Page 37 of Curse in the Quarter
“You look like hell warmed over,” she observed, gesturing toward the chair across from her. “That locket finally giving you more trouble than you can handle?”
Bastien collapsed into the familiar seat, pressing his palm against the artifact through his shirt. The metal pulsed with rhythm unrelated to his heartbeat—faster, more urgent, like countdown to something he didn't understand.
“Started yesterday afternoon. Every hour since, it's gotten worse.” He pulled the locket free, wincing as movement made the burn flare fresh. “Look at it.”
The silver surface blazed with inner light that had nothing to do with the electric illumination around them. Charlotte's engravings seemed deeper than before, symbols shifting position when viewed directly. Not random movement—deliberate rearrangement, as if the artifact was rewriting its own programming.
Maman leaned closer, her senses examining details invisible to normal perception. “Lord have mercy. That's not just resonance anymore.”
“What is it?”
“Active tracking. Full engagement.” She rose with fluid grace, moving to shelves lined with items that hummed with barely contained power. “Time to tell you what I've known for twenty years but been waiting for you to discover yourself.”
From beneath the register, she withdrew a journal bound in leather that had absorbed decades of mystical exposure. Water stains and scorch marks covered its surface—evidence of dangerous knowledge contained within pages that crackled like autumn leaves as she opened to a section marked with black ribbon.
“Records from before the Veil grew thick enough to hide our work from mundane eyes. Back when power flowed openly through bloodlines that didn't fear discovery.” Maman found the passage she sought, turning the journal toward him. “This entry specifically mentions your locket.”
Victorian-era script filled the page in elaborate formal handwriting:
“The resonant imprint vessel commissioned by Charlotte Lacroix exceeds standard soul-binding methodology. Not preservation of consciousness across death transitions, but active guidance system ensuring reconnection regardless of circumstance or incarnation interval. Artifact programmed with essence signature recognition, designed to seek specific soul patterns across infinite temporal distance.”
Bastien continued reading, his chest tightening with each revelation:
“Creator embedded sophisticated tracking protocols requiring proximity activation through contact with related magical work. Vessel remains dormant until target soul interacts with original documentation, at which point echo-forged tether engages with increasing intensity. Not simple memento but comprehensive resonance tracker containing the soul signature imprint detailed enough for identification across multiple reincarnation cycles.”
The truth struck him hard as he realized what he’d just read. Charlotte hadn't crafted a romantic keepsake orprotective charm. She'd created mystical technology sophisticated enough to operate across centuries, waiting patiently until the right combination of souls and circumstances activated its primary function.
“She programmed it,” he said quietly. “Like a weapon. Or a trap.”
“Both, depending on perspective.” Maman reclaimed the journal, turning to additional pages filled with technical diagrams. “According to these records, your locket was part of larger preparation network. Charlotte spent two years before her death creating multiple artifacts designed to support her reincarnation process.”
She showed him sketches of rings, pendants, even a silver mirror designed to reflect spiritual rather than physical images. All bearing variations of the same engravings that covered the locket's surface.
“Where are the others?”
“Lost, mostly. Destroyed during supernatural conflicts over the centuries or claimed by Collectors who didn't understand what they possessed.” Maman's finger traced the locket's image in the journal. “This one survived because she gave it to someone whose nature made him nearly indestructible.”
“What was I supposed to do once it activated?”
“Guide her to understanding. Help her access knowledge embedded in bloodline inheritance but locked away from conscious memory.” Maman's expression grew troubled as she turned to the journal's final entries. “But there's something else. Something my predecessor noted but never fully understood.”
Different ink marked the last section, suggesting it was an addition years after original documentation.
“Vessel activation creates bidirectional connection.While artifact seeks target soul signature, target soul begins seeking artifact in return. Proximity effects compound exponentially—closer they become, stronger mutual recognition grows. Eventually reaches critical threshold where separation becomes impossible without severing spiritual bonds transcending individual incarnations.”
“She's seeking the locket now,” Bastien said, understanding dawning like sunrise. “That's why it's becoming more active.”
“More than that.” Maman turned to additional pages filled with technical diagrams and formulas. “According to these records, she spent months refining the spiritual recognition patterns. Your locket doesn't just respond to her reincarnated soul—it's designed to guide you to her when conditions are appropriate for reunion.”
Maman moved to her window, peering through glass that looked out over the Quarter's twisting streets. “Which explains recent developments you probably haven't connected yet. Tell me about your visit to the Archive yesterday. About how she responded to those glyph sketches.”
The memory caught his lungs. “She touched the papers and they started smoking. Silver light, like what you see here. The keepsake reacted so violently I thought it might burn through my shirt.”
“Direct contact between her essence and Charlotte's documented magical work. That's what triggered full activation.” Maman returned to her reading table, spreading out materials she'd obviously been consulting while waiting for his arrival. “Look at these genealogical charts I've been updating since the contamination began.”
The papers revealed connections spanning multiple states and centuries—family trees branching and merging inpatterns that suggested deliberate cultivation rather than random marriages. Every bloodline touched by recent supernatural incidents traced ancestry back to families that had maintained contact with Lacroix connections across generations.
“She's been preparing for over two hundred years,” Bastien said, the scope staggering him.
