“Maybe, but it’s the first one I’d block,” Koios replied.
“Good point.”
“What’s your strategy?” Phoebe asked.
“I’m wondering the same,” Logan asked from the door. “We’ve gathered weapons and amulets for everyone. Our pack and your siblings are going into lockdown with Dakota and his mates.”
“Not all of his siblings,” Iris said from the door. “And before any of you try to argue with me, I’m one of the few among us who passes as fae. I’m not saying I should be on the front lines, but I’m used to being hypervigilant. I can handle myself.”
Sadly, she wasn’t wrong on either count. With her looks, Iris could easily pass for fae, and considering Cosmo himself had mistaken her as one of Electra’s Harpies at first glance, she could be useful.
The rest of the pack flowed in behind Logan and Iris. Logan’s mate, Bailey, looked more grim than Koios had ever seen him. Gideon and Taj both had determined looks on their faces. Aleron had his usual carefree expression, but under it Koios could read the worry. Spencer had his head in a book as Aleron guided him to a seat.
Next came Scout and Coal, called home from their time away. They both looked very eager to track down the manticore once more. Behind them, Dasan and Ben entered the room. Ben wore a large backpack, presumably containing the medical supplies he wanted with him when they entered the realm.
The rest of the human members of the pack had already been sent to Nick’s for safekeeping. They’d protested, but Logan hadn’t agreed with their reasoning. In the end, no matter how much they’d trained to fight in the human realm, the Unseelie had too many unknowns to bring untested humans.
Logan took his seat at the head of the table. Koios and Phoebe finished working on the electronics they’d been cobbling together out of random parts. Fortunately, Koios tended to be a bit of pack rat when it came to outdated tech, so he’d been able to construct an old-fashioned comms system that wouldn’t require a cellular connection to function.
Since they’d had their devices blocked at Phoebe’s, Koios had been thinking of a different way to communicate with the team in an emergency. Out with the new, in with the old had been the easiest answer to the problem.
While Koios took control of his computers again, Phoebe and Iris passed out the new comms units to everyone on the team. Scout held it up with a frown.
“What is this? It looks…old.”
“That’s because it is,” Logan said. “And the signal should work in the fae realm, unlike the tech we currently use.”
Scout scowled. “But it’s wired. We’ll look like secret service agents in movies from the eighties in these things.”
“You should appreciate such technology,” Gideon said.
“Yeah?” Scout replied. “What’d you use before this? Walkie-talkies? Oh! I know, carrier pigeons.”
Gideon glared at him.
“Wasn’t the custom to just follow the flag bearer in the old days?” Aleron said.
Gideon turned his glare to his teammate. “No, we just shouted at each other.”
“Dude, Gideon’s probably old enough that he did cave paintings. Me Gideon. Hunt giant boar with spear. Must record for posterity.”
“Enough,” Logan said, but he had a smirk on his face. “Koios, have you heard from any of our fae friends?”
“I have. No one has heard anything from anyone in the Unseelie realm, which is suspicious in and of itself. King Silenus has encouraged his people to move freely between the human and Unseelie realms.”
Logan nodded and turned to Ben. “Any update on Tyson?”
“He’s in critical condition,” Ben said. “We have him stable, but he’s not healing. Augustus is concerned.”
Logan turned to Spencer next. “Anything on Tyson’s spell?”
“It appears to be protection against fae magic,” Spencer said. “It’s curious, though. I don’t believe the spell was meant for Tyson, which is why he didn’t want Henry to come.”
Aleron nodded. “If Henry broke the spell, we wouldn’t be able to use it. Spencer has double checked his books, and he’s sure this spell is a clue for us, for the protection we need to wear to come save them.”
Logan nodded and turned to Koios. “It makes sense. If Garzaxie and Thudlez had to get Tyson out, they’d want us to know how to help once we got there.”
“We can put the contents together all day long,” Phoebe added, “but having someone of fae blood strong enough to empower them is something else entirely.”
