“Can’t the Fae do something about that? Why trust witches with protecting the portal?”
“They aren’t just witches,” he answered. “The guardians are blessed with Fae magic. They’re chosen at birth and groomed throughout their entire childhood for this role. Neither guardian nor Fae can prevent the portal from opening during the solstice. It has something to do with the energy from the earth’s sun.”
“Wait…you just told me that your contact used to be a witch at the abbey? So there’s a witch roaming around Dublin with Fae magic at her disposal?”
“No. They’re stripped of their additional powers if they choose to leave.”
“And she just willingly gave them up? Why would she do that?”
He shrugged. “This one is young…freshly immortal. I don’t think she considered the consequences. She probably just wanted to live life without such heavy responsibilities. That’s the impression I got, anyway.”
“And she just volunteered all of this information for a little money?” I found that awfully hard to believe, even if she was in her early twenties and feeling reckless.
“First of all, it wasn’t a little money,” Takk corrected. “And secondly, I may have employed other methods to…seduce some bonus material from her.”
The smug look on his face told me that his methods were of the pillow talk variety. Ugh, what a slimeball! “So now what?”
Takk started to reply, but Leo cut him off. “Now we meet with the High Priestess and somehow convince her to lift the veil.”
Leo and Takk were mulling over their plans and making calls in the sitting room, so I decided to go into my bedroom and read through the book some more. Several hours into it, I came across a fascinating passage.
Elemental Fae have the ability to channel energy from the air, water, earth, or fire depending on the house in which they are born. They are known to have one or more of the following abilities:
House of Air
Aerokinesis - The ability to manipulate the air, wind, and gas
House of Water
Hydrokinesis - The ability to manipulate and control liquid and mold it into any desired shape or form
House of Earth
Geokinesis - The ability to control, manipulate, and reshape the earth at will
House of Fire
Pyrokinesis - The ability to create, control, and manipulate fire, flame, and heat
Heliokinesis - The ability to create, control, and manipulate sunlight
Elemental Fae derive power from their specific element and nowhere else. They are unable to conjure fairy dust as the non-Elementals can. For this reason, Elemental Fae are encouraged to breed outside of their house to strengthen their bloodline. Arranged marriages are not uncommon. Basic genetics would dictate that with each new house added, the power would be diluted. That is not the case with elemental magic. An Elemental’s power is strengthened exponentially with each added element.
Wow, I didn’t even know such a thing existed. I thought all members of the Fae race held the same magic. Once again, I was reminded how truly ignorant I was. The only thing I knew for certain was that ignorance was not bliss. Determined to learn as much as possible, I continued reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open.
I was awoken sometime later when the bed dipped. I rolled over to find Leo sitting next to me, looking perfectly coifed as always. “Hey,” I croaked. “What time is it?”
“It’s shortly after nine. I need to leave for a while. We received a call earlier from someone that may be linked to the abbey. She refused to discuss anything over the phone, so I’m heading out to meet with her. Takk will stay here with you.”
“Yippee,” I deadpanned. “Can I come with you instead?”
He shook his head. “I’m not comfortable with that until I can validate that she does not pose a threat. You’ll be safe here with Takk.”
It wasn’t my safety I was worried about. I just wasn’t looking forward to spending the evening with the big, bad, grumpy-ass wolf. “Where are you meeting her?”
“About an hour from here, in County Meath. We’re meeting near some old church ruins.”
“Are you sure that’s safe?”