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Our search took us to the kitchen, where I opened every cabinet and drawer, hoping to find a hidden panel concealing the elusive computer. Daryn, with a determined expression, inspectedthe pantry, moving aside cans and boxes in his quest. He knocked on the wood, looking for a false back, to no avail.
After several thorough but fruitless sweeps of the cabin, we stood before the stereo system, a vintage piece that seemed oddly out of place. I was about to turn away in frustration when Daryn reached for the stereo, his hand brushing against a panel. A soft click sounded, and a false front slid aside, revealing a hidden compartment.
My heart raced as Daryn opened the hatch, expertly concealed behind the stereo system, revealing the computer we were looking for. It was a laptop, and he lifted the top, activating the device. It hummed to life, its screen glowing with a soft, inviting light.
Daryn tapped his tattoo. “Cipher, I found a laptop in the cabin. It’s on a closed circuit. I need to loop you in.”
“Place the drive in the port. I will download the files and crack the encryption.”
Daryn pulled a small USB drive from his pocket. And inserted it into the computer. It flickered as Cipher downloaded the entire drive. “You got everything?”
The sound of clicking keys echoed in the room. “Yeah, there isn’t much. It’s just video files. I just uploaded the last entry to your phone. The computer deletes all files within twelve hours, so there is only one entry.”
Daryn pulled out his phone and pressed play on the file Cipher had sent him. “Let’s see what happened before we got here.”
The video was grainy, and the central figure appeared intentionally blurred, shrouded in a cloak of mystery, but I suspected it was some kind of magic. The scene unfolded in the heart of the cozy cabin not far from where we stood. Two hybrids, their faces twisted with malice, were attempting to steal something from the shrouded figure. One attacked while the other retrieved a strange wooden statue that fell during the struggle.
As we squinted at the screen, the mysterious blurred figure sent a pulse of magic that dropped both hybrids. They writhed in pain, screeching their discomfort, and I was glad the sound on the computer was low.
The blurred figure seemed to focus on the hybrid with the wooden idol, giving his partner time to rush away. This had to be the hybrid Cipher saw running from the cabin.
The blurry figure sent a stream of electric energy into the hybrid on the floor. A lethal blow that had the body twitching before it went limp with its life extinguished. We witnessed a powerful and ruthless act that left no doubt about the blurred person’s intentions.
“Do you know what that statue was? Why the hybrids wanted it?” I asked in a hushed tone.
Daryn nodded. “It’s one of the artifacts from the museum. We call it the Legacy Idol.”
“What is it and what does it do?”
Daryn swore under his breath. “They crafted the Legacy Idol from the wood of a rare tree, but the material is not what makes it unique. The reigning council spelled it to save the life of a powerful witch. This idol stood as a bridge between the healthy and the sick, enabling the transfer of essence from one individual to another.”
I tried to get a better look at the idol itself. Its exterior was adorned with intricate carvings and a soft, natural glow emanated from its heart, illuminating the etchings as though breathing life into the symbols etched upon its wooden canvas.
“Are you saying this idol could be used to transfer someone’s essence?”
Daryn nodded. “It was created to infuse a sick supernatural with a healthy life force, but the practice was banned centuries ago.”
“Did it kill those who... donated?”
“No. The council would ask for volunteers. Healthy supernaturals would donate a small portion of their essence, taking a few years off their life. The students of a teacher.”
“This is how the king’s essence is being distributed, isn’t it?”
Daryn nodded. “This was not what it was created for, and I am not sure how the perpetrator is warping the spell to use it in this manner, but I think so.”
“How is this transfer supposed to work?”
“To use the Legacy Idol, one had to place their hands gently on its surface and close their eyes. As did the recipient. The essence transfer would commence once both souls were calm. It’s rumored the two would share memories, emotions, creating a bond that transcended ordinary human connections.
“Like the hunter bond?”
“In some ways, but the life forces are not tied together like bonded couples and were created for students and masters of magic.”
“Then there is an apprentice of sorts. Can we look at the video again?” I asked.
Daryn replayed the video, and I pointed to the map on the table before the blurred person grabbed it and left with the idol. “That map. Lia had the same one.”
Daryn nodded. “It’s a trail map. And since it was from two hundred years ago, there are only three trails to explore. We know where to start looking for the cave.”
