The air shimmered beside me and a woman appeared. First, she was a Sylph with glittering wings, then a Dryad, then a Goblin. On and on it went, her face, hair, and pretty much everything changing on her every few seconds. But her eyes were mine, exact replicas, and they stayed that way. It was a courtesy she gave all her children when she appeared to them. A way to show us that we are a part of her while giving us something steady to focus on.
“Hello, Daughter,” Danu said, her voice rippling through me.
I bowed deeply. “Thank you for coming.” I sighed, my body coming alive in her presence. “Thank you for always coming when we need you.”
“Of course. Go on. Ask me about the foxes.”
“You already know my question then?”
“About the myth? Yes.”
“Is it true?”
Danu's eyes crinkled, but I didn't dare lower my stare to her lips to see if she was smiling. It would be too distracting.
“Humans aren't the only ones who create stories about their origins,” Danu said.
“So it isn't true?”
“Fox pearls have tiny pieces of me inside them,” Danu said. “But only in the way that every fairy has pieces of meinside them, Seren. And they are not real pearls. They weren't taken from a necklace. They are pure magic—the source of all a Kumiho's power.”
“So why make the Kumihos different from the rest of us? Why give them those beads of magic and force them to take lives to feed them?”
“I never told them to kill people to fuel their pearls, nor did I intend for them to do that,” Danu said sternly. “All fairies have the potential to hurt others, as all creatures do. And as all creatures require energy to survive, so do the Kumihos. Life essence is the easiest fuel to consume because it is pure, like the fox pearls. All they need is a little sip of it. They don't require a feast.”
“A sip. As they're doing now.”
“Yes. They live now as I always intended.” She waved a transforming hand through the air. “It's difficult for you to understand, I know. You don't have the divine wisdom needed to see that there is a beautiful simplicity in what I gave Kumihos. And I made them different because I wanted to.” She shrugged. “It was a whim. I have done similar things with other fairies, such as the Baobhan-Sith. In every instance, my children have taken it too far and turned what should have been an enjoyable source of sustenance into a weapon. But war can have that effect.”
“Divine wisdom,” I said, trying to stay focused. “Why don't Fairy monarchs receive wisdom like the rulers of Heaven and Hell?”
Danu clicked her tongue. “I give so much, and you want more.”
“I just want to know why.”
“A fairy king or queen doesn't need to know all the languages of Earth. And most fairies already know the Fey tongue, Seren,” she said in a chiding tone. “As for anything else, you need simply ask me, and I will teach you. Unlike my brother, I have no problem answering questions and as you noted earlier, I appear when needed. Now, would you rather have instant knowledge or learn through your experiences?”
I made a soft huff of understanding. “Yes, I see your point. Thank you for explaining it to me.”
“That is not all you wanted to ask.”
“Oh . . .” I looked away from her to collect my thoughts. “Right! The fox pearls. Do humans get divine wisdom when they swallow a pearl?”
“No,” she said firmly. “They get the wisdom of the worlds. Think of it as equivalent to the human Internet. It connects the human to knowledge that is available to all.”
“So, it's like he has Google in his head.”
“Google.” Danu chuckled. “That's such a funny word. I like it. And yes, it's like that but without limits. Someone who swallows a fox pearl could look at the most complicated piece of machinery humans make and know how to use it. They'd even know how it was made. But they couldn't look at that same object and know how Anu created the metal. They wouldn't look upon it in the same way as my brother or I would.”
“That makes me feel a lot better.”
“Divine wisdom cannot be given away, especially not by someone who doesn't possess it.”
“Well, when you say it, it seems obvious.”
Danu laughed. “Many things concerning creation are.”
“So, the pearls are pure magic. They give humans who swallow them beags and access to knowledge about worldly things?”
