Page 142 of Discarded (Shifter's Vault 1)

"I will stand at the head. You both stand to either side." She waved us into place and held her hands in front of her. "As one, we will touch Comus's prison. We will draw power from that."

She nodded to a tall stand. An ordinary looking clay bowl stood on top, full to the brim with dried petals.

The smell was so sweet I wanted to inhale it all at once. With that much power I could blow the top off the cave, off the whole mountain.

"Restraint," Helene said firmly. "Between the three of us, we could destroy half a city, but today we must use restraint. A good deal of power, but only a hair of it, directed to opening the prison. Understood?"

I nodded. Suddenly the endless hours moving rice made sense. It was the difference between using an axe to split wood, and a needle to stitch a small wound. The axe would make the wound a lot bigger, and a needle would do fuck all to the wood. Different tools for different uses.

What I didn't understand was why. Surely they could rip the sarcophagus apart with only a small effort? No, there must be more to this than that.

"Follow my lead and let me guide your power," Helene instructed. "Draw and hold."

I did as asked. At Helene's nod, we all placed our hands on the cold stone.

I felt Helene's tug, light as first, then more insistent.

"Refine your power," the woman ordered. "Down to a single strand, no greater than a hair."

I pressed my power down like a fine thread, then rounded it down into a strand like the web of a tiny spider.

"Good." Helene tugged the strand, and one from Luther. She braided them together with a deftness I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't witnessed it myself. She drew more and more power from us, bit by bit, and slid it inside a minuscule crack in the side of the fancy lid.

Once inside, the power slid like a snake, seeking something, flicking this way and that.

"I feel it," Luther said. He sounded excited. "To the left. No,yourleft. There."

"I see it." Helene sounded like a kid who had discovered a stash of sweets, and no one was there to stop her from eating them all.

I considered stopping her, but the slightest tug back on the power was met with a rock wall of resistance. Helene held on so tight I wasn't even sure she was aware of it.

The power snuck into a tiny hole. So small, no one would have seen it with their naked eye, even if they knew to look. There, it found a latch the size of a speck of dust.

Helene wound the power around it and shoved the latch aside.

There was no click, or blast in response.

The ground didn't tremble.

All that came was an overwhelming sense of relief and Helene let the power go.

I took half a step back and shook my head at the sudden surge of power. Instinctively, I held on to it, even while I felt Helene and Luther let go of theirs.

"It is done," the Hemathea whispered. "His prison is unlocked."

"Now what?" Luther asked.

A hint of uncertainty crossed Helene's features. "Now we wait," she said firmly.

"For what?" I asked. They no longer needed me, I could walk away now. I should, but something made me stand my ground. I had gone through enough to be here, I might as well see this Comus for myself.

Helene gave me a look as if she might call for the guards to remove me, but her attention snapped back as the lid moved.

At first it shifted as though a corner was pushed up from underneath. It settled for a moment, then rose straight up so fast it almost struck the ceiling. At the last moment, it stopped, spun in a slow circle and then flew against a wall. It hit with such force, chunks of stone from the lid and the cavern were thrown in every direction.

I threw up my arm, laden with power, to protect my face.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'm out of practice," a smooth voice spoke.

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