Page 19 of Mardi Gras Murders & Midnight Masquerades
Jeff appeared behind Kota and passed her a steaming travel mug. "I made a fresh pot of that volcanic roast you like. Figured we all need the caffeine tonight." He'd taken our supernatural crises in stride since we’d been given our magic. I could see the tension in his shoulders. Ever since Kota nearly died, he had been more on edge.
"You're a lifesaver," Kota murmured before inhaling the coffee's rich aroma. "Though I'm not sure any amount of caffeine can prepare us for whatever that mask is hiding."
The feel of Kaveh's magic announced Kaitlyn's arrival, his distinctive djinn power rippled through the workshop like desert heat. They materialized in a swirl of blue-gold energy. Kaitlyn's black hair was wild around her face as she clutched what looked like a sphere of pure darkness. Kaveh’s arms were wrapped precisely around her so he didn’t come in contact with the thing.
“Interesting choice, bringing a djinn near a ward-eater,” Adèle observed, whiskers twitching. “Though I suppose his raw powermight help stabilize the null-sphere's void matrix.”Whatever the hell that meant? I looked over at Dre, wondering if we should clarify what our familiar meant, and she shook her head. I guess it wasn’t important since nothing had blown up.
"Thanks for the lift," Kaitlyn said, stretching up to kiss Kaveh's cheek. "Better than having to drive through traffic."
"Of course, habibti," he replied. His dark eyes scanned the workshop. "Though I must say, that artifact makes my skin crawl. Magic isn’t meant to combine like that. It feels forced and unnatural."
“He's right,” Adèle projected. “Which is why it is getting through your box, Kaitlyn.”
Dre motioned to the high priestess of New Orleans. “Then we’d better get that thing in place.”
“The null-sphere's going to take precise calibration,"Adèle instructed us.“One wrong move, and we could create a magical feedback loop between the null energy and our wards which would cancel them out. Possibly even burn away centuries of the protective magic that has seeped into the land.”That would leave us completely vulnerable. Those deep layers are part of what made our wards so strong.
"Nobody move," Kaitlyn ordered as she moved to inspect the box with the mask. Her hands traced glowing sigils in the air as she worked. "Kaveh, I need you on the eastern point. Your djinn magic should help balance the energies."
Kaveh moved into position. His power unfurled like heated silk through the room. The null-sphere pulsed darker as he approached, as if responding to his presence.
“Watch the resonance patterns,” Adèle warned, moving to a higher perch for a better view. “See how the darkness ripples when it contacts different types of magic? It's learning, adapting to each new magical signature it encounters.”
Kaitlyn began a complex series of gestures, weaving the artifact into a stable matrix. The sphere hoveredabove her palm, drinking in ambient magic similar to what had happened in the tunnels. Except this wasn’t as violent and it wasn’t pulling anything into it. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she worked. "The containment box is working overtime," she observed. "That mask is trying to establish a connection outside these walls."
“It's attempting to bypass the wards through by creating negative spaces in our magical matrix,” Adèle observed. She was capable of tracking things the rest of us couldn’t. “You guys were correct to be worried about the artifact.”
"Shouldn’t it be blocked?" Dre asked, moving to assist with the warding.
"Absolutely." Kaitlyn's hands wove complex patterns as she cast. "Whatever's in that mask shouldn't be phoning home any longer. The null-sphere should create a complete magical dead zone. Nothing in or out without my say-so."
“In theory,” Adèle interjected, her tail lashing with concern. “But this mask doesn't follow normal rules. The more I watch it, the more I think it's like trying to contain shadow with light. The harder you push, the more ways it finds to slip through.”
“Then we need to figure out what kind of trap they put on this thing,” I replied.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Kaitlyn positioned the sphere above the containment box. She adjusted it with minute gestures until she seemed satisfied. "Okay, now we can examine this thing properly. But everyone needs to stay behind the quarantine line I'm about to draw. We have no idea if there will be any nasty side effects."
“Understatement,” Adèle sniffed. “We know they’re fond of void magic which affects the physical realm. It can also temporarily sever the connection between a witch and their power. I'd rather not spend the next week rebuilding our magical bonds.”
“That would have been good to know before we wentinto the tunnels,” Kota muttered. “Thank the gods it didn’t catch us.”
Using a piece of blessed chalk, Kaitlyn sketched a complex circle around the workbench. Protective runes blazed to life as she completed each section. "Right, who wants to do the honors?" she asked, stepping back to admire her work.
"I will," I volunteered, moving forward before my sisters could protest. "I’ve been itching to get a proper look at this thing since we found it."
“You don’t always have to play the role of martyr to save your sisters,” Adèle sighed in my head, making me frown. I didn’t do that. I just preferred taking the risk. “Go slowly so I can monitor the magical frequencies. If they start to destabilize, you'll need to pull back immediately. Some of these energy signatures remind me of the trap-spells from the Burning Times.”
Apparently, she'd shared that last bit with everyone because Lucas growled softly. I was grateful he didn't try to stop me. He knew better by now, though his wolf clearly wasn't happy about me doing this.
I approached the containment box carefully. I called my power up and coaxed my witch fire to dance along my fingertips. The words of revelation fell from my lips as I wove my magic into the seeing spell, each syllable precise and crisp. Golden light spread from my hands, and seeped into the mask's surface like water into parched earth.
“Careful,” Adèle warned. “The magic's responding oddly to your probing. It's almost like...”Her thought trailed off as the mask's surface began to shimmer.
"The enchantments are incredibly complex," Kaitlyn noted, moving closer to study the revealed spellwork. "As we expected, there are multiple layers of magic woven together." The corners of her lips turned down in afrown then, and she traced a particular set of runes with her finger. "It's almost like it's designed to... oh shit."
“Stop!”Adèle's mental command cracked like a whip. “Pull back now, Lia. I recognize this pattern. It's a twisted version of a magical siphon.”Her fur stood on end, making her look twice her size. “The old grimoires called them soul-eaters, but this one's been modified to target something specific.”
"What?" I demanded, not liking her tone. My witch fire flared in response to the alarm.
