They are the creatures who once populated the earth and include the old gods and titans. Most are thought to be extinct—or nearly so. Creatures like jotunns, Valkyrie, and Keres, who once fought beside the old gods. Also, dragons in their original beast forms before they attained the ability to shift.
When I asked my sisters about the students at the Academy, who began as Unknowns but revealed themselves as monsters such as draugr, enenra, gorgon, siren, dryad, wendigo, and others, my sisters were adamant. Even though they were born in the present, their magic is old magic. Their powers belonged in ancient times and have resurged.
The more I delved into the four magics, though, the more apparent it became that supernaturals are rarely purely one or the other. Witches and warlocks, in particular, can be combinations of magics. Case in point: a good witch with elemental powers who was born into the light but turns to the dark.
One thing that’s certain is that old magic creatures dominate all others.
What my sisters have also warned me about is that old magic creatures, who may be invincible to all other magics, can harm and kill each other.
Now, I murmur, “Old magic prevails.”
All three of my sisters nod. “Old magic creatures like Lady Tirelli and like us do not bow to anyone.”
“But old magiccandestroy itself,” I continue. “Like the Keres and Valkyrie battled each other to near extinction.”
Sable replies, “Old magic creatures can withstand elemental, light, and even dark magic, but each old magic species has its particular vulnerabilities to certain other old magic creatures.”
“Not us,” I say.
All three of my sisters nod, but there is a brief pause first that warns me my assumption may not be completely accurate.
“As Furies, we stand at the pinnacle,” Rose replies, her eyes suddenly shadowed. “Even so, there used to be some old magiccreatures that could harm us. Not kill us, mind you. But they could cause us terrible pain.”
“Like the pain you felt when you bit Slade Baines?” I ask.
They all nod. “Ingesting his Valkyrie blood hurt us badly.”
“Which is why you must always know what you are dealing with,” Sable warns.
“Some supernaturals call us the apex predator,” Rose adds, “but it is a terrible place to be.”
I feel her pain in my heart, heightened by our hive mind. The only reason we are indestructible is because we have already been destroyed.
We may be able to withstand horrible physical pain, and even death, but the screams and terror and whimpers of the beings we need to avenge will live forever in our memories, haunting us.
My sisters’ voices sound within my mind, a soft, mournful statement.There is no peace for us.
If only I could give them peace.
If only I could find a home for them, and me, where there were no wrongs to right.
I inhale a deep breath and pull myself back to the problem at hand. “A serpent shifter named Vanguard stands at the right hand of this entity.”
“Yes, that is true,” says Sable, a dark light entering her eyes that matches the blackness of her hair. “While we have been unable to target the entity himself, we have certainly not hesitated to deal with his followers as fully as we can.”
“The serpent shifter has evaded us,” Rose grumbles. “He has proven to be as slippery as his animal’s nature.”
“What does he look like? How will I identify him?”
They describe to me a man with dark brown hair and a scar running down the left side of his face. They also tell me that he carries a katana sword similar to Hunter’s.
“A Valkyrie General’s sword?” I ask warily since I’m aware that Hunter’s sword was passed down from her ancestor, a Valkyrie warrior by the name of General Glass.
My sisters quickly shake their heads.
“We heard whispers that he cheated it out of the possession of one of the dragon masters in Japan,” Gilder says. “It is a dangerous and ancient sword, but it did not originate from the Valkyrie.”
“Dragon masters?” I ask, since this is the first I’ve heard of them. Which is not surprising, since many supernatural populations exist in secrecy, and it’s only since joining my sisters that I’ve learned of the existence of some of them.
