He scratched his head.

Monroe groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

“Silas, you didn’t say it was a theory. You swore it would work. We told Anika it would work!”

“Moron.” Connor snorted. He inched closer to Shay, examining Haldis while keeping a safe distance.

“What’s wrong?” Shay asked, frowning at their defeated expressions.

“Silasdevised our most recent Striker attacks.” Adne smiled thinly. “Searcher strike teams have been trying to get to the sites in the hopes that we could pull the pieces of the cross ourselves and keep them safe until the Scion appeared.”

“But none of you can touch them,” I said. My confidence in the Searchers crumbled a bit. Could they really help my pack if they made mistakes like this?

“We didn’t know that.” Connor glared at Silas. “And dozens of Strikers were lost in attempts to even get close to the sites.”

I had to look away, all too aware that we’d made the same kind of mistake today. I can’t blame them. We’re all doing the best we can.

Silas just looked slightly put off. “I was certain it would work.”

“Why were you focused on the pieces?” I asked. “What’s so special about these swords?”

“The Elemental Cross is the only force in the world that can banish wraiths.” Monroe’s voice was deadly quiet. “When the Scion wields the swords, he can expel them from the earth, defeat the minions of the Netherworld. Even Bosque Mar himself. Nothing else can.”

Shay stared at Monroe, the boy’s face suddenly chalk white.

“I can fight the wraiths?”

“Yes,” Monroe said, placing his hand on Shay’s shoulder. “You can and you will. In time.”

Silas, apparently recovered from his moment of humiliation, spoke up. “We must retrieve the Elemental Cross. It’s the only thing that will give us victory over the Keepers.”

I nodded, trying to imagine the type of power it would take to defeat Bosque and his horde.

“Why did you keep this from us?” Monroe turned on Shay, eyes flashing with anger.

Shay looked around at their dejected faces and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I wasn’t convinced you were the good guys. I wasn’t going to trust you until Calla did.”

I bit my lip, grateful for his words but regretting what it cost the Searchers.

“Fine,” Monroe said gruffly, folding his arms across his chest. “Let’s move on. At least we know the Keepers can’t take the weapon from him once he has it.”

“It’s good that you have Haldis, Shay,” Adne said. “That will save us a trip.”

Shay smiled. “I suppose it will.” He turned his eyes on Silas. “So who was the lady?”

“The lady?” Silas raised an eyebrow.

“The woman who was in the cavern; she sang, and then all the lights went out and Haldis was in my hand.”

“Ah.” Silas smiled. “That was Cian.”

“Who?” Shay looked at him blankly.