"There is usually only one hunter per pack. Take out the hunter, and you probably destroy the others."
"Which means we need to be there when it selects its next victim, then track it home if the trap doesn't work." I stared at him as dread settled into the pit of my stomach. "And that means keeping watch at Dark Earth. That's not something I want to do."
"Then do not." But remember, you do this because you fear Hunter and her council. He paused, then added, with a little more emphasis than was needed, How do you think she would react if you backed out of this investigation now?
Badly. And with much venom. I sighed. "Dark Earth is not a place I want to go near again—especially at night."
"I'll be there."
And he would protect me as much as he could. I knew that. But I also knew he was just one against a possible frenzy.
"You do not have to be there in the flesh."
I frowned. "But you warned me against taking Aedh form too much because it might attract the wrong sort of attention."
"It might, but if you do not want to physically wait at Dark Earth, then we are left with Aedh form or watching from the gray fields."
"In the gray fields we'd at least have the Dušan to guard us."
He nodded. "But the Raziq prowl there. There is a greater chance of discovery if we step onto the fields for any great length of time."
"We risk that no matter what we do," I muttered. "Any idea how long it might be before the Rakshasa feeds again?"
"The five victims have all died within a week. From what I have been told, their feeding cycle lasts a month, and then they will go into hibernation again."
"Spirits hibernate? That's a new one."
He ignored my comment. "After the initial frenzy, the hunter will space her kills more evenly. We may have a couple of days before the agony and fury of the lost ones call to her again."