Page 33 of Bearly Bewitched

“Ah, but they weren’t fully informed of certain... complications. Like young Daisy’s unique condition.” His eyes glittered with secret knowledge. “Such an interesting case study in magical contamination. Or purification, depending on one’s perspective. Nora was quite thorough in her documentation.”

Thunder rumbled overhead as Kaine took a step forward, raw magic rolling off him in waves that made the ward stonesvibrate. But Vail caught his arm, her touch both restraining and grounding. They couldn’t afford to show their hand – not yet, not when they were still putting the pieces together.

“Thank you for your academic interest,” she said smoothly, professional mask firmly in place. “But curse theory will have to wait. We have a student to attend to.”

“Ah yes, speaking of Daisy.” Ledger reached into his robes, withdrawing an ornate crystal rod that pulsed with sickly light – the same purple energy she’d seen him using near the ward stones. “I believe she had another... episode today? Fascinating how curse magic responds to ward stone fluctuations. Almost as if the two were connected somehow.”

He turned the rod slowly, letting them see the dark energy writhing within. “One might almost think Nora was ahead of her time, combining curse work with ward manipulation. Though her execution lacked... refinement.”

The threat in his words hung heavy in the air. Outside, storm clouds gathered thicker, responding to the tension in the room. Even the protection runes carved into Kaine’s gifted organizer pulsed with warning light, recognizing the danger in Ledger’s carefully chosen words.

“The council might be interested to know you’re carrying Nora Changly’s research materials,” Vail said carefully. “Considering they sealed her records after?—“

“The council,” Ledger’s smile never wavered, “will be quite interested in many things once the eclipse arrives. Hybrid magic. Ward stone alignment. The true potential of what Nora began.”

He tucked the crystal rod away with elegant precision, though the one at his throat continued to pulse ominously.

The moment Ledger left, Kaine pulled Vail close, both of them needing the contact to shake off the chill of his presence.

“He knows something,” Vail whispered against Kaine’s chest, their combined magic burning away the lingering traces of Ledger’s dark energy. “About Nora’s ritual, about the curse...”

“And now he has three weeks until the eclipse to use that knowledge.” Kaine’s arms tightened protectively. “We need to figure out what he’s planning before?—“

“Uncle Kaine?” Daisy’s small voice from the doorway made them both turn. She stood supported between Sabine and Ren, looking pale but determined. Her usually vibrant magic dimmed to flickering shadows that swirled around her in visible tendrils, making the protection runes throughout the office pulse. But it was the fear in her eyes that hit them hardest – no child should have to carry such heavy knowledge.

“I remember something,” Daisy said quietly. “About the night Grandma cursed me. About what she said when Mom and Dad...” She swallowed hard, her curse magic swirling faster. “I think I know what she was trying to do. And I think... I think Mr. Ledger wants to finish it.”

The ward stones pulsed with ominous light, and somewhere in the depths of the academy, a crystal answered.

THIRTY-TWO

Silver moonlight spilled across the Arcane Academy grounds as Kaine checked his pocket watch – barely nine, and already the ward stones pulsed with that sickly purple energy they’d been tracking since Ames’s visit.

Two weeks until the eclipse, and each night brought new mutations in the corruption’s behavior. The magical disturbances had grown more frequent since Daisy’s revelations about her grandmother’s ritual, each pulse carrying traces of that same twisted energy he remembered from the night of the accident.

The corruption felt different tonight. It carried an acrid tang like burnt metal, making his bear instincts bristle beneath his skin. The tainted magic seemed to crawl across his fur, leaving trails of ice in its wake that reminded him too much of Nora’s curse. Even the air felt wrong – thicker, heavier, as if the very atmosphere was being compressed by some unseen force. The ward stones’ usual protective hum had developed an undertone like shattered glass grinding against itself, carrying the same frequency as Ledger’s crystal had emanated that day in Vail’s office.

He’d left Daisy safely ensconced in the library with Sabine and a squadron of advanced students, all of them working on strengthening the building’s protective enchantments. The library’s ancient wards still held true, their steady gold light a stark contrast to the infected stones outside.

His niece had insisted on helping despite her earlier collapse, showing that same stubborn determination she’d inherited from her father. The thought tightened his chest – Marcus would be proud of how brave she’d grown, how she refused to let fear or her grandmother’s curse define her.

A delicious scent announced Vail’s approach before he saw her. His bear stirred at her presence, recognizing her as his perfect complement. She moved toward the courtyard’s eastern corner with careful grace, her steps leaving brief afterimages of warmth in the chill night air. Even exhausted from hours of ward stone examination, she carried herself with quiet strength.

“These patterns have evolved.” She crouched beside the cornerstone where corrupted runes twisted like living things beneath the stone’s surface. Tiny flames danced between her fingertips, casting strange shadows that seemed to move independently of the light. Her magic probed the corruption with scholarly precision despite her obvious fatigue. “The resonance has changed too – listen.”

Kaine knelt beside her, extending his senses past human limits. The ward stone’s corruption responded to their combined presence, its purple energy coiling like a serpent tasting the air. The stone’s song carried undertones of ancient magic that set his teeth on edge.

“You hear it?” Vail asked softly. When he nodded, she continued, “It’s affecting different magical signatures in unique ways. Watch.” She sent a tendril of fire magic toward the stone. The corruption responded instantly, coiling around her powerlike a hungry serpent. The air filled with an electrical charge that made his fur want to stand on end.

Thunder rumbled overhead as storm clouds gathered, drawn by the magical disturbance. The ward stone’s indigo light cast shadows across Vail’s face as she worked, highlighting the intensity of her concentration. A bead of sweat traced down her temple – this close, he could smell the strain in her magic like burning cedar.

“You’re pushing too hard,” he warned, reaching for her shoulder. The moment they touched, their magic sparked and merged. Gold and crimson light spun together, carrying the scent of mountain pines after rain. The ward stone’s corruption recoiled from their combined power with a sound like shattering ice.

“Fascinating reaction.” Vail’s eyes sparkled with academic interest despite the danger. “The corruption seems almost afraid of hybrid magic, even though that’s what Ledger’s trying to?—“

A burst of unstable energy cut her off as the nearest ward stone erupted with tendrils of oily darkness. The corruption carried a metallic taste like blood, and the temperature plummeted until their breath fogged in the air. Through the maelstrom, Kaine caught a glimpse of Ledger watching from the shadows, his crystal pulsing in time with the ward stones’ chaos.

The attack came without warning. One moment they were examining the corruption’s pattern; the next, a whip of dark energy lashed out with frightening precision. Vail threw up a hasty shield, but the corruption twisted around her defenses like smoke through cracks. It struck her chest with an impact that knocked the air from her lungs.

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