Kate Daniels 02 - Magic Burns

should treat a man. Next time you see me, I want you to do just like them.”
    â€œHell will freeze over first,” I told him.
    The witches sank to their seats.
    â€œWe had a bargain,” I said.
    The crone glared at me. “A bargain with the likes of you means nothing.”
    â€œThis might be a hunch, but I think you don’t like me,” I told her.
    Her fingers curled into claws on the armrests of her chair.
    â€œMaria,” the youngest Oracle whispered. “Violence isn’t necessary. The Oracle never goes back on its word.”
    â€œCould’ve fooled me.”
    She pointed to the four witches on the side. “They 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€œHere 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.”
    The seven witches focused on me. The atmosphere in the dome grew tense. I plowed on.
    â€œI 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.”
    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.
    â€œI think that Morfran is in cahoots with the Fomorians, but I don’t know why. I need to know what happened after the rite was performed, what happened to Julie’s mother, and what’s the significance of the necklace the little shaman boy named Red carried.”
    â€œWhere is the necklace?” Bran suddenly came to life.
    â€œI’m not telling you.”
    He spread his arms. “Why not? I’m the good guy here!”
    â€œI don’t know that. It’s a trust issue. Until somebody explains this mess to me, nobody gets the necklace.”
    â€œI’ll explain.” 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.
    â€œTwo generations ago at the start of the Shift, Morrigan entrusted her covens with a magic cauldron.”
    â€œThey did a bang-up job taking care of it,” Bran said.
    The mother-witch pinned him down with her stare. “Hush.”
    â€œWe didn’t know,” one of Morrigan’s witches said. “And she hasn’t spoken to us since the last flare.”
    The middle witch silenced her with a wave of her hand. “Now 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 Morrigan’s enemies, the Fomorians, the sea-demons. In exchange for their help, he would release them, through the cauldron, from the Otherworld. They’re not gods. They need little magic to exist here. They will become his first worshippers in this world.”
    â€œBut I killed at least ten of them. How many came through?”
    â€œYou don’t kill them,” Bran said. “They don’t 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.”
    Great. Fantastic. “Couldn’t you have told me this sooner?”
    â€œIt’s a trust issue,” he told me, mimicking my voice. I felt like smacking him.
    â€œOkay, but how did the Fomorians get the cauldron in the first place?”
    The witch sighed, folding her hands on her lap. “Through the ages Morrigan’s Hounds have protected the cauldron, and only they have power over it.”
    On the walls the hounds raised their muzzles in a silent howl. Men, just like Bran, stolen from humanity through a fool’s bargain.
    â€œThe covens of Morrigan thought the cauldron was secure, because nobody but a hound could move it from their gathering place. But they didn’t know that years ago one of Morrigan’s Hounds