Page 10 of Mystery of Magic

My heart raced as I clutched my stomach, the room around me beginning to spin in a dizzying whirl. My stomach rolled like a relentless storm I couldn’t control. It was as though the ground beneath me was plagued with earthquakes, yet those around me were unaffected.

I leaned against a nearby wall, my breaths shallow and labored, desperately trying to regain my balance. The room seemed to sway and dance before my eyes, its secrets blurred by the disorientation that had taken hold of me.

Daryn’s arm slipped around me. “Shannon, what is it?”

I shook my head. “I felt dizzy, but it is passing now. I think my blood sugar is low.”

Daryn looked like a gorgeous thundercloud. “We will grab a bite to eat soon.” He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a protein bar. “Eat this for now.”

I took the bar without comment and ripped off the wrapper. It was finished in seconds, and I wiped a few crumbs from my lip. “Sorry. What was that about the artifacts?”

Lochlan pointed at a group of hunters near the far corner of the room. “They are testing for magical signatures. So far, there are none. While it’s possible that the explosion damaged the pieces beyond repair, I am not sure that would eradicate all traces of magic.”

My stomach grumbled at how quickly I had eaten that bar, but my mind was already on the broken artifacts. “Do you have anysmashed items? Ones where all the pieces are intact but simply broken?”

Lochlan nodded. “Yes, why?”

I rubbed my hands together. “One of my mom’s specialties was restoration. I’m almost as good at it as she was.”

Lochlan’s eyes widened. “I forgot about that. Your mother fixed a broken scythe for me once. I thought it would never be the same. She restored its magic to its former power.”

It always hurt to think about my parents, but after their appearance and their willingness to defy death to help me, I accepted their choices. Being a mother changed your perspective on a lot of things and I finally accepted I would have made the same choice in their shoes. “She was the best.”

Lochlan turned to a couple of hunters near a table with an array of items on top. “Kara, bring me the Horn of Odeon.”

The young hunter nodded and grabbed a broken conch shell. It was a vibrant pink color, but the tip was broken off and she held several smaller shards in one hand as she brought it to us.

“Here Master Lochlan,” she said, handing him the pieces of the shell.

“Thank you, Kara.” He took it from her and passed it to me as Kara returned to the table.

I took the large conch shell and held the other pieces together. They fit perfectly, though the cracks were still visible.

With a trembling hand, I took a deep breath, grounding myself in the energy of the room and drawing upon the wisdom bestowed on me by my mother. The men seemed to hold their breath, awaiting the magic I would conjure.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the fragments in my hands, willing them to reassemble, to reclaim their former glory. It was a spell that required not just incantations but belief, an unshakable faith in the power of restoration.

“By the sands of time and the wisdom of my ancestors, I call upon the well to mend what’s broken and to heal what’s torn.

“Restore this vessel along with its inherent magic and let its beauty be reborn. From shards to whole, from pieces to one. Grant me the power. Let this task be done.”

As I murmured the ancient words, I felt my magic stir within me, like a dormant force awakening. I could sense the energy flowing through my fingertips, connecting with the shattered pieces. It was as though time had reversed, weaving the shell back together, thread by fragile thread.

The fragments trembled and drew together, their edges aligning perfectly. The shell’s form took shape, the intricate patterns on its surface emerging as if they had never been broken.

As the last piece melded into place, I opened my eyes to find many of the hunters watching me. The shell, once shattered and forgotten, now rested whole and beautiful in my hands.

Lochlan took the shell from my hands with a sense of wonder on his face. “Were you able to restore its magical properties?”

“The spell should return it to its former glory, magic, and all.”

Lochlan concentrated on the shell. “It has no magic.”

I was about to ask him to hand me the shell, but my gaze moved to the flurry of hunters. “Wait.”

Daryn touched my shoulder. “I know that look. What are you thinking?”

“I want to do a location spell. I need a powerful artifact that is unlikely to have been destroyed in the explosion.”

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