Page 58 of Charmed

Xander held his daughter in his arm farthest from them to keep her out of reach while he walked hand-in-hand with his wife. “At one time or another, each relic had a curse placed upon it that needed to be broken before they could be acquired,” he explained.

I frowned. “The competition requires me to be the one to break the curse…which means I won’t be able to use any of these.”

“The curses return after the one who broke it died,” Taryn explained. “So you should be able to use any of the relics save for those either I or my father acquired.”

Of course. I’d at least studied relics enough to know such basics. Once again I’d allowed my perpetual distraction and hastiness to get the better of me.

“Do you have any information regarding the specifics of any of the curses?” It would save me the trouble of figuring each out for myself to determine which would be the easiest to overcome.

By their exchanged look of bemusement, they’d likely already shared this information during the tour I’d paid little attention to. Their knowing the extent of my distraction would only encourage their ridiculous assumptions about my feelings towards my bewitching apprentice.

They at least had the grace not to tease me as they led me to a large tome on display at the back of the stone chamber. Taryn rested a reverent hand on it. “This contains a history of the relics Analasia has obtained over the years. Most are stored within this chamber, but others have been relocated throughout time…”

“I don’t have time to track down lost relics,” I snapped impatiently.

Xander’s brows lifted in surprise. “The Alden I know would have found the challenge brought by such a quest part of the adventure.”

I frowned. He wasn’t wrong to assume I likely would have tried to prove myself in that way…if not for the puzzle occupying my subconscious ever since Maeve’s departure, calculating the extra time I’d need to track her down and convince her to come back. This additional task tempted me to take the easier way of acquiring a relic I hadn’t located myself to save me time and trouble I could instead dedicate to the rest of the task.

Guilt prickled. It wasn’t like me to choose such a path, a lack of effort the council would be able to easily discern. Yet without Maeve I felt as if I’d misplaced the confidence that had guided me up until this point, as if I’d lost my way and was now fumbling in the dark.

I cast a desperate gaze around the room, pausing when I recognized the Relic of Clarity, as if my desperation had been drawn to the powers it promised to all who used it. My fingers had barely grazed it when Taryn lurched forward.

“Wait! You can’t touch it until after you’ve broken the curse—” Her words faltered when I picked it up without any difficulty. “How?”

I shrugged. “A curse repellant spell.”

She and Xander watched in disbelief as I carefully wrapped the object up in a magic resistant cloth I kept on hand before exchanging disbelieving glances. Xander groaned. “Do you have any idea how much heartache knowing about such a spell would have saved both of us?”

“Such a spell is only temporary; I’ll need to break the curse soon if I want to avoid its effects.” And that was only the first step—then I’d have to create another one, a thought made more daunting by my lack of knowledge in this area, challenge that used to excite me but which now left me mentally exhausted.

Xander and Taryn quietly slipped out with Hope as I made my way to the ancient book, turning the pages to find the details for the Relic of Clarity. I scribbled notes as I read, hypothesizing methods I could use to break the curse. Self-doubts began to swirl the farther I perused. How could I effectively familiarize myself with such a skill within a manner of days when my mind was in such turmoil I could barely focus on the magical basics I’d studied my entire life, simple spells that I couldn’t even perform without mistakes…as my earlier portal spell had attested to.

Sighing, I turned the relic over in my hands, studying it. The faint gleam of magic belied its innocent appearance. I suddenly startled at a faint movement within the relic. I leaned forward in astonishment before realizing that the movement was a mere reflection; something behind me in the room had shifted.

The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I whirled, clutching the relic to my chest. I slowly let out a breath as I scanned the room. Everything seemed to be in order, causing me to wonder if I’d merely imagined the unsettling sensation. Perhaps it was an effect of the curse.

Before I could return to my study, a glimmer caught my eye, as though the air were bending in one place near a shelf. As I watched, the relic closest to this location lifted off the shelf and seemed to hover midair for a moment before vanishing. A tang of magic wafted towards me, a scent—if such a thing could be called such—that I recognized.

“Demetria!”

At my exclamation the air shimmered violently and seemed to drop away, leaving my sister standing across the room, gazing at me defiantly.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Same as you, it appears,” she answered with a toss of her blonde hair. “Gaining a relic for the competition.”

“Without permission, I presume?” I challenged.

She shrugged. “Naturally; I’m not exactly welcome after the…complicatedevents between me and the prince and princess. Which relic did you choose?”

I quickly tried to conceal my prize but her eyes were too quick.

“The Relic of Clarity,” she observed with raised eyebrows. “Will you use it after you break the curse?”

“Of course,” I answered. “I have to cast a new spell over it.”

She shook her head. “No, I meant: will you utilize its purpose for yourself before you complete the challenge? You’ve seemed rather conflicted of late, as though you could benefit from some clarity.”

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