Page 50 of House of Kallan
“That’s…” I was out of words. Impossible didn’t even cover it. Sorcerers were hunted early on and all of their bloodlines were gone.
“Yep. Torin, one of our witchy friends, recognized the magic. He says all powerful magic has a signature, and he knew that one well. The problem was, that line was killed off ages ago and shouldn’t exist,” Hawthorn said.
“Then ORKA stupidly took on a house of true monsters,” Hawthorn said, shaking his head. “Two foukes, a unicorn, and a void. An entire battalion of these agents. And they brought with them these fire sticks and somehow managed to hit one of the foukes. The thing is, those three species aren’t identifiable by humans. We’re sure of that. This family in particular was very low key and were not on anyone’s radar for more than what theyare to Silence. So not only did ORKA know where this family was located, but they knew to come en masse. They knew who they were looking for and they very quickly made a hit that caused the Savages to basically retreat until help arrived.”
“Later that month, Silence released their hit list,” Toby offered.
“Oh my gods,” I muttered.
“And then, about a year ago, a family from that list was somehow captured by ORKA on a remote island and held in a volcano. A family of deep-sea monsters,” Lazarus said, shaking his head. “I saw it all. There was no fucking way any magic that they had readily available to them could secure these monsters. But there they were. To really drive the point home, they had a kraken, completely conscious andunableto fucking do anything at all.”
Yep, I was incredibly, utterly speechless. All I could do was shake my head.
“While I think that the list was placed there after they abandoned their primary facility, we found Silence’s hit list on their computer,” Lazarus said. “This family was on that list. But again, a family of deep-sea monsters on anisland, literally surrounded by water, that they managed to not only overpower but keep trapped for several days until we arrived.”
“Unreal,” I said. Chills raced over my body.
“Truly,” Hadrian said.
“And now, here we are,” Toby said. “There seems to be some very obvious connections, but more than anything, there are subtle ones. Bottom line is that ORKA isn’t creating this magic on their own. Humans don’t have magic. Plain and simple. So they’re getting it from somewhere. The question remains—where? Who?”
I nodded.
“Why would someone stage the ORKA thing on the island with Silence’s hit list?” I mused out loud.
“One of the many puzzles we’ve yet to unravel,” Hawthorn said. “But this island is very unique. Before ORKA, the monsters walked around in their natural state more often than not. In the wide open. They lived side by side with humans in peace. The presence of ORKA changed that as they tried to hide from ORKA as much as possible. But the thing is, the island had lived this way for generations. Which means a monster from Silence could have been amongst them just as long keeping an eye on the monsters on the island and no one would be the wiser.”
“This island is remote,” Lazarus said. “Truly. There’s almost no tourism. Most of what they have is locally grown and made. Those that visit are usually relatives or close friends. This leads me to believe that an affiliation of Silence is a resident on the island. How else would they identify that the Kallans were one of the strongest families and, therefore, make the hit list?”
“What if…” Aden said as I looked at him with trepidation. “What if there’s some true tie between them? Like maybe someone from Silence actually created ORKA?” He sat up suddenly. “OH!” He exclaimed. Rahael quickly grabbed him before his momentum sent him tumbling to the ground. “What if someone from Silence is somehow associated with The Harem Project and they have access to their databases? Maybethat’show they’ve identified all the powerful families?!” he asked with a level of triumph, as if he’d just solved a major mystery.
Maybe he had. It was a fucking terrifying thought.
“I don’t want to hear your hypotheses anymore,” Toby said. “They’re too petrifying to think about.”
“Ohhh,” Aden said. “What if the same person is pulling the strings to all three organizations? Like a puppet master.”
“To see who takes out the other first?” Hawthorn asked.
Aden shrugged and leaned back again. Rahael wrapped his arms around tightly, as if keeping him bound would prevent anymore horrible ideas from breaking free.
“I’m going to pretend like that’s not even possible,” Lazarus said with a frown.
“I don’t think it is,” Hadrian said. “As grotesquely entertaining as it might be for some person to watch it all like a game, I think The Harem Project was too complacent for far too long for that to be the case. If you want to see a battle to the death, one party can’t just sit quietly and watch to truly be a contender.”
“That’s just the thing, though,” Aden said. “The Harem Project really isn’t a contender at all. All the push back? The counter attacks? Those are all led by private parties. Us. Our friends. The most HP is doing is housing our information. Employing people to learn what they can and look for connections. Haphazardly creating weapons to counter the new shit that Silence is coming out with. That’s not exactly the makings of a powerhouse, is it?”
The room fell silent again as we considered him.
“You’d be a force in the world if you unleashed yourself, sweetheart,” Hadrian said.
Aden smiled. “Nah. I enjoy being a kept man.” He looked at me and we shared a smile.
“Aden isn’t wrong,” Toby said. “The most HP is right now is a financial backer and maybe some brain power. Everything else comes into playafterwe’ve done the difficult, dangerous, and dirty work.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “Not that I’m discounting the importance of Haven or programs like it. They’re hugely imperative.”
“I know,” I said. “But… you’re not wrong at all. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“The answer is probably less scandalous than you think,” Hadrian said. “The Harem Project was created as a peaceful, charitable entity that focuses on conservation and happy endings. They’re there for noble causes. They were never meant to be an army. ORKA and Silence were violent from the inception.”
