She was right. They reminded me of the animals when I extracted them from the holiday home.
An idea spawned. “What if they were ravenous?” The pieces fit. If the Korriganes were stuck elsewhere and unable to get here until recently, unlike other creatures that manifested during the Great Eruption, it made sense that they’d arrive out of control. If you’re starving and intent on survival, you’re not going to function on a higher level, the kind that involves healing and nurturing. You’re going to give in to your baser instincts.
Neera seemed to follow my train of thought. “Where have they been all this time?”
I was still stuck on why now after all this time? If a portal opened, where was it and how did it open?
Neera beat me to the idea. “Could be a summoner. Some ambitious witch bit off more than she could chew.”
“You think those were hitchhikers?” Kami asked. She didn’t seem convinced. Not that I blamed her. I’d heard of a single creature piggybacking through a portal, but nine seemed a bit much.
“Maybe someone summoned them specifically,” Neera offered.
“Why? What purpose do they serve?” Kami drained her glass and proceeded to pour the remaining ale from my glass into hers.
“You know how magic users can be,” Neera said. “They only want to see whether they can. They don’t stop to think whether they should.”
“It would take more than one magic user to summon the Korriganes,” I pointed out. “A whole coven, maybe.” And only if that coven was extremely powerful and filled with summoners. Summoning was one of the rarest magical skills, which was one reason I kept my abilities quiet.
“But how would they have gotten the spirits here?” Neera asked. “They can’t conjure the Korriganes out of thin air.” She swiveled to face me. “Can they?”
I didn’t think so, but I wasn’t entirely sure. “I’ll have to look into it.”
Kami groaned. “What are we supposed to do next? Interview every coven in the city?”
That plan wasn’t feasible. It also omitted too many other magic users from the sample. It didn’t have to be a coven; it was just the most likely. All in all it seemed like a waste of resources. On the other hand, I didn’t have a better idea.
“What else is there to know about them?” Kami asked. “They change shape, but they’re not shifters in the same way as a werewolf.”
“That’s because they’re spirits of the wind,” I explained. “They use the air around them to change forms. Different magic.”
“Then could they have been brought here by elemental magic?” Kami asked. “There are a lot more covens that specialize in air magic than summoning.”
Oh, gods.
Kami stared at me. “What did I say? You’re wearing that face. You know the one I mean.”
“Better me than someone else.”
“You’ve thought of something,” she accused.
“You said the magic word—elemental.”
Kami and Neera exchanged blank looks.
“I think I know how they got here.”
Neera scrutinized me with what we called her mom face. It was equal parts concerned and judgmental. “Is this connected to the job for House Lewis?”
“I think so.” I rose to my feet. “Your hour’s up. I need to get home and sleep so I can think clearly tomorrow and figure out my next move.”
Because if I didn’t find the stone soon, I had a sinking suspicion the city would have a lot more than Korriganes to worry about.
16
I awoke the next morning to find a flurry of notes on the balcony. Barnaby stood in the midst of them looking like his beak was out of joint.
“Sorry, buddy. I’ll take care of it today. No more pigeons. Promise.”
The raven cawed and flew away.
I let the menagerie out for a short circuit on the rooftop and cleaned up after them before returning to the flat. I’d shower and head to the library to see what Pedro had uncovered.
It was still early when I entered the library. Even though it was open twenty-fours a day, that didn’t mean everyone was as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as yours truly.
Pedro spotted me from behind the counter and waved me over eagerly. “Wonderful. You got my messages.”
“Hard to miss all those pigeons outside my window. Let me tell you, my raven is not a fan.”
“I’ve been thinking about your symbol ever since you left.”
“That makes two of us.”
He retrieved a book from behind the counter and set it on top. “I marked the page for you.” He opened it and removed the bookmark—an old postcard of a red double-decker bus—and turned the book toward me.
I spotted the symbol straight away. Five triangles around a circle.
I skimmed the paragraph. As soon as my gaze landed on the word, I knew. Fire. Water. Air. Consider the dots connected. Interesting the wizards hadn’t yet used earth magic. There had to be a reason why not.
I tapped the image. “But there are five triangles and only four elements.”
Pedro smiled. “Unless you count an ancient metal born from the earth’s core as the fifth element, which many would.”
Damascus steel. The resurgence of the ancient metal wasn’t a coincidence. It was directly tied to the stone. Whoever controlled the stone had access to incredible elemental power and their first act was to use it to kill Maria. I couldn’t let them keep it.
On the other hand, I was tasked with recovering it for the vampires. Another problem. Surprise, surprise. Queen Imogen had lied to me. She didn’t want a simple artifact. She wanted control of a weapon. House Lewis possessed the immortality stone and now they wanted this elemental stone to add to their collection.
I thought back to Lann and his ineffectual efforts to manipulate the metal. He was a dwarf. He wouldn’t be able to.
But I could. Ostensibly any magic user could if they had traces of elemental magic in their bloodline. The vampires wanted to keep control of the stone away from magic users. If the stone fell into the hands of wizards—it all made sense now.
“Thank you, Pedro. You’re amazing. Best librarian in the world.”
“I’d offer you a cup of tea, but you know how I feel about food and drink near the books.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
He thumbed through the book. “I also took the liberty of gathering more details on the ancient metal. I was helping a chemistry student and came across helpful information.”
“You found information on an ancient metal in the chemistry section?”
He nodded. “This young dwarf was working on a project that blended chemistry with his work as a blacksmith.”
“Ah. A future weapons maker.”
“I don’t believe so. Chemistry is to please his mother and blacksmith is to please his father. You know how parents can be.”
I really didn’t, but I let the comment slide. “This is an incredible find, Pedro. Thank you.”
“What will you do with the information?”
An excellent question. “First I’d like to read more, then I’ll decide. If you find more information on the symbol or the metal, will you send me another pigeon? Just one this time.” I wanted to know everything contained within these four walls on the subject.