Page 48 of Langiappe & Lost Legends

The next few hours were a blur of preparation and increasingly creative swearing. Phi and Maeve disappeared into a whirlwind of calculations and dimensional theory that made my head hurt just overhearing. Kota worked on creating a potion to boost the modified tracking spells while Lia and Dre gathered artifacts from the hidden room.

I was in the middle of coordinating with Cyran when Phi said, "We’ve got something. There’s a strong harmonic resonance detected. You're not going to like where."

We gathered around her and gaped at where she was pointing. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. My hand went to the bridge of my nose. It made sense that the Lost Legends would choose the oldest and most magically active cemetery in New Orleans for their reality-breaking ritual. The place was already a nexus of supernatural energy under normal circumstances. With the crystal's corruption added to the mix... I didn’t even want to think what more could go wrong.

"I think they've linked the crystal to Marie Laveau's tomb," Phi explained as her detection equipment emitted an ominous whine. "They're using the natural power grid of the cemetery to amplify its effects. My equipment is picking up massive energy spikes, but they're unstable. The dimensional barriers around the cemetery are already paper-thin from centuries of magical activity and are the one place that would add to the blocks they erected."

"Of course, they picked the most magically volatile location in the city," Lia groaned. "Making our job harder is apparently their specialty."

"It makes a twisted kind of sense," Maeve mused. "The cemetery is a natural crossroads between worlds. The barriers between life and death and past and present are already permeable there. Add in centuries of ritual magic and the concentrated power of thousands of souls..." She trailed off and lifted her shoulders.

"Which means?" I prompted, though I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Which means we might be able to use that instability to our advantage," Maeve explained. "The cemetery's natural power grid could help us establish a more stable connection to where they're holding your sister. But..."

"But it's almost certainly trapped," I finished. "And any mistake could tear those barriers completely."

"Potentially releasing every spirit ever trapped there while simultaneously collapsing multiple realities into one very messy knot of temporal chaos," Phi confirmed.

"The Lost Legends know we're coming," Hannah warned, her form flickering slightly with concern. "They'll be expecting you to try something like this."

"Good," I said with more confidence than I felt. "Let them expect us. While they're watching for a frontal assault, we'll hit them from an angle they won't see coming."

"You have a plan?" Lia asked with a raised eyebrow. She actually took a sip of her drink this time.

"Half of one," I admitted. "We need to get close enough to the tomb to use the artifacts. However, we can't risk a direct confrontation until we're sure we can maintain a stable connection to Dea's location."

"The tunnels," Kota suggested suddenly as her eyes lit up. "The tunnels we investigated earlier. Some of them connect to the cemetery's crypt network. Cyran promised he cleared them, and there are no more traps."

"That could work," Maeve said thoughtfully. "The underground pathways might help mask your magical signatures until you're in position. But you'll need a distraction on the surface to keep their attention focused upward."

I turned to Hannah. "Would the other guardians be willing to help create that distraction? Not to fight," I added quickly. "Just do something to make it look like we're attempting a frontal assault?"

The spirit's smile was sharp with approval. "I believe that could be arranged. It would be fitting to use their expectations against them."

The plan came together quickly after that. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best shot we had at finding Dea's exact location. We'd have one chance to get this right. One opportunity to establish a stable connection through the dimensional barriers without alerting the Lost Legends to our true purpose.

"The tunnels will take us close enough to tap into the cemetery's power grid," Phi explained as she made final adjustments to her equipment. "If we can stabilize a connection to the crystal's original harmonics, we should be able to triangulate Dea's position in the spaces between realities."

"And then what?" Dre asked softly, her voice carrying all the worry we felt.

"And then we get Dea back," I replied, meeting each of my sisters' eyes in turn. "We hit them with every scrap of power we can gather. We break through whatever barriers they've created and bring our sister home."

"Before or after we kick their temporally displaced asses?" Lia asked with a grin that held more teeth than humor.

"Definitely after," Kota said firmly. We were all on board with that.

"Remember," Maeve warned as we gathered our supplies, "you're not trying to break through the barriers this time. Justestablish a stable connection so we can pinpoint your sister's location. Anything more risks tearing reality apart completely."

"No pressure or anything," I muttered, checking my gear one last time.

"We've got this," Lia said, bumping my shoulder. "One step at a time."

She was right. We had a plan, we had backup, and most importantly, we had a sister to save. The Lost Legends thought they could use our connection to the crystal against us. They were about to learn exactly what that connection could do when backed by the Smith determination and the Yearsley intuition.

"Ready?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

Four voices responded in perfect unison: "Ready."

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