Wayne nodded and repeated what he’d already told us before moving on. “From what we can tell, there’s strong magic ties. While we know that there are a few other species in the world able to imbue magic—fae, elves, and such—this magic is very clearly belonging to a witch based on the structure and residue.” He looked at Kohara for a minute. “And based on what you told me of the injuries you and yours sustained.”
Kohara nodded.
“As long as you’re touching it from the outside, it’s harmless. But when the inside touches you, that’s when the spells are activated. This explains why the aerial shifters were able to handle them without plummeting to their deaths, their monsters having been forced inside.”
“Another key takeaway is that the magic gets progressively stronger. From what we have ripped away from one, I think that there were deeper triggers within the magic,” this second man that wasn’t Wayne said and glanced at Taranis. “You were fighting to get up and call forth your monster, yes?” Taranis nodded. “With every surge of power you pulsed with, another layer of magic was activated. The first was simply to put your monster away, which was default upon contact. The second was to render you breathless and weak. The third was to infiltrate your system. It was pulled off you at that point, but it looks like the next layer was slow-seeping poison.”
Taranis scowled.
“Does it function on other species?” I asked.
“We haven’t actually tried it on anyone but I think so. We can’t find anything that suggests or points to storms specifically.”
“What about the men that the Aves brought here?” Saar asked.
Wayne shook his head. “This is going to sound strange but it’s like they’ve shut down. A switch flipped and they’re offline completely.”
“Did you identify them?” Bronte asked.
Another man nodded. “We did. All three of them. Two of their families had reported them missing years ago. The third doesn’t appear to have anyone, so there’s no telling how long he’s been associated with Silence.”
“Is there any indication that they were forced into what they’re doing?” Saar asked.
I appreciated that he was repeating some of the things we’d talked about.
“It’s hard to say. What I can tell you is that whatever hibernating state they’ve reverted to is not natural. Whether they joined Silence voluntarily or were coerced, we don’t know.”
“But we’re making every humane effort to revive their coherent thought so that we can speak with them.”
“They dropped nets on us,” Tempest said. “I don’t think a little inhumane treatment is out of line.”
“Especially if it means answers,” Lazarus agreed.
“To be an opposing voice,” Juniper said. “If they weren’t there voluntarily and they cannot control themselves, then I’m not sure they deserve the inhumane treatment.”
“Damn demon,” Gale muttered.
Juniper smirked, sitting back, relaxed in his chair as he turned his attention back forward again.
“As Juniper states, we’ve thought the same thing. For now, we’re making every effort to remain humane.For now,that’s where we sit with that.”
“Tell us about the magic,” a voice from Saar’s phone said.
“It’s highly volatile, but it’s also complex. Like the witch knows what they’re doing but is incredibly sloppy. I actually don’t think that Taranis triggered the third round before it went off. But then, it might just be that our interpretation of it is wrong. Maybe it’s a timed release and not a trigger release.”
“Sloppy but complex,” the voice on the phone said. I could hear their frown.
“What else did you find?” Saar asked.
The screen flicked, and there was a whole array of things displayed. Some of which actually looked like weapons while others were inconspicuous, like a scarf and gloves.
While I wasn’t always sure which they were talking about, the things I heard were chilling.
“With a touch, can draw your blood out through your skin—no puncture wound necessary.”
“Can instantly render you unconscious.”
“Can lock you inside your mind, fighting your own worst fears.”
