“Maybe?” I take a swig from my fresh bottle and hand it back to her. “I’m not familiar with the demonic stuff, but I’d assume it’s a lot like my Fae stuff poking me when I felt Reb’s moods. Works that way for shifters, yes?”
“It does, though it’s more instinctual when it’s the same species or mates.” The gargoyle sits up a bit, and her face gets seriousagain. “While you were gone, we talked about the power structure of the surface a bit more. I don’t know as much as I’d like, and Rogue has offered to fill in some gaps. If the issue we’re all facing is global and inter-realm, it will probably involve the Society more than either of us would prefer.”
Kat scoots closer, her eyes eager as she leans in. “Ooh, yes! They talk about them derisively here, and don’t go into much other than the fact that demons or hybrids who live up there have to follow their rules or whatever. And it’s been mentioned that they take care of their lost people or whatever in a shitty way, whereas demons are better about it.”
I sigh, rolling my eyes to the ceiling, and then look at them. “I will not sugarcoat it. The Society, and by extension the local councils, made laws about those who are suspected to be of supernatural origin but are unclaimed many centuries ago. This was because in those dark times, the leaders of various realms and the Society reached a compromise about powerful species/beings breeding. They were afraid that deities mixing between what humans call pantheons or legendaries and shifters, or whatever, would create overpowered hybrids that could not be held to any realm’s laws.”
“What the fuck? That’s like… eugenics! They can’t tell people who they can fucking have kids with; that’s what the…. Ohhhhh.” The kid looks at me, and I nod sagely. “That’s where the humans got the idea from. Just fucking peachy.”
Morgana looks at her, nose wrinkled. “Sorry, Kat, but most things humans do that are good or bad are ideas they get from supes with loose lips or purposely dropped knowledge that was used to help them further themselves. They’re really easily manipulated and fooled, and that is part of why the Society made such ridiculous rules so long ago. The rulers of Faerie andHell and our world, plus some others, knew what would happen to the humans if such creatures were made.”
Unfortunately, none of the upper-tier beings are known for following rules and laws, so it didn’t work a bit.
“One thing thatistrue in human-centered mythology is that beings with god-like powers or worse do not enjoy being told what to do, even by their own leaders,” I reply with a smirk. “So the hanky-panky between the forbidden ones continued regardless, and when it resulted in children, they abandoned them to the world on their own with no knowledge of their supernatural parentage. The Society started finding random humans who were far too gifted in many things to be anything but a supe, but they didn’t know how it happened.”
“And after a while, they created the Guardians with the help of the sisters, I assume?” The gargoyle says as she arches a brow. “I’m sure they figured out that some of the late bloomers they didn’t know about were bad and needed corralling, while some were good and could be taught, yes?”
“On the nose, girl,” I reply. “The Highest Council met and found support from the Fates to create a group who would be activated when need be. They also formed ‘enclaves’ all over the world where babies and children could be dropped without question to curb the amount of ‘lost ones’ being left in human-run orphanages or in the wild on their own. Once the young are located or placed in the enclaves, they are run through testing that will attach them to their Guardians immediately. Over time, the curse of the Guardian was actually improved upon, so when supernaturals are born, we are assigned to them until they are registered with their local councils. If that happens, the connection is cut, and the Guardian falls back into the queue, so to speak.”
“I… this is so fucking much,” Kat says as she pinches the bridge of her nose. “What happens if someone is supernatural in origin butnotleft in an enclave? And what do they do with people who are left but don’t ‘test’ as having supernatural juju or whatever? Do these people even know about this world, or are they like me?”
I knew she was gonna flip out; I have to help her stay calm.
“One thing at a time. Take another drink, Kat. You’re getting jittery.” Winking as she pouts, I go on. “If they are identified as a supe, but have no powers, they stay in enclaves like Whistler’s Hollow or the one near Swallowtail in Europe or Miyako in Asia. They are watched as they attend the schools, and when it is time, their powers emerge. As long as they emerge while in school, the town doctors, and the counselors, plus adoptive families, help them. If they donot, their Guardian jumps in to follow them on their adult journey just in case they gain powers outside of that support system.”
