Page 26 of Bedrest Blues & Otherworldly Clues
"She said something about convergence points," I added as I interpreted what she had chanted. Thewords tasted bitter on my tongue. "And that 'the Pleiades heart was the final vessel’."
Aidon's expression hardened. "Did you recognize the location?"
I shook my head, immediately regretting the movement as fresh pain stabbed through me. "No, but it felt old. I bet it predates human civilization."
He reached for his phone. "I'll have Hades search the Underworld archives. If this place exists, he'll find it."
As he stepped away to make the call, another wave of phantom pain washed over me. This time it was different from the headache. This one centered in my chest, as if something were trying to claw its way out from inside me. The triplets responded with a protective surge that briefly alleviated the discomfort.
"Thanks, little ones," I whispered, pressing a hand to where I'd felt their magic gather.
Aidon returned with a furrowed brow. "Hades is checking. He says your description sounds familiar, but he needs more details."
"I don't have more," I said, frustration edging my voice. "It came and went in flashes."
"That's not necessarily true," Mom said from the doorway. She carried a steaming mug of tea and Hattie's grimoire tucked under her arm. "Your subconscious might have absorbed more than you realize."
She crossed to the bed and set the tea on my nightstand. "There's a technique in here," she continued as she opened the grimoire to a bookmarked page, "for recovering hidden memories and visions. Hattie used it when she first heard the warning about people trying to trick her into giving them her power."
"Is it safe?" Aidon asked immediately.
Mom hesitated. "It's not without risks. The processinvolves deliberately reopening the psychic channels that allowed the vision in the first place."
"Which means giving Lyra another potential point of access," I concluded grimly.
"Yes, but it would be controlled this time. We'd be ready," Mom reassured me.
Jean-Marc appeared clutching ancient texts and looking disheveled. "I found something about the ritual Lyra is attempting."
"What is it?" I asked, wondering what more he could have possibly discovered.
He opened the topmost volume. "Based on what she has done, I don’t think she's using only one forbidden ritual. So far, she has combined elements for several. And she has crossed different species. Fae, shifter, witch, and the gods."
"That's impossible," Aidon objected. "Different magical systems are incompatible."
"They should be," Jean-Marc agreed, pointing to a passage. "This account from 1487 describes a necromancer who attempted something similar. He tried to merge Egyptian death magic with Celtic harvest rituals."
"What happened?" I asked.
"It was bad,” Jean Marc said, making a face. “The conflicting energies created a vortex that consumed everything within a fifty-mile radius."
Mom leaned forward. "That doesn't sound like Lyra's style. She wouldn't risk self-destruction."
"No," Jean-Marc agreed, "but she might have found a way around the compatibility issue." He showed another book. "This text mentions theoretical 'bridges' between different magical systems. Specific power sources that can stabilize incompatible energies."
"Like Pleiades magic," I realized.
He nodded. "Exactly. It's uniquelyadaptive."
"And the triplets would represent that magic in its purest form," I concluded.
Aidon's power pulsed out of him in sharp waves. "She wants to use our children as magical conduits."
"Actually, she wants them as stabilizers before she takes all of their power in the Ascension," Jean-Marc corrected. "Think of it like supernatural rubber gloves for handling volatile materials."
I felt something brush against my mind. The triplets stirred uneasily. "Something's happening," I warned.
The brush became a push. That turned into a full assault as another vision crashed through my defenses. If I had been standing, I would have fallen over.
