Page 17 of Mage Massacres

But that last picture didn’t lead me to another memory. It led me to a grandfather clock, the gleaming bronze face of the dial housing a crying sun and smiling moon. The imagery was beautiful, but I couldn’t help my disappointed sigh.

There was no hunt, but it had worked wonders to distract my overwhelmed mind. I’d learned a little more about my parents, hadn’t I? It was without question that I had more... Questions, though I was positive they’d be put on the back burner until we had all the current problems solved.

I’d just have to pencil get answers into my schedule.

I heard the gears slowly cranking behind the clock’s dial, and I closed my eyes to help focus on the soothing tick, tick, tick. I waited for the next minute to roll over, wanting to hear the chime and watch the pendulum swing.

When I opened my eyes, I kneeled, seeing my face reflected back at me in the bronze circle behind the glass. Something black caught my attention, casting a shadow in the pendulum. I opened the cabinet, careful of the glass held in the wooden frame by thin metal strips, similar to the back of modern picture frames.

I sniffed at the air, wondering what was in the bottom of the clock. But I smelled nothing that raised alarm, so I reached my hand down, brushing leather. I snatched my hand out, bringing with it a heavy black boot.

A black Doc Marten filled with... Rocks?

The second boot held paper.

I pulled the stones out, one by one, laying all six of them on the floor in front of me. They looked like huge river rocks, flat and gray but thick. They held no markings, though they pulsed with magic, each one feeling slightly different.

Next, I turned for the paper. It was coiled tightly, held together by a single strand of jute. My hands trembled as I untied the bow and unrolled the letter. Dread filled me. The last thing I needed was a new threat from A. Moore.

As I scanned the paper, I realized it wasn’t a threat. The scrawling handwriting was so much more than calligraphy or the swooping letters that my father used. They were a work of art that I couldn’t explain or describe correctly.

The words made a single tear slide down my cheek.

My Beloved Moonlight

I knew you’d find this when you needed it most. Keep the Pith Tokens close. You’ll know when to use them, and I’m sure you’ll know how to hide them.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to give these things to you, but I do hope to return to you soon after you find them. I know you don’t know me anymore, but the greatest happiness I’ve ever known was holding you in my arms the day you were born.

As I write this, I’ve already seen that I won’t be reunited with you until you’re an adult. I only wish I could have watched you grow up as my co-mates have. But as I seek Amelia, I know without a doubt that we need her too.

Amelia was my first love, though you were love at first sight.

The difference is vast.

The similarities are consuming.

-Rig

I leaned back, falling onto my ass as I picked up a Pith Token. I had no idea what they were, but I was intrigued. I pressed it to my chest out of sheer need, feeling my heart thump in a steady rhythm for the first time in hours.

Whatever the Pith Tokens were, this one was mine.

But they all called to me in a fascinating way, like they were an extension of something inside me.

I picked up another, pressing hard enough to make the entire surface touch my skin. Intense heat flared, causing me to gasp, and then the Pith Token was gone.

I breathed deeply as I stared at the remaining five, four on the floor and one in my left hand. I peered down at my chest, noticing that one of my mate marks was glowing again, my mark from sealing the bond with Stone. It dimmed like it did when I first received it.

What the fuck had just happened?

After I’d taken a moment to calm myself down, I touched each of the stones, swearing I had to be hallucinating. The emotional train wreck I’d been in was affecting me much more than I thought it was.

But... No.

Each one called to me. Each one felt different. I chose one at random and eased it against my skin. Once the entire surface was touching me, it disappeared. Gale force winds wrapped around me, whipping my hair into my face as I had the breath knocked out of me.

So, not a hallucination.