Chapter 23

The night was spent with plenty of music, dancing and food as the Witches celebrated the Summer Solstice with their guests.

Surprisingly, none of the Shifters had approached Kore but it was probably due to the fact that there was always an Arcane near her. Be it Markus or Silas, Wylan or Annaliese, there was someone near her from Iscariot Institute.

Unlike Arcanes who came in various forms, Shifters were bulkier with a bit more fat and a louder presence. Each was as dangerous as the other, but Witches were moreso.

Calfuray Fallon was the Alpha of the Fallon pack, meaning she was the leader. She had been a leader since she was in her late teens and now she was in her late thirties. Women were natural leaders in these groups, so she took on the position after her mother in being in charge of the packs of Northern America, including several smaller groups in Europe and Asia.

Just as the Witches had the Order, and the Arcanes had the Chamber, Shifters had the Tribe, a huge union of Shifters that acted as a democracy.

Kore was pulled out of her conversation by the calling of her title.

"Crown Greylight," Calfuray Fallon greeted, a large smile on her painted face. She had black and white lines accenting her cheekbones along with some near her eyebrows, marking her as the leader of her tribe. "I am Alpha Calfuray Fallon, this is my brother and second in command, Calian, and my two children, Elan, the oldest, and Elona, my heir."

Calian had the same dark hair and tanned complexion as his sister, matching only the cheek lines that she had, but the two children were a little different. Calfuray's oldest child, a boy, must have taken after his absent father more than his mother. Instead of the dark hair that the rest of his family had, he had light brown hair with deep blue eyes.

Elona, the heir, was younger than her brother by quite a few years, looking like she was only getting out of her toddler years so perhaps four or five years old while Elan was about fifteen. She had dark brown hair but her eyes put her out there. Instead of the brown her mother and uncle had, or the blue her brother had, she had eyes that should have belonged to a Seer.

Bright silver eyes reflected light beautifully as Elona bowed her head in respect as Kore bowed hers back. Elona was clutching her mother's leg, hugging it like a lifeline in front of strangers.

Kore had only met the two adults once before, and it was a quick introduction before she flittered over to other people to be introduced by her mother.

She crouched down, balancing on the low heels of her sandals as she got on the same level as Elona. The young girl continued to clutch at her mother's legs, staying close as she narrowed her bright eyes at Kore.

Kore smiled, soft and inviting as she lifted a hand so it was palm up.

Enola watched cautiously as a small blue flame appeared in the Witch's hand, growing a bit and becoming like a very tiny puppy. It sat in her palm, sneezing as blue flames came out of its blue nose.

"How you do 'at?" she asked, wanting to touch the little puppy but not knowing if it would hurt her. She looked up at her mother, a questioning look on her young face.

"It's a Will o Wisp," the Witch said, letting the little puppy jump from her palm and onto the ground as it ran towards Enola's feet. It bowed playfully, making Enola laugh. "Many of the parents summon one to let their children play around without getting lost or hurt. The Wisps come in different shapes and sizes and follow their allocated children. I had one when I was younger."

"What shape was yours?" Calfuray asked, watching as her kid picked the little blue puppy up and cuddled it.

Kore stood up fully. "Mine was a green cheek parakeet. He was bright green and vicious. Mum always said he suited me."

A screaming sound mixed with the sounds of a cat, dog, and a woman screaming in pain suddenly erupted from behind Kore. It wasn't loud enough to cause loads of concern since it came from the small form of Tsar.

"I don't think your Familiar approves,"

"He never does," Kore lifted a hand towards him, letting him jump into her arms as he nuzzled her neck before settling. "Bugger bit me after I helped heal him, though it did result in him being bonded to me."

Calfuray only smiled, coming closer to scratch Tsar behind his ear. "Spirits show affection and thanks in strange ways."

"That they do,"

"Are there any other young ones like Elona here?" Calfuray asked, watching as her daughter hugged the tiny Will O Wisp that was now the proper size of a labrador puppy. "I would prefer her to not be alone, not when there are... other unknown Arcanes around."

"Of course, we have a section that has been closed off so parents don't have to worry about their children. Though most Witches allow their children free run during festivals due to Will O Wisps guardians, we understand that not all will do so and so we prepare areas and allocate adults to look after them." Kore explained easily. "Do you want someone to show you where it is?"

She thought for a second. "Would she truly be safe with a Will O Wisp?"

"Yes. Though ancient Will O Wisps were mischievous in nature, parents create them as guardians for their children for short periods nowadays. They're much more popular now than they were when I was a child." She nodded to the puppy Will O Wisp in Elona's arms. "I created that Wisp with the intention of protection and guidance. It will keep her safe while allowing her to have fun around her, keeping her away from any dangers including the water if she gets too deep."

The Alpha nodded. "Thank you, Crown Greylight. It is a weight off of my shoulders. My eldest child is old enough to have knowledge of danger but I fear for both their safety at times."

"I understand. Growing up in the court, I wasn't ever alone for fear I would be in danger,"

"Mom," Elan said quietly, getting his mother's attention. "Can I go and look around? As thrilling as it is to listen to you talk, I would like to explore."

