Cal popped open one of the hidden hatch doorways located in the library that would take him to the underground world of the scholars. He didn’t like going down there—none of the Hunters did. Why would they? It was a reminder of what could happen if one of them lost their Huntress. The rest of their mortal years would be spent aging and eventually dying, rarely venturing topside, focusing solely on decoding the texts. A shudder ran through him at the thought. Some Hunters actually placed the scholars on a pedestal—an honored rank to be achieved at a tremendous cost. The scholars called the shots, their time spent analyzing the texts gave them a position of power over the Hunters. Up until Kelly came, they were the only ones who could find the Huntresses, so the Hunters had deferred to their expertise in many of their decisions.
Of the twelve remaining scholars all had lost their Huntresses before they had actually bonded, so they didn’t know the pain of finding and then losing their soul mate. All except one, that was. Luther, Cal’s father. He was the only one who’d had a Huntress, had bonded with her, had a child with her, and then had lived to tell about her death at his hand.
Cal moved down the dimly lit walkway that would take him into the scholar’s den and living quarters. It wasn’t a dreary place, although whenever he came down here, his mood always shifted to a melancholy state. The atmosphere of the interior was updated to suit the needs of the time. Satellite TV, a games room, training facility, all of the amenities scholars of any age would enjoy. But even with all of that, the place just reeked of loneliness and longing. He shuddered again at the thought of soon joining their ranks, doomed to spend the rest of his life shut up in the basement of the only home he’d ever known, cut off from the world, and all by his own doing.
Cal rounded the corner that would take him to the den where the scholars spent their time decoding the texts. He knew he’d find his father there. The old man was constantly working, forever trying to find answers. Perhaps he was searching for some measure of forgiveness as well, Cal didn’t know. He tended to avoid speaking with the man at all costs. He had, after all, killed Cal’s mother—a mother Cal only dimly remembered, but certainly missed, like a hole in his soul that had never been repaired. At least until he’d bonded with Morgan.
Yeah, and you’re about to rip that hole right open again and stuff it full of self-loathing and anguish.
“Caleb!” A booming voice echoed behind him as a strong hand landed with a thump on his shoulder. “So nice of you to come down and visit.”
Cal turned. “Stephen, how are you?”
Stephen was the latest of the Hunters to lose his Huntress, which made him the youngest of the scholars at only twenty-seven. It was a blow to their ranks to have lost such a young Hunter, but fate had given him his Huntress, and Lazarus had taken her away only five years ago.
“Doing well.” Stephen adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his long brown curls. “You know.” He waved his hand around him. “It is what it is.” His face brightened in the next instant as a wide smile broke on his face. “I’ve heard that you found your Huntress.”
Cal nodded as he darted his eyes around Stephen, searching the dimly lit depths of the den for his father. “Yep.”
“And you bonded with her?”
“Yep.”
“What’s she like?”
Cal swiveled his gaze back to Stephen and caught such a look of longing and curiosity in the man’s eyes that he had to look away again. “She’s great, more than great, but I really need to talk to Luther. Do you know where he is?”
Stephen pointed toward the other end of the room, his face scrunched into a frown. “Yeah, he’s over there, nose buried in the texts as usual.” He leaned in close and whispered, “What do you want to speak to him for?”
Cal met Stephen’s eyes once again. “I’ve just got some questions for him. Would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?”
Stephen shrugged. “Sure, of course.” He moved around Cal to the door and paused. “You should stop by the dining hall before you leave. Chat with some of the other men. They’d probably like that.”
Cal forced a smile. “I can’t stay too long tonight, but I’ll come back soon, okay?”
Stephen nodded. “Sure, sure, Cal. It was nice seeing you anyway.”
Cal nodded and moved toward the back of the den, barely making out a human form among the stacks of old leather books and various scatterings of paper.
“Luther?” Cal squinted in the limited light, not sure if the old man was bent over a text reading or if he was bent over and asleep. Or dead maybe? “Father?”