The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy #2)(34)

“How so?” I asked, my mouth settling into a frown. “They’re just a bunch of bells.”

Wally tilted her head at me, and Orin turned to stare.

“It was in your contract,” Wally said. “Didn’t you read it before you signed it? Because you should always read contracts before you sign them.”

“Or have your lawyer do it,” Ethan said.

It was my turn to snort. “They forced me to sign the contract after I’d been tagged and bagged.” The blank looks indicated they didn’t have fathers who watched a lot of military flicks. I elaborated. “After they zap-strapped my hands behind my back and shoved a bag over my head, someone pushed the contract to my pricked thumb.”

Orin’s brows lowered over his eyes, something I hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t like him to show a reaction.

“That’s…not right,” Wally said. “They can’t make you—”

“I had the Sandman,” I said quickly, remembering Pete’s reaction to him. He was currently at the edge of the clearing, sniffing a tree. “He’s not very good at convincing. He’s very good at threatening, though.”

Wally still looked troubled, but Orin looked excited. Like I had more value to him than I’d had a few minutes before. The latter I really wasn’t digging.

“Who cares about contracts and the Sandman,” Ethan said, impatient. “There is a big bell at the front of the mansion grounds. When you ring the bell, you are removing yourself from the Culling Trials. You’re quitting. The same goes for the elite who live at the academy. Ring the bell, and you’re out. These bells are probably just for show. The shifters want to intimidate us. They think our submission will be funny.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of an animal’s thing,” I muttered, fetching the paper without disturbing the bells. “Dominance. Submission. Alphas and betas.”

I read the type-written note.

Follow your nose and see with your eyes. Get to the end, and you’ll be nearer the prize.

“Submission they’ve got—riddles, not so much.” I shoved the paper into my pocket as Pete’s fur and claws morphed into skin and a whole lotta Pete.

“I’ve got five smells around this clearing,” he said without preamble.

“Cover your junk, man. We don’t want to see it,” I called out, turning away.

“The cold affects more than the harvest,” Wally said, looking upward at the pale blue sky.

“Whoa, can’t call the man out like that,” Ethan said. “It isn’t cool.”

“You call out women for their breast size,” Wally retorted. “I fail to see the difference.”

“That’s because you are socially awkward,” Orin supplied. “There is a time and place. This is neither.”

“Right. Okay. Pete, what’d you find?” I said too loudly, still staring out into the trees.

“Five smells, like I said.” He pointed at five sections within the clearing. “Most of them are older scents, a day, maybe two since they were laid. One newer. A wolf, I think.”

“Great. And their trails?”

“The wolf is all over this place but doesn’t move past this clearing. Two of the other scents stay as well—a rabbit, I think, and something I can’t quite place. Of the last two, the bear goes off that way”—he pointed to the left side of the clearing, which was mostly flat land—“and something else went that way.” He pointed behind him, a graceful incline that might get treacherous later.

I snorted. A bunch of shifters intent on submission would not create a path through easy terrain. They’d say, “Follow this trail, I dare you.”

“Clearly shifters think with their teeth, claws, and balls,” I said to myself. “They don’t put as much effort into the finer strokes of a challenge.”

“Astute, and rather accurate,” Orin said.

“Yes, thank you, peanut gallery.” I shook my head, thinking back to the half-assed riddle. “So that’s the nose portion. Now. I expect we’ll see some or all of the tracks.”

“Here. A rabbit.” Wally pointed at a patch of cleared vegetation. “I’ve always loved rabbits. I used to stalk them through the fields behind our house, looking for their burrows. I wanted to trap one and take it home for a pet.”

“We’re looking at a future black widow here, folks,” Ethan said softly, his eyes pointed downward.

“Oh no. I could never love people that much,” Wally replied.

In a moment, we’d identified all five sets of prints, but none of the information matched. The rabbit’s tracks told us it had left the clearing, but its scent didn’t, and the bear’s tracks indicated it had stayed, but its scent said it had left. Only the wolf had neither its scent nor its tracks leading out.

I rolled my eyes and headed up the steep incline leading straight up the mountain. It didn’t take long to find a set of wolf tracks, clear as day.

“Here we go. This will be the trail we’re meant to follow.” I gestured everyone on. “If I’m wrong, I’ll give you my portion of the winnings.”

“If you’re wrong, we won’t get any winnings,” Ethan replied.

“Look at you, finally using your brain. How does it feel? Rusty?” My double thumbs up earned me a scowl. “Pete, back into shifter form if you can handle another change so quickly. The note said eyes and nose, so we might need both to finish out the trail.”