"It smells like Hound magic, Darren. Where did you get these?" Drug asks, tossing the book down like it burned his hand.
"Relax, I had a trusted friend block any tracking spells on them. If Merelda were to tap into any of these her spell would tell her they are sitting in her library still. She has a whole wing in Elder's mansion dedicated to books, I doubt she'll notice these are gone anyway."
Darren pulls out the last of five books and lays it on the table. Rory and Roxy come to sit on the other side of me while Stoneface and Joker stand behind the couch.
"This book is dated to your century, Drug. It talks about a special race that is part witch. If I had seen this a month ago I would have thought it was speaking of the Hound brothers turned Hellhounds but it's not."
Darren opens the book and turns to a specific page. The words are in a different language, one I don't know how to read. French perhaps?
"Right here it describes the curse that was used to turn William and his followers into the originals but it continues on to a prophecy. 'Woe to the head of Hounds for past present and future come forth seeking their fleshy pounds.'"
The fuck?
"Right, and that means?" Rory asks in full on detective mode.
Darren stands and begins pacing back and forth. "It means that you three Crows are the consequence to Merelda's curse."
Draven or Stoneface, stands in front of Darren, stopping him from pacing, "What you do mean? Our mother and father dying were the consequence of theCrow curse. Our grandmother saved us by binding our souls to our hounds."
Darren shakes his head and steps around Draven.
"If you continue in the book, the writer tells in detail that Merelda deliberately killed her son and his wife so that she could use their bloodaftershe cast your souls to your dogs. Her actions were planned out, boys. Her vengeance was more to her than any of you or the prophecy."
Darren stops his pacing as he looks at us with mixtures of emotions in his eyes. Rage and avengement being the most prominent ones.
"I think Merelda has been killing every descendant of William Crow since the curse in order to save herself from the prophecy. The only reason she hasn't killed you three is because you have been considered my adoptive daughters for decades; too many questions will be asked if you disappeared. Perhaps this is why she released her grandsons from Hell, to do her dirty deeds while keeping her hands clean."
The brothers sit stoically, rage and hate marring their features until Draven shifts with a roar and bolts out the open French doors.
"Dray!" Rory shouts before she runs for the Hellhound.
Fucking hell, this old ass bitch keeps on giving.