Kore laughed lightly. "You get used to conversations that might not be as exciting as you think they should be. If your Alpha allows, there are some activities happening further into the forest."

"Keep within our earshot," Calfuray jutted her chin towards the forest, making Elan quickly grin and yell thanks before he was off sprinting into the forest. She shook her head. "Teenagers."

Kore smiled into her drink. "I'm only four years older than him. Scary thought."

Elona wandered off when her mother gave her a nod, following the puppy Wisp as it ran and played with her. "Sometimes I fear they grow up too fast. Perhaps you had to."

"It's not that I grew up too fast, I grew up with knowing my responsibilities and what I had to do," Kore said. "It forced me to know that my life is not my own, but I don't regret my childhood."

She watched General Hardrada come their way with a certain alertness that Kore knew was caution and protectiveness. Kore excused herself from Calfuray and Calian, letting them walk away with ease as General Hardrada stayed close to speak to her.

"We have a problem with the fireworks." The General was careful to keep a neutral expression, one taught by years of secrets. "They've been replaced by explosive Magic dampeners, ones that would turn us Mundane and could even harm some of the children. What do you want us to do?"

"Where are they right now?" Kore muttered back, turning her head so the others couldn't read her lips.

"We've moved them to the edge of the forest, to one of the sides where there isn't a lot of Magic happening," General Hardrada said. "We haven't informed the other Crowns yet."

Kore thought for a second, before nodding once. "I'll tell them. Get Leon Cook from Blackwood to have a look at them. He has experience with explosives because of his deployment into the Mundane world. Send him my way after. Don't tell anyone else besides the soldiers directly below you."

"Of course, Your Majesty," General Hardrada swept a quick bow of the head before strutting away like she always did.

Cera seemed to see that something was up, coming over with Silas and a few others from their group. "What was that about?"

"A safety thing has come up," Kore said, looking around the loose crowd to locate the other Crowns. "So if I tell you to do something, do it without questioning."

Leon Cook was a twenty-something-year-old male with dark eyes and blond hair. He wore dark shades as he strutted over to Kore within minutes of her requesting so.

Kore excused herself from her friends, stepping away so she and Leon could talk.

"I'd bet the distance is a good half a mile, in all directions," he said calmly. "It's more than half a mile away from here so we should be fine, but I caught sight of some teenagers, maybe a couple of years younger than you, sneaking around near it. They didn't look suspicious, probably snuck away to party privately."

"What Clans?"

"I saw the Alas Heir there, along with the Baciu Heir. Maybe three others? I definitely saw white so I'm thinking a couple of Whitestones. I've already told Hardrada so she should check it out soon and report back."

"Any clue of who could have placed them?"

"Not that I can see but I did notice the German handiwork,"

She nodded softly. "Okay. When do you think they'll go off?"

"They've got solar panels, but I saw thousands attached to the trees around them. You wouldn't be able to keep them from getting some sort of sunlight for long."

"Thank you, Leon,"

He bowed his head. "Of course, Princess. My pleasure to serve one of the Crowns."

As soon as daybreak came in half an hour or so, the explosions would occur and wreak havoc on the Magic in the forest.

At such an event as the Summer Solstice, Magic was in high abundance because of the performances that Witches put on for each other, celebrating half a year and hoping for the next.

Kore had to make a plan quickly. It didn't take long besides asking how much could Silas and Annaliese freeze water? Which she found out was a lot and that was a good thing.

She went to find the other Crowns quickly.

"Just smile and nod, smile and nod," Kore grinned a smile that seemed realistic to those who didn't know her. "The fireworks have been replaced by explosive Magic dampeners, enough to incapacitate the adults and perhaps even damage the growing Magic of the kids. Leon Cook has had a look at them, he said they will erupt at dawn because they are solar powered but there are too many to destroy."

"That gives us half an hour to evacuate everyone," Ciel muttered, almost turning a dark glare to Kore. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"There wouldn't have been enough time to evacuate them anyway," She said. "Instead, get some of the Water Mages to flood the lake. The Torrens can create an ice rink and get as many people onto it as possible. I've informed the guards to keep people and themselves away from the explosives."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Brona repeated, gritting her teeth as she kept her smile. "We could have done something."

"I found out a few minutes ago," She stated. "Getting two thousand five hundred people out of here will not happen within twenty minutes. Besides, these dampeners are near the entrances and there are wards preventing anyone from entering or exiting besides for the entrances, remember?"

"What are we going to tell the Saints?" Ciel asked, worry coming over his face.

"The truth," Kore said as if it was the only answer. "Tell them anything but and they will know. They're Saints."

"Yes, but they are still only Witches,"

Kore didn't really know what to say to that. She knew very few people spoke to the Saints, let alone have a full-blown conversation with one alone like she did. Every couple of decades to every dozen or so years, the three Saints came down from wherever they stayed and visited a festival here or there.

