Page 79 of Bargain with Fate
The vampire looked at me. “Is that a family name?”
“No, another subset of fae, like the Thornborn, but without the political agenda.”
“Well, they seem to have a political agenda now,” Gage said.
Vale rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t heard of them before.”
“How about the Seven Sorcerers? Have you heard of them?”
He shook his head. “Are they related?”
“That’s another name for the Coranians. Squares and rectangles.”
He shot me a quizzical look.
“Not all fae are Coranians, but all Coranians are fae.”
“Right, got it.”
“But there were only four of them,” Cowboy said.
“The other three are somewhere nearby. They stick together, but they’re nomadic. Usually they’re just passing through. They throw money around like it grows on trees and then disappear.”
“Well, money is paper,” Gage said.
“It’s faerie money. Looks real enough, but once the Coranians are gone, it returns to its original form. By the time the victim realizes the money’s no good, the fae are long gone.”
Gage stared at me. “You couldn’t have mentioned these Coranians before now?”
“It didn’t occur to me that they might be involved. I haven’t heard their name in years. It was only during the fight that I realized.”
“With them pissing off so many people with their fake currency, I’m surprised nobody’s taken them down by now,” Cowboy said.
“Maybe they’re like the Dread Pirate Roberts,” Gage suggested.
I was the only who laughed.
“No otherPrincess Bridefans?” Gage asked in disbelief. “That’s a shame.”
“You think these are seven different sorcerers from the original group of Coranians?” I asked.
Gage shrugged. “Or a mix of originals and replacements.”
“It’s doubtful. The Coranians can’t be killed by any weapon. It’s one of their key traits.”
“Well, Mordred bled all over the square,” Cowboy said, “so they can be injured.”
“Which is why I aimed for his cheek.”
“That was your intended target?” Cowboy asked. “Huh. And here I thought you missed.”
“I only wanted to break Urien’s concentration. He’s the most powerful.”
“Honestly, though,” Gage said, “who names their child Urien? I can’t imagine that went down well on the school playground.”
“Maybe the bullied became the bully,” Vale said, then paused. “You said they can’t be killed by any weapon. Define weapon.”
“That I don’t know.”
