Chapter 20
XX.
brYNN
She looked at the practice stone, then back at him. His eyes were focused entirely on her, watching for any sign of the unusual ability he believed she possessed. The weight of his attention was both intimidating and oddly reassuring. If something went wrong, he was clearly prepared to handle it.
Though what exactly he'd do remained an open question. Catch her? Save her? Or just note how she failed for future reference?
"What do you want me to do exactly?"
"Touch it. Tell me what you sense. Don't try to change anything yet. Just observe."
She reached out slowly, her fingertips touching the warm stone surface. The instant her skin made contact, sensation surged through her. A complex web of information that felt almost like music made tangible.
"It's..." She paused, searching for words for something she'd never experienced before. "Like hearing a melody, but feeling it instead. There are patterns, rhythms, connections that flow in specific directions."
His shadows leaned closer, responding to his focus. She could feel them hovering near her hands. "What kind of patterns?"
"Complicated ones. Like..." She closed her eyes, concentrating on the sensations flowing through her fingertips. "Like a river with multiple currents, but some of the channels are blocked or flowing in the wrong direction."
She explored the stone's magical structure with her senses, following the pathways of power as they wound through its crystalline matrix. The sensation was intimate somehow, like reading the stone's innermost workings.
Unlike the ward-lock she'd repaired, this one felt genuinely hostile, as if it were actively working against itself, fighting its own nature with self-destructive intensity. Even without looking, she could sense the discordant energy it was generating. Like nails on a chalkboard, but magical.
"This feels wrong," she said, opening her eyes. "Angry, almost."
"It's designed to simulate the kind of corruption we've been finding in the damaged ward-locks.
Multiple cascade points that amplify instability.
" He watched her reaction, and she noticed how his shadows retreated slightly from the stone's surface.
Even they didn't like it. "Can you sense what's causing it? "
She pressed her palms more firmly against the corrupted stone's surface, immediately feeling the aggressive instability of its magical patterns.
The sensation was unpleasant—jagged edges and warped angles that made her fingers ache.
But beneath the chaos, she sensed the original structure.
Like the ghost of what the ward was meant to be.
"The original pattern is still there," she said slowly. "Buried, but intact. Whoever corrupted this knew exactly what they were doing. They didn't destroy the foundation; they built the instability on top of it."
His gaze sharpened. She felt pinned by that focus, caught under scrutiny.
"Can you undo that kind of sabotage?"
"I think so." She started to reach deeper into the stone's structure, but his shadows wrapped around her wrist before she could commit to the work.
"I didn't say attempt it," he said sharply. "I asked if you could. There's a difference."
He pulled the shadows back, but she could still feel the lingering chill against her skin.
Tension was visible in the line of his shoulders.
"That corruption could overwhelm you if you approach it wrong.
According to conventional theory, attempting to repair this should trigger a contained failure.
Enough to knock you unconscious." His voice dropped lower, rougher.
"But I'm not willing to test that theory without preparation.
You need to understand the fundamentals first."
"What kind of fundamentals?"
"How death magic actually works. How to collaborate with it instead of forcing it." His shadows moved around his shoulders, and she was starting to recognize that as a sign of something. Agitation? Interest? Both? "Most importantly, how to work with guidance instead of relying purely on instinct."
He set the corrupted stone aside and selected a different practice piece from his collection—this one slightly larger and pulsing with steady light. The contrast was immediate. Where the corrupted stone had felt hostile and chaotic, this one felt welcoming. Almost eager.
"We'll start with something that won't fight back," he said, positioning the new stone between them. "Tell me what you sense."
She pressed her palm against the stone's smooth surface. The reaction was immediate but gentler than she'd expected. Power flowed up her arm like warm honey, comfortable and pleasant. She could feel the stone's internal structure, the way magic moved through crystalline channels in steady patterns.
"It feels..." She paused, trying to articulate the sensation. "Contained but not constrained. Like it's holding power rather than trying to suppress it."
Something flickered across his expression. Approval, maybe, or satisfaction. Hard to tell with him. "Go deeper. What else?"
She let her awareness sink further into the stone's magical patterns, trusting her instincts the way she had when picking locks.
Sometimes you just had to feel your way through.
"It wants to connect to something. Some pathways lead nowhere, like roads cut off halfway to their destination.
" She frowned, concentrating. "It feels incomplete. Not damaged, just waiting."
"Ward-stones are designed to work in networks," he explained, moving closer to the table—near enough that his scent reached her. "What you're sensing is the stone's resonance patterns searching for compatible connections."
That made sense. She lifted her hand from the stone, spreading her fingers as residual energy dissipated. The sensation was oddly pleasant, like stretching after sitting too long. "Is sensing that level of detail normal?"
"No."