Morgana snaps her fingers. “Jax said he knew the girl in that enclave who got to her thirties and started getting powers. She’s back home now and despite the entire town knowing about us, she knows nothing. They can’t tell her until everything comes out by law, right?”
I nod, my face serious. “No, they can’t, even if she’s found a mate or mates. It’s very dangerous to do so, and it will be adjudicated if anyone does. The Society takes revealing our world to non-supes quite seriously. That’s why Guardians are for life if the ‘lost one’ doesn’t emerge. Now, those who test negative, however…”
Kat narrows her eyes. “What happens to them?”
“I don’t know,” I murmur. “No one has ever discussed what they do with those beings, though the assumption is always that they are placed back in human orphanages or whatever.”
“Does that stupid testing ever fail?” The kid tilts her head, looking suspicious. “I mean, that’s a dumb question, right? Everything fails sometimes; it’s the way the universe works. Nothing can be perfectly accurate because of chaos.”
My expression is careful as I reply, “They swear it’s perfect.”
“Oh, bullshit on toast!” Morgana growls as she sets her booze down. “The kiddo is right; nothing is perfect. But… it leaves a big fucking gap that might tie-in to whatever the fuck Magnus was involved in. That would be a goddamn goldmine for traffickers, wouldn’t it? Scoop up all the rejected kids from wherever they’re left and keep them somewhere until they show value, then sell them off? It’s especially good when you realize most of the young dropped off are likely a result of extremely fucking powerful folks.”
“That law changed,” I reply uneasily. “Everyone knows it has changed, so I don’t see why bigwigs would dump really rare kids off at the enclaves…”
Taking a drink of the wine, Kat gives me an annoyed look. “Rogue, people like that having a way to ditch unwanted or illicit products of secret affairs would make it far too tempting. Of course, they’re sending the leftovers to someone else to deal with. I lived in a systemfullof kids that humans either abandoned or abdicated responsibility for; supes aren’t any better, like you said.”
That’s… insightful and something I didn’t think about before.
“Morgana may be right if that theory is correct. Her ex and whoever the hell he was in with are likely strip-mining the enclaves’ rejects and kidnapping unrevealed lost ones for profit. That would fit with the Society wanting to cover up her true reason for killing him much better than the one they gave the public.”
This entire conversation is making me feel a little sick, but I push it back. They want to know more, and I have to tell them so we’re all on the level. “Reb and I aren’t active because our charge hasn’t been born yet. But our colleagues all run around guiding theirs as best they can, and once the discovered supes are integrated, they get assigned to various teams. Some help Guardians struggling with a lost one, some help agents resolve problems across the globe, and some are sent to even more specialized teams.”
“What kind of teams?” Morgana asks. Her eyes are dark, and I think she definitely knows what I’m hinting at. “And what’s the difference between inducted supes and agents and whatever else? I’ve heard those terms thrown around, and I’m tired of being in the dark.”
“Luckily, those questions intertwine,” I say with a sigh. “Regular supernaturals who emerge fully are inducted into the Society. They, much like citizens in the human world, go to local things and help vote for stuff, etc. Some are gifted or wealthy or skilled, etc., and they are made agents. Agents can be used for recruitment, issue resolution, liaising within the human governments, and more. Retired Guardians can be paired with agents in specialized teams that are used for things like hunting down criminals, finding lost ones who pop up on our radar, influencing, or at worst, assassination of bad guys so terrible that prison is not enough.”
I hate admitting that, but therearethose so dangerous and insane that we cannot allow them to continue wreaking havoc on the world at large.
“Shit,” Kat breathes as she looks at the two of us. “So why the fuck do you think my parents abandoned me outside of that shitty system to live with humans instead of down here?”
“I have no idea.” I look at her sympathetically, and Morgana does the same. “But it was important to them thatno onein the Society or the demon hierarchy knew who and what you were before you emerged. I’d say it’s something very sketchy, too, because you’ve got multiple shifts and a demon, which is more rare than not.”
