As Rayna and Brianna raced through the darkened streets of Washington D.C., the Codex Temporis pulsed with an otherworldly energy in Brianna's arms. The night air crackled with tension, as if the very fabric of reality was straining around them.
Suddenly, a shimmering portal opened up in their path. Rayna skidded to a halt, pulling Brianna back. "Another anomaly!" she hissed.
From the swirling vortex, tendrils of darkness reached out, grasping at the air. A low, rumbling voice echoed from within: "Give us the Codex, and your world may yet be spared."
Brianna clutched the book tighter, her heart pounding. "Never!"
Rayna raised her hands, muttering a quick incantation. A shimmering barrier sprang up between them and the portal, momentarily halting the dark tendrils' advance.
"We need to get out of here," Brianna said urgently. "Can you teleport us back to the mansion?"
Rayna shook her head, strain evident on her face as she maintained the barrier. "Too risky with the anomalies distorting space-time. We could end up anywhere - or anywhen."
The voice from the portal grew louder, more insistent. "Foolish witches. You cannot hope to contain the power of the Codex. Surrender it now or watch your reality crumble."
Brianna felt the Codex pulse against her heart. An idea struck her. "Rayna, can you hold the barrier a bit longer?" she asked urgently.
Rayna nodded, sweat beading on her brow as she poured more energy into the shimmering shield. "Make it quick, whatever you're planning."
Brianna took a deep breath and focused on the Codex in her arms. She could feel its ancient power thrumming through her, connecting her to the very fabric of time itself. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her magical senses to connect with the ancient tome's power. As a time manipulator herself, she hoped she could tap into the book's temporal energy.
Grasping Rayna’s wrist, she concentrated on a single concept:Safe. Home. NOW.
The world around them blurred and twisted. Brianna felt a wrenching sensation, as if she was being pulled in a thousand directions at once. For a terrifying moment, she thought she had made a terrible mistake.
Then, with a thunderous crack, they materialized in the middle of the L.A.W. mansion's grand foyer.
As if sensing a sudden intrusion, all the remaining witches poured out of the mansion’s rooms and down the stairs. Bas rushed out of her office and skidded to a stop in front of the two panting, disheveled witches.
Brianna held out the codex and gasped, “Got it!”
Bas took the tome from her carefully. She held up a hand and waited for them to catch their breath before allowing the otherwitches to pepper them with questions. “Everyone, go to the lounge and sit down. I want to call in Dr. Emerson and Chad. I’ll be there in a moment.”
Bas retreated to her office as the other witches escorted Rayna and Brianna into the living room, each with a hand on their backs or shoulders—a show of silent solidarity.
“We should wait for Bas before sharing anything,” Rayna said to Brianna.
“I agree.” Brianna wasn’t going to balk. She knew there was a lot to cover, and she’d rather not do it more than once. Besides, she wondered if Rayna was going to admit to tearing a hole in the fabric of reality, allowing someone toalmostcome through the Aether.
When everyone waspresent and had heard Rayna's detailed explanation without interruption, Bas looked over at Brianna. “Does that correspond with what you experienced?”
Brianna winced. “Um, yes?”
Sitting next to her on one of the velvet couches, Chad covered her hand with his. A comforting gesture she desperately needed.
Bas raised her eyebrows. “Is that a question?”
“I think Rayna covered everything. The only thing she couldn’t tell you was how the Codex Temporis felt in my arms.”
Bas nodded, clearly a signal to continue.
“It was pulsing. When my heart rate sped up on our dash through D.C., the Codex’s pulse seemed to keep pace. I felt an unusual kinship with the book. It was as if…” At a loss for words to describe the feeling, she shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Dr. Emerson’s brows rose. “As if it were yours? As if it had been waiting for you to discover it? As if it wanted you to rescue it?”
“Yeah. It was as if it knew there was a threat, and it wanted to get out of there as badly as I did.”
Chad was biting his lip. At last, he said, “Isn’t that anthropomorphizing?”
