Page 24 of Gift from the Source
This isn’t any ol’ relic, though.
It’s The Gods Binding.
“There’s no way he’d leave this here. He needs it to steal gifts,” Willow whispers.
“He has two of those monstrosities. That one’s full.” Xander hisses.
“Full? What do you mean?” Willow asks, whipping toward him.
“Not sure how to explain it, but all I know is the one that used to travel with us didn’t give off that energy. It didn’t do anything. That one, though…” He growls, pointing at it. “Is all wrong. It feels like death.”
Without a backward glance, he stomps from the room and his brothers shoot him a worried look but don’t immediately follow him.
“Sorry about that. X…” Dec breathes, running his hand through his hair. “X believes his parents are stuck in there. He swears he feels them, and it haunts him.”
Fuck…their gifts.
“We’ll explain more when we get back home. Oakly, Gaster,” Willow says, nodding toward it.
“Wait, you can’t touch that thing,” Carrington blurts out, shaking the room as he takes a couple steps toward us.
“It’s okay, they know what to do. Trust me,” Will says softly, holding her hands up to stop him. He looks around nervously, but with some coaxing and guidance from Dec, he relents and leaves the room.
“Same as the others, my girl,” Gaster whispers to Oakly encouragingly as they get in position.
Her hands, unlike the other times, shake slightly, but that doesn’t stop her from reaching out as Gaster disintegrates the glass casing, then opens his pocket dimension.
The second the relic is removed and placed inside, I swear the room takes a deep breath. That haunting, depressing feeling that was weighing down the space evaporates, and everyone relaxes as much as we can.
“You did so good,” Willow whispers as she pulls Oakly back into her arms.
“And so will you,” Oakly says, giving my little warrior a kiss on her cheek before walking into Ry’s arms and out the door.
Willow watches until everyone is completely out of her sight before her heavy breath makes her whole body slump. “Let’s do this.”
“Come then, child,” Gaster says, waving her over.
My fists flex at my sides as her shadows withdraw from around my wrists. The loss of the grounding has me tensing up and craving it back now that my hackles are raised. I mentally prepare for the worst as I watch her walk into Gaster, but when she glances over her shoulder at each of us, I force away my desire to snatch her back into my arms and smile.
“You’ve got this.”
“What do I do?” she asks the old man.
“I casted this one to match the way you open your pocket dimension. This first time, we’ll do it together, but any time after that, you’ll only need to think of my magical signature, and you can open it yourself.”
Nodding, she laces her hand with Gaster’s and together they raise their fingers, casting their magic out. The two powers combined are a heady concoction in this room and I have no doubt, their forces are some of the strongest, if not the strongest, we’ll ever have the privilege of witnessing.
My brothers and I stand still, hyperaware of every move they make. The very familiar circle opens with ease, and I’m not the least bit shocked by the swirling pool of silver that almost matches her own that appears. The smallest difference is the traces of lavender that match the thread of their bond.
A whisper of a smile crosses her face as she takes a moment to admire the pocket dimension before moving over to where Keeper’s waiting patiently for her.
“I can just command it to us if you’d like to guide it fully, Willow,” he says softly.
“I would, thank you.”
“Of course, Adored. I’ll start at the top, moving around the whole room, then continue down each layer. You guide the blood in. Gaster willclose it when we’re done,” he says as his eyes morph fully into their crimson shade.
The language of the Keep echoes around the room as the power in Keeper’s voice calls to the blood. The jars vibrate, clanking together and making the smallest of noises like my wind chimes moving from a soft breeze. The magic from his words is so different to the magic we’re used to, but captivating nonetheless.
