I let the song fade away and turned slowly to face Slate.
“What is it?” He asked urgently. “What did you see? Who is doing this?”
“The Zone,” I whispered and shook my head. “I can't explain it. I don't know; maybe I'm wrong. Maybe—”
“What do you mean; the Zone?” Slate growled and grabbed my upper arms.
“Slate!” Aaro snapped.
“Shut up,” Slate snarled at his brother without looking away from me. “Tell me, Elaria!”
“I must have misinterpreted it.” I stepped back, dislodging Slate easily; he hadn't been trying to hurt me, only compel me to answer. “The song spread over the Zone, it couldn't focus on any particular person or group. Either they've already fled or they've gone...” I gaped at him and blinked.
“What?” Slate demanded again.
“Is there anything below the Zone?” I asked.
“Below it?” Slate scowled. “You mean besides Gargo's old prison?”
“There's the river that leads to the Pacific,” I murmured thoughtfully. “And you found the lake with all those crystals. Why not something else?”
“What else?” Jago asked. “You saying that the Beneathers behind this have gone even more beneath?”
“It would explain why my magic kept wanting to take me deeper, below the Zone,” I said. “Slate, I think we need to search for tunnels.”
“Tunnels?” Slate shot a look at Aaro.
“We didn't make any,” Aaro said firmly. “If there are tunnels below the Zone, they were either dug by other Beneathers, without our consent, or they're natural formations.”
“Whoever this is and wherever they are, they're enraged,” I said. “They want everyone here, not just the Felinae, to suffer.”
“Why?” Slate asked. “Did you see that? Get any hint of a reason?”
I shook my head. “No, but this kind of rage is personal. It feels like Gargo, Slate. I'd assume it was him if the magic hadn't practically said otherwise.”
“The magic told you that it's not Gargo?” Binx asked. “I didn't think you could have a conversation while singing.”
“Some people, and by that I mean those of us with working brains, can do what's called multitasking,” Jago explained as if he were talking to a child.
“I will kill you,” Binx said simply. “My brother won't be able to save you.”
Jago rolled his eyes, completely unaffected.
“The conversation wasn't with words,” I said to Binx before he made good on his threat. “When I brought Gargo to mind, the magic just spread wider and sank deeper. It felt like an answer and that answer was...”
“Well? What was it, Diva?” Jago asked. “Shit, stop pausing for effect, it's fucking annoying.”
Binx snorted a laugh and held his fist out to Jago to get bumped. Yep, that's how it works with Gargoyles; they rag on each other and then stand by each other. I suppose they're not much different than any other family.
“The answer wasn't a yes,” I said with some confusion. And I was confused; thus all the pauses. This had been the strangest song I'd ever sung; giving me what I wanted while also giving me nothing. “It wasn't exactly a no either.”
“What does that leave?” Slate huffed. “Maybe? Maybe is right where we started, El.”
“I know.” I shook my head. “The best way I can describe it is to say that it was almost Gargo but not him.”
“Almost Gargo but not,” Slate growled. “Great. You know what that sounds like, right?”
“I don't think it's his spirit,” I protested. “That would be him.”
“So, what's almost Gargo but not?” Aaro posed the question.
“His body?” Jago suggested. “It did have a life of its own. But it can't be that; you guys burned that thing to ash.”
“And we didn't even burn it here,” I added. “We took it up to the surface.”
“So, what is it?” Slate asked, turning to look out the window again. “What the fuck is attacking my zone? Again.”
“Or making your zone attack its residents,” I amended. “As I said, the Zone is doing this; it's being used as a weapon.”
“How can the Zone be making the Cats crazy?” Binx grumbled.
“Do we have any facts?” Aaro asked, ignoring his brother.
“Facts.” Slate turned back to the others. “It's a fact that Felinae are more sensitive to things than other Beneathers.”
“Things including spirits; something I didn't believe in before the whole Gargo episode,” Aaro added.
“Fact two: Felinae are the only victims; only they have been targeted by this strange rage and targeted by those infected with the rage... so far,” Slate went on.
“Fact three; Elaria's magic didn't give us any facts.” Binx smirked.
“Fact four; my brother is an idiot,” Aaro added.
“Which one?” Binx smirked.
“Oh, nice one!” Jago fist-bumped Binx again.
“The Inlonka fled the Zone,” I said over their banter. “That's a fact.”
“A fact which leads us to a reasonable assumption,” Slate said. “For the Inlonka to leave, down to the last man, woman, and child, they must have feared something terrible and they believed it would hurt them.”
“There's one other fact relating to the Inlonka,” Jago said grimly. “When Gargo attacked, they helped to defend the Zone.”
“So?” Binx huffed.
“So,” Slate growled at his brother, “whatever they foresaw, it scared them more than an invading army led by a God.”
That shut Binx up. Hell, it shut us all up.
Chapter Eight
“We need to know what the Inlonka saw.” Slate crossed his arms and stared at the other men as if daring them to suddenly start spouting prophesy.
“They're not the only seers,” I reminded him.
“I don't think we have another Felinae medium here,” Aaro countered.
“I meant the Felinae,” I clarified. “The Nagas are rather good at it too.”
“That's right,” Slate murmured. “It's something about being coldblooded. Cold like the dead. Most Naga psychics are mediums
