CHAPTER 147

With Boyd hospitalized, most of the time Tristan spent in school the following day seemed lacking. It was not like they hung out at every given second on a normal day but the fact that Boyd almost became collateral for an unknown, most probably, stupid reason made it a little hard to focus on school work.

While he had never been one to wear his heart on his sleeves, he kept it in his head 99% of the time.

"Hey, I heard what happened to Boyd. Is he okay?" Allison asked the both of them as soon as she saw them, genuinely worried for her friend.

Seeing Tristan not in the mood to speak, she turned to Malia who gave her a nod. "The worst part was taken care of and he was stabilized before we left the hospital, so as far as we know, then yes, he's okay."

Putting her hand on her chest, Allison breathed out in relief and slumped into one of the seats around them. She had been a nervous wreck since she got the news about Boyd the previous night.

She took some time to calm her nerves before informing them of the discovery she made yesterday.

"I think my dad has not only been following all the dark druid's sacrifices, but he also marked where they were all found. But that's not all." She zoomed in on the picture on her phone.

"There's a lot more marked spots on your dad's map. Does that mean he has an idea where the sacrifices will be carried out?"

"Probably. Definitely." Allison replied. "Two people were killed yesterday and those places were marked here, even before the bodies were found."

That did pique Tristan's interest and he raised his head slightly to look at the map. "Can you send me the image?"

"Yeah, sure." Allison quickly sent it over and continued what she had been saying. "As long as there's no mistake in the missing persons report, that means that there's still one healer to be sacrificed."

"Even if we want to man each marked spot, we can't because we don't have the accurate number of werewolves. And that's considering a single beta can take care of the druid if they come across it." Tristan commented his two bits as he studied the map.

Hearing the way he worded what he just said, Allison turned to him with a hint of plead and curiosity. "You made that sound as if you're going to be helping out."

"Mhm." He only gave a low grunt and that was all Allison needed for confirmation. The situation with Boyd must have gotten to him, she thought, exactly right in her thinking.

"So all we have to do is wait for the next person to go missing and then scout out the marked locations? Hmm, simple enough." Malia said offhandedly.

"That's the sad part. If only there's a way we could know who was going to be sacrificed next and stop it before it happens rather than leaving a rescue to an uncertain probability." Allison's pale face looked glum as she let known the depressing reality of their situation.

To her side, Malia sighed despondently. "I feel you, girl. If only we had a working banshee, that would have made things a lot easier." She sighed once again, causing Allison to chuckle.

Malia turned to Tristan who was fiddling with something on his phone. "Are you visiting Boyd after school?"

Tristan paused, tilted his head to both sides in contemplation but ended up shrugging. "It depends. If nothing important comes up, then yeah."

Class started and the new teacher stepped in again in what should be a Chemistry period.

"Good morning! As you all know, Mr. Harris is still missing—I mean sick. Anyway, I'm filling in while we all hope and pray for a more qualified substitute to take my place. Okay, so let's get started, shall we?" She said with a smile, hoping everyone glossed over her small mistake.

Tristan brought out his Chemistry notes, trying to at least pay attention for as much as he can, only for Scott's panicked hush whispers to enter his ears.

He wanted to block it out but then he heard Alan Deaton's voice. He didn't hear the starting point of the conversation but the part he heard was enough.

[I'm going to be taken. I need you to find me]

It took less than three seconds for it to fall into place after he remembered that Alan Deaton was a veterinarian, or a healer - in sacrificial druidic speak.

He could feel Scott's nerves rattling but the boy controlled them and calmed himself, or at least the semblance of calmness he could muster.

Scott looked around, trying to find Stiles, only for his gaze to lock into that of Tristan. The two of them looked at each other for a second before Tristan retracted his gaze and subtly sent a text to Satomi that Deaton had been taken by the dark druid – a Darach as she had called them one time.

For some reason, this period went on for longer than it ever had the right to and when it was over, Scott was the first one to practically leap out of the class.

"What's up with him?" Malia asked with curiosity as she saw Scott forcing his way through an unending crowd of students.

"Oh him? Something came up, I guess." Tristan said dismissively. "His boss got kidnapped. I guess a veterinarian is also classified as a healer."

He calmly put his things into his bags and brought out his phone to look at the photo Allison sent him, scratching his chin as he felt like he was missing something.

'Why did Chris Argent mark out 12 spots? It's a traditional ritual so the ritual sites must possess at least some type of importance. Now what's the similarity between all these places marked?'

Tristan thought long and hard but he couldn't come up with anything. He knew this concerned something he had read once but he couldn't remember what topic this was under.

"Allison." He called her when he saw she was about leaving for her next class.

"Yeah, Tristan?"

"Does Lydia have this map?" He asked and Allison shook her head. "I see, don't worry. I'll send it to her. I think she might be able to figure out the key point of this map."

"Okay…I guess?" With that she left for her Arts class, leaving Tristan behind with Malia and a few other students.

He sent the picture to Lydia and it took less than two minutes for him to get his reply back.

[Those marked points all coincide with the pathways of the telluric current that runs through Beacon Hills.]

"Hmm? Telluric currents?"

[Search 'ley lines']

"Oh so that's what these basically are. Now I see, everything they do has a natural significance."

"Figured it out yet?" Malia went behind Tristan and rested her head on the crook of his neck to look at what he was doing.

Tristan then marked all the spots where the virgin and warrior sacrifices were carried out, noted the general similarities, and then did the same for the two healers that were killed yesterday. Tracing the middle point between them, his eyes went up in pleasant surprise as it was a very familiar place.

In fact, how much more familiar does the place where he became an Alpha need to be that he wouldn't recognize it.

"Is that?" Even Malia behind him was shocked. "Talk about hiding in plain sight. So what now? You want to give McCall a heads up?"

Tristan however shook his head. "I want to go there myself. If the bastard is there then it'll be a therapeutic session for me when I suck their blood dry. Do you want to tag along?"

Malia gave him a look that said 'duh!' and kissed him on his lips before pulling away. "We should get going soon before Beacon Hills loses its only verified animal doctor."

The two of them sped towards the abandoned site of the Beacon Hills First Monument Bank – the same place where Cora and Erica had been held and also where Derek and Tristan killed Ennis and Kali of the Alpha Pack.

"Feel anything?" Malia asked Tristan, who had his eyes closed and a small frown on his face, after they highlighted their car.

"I feel something. Mountain ash most likely. Let's go!" They didn't dilly dally any longer and rushed inside the bank and went straight to the vault.

Inside the vault, hung off the ceiling, inside a circle of mountain ash was Alan Deaton, breathing weakly as he was slowly succumbing to asphyxiation.

Forming a blood lance, Tristan threw it at the rope but surprisingly it also bounced off the mountain ash barrier.

Like a silent whisper, Tristan's ears caught the sound of clothes ruffling in the air and when he and Malia turned around, they found something.

It was hard to know whether it was a man or woman, Tristan chose the latter, with a face that looked like it belonged in the classic 90s horror flicks.

No single word or gasp was made as Tristan had already rushed at this person who was no doubt the dark druid, but as his hands came a few centimeters from grabbing the bastard, Tristan suddenly found himself being flung backwards. He impacted against the mountain ash and ricocheted to the side.

"Trist!" The split moment Malia took her eyes off the druid to Tristan and back, they were already gone.

"What the hell was that?!" Tristan asked no one in particular.

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