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Daryn’s lips thinned. “As long as you don’t touch it, I recommend you call the pendant. You have a connection to it, so it should respond to your necro magic easily.”
I nodded as a chill ran over my spine. That pendant had almost cost me my life. Worse, my soul. The incantation played through my mind before I spoke.
“Under the moon’s gentle glow and the stars’ embrace, I callon the power to locate. I seek the wisdom of the ages in this sacred space, and call to the pendant of the Dark Witch.
“With the years as my witness and life’s lessons learned, I do not seek to own, only to reveal. Spirits of guidance, ancient and wise. Grant me your aid as I close my eyes.”
With the final words of the incantation spoken, I felt a subtle shift in the surrounding energy, as if the universe itself were listening and responding to my call. I sensed a guiding presence, leading me on a path that would ultimately bring me closer to the dark artifact.
I glanced at the elevator. “It isn’t here. The pendant is far from here and it’s shrouded.”
Lochlan smashed the conch shell on the ground. “This was a heist. The debris is fake. A means to keep us busy while our perpetrator utilizes them against us.”
Daryn swore under his breath. “We still need to sift through the debris and categorize what was taken and what was destroyed. Lochlan, we need to implement lockdown procedures for the base and hunters. No access to this room unless authorized by me, you, or Marty. Nobody is in here without supervision, either.”
I rubbed my stomach. For some reason, using my magic had made me feel slightly nauseous again. “Is there any chance the pendant could have created that explosion? We put it back in the museum. Could Magnus have attached an incendiary device, one that would destroy the surrounding items, but not the pendant itself?”
Daryn rubbed his chin. “If the pendant was used, there would have been side effects on you and Caleb. At least I assume so. It’s a necro artifact and a disturbance of that caliber should have affected you.”
Lochlan stared at the broken conch shell. “Perhaps it had a protection ward of some kind. It could have detonated another artifact if a powerful necro were using it.”
Daryn shook his head. “Shannon is the only necro alive with that kind of power. Caleb’s is too raw to control. He couldn’t access that power yet.”
“Are you sure?” The words slipped out before I could censor them.
Daryn stared at me for some time. “Actually, no. We don’t know enough about that pendant, to be sure. Let’s go speak with Caleb. If he has had any adverse effects, then we need to know.”
I followed Daryn back to the elevator and waited for the door to close. “Do you think the pendant caused my nausea? Maybe it didn’t want me to know it wasn’t destroyed.”
“The pendant is not a living thing. It has no way of knowing your intentions. I’m sure it was just low blood sugar, as you said, but we can confirm with Caleb. He would have had a side effect as well if it were the pendant.” He pressed the button for sublevel two and the lift responded immediately.
It dinged when we reached our floor and we exited to a cluster of young hunters who stopped talking the moment we entered the hallway. Thule glanced at his teammates.
“Hi Daryn; are we really on lockdown?”
Daryn nodded. “Training privileges are not restricted at this time, but there is no access to sublevel four without a master or myself present.” The fact that he had excluded his own team spoke volumes and the young hunters were clearly concerned.
Tara nibbled her lip. “Shannon, are you here to see Caleb?”
I nodded. “Yes, is he in his room?”
She nodded, but ran her tiny hand through her short brown hair. “He’s resting.”
Daryn noticed the young woman’s nervousness and grabbed my hand before leading me down the hall to Caleb’s room. Daryn knocked lightly and entered when Caleb told us to come in.
My son was lying in his bed and tried to sit up, but the actionmade him dizzy and he grabbed his head. “Sorry, I’m not feeling well.”
Daryn shot me a concerned stare. “When did you begin to feel... off?”
Caleb frowned. “It happened during training a couple of hours ago. I felt nauseous and then it went away. I was feeling better, but it came back a couple of minutes ago.”
Daryn sat down on the chair close to Caleb’s bed. “Was there any effect on Sphinx?”
Caleb motioned to the cat curled in a ball by his feet. “She is fine now, but she went into full beast mode. I had to bring her back to the room. I guess she doesn’t like it when I catch a cold.”
I shook my head. “That isn’t it. Someone stole the pendant of the Dark Witch. It may even be responsible for the explosion at the museum. I was ill as well, but I assume it was worse for you because of your connection to Sphinx. Her presence makes you closer to the... veil than me.”
Caleb glanced between me and Daryn. “That’s insane. If we don’t get that back, then she could...”
