“Well, don't make us beg for it,” Killian drawled. “What did they see?”
“A Kumiho attacked a human.”
“No,” Medea said before Star could go on. “They haven't killed humans in years.”
“I didn't say she killed the human, just that she attacked him. Well, it wasn't a violent attack. They appeared to be kissing. My watcher almost turned away to leave them to their romance, but then he saw the glow.”
“Glow?” I asked.
“Oh, that,” Medea said.
“What?” Killian asked.
“The beads,” Tiernan murmured. “They have to be fed.”
“Yes,” Medea said. “But they only take enough to sustain themselves. No more. They never take all of a human's lifeforce.”
“Someone needs to explain beads to me,” I snarled.
“Well, what kind of beads are we talking about?” Daxon drawled.
“Shut up, Tromlaighe,” Medea snapped.
“That'sKingTromlaighe to you,” Daxon shot back.
“Of the fucking Undergrounds. Not of me.”
“It's more like King of the Fairies on Earth.”
“No, it's not!”
“Enough!” Raza roared.
They went quiet.
“What was the glow, Astaroth?” Raza demanded.
But it was Tiernan who answered. “Kumihos are unique to fox-shifters inasmuch as they have condensed spheres of divine magic within them that must be fed regularly. Those spheres, which are called fox beads or fox pearls, are the source of a Kumiho's power. That power must be fed lifeforce or the Kumiho will wither and, eventually, die.”
Raza and Daxon went still. A fairy dying of natural causes was unheard of. But I guess this wasn't exactly natural causes.
“When we made a truce with the humans,” Tiernan went on, “the Kumihos agreed to limit the amount of lifeforce they took from a human. They would only sip a bit from each target.Just enough to sustain themselves. The human would recover almost instantly, their lifeforce regenerating to replenish what was taken. No one suffers.”
“Ah, I see,” Star said. “Well, my watcher didn't know this. He thought he was witnessing an attack. There was a glow that rose from the Kumiho's chest and went through her mouth into the human's.”
“Yes, that's how they collect lifeforce,” Tiernan said. “They place the bead within the human's mouth, then pull it back in with their tongue after it has taken a little energy. Most humans don't even notice it. I'm told it tingles.”
“This human noticed,” Star said grimly. “He did something. The glow went into him further. Into his chest. And then the Kumiho fell back, gasping.”
Medea shot to her feet. “He stole her pearl!”
“Dear Danu,” Tiernan whispered.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Tiernan was shaken. He couldn't answer. Neither could Medea. She only growled as her snakes hissed.
“Brother, you need to share your knowledge with us,” Sever said.
