Kara and Tany stared down at one another in the throne room, witch against witch. Sous was next to Shadow who was on the ground hurt and still rattled. Sous stood up and got between the two witches.
"Tany," the Alpha said to her ex-mate. "You open this portal then what?"
Kara looked at Sous, afraid she was going to allow Tany to create such a rift. Shadow held onto his stomach, his eyes burned because of the water but the last thing he wanted was for Tany to get her hand on that relic.
Sous looked around at all the other witches. They eyed her cautiously, making sure she didn't make any moves, able to read her mind even.
"Who is Faye you think of?" A witch in the crowd asked.
"A voodoo priestess who lives in the bayous," Tany answered, never taking her eyes off the two before her.
"The Cadjins?"
"Yes," Tany answered again. She directed her question to Sous. "Why are you thinking of her? She's not a medium."
"She's a healer," Sous said.
"HACATE IS NOT A SPIRIT!"
Her magae alone had Sous flying back into the air and sliding across the floor.
Sqqqueeeeekk!!
The sound echoed through the throne room, a high-pitched, jarring scrape of Sous's leather boots skidding across polished obsidian. She slammed into a pillar, ribs cracking against stone, the impact vibrating through her bones. Dust rabbits and their fatties danced in shafts of fractured moonlight from the shattered stained-glass windows above.
Kara flinched, fingers curling into fists, her knuckles pale as she fought the instinct to rush forward. Shadow groaned, rolling onto his side, blood trickling from his split lip onto the cold floor. His eyes, still stinging from Tany's conjured brine, narrowed in silent fury.
Kara ran to Sous helping her up. Sous held her hands up. "Tany...come on," Sous pleaded.
"Ugh, you're so fucking pathetic now," the witch said, shaking her head.
"I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT THE MOTHER OF MY CHILD!"
"OH PLEASE, YOU KILLED YOUR FRIEND!"
What had gotten into Tany? She was talking and acting like a mad woman.
The silence that followed Sous's raw declaration felt thicker than the brine still stinging Shadow's eyes.
Tany stood frozen, her outstretched hand trembling slightly, the air around her fingertips shimmering with unstable magae, a visible crackle like heat haze over asphalt.
Kara's breath caught, not in fear, but in horrified recognition. That shimmer wasn't just power; it was the frayed edges of Tany's sanity, the magae bleeding instability.
Sous pushed herself up against the pillar, ignoring the sharp protest in her ribs. Dust coated her tongue, gritty and dry. Her gaze locked onto Tany's face, searching past the fury for the flicker of the woman she once knew, the one who laughed freely, whose magic smelled of honeysuckle and damp earth, not this acrid, ozone-tinged desperation.
Shadow hauled himself onto his knees, wiping blood from his chin with the back of a shaking hand. His eyes, still red-rimmed and watering, tracked Tany's every micro-twitch, his body coiled tight as a spring trap, ready to lunge despite the pain radiating from his gut...
Kara sat on the couch of their home while Sous paced back and forth. Tany gave them an ultimatum: they needed to find a medium or Shadow would be forced to hand over the relic.
"Sous..."
"I never met a medium," Sous said, frantic. Their kids were asleep but as the sun began to rise over the horizon, Sous began to get afraid of losing time.
"What about Faye, maybe she knows one," Kara suggested. Sous wasn't too sure of that idea. She didn't want to burden Faye with something she caused.
"I don't even know if Faye knows any herself," Sous explained, both of their ears twitching at their kids rising in their beds. She sighed.
Kara got up, making her way to the kitchen to start breakfast. She turned back to Sous. "Just ask," she said. "Just ask and see what she says."
"Itll be faster if we teleport there," Sous wrapped her arms around Kara's.
"The kids are awake," she said.
"We can be quick." Both adults began to blush at that comment and then giggled.
"I'll teleport you there and then come back so you can talk to her. What are the coordinates to the Bayous?" Kara finished.
Sous gave her the coordinates and Kara teleported her to the Bayous. Kara returned to the house to cook breakfast for the children. Sous stood outside Faye's glourious home. She knocked on the door and Faye answered. She was dressed in her nightgown and robe, her hair wrapped in a scarf. She looked Sous up and down.
Faye stepped aside to allow Sous to enter into the home. "Its quiet," Sous said.
Faye had a black bonnet on her head and yawned. "That's because all of the kids are grown and gone," the forty-two year old said. She went to the living room and sat down on the couch. "Want me to ask Makala for some tea?"
Sous shook her head. "This is important, Faye...where can I find a medium?"
Faye was quiet for a bit. "Well," she began. "They used to be abundant around Vania and Trey but not anymore. Maybe Conaska might have some, but you're best bet would be Canas in the central region. I heard the mediums have a good understanding with the witches," Faye explained.
Sous sighed. "That's going to take a while," she said. She knew Kara couldn't teleport that far without straining herself, plus the kids.
"Then your best bet is Conaska," Faye confirmed.
Sous and Faye turned to look at Makala standing in the door. "Sous," she said with some tea in her hands. "I knew you sounded familiar. Had I known, Id have warmed up some blood for you," the vampire said smiling.
Sous waved it away, smiling and grateful for the gesture.
"We were just talking about mediums, Sous needs to find one," Faye said.
"There are many in Grim; in fact, my brother is married to one," the vampire explained.