Ben nodded before turning back to Taj. “The research we’ve done says dwarves tend to live in large clans and stick to their mountains. Do they ever go off alone?”
“Ever?” Taj asked. “Probably. But they have a strong connection to the land they mine and rarely leave it. So…how did one mate with a harpy to create Koios and Nyx?”
“My question exactly.”
“For that matter,” Iris said, “how the hell did psycho god capture a harpy?”
“We don’t know how he captured most of the women he experimented on,” Ben explained. “We’ve only found one mother, and she escaped before she learned she was pregnant.”
“He was a god,” Koios added. “And my understanding is that he had any number of magic users working for him. We’ve seen what spells and magic can do in the wrong hands.”
Koios frowned and his heart monitor beeped.
Ben turned to him and stared. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not a big fan of coincidences, and it certainly seems like a very large one that the manticore we’re chasing is also stealing power from magic users to strengthen himself.”
“It’s a tale as old as time,” Taj said.
“True, but the theory isn’t too far-fetched. It has been the common element of all the horrible things the manticore has done so far.” Ben passed his tablet to Koios who used the device to pull up their notes on the manticore. “Koios, when you were pulling the manticore’s business records, how far back did you go? I mean, if there’s a connection between him and Sawyer’s brother, it could be hiding in a couple decades worth of data.”
“I haven’t researched Sawyer’s brother or his assets.”
“Well, I know someone who has. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth checking out.”
“Yeah, but why?” Iris asked. “I mean, I get that knowing would be nice, I suppose. But psycho god has been dead for a few years and we’re dealing with what our new psycho manticore is up to now.”
Koios tapped his finger on the edge of the tablet. “I don’t know, but something is telling me there is a connection between them. If Jim began actively stealing magic for himself after psycho god’s death, then maybe…but his goal wouldn’t have been the same. Sawyer’s brother wanted to destroy him and take over as the head honcho god. That’s not in the cards for Jim, no matter how much magic he manages to steal.”
“He doesn’t have to be the headgod,” Ben said. “He just has to be the strongest magic user in this realm. That’s the big change for him. The realms closed. Jim is making portals, but he’s also keeping the magical world unstable. The goddesses won’t reopen the realms until the magic in the human realm is healed, right? So if he keeps everything from stabilizing while gathering power for himself?—”
“And possibly the ability to make portals to the closed realms?” Iris suggested. “I mean, talk about a power move.”
Ben returned his attention to Koios. “I’m going to have the information Sawyer, Henry and their mates gathered sent to your brothers. Until you’re back at it, they can get a head start on the information. Worse case, we don’t find a connection and our theory goes nowhere.”
“But damn, if the manticore is able to send people to other realms?” Taj added. “Imagine the number of fae who want to be back home? It doesn’t matter than they have the Unseelie realm at their disposal. It’s not the same as being home.”
Ben nodded. “He did go after Cosmo and Taj. Which is why Cosmo will be here soon to talk to us. I wanted his thoughts on a few things we’re facing. If anyone will have answers, it’ll be Cosmo.”
“The king consort is coming here?” Taj stared at Ben like he’d grown another head.
“We’re friends. I made a call.”
“Well, when you put it that way….” Sarcasm dripped from Iris’s tone.
Ben ignored it and moved to the whiteboard. He updated the notes under both harpies and dwarves before stepping back and looking at the information once more.
The connections to Sawyer—Henry’s former-god mate and Palinourous’s brother—were hard to deny. Ben wanted to call Henry again, but decided to wait until he could talk to his brother privately. His insights would be invaluable to Ben as he tried to unravel the mystery of Koios’s wings.
As one of the most powerful air elementals in the human realm, Henry had been hunted his entire life. Most humans with air magic had some sort of psychic ability. Many of them, like Henry, had powerful visions of the future. Palinourous had tried to use their abilities to find Sawyer.
He’d failed, but what if he’d found a way to create an air elemental with visions who also had a connection to metal—Sawyer’s element. Koios could have been the key to destroying Sawyer…but his magic didn’t work.
Maybe that was why Palinourous had taken the desperate step of reaching out to the valravyn. But to what end? Whatever curse the valravyn placed on Koios hadn’t worked—or had it? There was only one way to find out, and hopefully their visitor would be able to help them.
Ben turned from the boards to find the other three staring at him. He gave his attention to his patient, though. Koios’s heart monitor showed a steady rhythm. To Ben’s surprise, Koios wasn’t even glaring at him. Miracles did happen.
The awkward silence grew. No one seemed to know what to say. Ben certainly didn’t. Luckily, Nana arrived to save the day. She carried a loaded tray covered with goodies.