It wasn't always the big festivals like this one, sometimes it was the intimate ones where only a family partook in and other times they went to the biggest festivals of the year and made an appearance.

She grew up knowing that the Saints were Sacred beings, old beyond belief and powerful but they never showed off their Magic. Her mother had doubted the powers of the Saints, telling young Kore that the Saints were only glorified Witches that truly had no power besides for the fear and awe they caused.

Now she knew the other Crowns believed this to be true.

They were allowed to doubt them, doubt any being that didn't prove themselves worthy. The Order had been remade once already, so nothing was permanent and their fear of being overthrown again resurfaced.

"Yeah," Kore agreed even if she didn't want to. Lying was in her nature to get her way. "Just make the lake an ice rink and get people on it. State it's a new tradition or something, or a really old one we recently found out about that we want to reintroduce. Just get people on it and away from shore."

Kore turned on her heels.

"Where are you going?"

She gestured in the direction of the entrance and bombs. "I'm off to sort shit out!"

Those two were useless as Crowns at times.

)()()(

Kore preferred a more hands-on approach to helping, and since she could use her Blood Magic to try and see the Magic of her people in the forest, she could locate the teenagers in there a lot easier than anyone else. She felt her nose bleed from her use of Magic but she suckered it up, wiped the blood away and went.

Why did the forest have to be so thick at times? Kore swore as she had to dodge trees and bushes to get through parts of it, and when she had enough, she just used her Lightning Teleportation skill to get near the entrances quicker.

"Yeah, you won't be able to do anything about them," Saint Tartarus said, suddenly appearing next to her as she observed the many tiny solar panels tucked into the trees. His black Ancient Roman tunic was dark against his pale skin, large arms crossed over his chest as two gold cuffs sat on his forearms.

"I've got to do something," Kore said. "Dawn's in fifteen minutes, and I doubt the soldiers found the teens. I can still feel them in the forest. Why are you here anyway?"

He shrugged. "I want to know what you will do now."

"This better not be a fucking test," she inhaled. "I swear if this is like when Saint Gaea poisoned me, I will throw hands."

"Start throwing." he laughed, the ground vibrating for just a second until he stopped. "Think quickly. How can you stop this? It will go off and it will go off dangerously."

"Fine." Kore rolled her eyes before muttering to herself. "Solar panels will cause them to go off at dawn. Dawn, day. Day, light. Light, power. Easy. Thunderstorm."

She rolled her shoulders. The still air around them shifted, slowly gaining a bit of speed around them as Kore concentrated it so it created a small tornado of swift air. Forcing the weak tornado upwards and into the sky, it burst into a huge storm cloud that covered the sky with such speed, that it sent the slowly coming dawn back into its dormant state.

Tartarus stepped closer to her, standing behind her as he put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward so his head was near her ear. "You've got doubts, enough to burden you."

"Perhaps so," She made sure the sky stayed dark as she tried to get the thunder to appear, it wouldn't for a few minutes since she needed time to electrify the storm clouds. "I've been lied to so many times that I don't know what the truth is anymore."

"Would you like to know the truth?"

"At what cost?"

He laughed, his voice suddenly deeper than before and created rumbles in the earth near her. "Good girl. You will go far in life if you keep up this defiantness you have. Don't settle for a little when you can have a lot."

This time Kore laughed, turning her head to meet Tartarus's completely black ones while hers glowed. "Why would I settle for anything less than Everything? My doubts are with other people."

"And us Saints?"

"Especially you Saints,"

"Good." He squeezed her shoulders gently. "If you cannot prove their worthiness..."

"Worthiness comes in different forms," She said, lighting striking nearby but neither flinched as the current went up them. "You should know."

"Should I?"

"Namesakes are a peculiar thing for a Greylight, they tell us who we are supposed to be," Kore smiled. "You helped give me my True Name, even if I don't know it."

The ground around the fireworks seemed to shift, letting small vines appear from the cracks until it allowed them to grow bigger and bigger until the vines were a couple of inches thick. They slithered until they hit the fireworks, wrapping around them a couple of times until they tightened, crushing the bombs within them and detaching them from the solar panels.

The trees seemed to throw the panels to the ground, destroying them as the ground almost ate the metal pieces until there was nothing left of them.

She turned around to face him completely. "Next time, just don't do it. It annoys me and I've got more important things to do than win one of your tests."

She twisted on her heels, using her lighting gift to teleport back to the main area.

)(Greylight)(

Eros and Gaea appeared within seconds of Kore lightning away.

"She's doing well," Gaea said.

Tartarus agreed.

"Will she be ready?" Eros asked.

"If you do your part, perhaps," Tartarus shrugged.

Gaea sighed, "I hope it doesn't traumatise her."

The other two gave her a look.

"Says the one who poisoned her,"

"And made her suffer for two weeks with said poisoning."

"Oh shut up," Gaea pouted.

"It will be interesting how she will react to a rival," Eros laughed. "I hope the rival survives!"

"Doubt it," Tartarus tilted his head. "That one has a designated place waiting for her back home."

Gaea rolled her eyes. "Good luck, Sloane."