Kate Daniels 02 - Magic Burns
should treat a man. Next time you see me, I want you to do just like them.â
âHell will freeze over first,â I told him.
The witches sank to their seats.
âWe had a bargain,â I said.
The crone glared at me. âA bargain with the likes of you means nothing.â
âThis might be a hunch, but I think you donât like me,â I told her.
Her fingers curled into claws on the armrests of her chair.
âMaria,â the youngest Oracle whispered. âViolence isnât necessary. The Oracle never goes back on its word.â
âCouldâve fooled me.â
She pointed to the four witches on the side. âThey speak for the senior covens of Morrigan. They are here as witnesses. Tell us what you want to know and I will open your eyes.â
âHere is what I suspect: Esmeralda wanted power and formed her coven, but she lacked education and training. The coven probably began by worshipping Morrigan, but whether by accident or on purpose, Esmeralda permitted Morfran to insert himself into their rites and take over.â
The seven witches focused on me. The atmosphere in the dome grew tense. I plowed on.
âI suspect that Morrigan has the ability to manifest during the flare, when the magic is at its deepest. She does it by using a magic cauldron. Morfran wanted life just as much and either taught Esmeralda how to duplicate the cauldron or had her steal the cauldron that had been in the possession of legitimate Morrigan covens.â
Either I had hit the nail on the head or the four representatives of Morrigan got a simultaneous case of serious constipation, because their faces turned red and strained.
âI think that Morfran is in cahoots with the Fomorians, but I donât know why. I need to know what happened after the rite was performed, what happened to Julieâs mother, and whatâs the significance of the necklace the little shaman boy named Red carried.â
âWhere is the necklace?â Bran suddenly came to life.
âIâm not telling you.â
He spread his arms. âWhy not? Iâm the good guy here!â
âI donât know that. Itâs a trust issue. Until somebody explains this mess to me, nobody gets the necklace.â
âIâll explain.â The middle witch of the Oracle leaned back. Above her, the mural shifted. The black lines crawled. The outlines of Hekate grew faint while the cauldron before her solidified.
âTwo generations ago at the start of the Shift, Morrigan entrusted her covens with a magic cauldron.â
âThey did a bang-up job taking care of it,â Bran said.
The mother-witch pinned him down with her stare. âHush.â
âWe didnât know,â one of Morriganâs witches said. âAnd she hasnât spoken to us since the last flare.â
The middle witch silenced her with a wave of her hand. âNow then, the cauldron is her way into our world. Its magic only manifests during a flare. Morfran wanted the cauldron so that he too could experience life. He made a deal with Morriganâs enemies, the Fomorians, the sea-demons. In exchange for their help, he would release them, through the cauldron, from the Otherworld. Theyâre not gods. They need little magic to exist here. They will become his first worshippers in this world.â
âBut I killed at least ten of them. How many came through?â
âYou donât kill them,â Bran said. âThey donât stay dead unless I leave one of my shafts in them. As long as the cauldron feeds on the magic of the flare, they continue to return to life. The closer they are to the cauldron, the harder it is to disable them.â
Great. Fantastic. âCouldnât you have told me this sooner?â
âItâs a trust issue,â he told me, mimicking my voice. I felt like smacking him.
âOkay, but how did the Fomorians get the cauldron in the first place?â
The witch sighed, folding her hands on her lap. âThrough the ages Morriganâs Hounds have protected the cauldron, and only they have power over it.â
On the walls the hounds raised their muzzles in a silent howl. Men, just like Bran, stolen from humanity through a foolâs bargain.
âThe covens of Morrigan thought the cauldron was secure, because nobody but a hound could move it from their gathering place. But they didnât know that years ago one of Morriganâs Hounds
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