Page 28 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

“There are still other ways.”

He watches me, expectant and wordless, as he takes a drag of his cigarette.

Caldwell may be quiet, but I doubt he’ll let this go so easily. I glance up at the dormitory, where I know Tobey is waiting for him. Maybe she’s not the best person to tell him about Jun’s involvement.

“I found out there may be a demon involved… Strode himself.”

He goes still. “Where, exactly, did you find this information?”

I guess I’ll have to share the news after all.

“Jun-seong told me.”

“Ah…”

“I know. He’s not the best reliable source, but sadly, he’s all we have at the moment.”

“I didn’t say anything like that.”

I swallow thickly. “You didn’t have to. Look, I don’t trust him myself. But there’s more. My father… Apparently, he has a secret group that may be involved as well, but I don’t know the details.”

“It sounds as if there are more question marks than before.”

“There are.”

“But”—he drops his cigarette on the ground, crushing it under his heel—“that’s how the answers always begin. It’s a thread unraveling, not a straight path to be walked. Keep pulling at the thread, and you’ll see.”

I stare into the dark of the night, contemplating his words. I’m the one unraveling the sweater now, but what happens when I reveal something I don’t want to see?

“Your visions haven’t told you anything else?”

“Not yet.”

“Yet, you don’t seem surprised by any of this.”

“The man who locked you and Tobey up while starting a manhunt for me isn’t as innocent as we assumed?” He lifts a brow. “Color me shocked.”

My instinct is to defend my father, but I let the words die on my tongue.

After another moment of silence, I ask, “Do you know how to kill a demon?”

He hums thoughtfully. “There are probably many ways, but there’s only one way I know of. It’s called a witch weapon. That’s how my mother killed my father.”

He says the words as if they’re nothing, but I recoil. “On second thought, my family trauma is nothing compared to yours.”

“She did what she had to.”

“Your mother killed a demon, and someone else managed to take her down?”

“I suppose so.”

“Well, then…”

“Stranger things have happened.”

Caldwell lights another cigarette. I could leave him alone to think, but he is full of information. I may only have until the next cigarette is ash to question him.

“Tell me about your watch.” I lean against the stone wall, cool enough that even I can feel it, and I shove my hands into my jacket pockets. “I found my father with a similar one.”