The storm over Arin's ressurection was still very much in full swing and Alpha Vale was still trying to find a way to ally his pack member's fears when Sage came striding into his study, the hem of her cloak damp with mud and rain. Her face was pale, though not with the chill, there was an unusual urgency in her eyes, something brittle and sharp that Vale noticed at once.
She clutched a thick, leather-bound tome against her chest. The cover was cracked and blackened at the edges, its clasp eaten by rust, and a faint smell of earth and old smoke clung to it as though it had been buried for centuries.
Vale rose from behind his desk, sensing at once that whatever she carried was not an ordinary relic. "What is this? Where did you find this?" he demanded, his voice edged with suspicion.
Sage hesitated, then laid the book upon the desk with reverence. "I brought this along with a few other thngs from my travels, it had been given to me by one of my teachers."
