I felt every eye in the room turn toward us. The weight of expectation settled on our shoulders like a lead blanket. "The disturbances we discussed at our last meeting have intensified,"Lia explained, taking the lead with a calm authority. "We now know they're being caused by an entity called the Collector of Souls. It has been systematically weakening the magical barriers put in place during the yellow fever epidemic of 1853."
The room erupted in murmurs and sharp intakes of breath. The Collector's reputation was enough to inspire fear even among supernatural factions that had been around for centuries. "The binding was supposed to be permanent," Lydia said, her pale face somehow managing to look even whiter.
"Bindings can be broken if you know how to apply the right pressure in the right places," Phi replied, pulling out her tablet to display the maps we'd been working on. "Baron Samedi's hurricane created fractures in the barriers between worlds. Someone's been exploiting those fractures to systematically weaken the original binding."
"Someone?" Tanarak's eyes flashed with inner fire. "Or something?"
"We're still working on that," I admitted, fighting the urge to step back from his rage-fueled aura. "But what we do know is that the Collector is using corrupted ritual sites to harvest spiritual energy from across the city. Every ghost, every restless spirit, and every supernatural disturbance is feeding power back to it."
Cyran leaned forward, his Light Fae heritage made him shimmer under the artificial lights. “They’re also killing the descendants of the families that bound it.”
"We need to protect those who are still alive,” Kaitlyn said.
Kaveh nodded in agreement and pointed to the tablet. “We need to focus on that and on dealing with these sites. The locations are all historic cemeteries."
"There are seven major convergence points," Dani added. "We've identified sites where the veil has been deliberatelydamaged and turned into what basically amounts to supernatural feeding stations."
Marie Leveau spoke for the first time. "The loa have been restless. The spirits speak of something ancient stirring. They say it should not walk among the living."
"What's your assessment of how much time before it breaks through?" Nihadi asked, surprising everyone. The Dark Fae leader was quiet more often than not.
I lifted a shoulder. "It’s hard to say for sure. We need to move fast. Cyran’s reunion party is potentially a target. And keeping the families here for it gives us our best chance to protect the remaining Guardian bloodlines while we figure out how to reinforce the binding."
"And if you can't reinforce it?" Kaitlyn’s eyebrow migrated to her hairline.
The question hung in the air like a supernatural sword of Damocles. Honestly, none of us wanted to think about what would happen if we failed to stop the Collector before it fully manifested. "Then we'll deal with the Collector when it gets here," Lia said firmly. "But right now, we need every faction's help to monitor for signs of spectral harvesting. If you see anything that looks like life energy being drained, call us immediately."
"My ice can preserve spiritual energy," Molvith offered in a voice like glaciers shifting. "If you need to protect someone from harvesting."
"The djinn have ways of hiding people between worlds," Kaveh added. "I can provide temporary sanctuary, if needed."
The meeting broke up with promises of cooperation. And the kind of tension that suggested everyone was going to be sleeping with one eye open for the foreseeable future. Before we could escape back to the relative safety of Willowberry, Kaitlyn intercepted us in the hallway.
"I've been researching the 1853 epidemic since we talked," she said as she patted a bag hanging at her hip. "What I found is going to complicate your theories about the Collector."
"Complicate how?" I asked warily.
"The yellow fever outbreak wasn't a natural disaster," Kaitlyn explained as she led us to a conference room away from the hotline workers. "According to these records, the epidemic started three days after multiple witnesses reported seeing death walking the streets of the French Quarter."
She pulled a file folder from her bag and spread documents across the table. She pointed to newspaper clippings that detailed personal accounts. The articles painted a picture of supernatural horror masquerading as a natural disaster.
"The Collector caused the epidemic," Phi said, scanning the historical evidence.
"As a feeding mechanism," Dani added grimly. "It’s clever, really. Create massive death and suffering, then harvest the spiritual energy of the dying."
"But here's the really disturbing part," Kaitlyn continued, pointing to a list of names written in faded ink. "The coalition that bound the Collector included representatives from every major supernatural faction in the region. Vampires, werewolves, Fae, witches, and voodoo practitioners all worked together because of the threat."
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with Molvith's lingering presence. "How many people died before they managed to bind it?"
"Conservative estimates put the death toll at over eleven thousand," Kaitlyn replied quietly. "And that was just in New Orleans. Reports from other cities along the Mississippi River suggest the Collector was moving north, gathering strength with each community it devastated."
Holy freaking shit. Eleven thousand people died and were used as supernatural batteries to fuel an entity that fed on death itself. Now that same entity was working its way toward freedom again. How many would it kill this time?
"We need to look at those convergence points and see if we can come up with ways to disrupt the process," I said. The original plan was to determine the type of magic used so our efforts could be more effective. There didn’t seem to be time for that. Our wrecking ball approach would have to do.
"Road trip through every major cemetery in New Orleans." Kota pumped a fist and grinned. "I have some sunflower seeds and Jolly Ranchers in my bag. All we need are drinks."
Her snark made me laugh. Within seconds, we were all giggling. “Let me know if I can help,” Kaitlyn offered. “I’m going to get back to research.”
