Page 131 of Cathmoir's Sons

“Did Caileán tell you the name we agreed on?—”

I’m interrupted by the front door opening and closing. Evan walks through into the dining room, rubbing a hand over his face.

“That smells wonderful,” he says. “Thank the Mother, I’m starving. I really do think Ed was rabid, you know.”

He holds out his left hand, which has a very red ring circling the edge.

“Mr. Koala didn’t actually bite you, did he?” I ask incredulously.

Who goes around biting strangers? What if they’re poisonous? With magi, you never can be sure.

Evan chuckles. “I’m not sure. There was a lot of knocking about while we got Just Ed under control. He might have bitten me. Or the edge of my hand might have made accidental contact with his teeth. Things were quite confused for a few minutes there.”

Luca sniggers and I join Evan in chuckling. “He sounds crazy.”

“The whole concept is nuts,” Evan agrees. “What made you pick that Winter Study class anyway, Luca? It doesn’t seem like it’s at your academic level.”

Luca grins, flashing his incisors. “I figured I’d be doing Plane-Walking as an independent study with Kellan all month, even before Doctor Prince left us the riddle of Ulune’s Daughter. But she can’t give me a grade or credit, so I took the class that promised the highest entertainment value.”

“Well, the class certainly delivered today. I’m tempted to sit in on the next three classes to see if they’re as entertaining,”Evan says. “I felt a little sorry for Professor Blink. Although I appreciate she brought it on herself.”

“If she didn’t sacrifice baby koalas to her dark gods, it wouldn’t have come to this,” Luca quips.

Lords throws his head back and laughs.

After we’ve demolished the cottage pie, we sit around the table and throw around theories about O’s death, Bromios’ allies, and what the doom of Ulune’s Daughter might actually be. Luca and Evan vote for a giant whirlpool while I’m on the side of a hell-mouth.

“The whole concept of heaven and hell post-dates Charybdis,” Luca tells me. “It’s an a-historical hypothesis.”

“An a-historical hypothesis, a-historical hypithesis, historical apotheosis,” Evan mutters.

“Was that you trying to say a-historical hypothesis three times fast?” Luca asks.

Evan shakes his head and taps his temple with two fingers. “Fucking helm. Sometimes words catch at me, swirl around, and spit themselves back out in different combinations. Teddy has a theory about the helm and me being a Water-mage. Most Capricorn Primus have been Earth-mages, even though your Element isn’t dictated by your Zodiac sign. Teddy thinks my Element confuses the helm after being worn by so many Earth-magi and it ends up drunkenly divining.”

“A confused Cassandra?” Luca quips.

Evan groans. “Not helping.”

“Does your bladdered blessedness ever say anything useful?” Luca asks. “Because historical apotheosis doesn’t get us anywhere.”

Evan shrugs. “Not really.”

“I’ve got something I’d like you to swirl around,” I tell him. “One of Bevington’s swimmers killed himself. Drowned in the pool. He said his brain had turned against him and all he couldsee was nightmares. I don’t know. I feel like these deaths are related somehow.”

“Fear death by water,” Evan says, his eyes unfocused. “The drowned man. He carries something which I am forbidden to see. The cursed pack. The ancient burden. He is the death of sleep.”

My heart skips, leaving my chest tight and my throat clogged. Did the Archangel just speak to us? I cough. “Did you say?—”

“Rho,” Luca says, his voice low, his tone warning.

“What?”

He sighs. “Be careful. Don’t hurt Caileán.”

“How could investigating Yan’s death hurt Caileán?” I demand.

“Just be careful,” Luca repeats.

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