His blunt response made her stomach tighten slightly, but she was getting used to his directness. At least he didn't sugarcoat things or lie to make her feel better. She could work with honesty.
Even if it was occasionally terrifying.
He selected another stone from his collection, this one larger and radiating more actively. "Try this one."
The moment she touched this stone, the difference was noticeable. Where the first had been patient and contained, this one pulsed with complex energy. Multiple patterns flowed through its structure simultaneously, creating interference loops and harmonic resonances that made her fingertips buzz.
Like standing too close to something electrical, but not quite painful. Just intense.
"More active," she said. "The patterns are layered, like multiple conversations happening at once."
"Can you sense how those conversations interact?"
She focused deeper, following the individual patterns as they wove around each other.
When one pattern pulsed, it triggered responses in others, which in turn influenced the first, creating feedback loops that fed on themselves.
A dance of energy, each partner responding to the other in increasingly complex ways.
"They're not just coexisting," she said slowly. "They're collaborating. Building something together that's more complex than any individual pattern."
"Exactly." The single word carried weight, warmth threading through his tone, making heat spread through her chest.
"Now, without lifting your hand, extend your awareness to the other stones on the table."
She kept her palm pressed against the active stone and reached out with her magical senses. It felt like stretching a muscle she hadn't known she possessed. Gradually, she became conscious of the other stones' presence. Each one singing its own unique song, but all of them trying to harmonize.
"I can feel them," she said, surprised by the clarity. "They're all different, but they want to work together."
"Good." He reached for a piece of equipment she hadn't noticed before—a metal framework designed to hold multiple stones in symmetrical arrangements. "This is a practice ward-frame. It allows stones to connect in stable conditions."
As he placed stones into the framework's holders, she could feel each new connection through her contact with the active stone.
The individual songs began to blend, creating harmonies far more beautiful than any single stone could produce.
Like an orchestra tuning up, finding their collective voice.
Her breath caught. The harmonies built and built, each stone's voice finding its place in the whole. She hadn't expected death magic to be beautiful.
"Try guiding the energy flow between them," he said, his tone taking on quiet authority. "Gently. Ward magic responds better to persuasion than force."
She focused on the connections, feeling the pathways linking the stones. The magic flowed like water seeking its course, but she could influence its direction with intention. She tried nudging the flow into different patterns, coaxing it along paths that felt more natural.
The response was immediate. The stones' light shifted as energy found new pathways, and she felt the system adjusting to form patterns she hadn't consciously designed. It was adapting to her touch, learning what she wanted before she fully articulated it to herself.
"You're making it more difficult than necessary," he observed, though his tone was thoughtful rather than critical.
She glanced up. He'd leaned forward slightly, gaze fixed on the ward-frame, jaw relaxed rather than tight. "How so?"
"You're working alone." His shadows shifted around his shoulders, and suddenly she could sense their presence in a way she never had before.
They weren't just the absence of light; they were entities with their own awareness.
"Ward magic was designed for collaboration.
The original architects worked in teams."
She met his gaze, her heartbeat quickening at the suggestion. "Are you offering to help?"
His expression tightened, mouth pressing into a harder line. The admission clearly hadn't come easily. "I'm offering to demonstrate proper technique. I can't touch the stones directly without disrupting their balance, but my shadows can provide guidance."
The shadows moved closer to the ward-frame, hovering near connection points without quite touching. She could sense their presence more clearly now. Purposeful, intelligent, waiting for direction. Waiting for his permission to touch what she was working on.
"Let them guide you," he said, command threading through his words. "Don't fight their suggestions."
She relaxed her control over the energy flows and waited. The shadows moved with purpose, positioning themselves at specific points of connection—subtle pressure encouraging the magic to flow more efficiently.
They anticipated her intentions and provided support exactly where needed. The energy flows became smoother, more balanced, creating harmonies far more sophisticated than her solo efforts.
"The shadows can sense magical patterns beyond physical perception," he explained, his voice closer than she'd expected. When had he moved? "They're extending your awareness."
One shadow brushed against her wrist as it adjusted a connection point. The cool touch lingered a moment longer than strictly necessary. Or maybe she was imagining that.
Great. Now she was over-analyzing what his magical appendages were doing.
"This feels different," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "Like the magic is eager to work this way."
"Because this is how it was meant to function."
The ward-frame shone more brightly now, the stones singing in harmony. She could feel the system's satisfaction in achieving balance, the way each component supported the others. Rightness hummed through the connections, settling into her bones.
"What happens next?" she asked.
His shadows stilled for just a moment before resuming their work. She could feel his gaze on her.
"Next," he said, the command in his voice making her pulse jump, "we see what you can accomplish when you stop holding back."
Right. No pressure or anything. Just casually unlock long-lost magic in front of the scariest Death Lord while his shadows held her hand.
This was fine. Everything was fine.