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“No, neither did we. It took some research. It means a darkened reflection. We think it’s a reference to the portals they’re using to summon old gods.”
“How many old gods?” Darwin asks.
He and Gabe—who is still fussing around in the galley, although it looks like he’s making breakfast, at bloody last—have been so quiet I’d forgotten they might have strong opinions about this conversation.
“We know of three,” Lords responds.
“Three?” I ask, surprise shooting my voice to a squeak.
“Only Klotho seems to be able to sever the threads that tie the courts to the mortal world,” Lords explains. “The old ones they summoned previously attacked the courts directly. Eriyam the Black killed King Ferran and took the Crown of the North. Pertcha killed the Ivywhile Court’s Squire but was contained before she could assassinate the new Holly King. Klotho’s not targeting individuals. Maybe they’re learning, or maybe Klotho’s not easily controlled.”
“Control is not a word I’d have applied to her.” I shake my head. “I’ve never studied fae history specifically, but I thought Ferran fell a long time ago. Like centuries.”
My husbands chuckle in unison.
“Don’t say that in front of Doctor Prince,” Gabe says, stirring a sizzling pan. “She’ll fail you next semester.”
I smile at his joke, but there’s a ping in my chest at the reminder of what I’m missing.
I exhale steadily and push that thought aside.
“Ferran fell in the nineteen-seventies,” Lords tells me. “Long enough ago to rule out any involvement by Ezra Hale, but certainly not by his family.”
I lift my eyebrows at him. “You think Ezra Hale’s ancestor summoned Eriyam?”
“I think there’s a reason the Vitrim are hidden within Evanda Hale,” Lords says. “Even if Ezra Hale has eschewed his family’s legacy, that doesn’t mean others have.”
Rachel knocks him with her elbow. “This isTeddyyou’re talking to, Ev. Not the Council. Tell her what we found. She’ll believe you.”
I watch Lords as he chews his lower lip. I don’t say anything. Either he trusts me, or he doesn’t.
Chapter4
Sorer Losses
Lords grunts.
“Fine. Ezra Hale’s father was Benjamin Hale. He was the youngest of Evanda’s children. Benjamin was a Fire-mage. Unexceptional. Not so his older brother, Niles. Niles had two Elements: Earth and Air. The broken rune Rachel found, I believe it was part of a set that Niles created. The runes open portals to different planes. I think Niles was the one who summoned the Black Empyrean.”
“What happened?” I ask, flicking my eyes between Lords and Rachel.
Lords shrugs. “The Empyrean vanished after defeating Ferran, but it didn’t take the Crown of the North with it. We know the Crown remained on our plane because the Empyreans would have used it in their war if they had it. I think Eriyam surrendered it to Niles. What Niles did with it, I don’t know. But I do know what the summoning did to Niles. We’ve found some pictures of him after seventy-nine. He was in a wheelchair.”
“Eriyam crippled him?”
“Or the backlash of using so much power did. We think that’s why the Vitrim’s rituals involve a circle of magi now. They distribute both the drain of summoning so much power and the backlash among several magi. They’ve learned from Niles’ mistake.”
I nod as I mull this over. “Niles passes the runes to his nephew, but Ezra refuses to use them. They lie unused until, what, one of the Evanda Hale volunteers stumbles over them?”
Rachel nods. “Something like that.”
“Or Ezra Hale gives the runes to someone with the balls to use them,” Lords says.
Rachel rolls her eyes. “So cynical.”
“Justifiably,” Lords grunts. “What we do know is that using the runes is extremely hazardous to your health. Niles Hale was crippled and died when he was only sixty-six. Cause of death was a brain hemorrhage. What Earth-mage can’t stop their own bleeding? Niles’ magic may have failed him; we’re not sure. Then we have Pertcha’s summoning. We think that happened during the last great conjunction. Two days later, three magi were found dead in the Blue Hills. It was called an animal attack. No autopsies done, but Rachel managed to get a picture that was taken at the scene. They were half-eaten, yes, but barely any blood. I think the backlash killed them and Pertcha’s hounds ate the bodies.”
“So, are you following the trail to Klotho? Any suspicious deaths that would give us a clue as to when she was first summoned and by who?”
