Page 63 of Oracles Always Win

“Everyonegot out.ThankstoNelson’smessage.”Iturned to the shadow jumper. “Tellme what happened.”

“Here?”Nelsonasked.

“Thesepeople deserve answers.Dependingon our next steps,I’llprobably call on half of them to help anyway,”Vansaid, butNelsonstill looked to me for confirmation.Inodded.

IftheChiefofPolicedidn’t care if all the supes who were scattered across the shoreline listened to our conversation,Ididn’t either.Infact,Ihoped someone would tell those bastards they’d pissed off a demon.Theydeserved to live in fear from this moment forward.

“Thatpack, man.”Nelsonshook his head. “Thealpha is fucked up and the wolves are just happily following him like they can’t see how messed up he is.ButIdon’t know how anyone could miss it, soIsuspect they are all complicit and accepting of what he’s doing.”

“Soitwasthe wolves who did this?”Vanshot a quick glance atHayden.

Nelsonnodded at the alpha werewolf. “Sorry, but yeah.Ididn’t hear anything about it until just beforeItexted.Itsounded like a small group of pack enforcers were sent in to rig the explosives.Aneed-to-know situation.Iwas just about to leave when they pulled into the yard in a rush.Decidedto stay and see what was happening.Theywere taken right in to see the alpha and the first thing they said was they’d finished the job.Igot the impression the bomb hadn’t been the alpha’s idea, because he got on his phone, telling whoever answered his call that the threat had been dealt with.”Nelsonrubbed at his eyes. “Fuck.Ithought they’d already detonated it.ThoughtIwas too late.”

“Youdid good,”Isaid asIreached forward and grippedNelson’sshoulder to steady him.

Weall studied the inn for a long moment as we let that news settle over us.Thebuilding was standing.Fromthis side, nothing looked amiss, but we really needed to check the other side.Blacksmoke spiralled up to the clouds and bits of ash fell from the sky.Sofar, there hadn’t been a fourth explosion.Thenagain, there had been a long break between the first bomb and the second, so it was possible there were more undetonated ones hanging about the place.

Hayden’sshoulders sagged. “Whatthe fuck is he thinking?”

Nelsonglanced atJake, then at me.Helifted his eyebrow.

“Heknows,”Isaid.

Nelsonnodded, then started talking. “Newsgot out about there being an oracle at the inn.Somethingabout the oracle having a vision the night of the robbery and causing problems for them.Igot the sense someone, not necessarily the wolf pack, thoughtJakeneeded to be stopped before his visions interfered with more of their plans.”Nelsonshot an apologetic glance atJake.

“Someonewants me dead?”Jakegaped.

Mypower rose and filled my body before rolling out through the air.ExceptforJake, everyone, evenVan, bowed their heads to me. “Noone will touch you.”

“Howdid they know?”Jakegrabbed my arm.Hisgrip was so tight his knuckles were turning white. “Ionly found outIwas an oracle a few hours ago.”

“Buteveryone else has known for a while,”Ireminded him. “Eversince the hellhound was found in the woods.”

“Wasn’tthat weeks or more ago?”Nelsonasked. “Whywait until now?”

Dreadskated up my spine like an ice-cold blade. “Jakehad a vision today.Aboutmore caged people.Weneed to find out who saw his latest painting.”

“Noway.Itwasn’t one of my painting ladies.”Jakeshook his head. “Theywouldn’t hurt me or their friends and family.Theywere all here, for pity’s sake.Withtheir children.”

“Thenthey told someone about it, someone who still talks toRobbie,”Vansaid.Hescrubbed his hand over his face. “ItmeansRobbiehas more contacts inWillowLakethan we thought.”Henarrowed his eyes and looked toward the hills west of town where the wolf pack lived. “Someonehas been feeding him information.Someoneknew people would be at the inn today.Thisattack wasn’t only about hurtingJake.Theywere trying to hurt a sizable section of our local supe community.”

“Weneed to stop him,”Isaid. “Wewere lucky this time.Wecan’t count on luck saving us again.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

JAKE

“Ineed to see what happened,”Isaid, pushing away fromGage’sembrace.

Beingwrapped in his arms was unbelievably calming, but this was not a calm moment.Myinn—myhome—had been bombed, for fuck’s sake.

Bombed.

Whodid shit like that?IfLittleHouseon thePrairiereruns—which was one of the few shows my mom had encouraged me to watch when we still had aTV—had taught me anything, it was that small towns might be plagued with gossip and the occasional hurt feeling, but ultimately people cared about one another and wished one another the best.Sure, old television shows weren’t real life andWillowLakewas undeniably weird, but bombs still didn’t fit here.Theyjust didn’t.

ThelongerIstood on the lake shore, which was beginning to feel like an eternity already, the more my anxiety grew.Gagestayed close to me, andVanwent to question my painting ladies while his deputies fanned out to take everyone else’s statement.Giventhe look of frustration on everyone’s face,Idoubted anyone had seen anything helpful.

EvenHayden,Isaac, andNelsonhad wandered off to circulate through the bedraggled groups of survivors, checking on everyone and helping the paramedics who were triaging people.Hayden’spresence seemed to have the most impact.EverywhereHaydenwent, he touched people as he spoke soft words of support and encouragement.Whoeverhe spoke to appeared instantly calmer.Wasthat a supernatural thing?Somethingto do with his magic?