Luna Queen's Fury

22 Sick

"What do you see, Sparky?" Derek asks as he walks around Mira.

The oppressive hallway is roughly cut into the bedrock and looks much the same as any other in the cellar under the palace. Between the stale air and wards, it leaves me unsettled. I've had no interest in coming back down here since seeing Tony.

"Must you call me that," she snaps, glaring at Derek.

"I dunno Sis, I kind of like it," Sasha digs, grinning.

"You would," Mira grumbles.

"His nicknames have an annoying habit of sticking," I admit with a sigh.

Derek grins, mischief dancing in his eyes. He's called me princess from the get-go but what was once sneered with disdain is now used with familiar sincerity bordering on reverence.

"Whatever," Mira grumbles. She walks up to the wall she's been staring at and touches some unremarkable spot to the untrained eye, bringing it to life.

Glowing scrollwork and runes light up across the surface of the jagged wall, brightening the hallway like sunlight filtering through a canopy. Sasha steps closer, reaching out to a line at chest height. Her contact makes it shimmer and rise from the wall slightly.

"This shit is straight out of the Lord of the Rings, I swear," I mutter under my breath, transfixed by this otherworldly display.

"Really?" Sasha chides. "It's just wards... old magic."

I roll my eyes at her simple explanation. "Sorry but there's nothing 'just' about any of this. I think I've done pretty good considering I've known werewolves exist for less than a year. Cut me some slack if I have no idea what all of that is."

"Oh no," Mack chimes in. "This is new."

"It's common enough knowledge that magic is woven through the palace," Derek counters.

Mack tilts her head at him and puts her hands on her hips. "Okay, Garrick. Don't even act like you've seen this shit before, no one has."

"Can y'all bicker later? Tryin' to focus here," Sasha snaps.

The two Guardians glare at each other for a moment longer before turning their attention back to the matter at hand. "So what do you see?" Mack asks.

"A lot," Mira huffs.

"Insightful," Derek grumbles.

"You rushing us isn't going to speed this up," Mira warns, touching a different line. "It's a mess and elegant at the same time..."

"Looks like doodling to me," I admit, leaning in closer. The swirling symbol in front of me looks to be alive the way it shimmers and moves.

"More like weaving," Mira mumbles, lost in thought. She reaches out for a band just below the one her sister touched and it lights up like a spiderweb, branching out in all directions.

"Bingo," Sasha chirps. "Complex spells like this always have a backbone...find that and everything else falls into place."

I study the new glowing line and see it glows a brighter shade of platinum than the others. When they touched the other lines some only lit up small patches or single lines, while this one forks and spreads off in all directions. Some branches even disappear into the floor while others go through the ceiling.

"Okay, but what is it and what's wrong?" Derek presses on.

"We already told you it's a ward and I don't know, maybe nothing," Mira dismisses.

"Or maybe something," Sasha counters, pursing her lips. "Mi, you always do this, doubt yourself-"

"I'm not, I thought I felt something... but now I can't find it?" She taps another line near the backbone lines heading down. The runes glow a dimmer shade of gold with a pulse heading down.