Silence of the Wolves by Hannah Pole Page A

broke it keeps coming back to me, I just can’t remember where or how?’
    ‘I’d forgotten about that.’
    ‘About what?’
    ‘You got into a fight with a tuhrned behind the Marlowe flats, just before your fever hit.’
    ‘Yeah. He was huge, with black eyes?’ She glanced at him for confirmation. ‘I blacked out. The girl? The blonde girl, is she OK?’
    ‘Yeah we got her, don’t worry. She’s in the clinic.’
    Leyth fell silent for a long while as they drove; the further they went, the more isolated they became. Trees whooshed past them as they drove into the thick of some woodland and fear prickled her spine. Was she crazy for doing this? Letting a stranger drive her out into the middle of the woods whilst she was injured and alone? Probably. No, definitely.
    But the need to find answers to this, her situation, her father – herself – was so strong she just couldn’t deny the opportunity to meet more people like Leyth who had these strange abilities, who possibly knew her father. Who might know what she was. Sometimes the need for knowledge overrode all logic.
    The drive took a long while, during which Leyth tried to tell Tamriel everything he could, though he could see her struggling to digest it all.
    His mind kept veering back to the blonde he’d left in the alley. He was sure she must be in the clinic or, at least, he hoped she was. He’d been so wrapped up in making sure Tamriel was OK and that she got through her fever that he hadn’t even bothered to check on the girl.
    God, he felt like an arse now he thought about it!
    And Carl had been trying to get hold of him; he just didn’t have the time or energy for it right now.
    ‘I remember…’ She trailed off, clutching her forehead. ‘Argh, it’s giving me a headache. Tell me more about the Council and these tiers while I try to remember stuff.’
    ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘Yeah, it just hurts a little.’ Leyth gave her a sideways glance. It was strange how naturally comfortable they were around each other; he was beginning to realise he knew his way around her emotions pretty well, it was almost as if they were connected in some strange way.
    He shook the thought off as he reached over and patted her on the leg, he really was no good at this whole comforting deal. His hand briefly brushed hers and he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat or two. Her green eyes met his, and for the briefest of moments the scent of lust filled the air.
    It took all the strength he had to pull his hand away and look anywhere but those beautiful green eyes.
    Tam rapidly cleared her throat.
    ‘So, the Council?’ she prompted.
    ‘OK, the Council delegates to groups of supernaturals. As I said before, vamps and wolves are on the frontline. We fight the tuhrned and make sure, firstly, that they don’t expose us, and, secondly, that they can’t get to the Council. It’s the Circle who create tombs; in a nutshell, they’re rebels who have turned against the Council because they don’t like the rules put in place.’
    ‘And the Council have put these rules in place to stop humans finding out about the supernatural community?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So who is in charge of the Circle?’
    ‘The Circle is run by magis, as powerful as the ones who run the Council, but they use dark magic. Supernaturals who join the Circle go through a ritual that binds their soul; apparently they know what’s happening, but allow themselves to be controlled by the Circle, who can use their bodies as a vessel to fight.’
    ‘Christ, that’s horrible! Why would anyone do that?’
    ‘Beats me. We actually don’t know all that much about them to be honest; we’ve never really had a chance to “study” them, as it were.’
    ‘How do you kill them?’ He was beginning to like this female more and more; she just got straight to the point and got the job done, didn’t mess about. She would do well in the field.
    ‘You have to cut their head off.’
    Finally they began to speed