"You've been seeing spirits?" I clarified as I leaned closer to Claude.
"My whole life," Claude admitted. "Especially when I play certain songs. Sometimes I feel like I'm calling to something... or someone. Like the music is reaching across the veil."
"That's exactly what it's doing," I explained. "Your family has the ability to communicate with and bind spirits through music. It's not folklore. It's real magic that's been passed down through generations."
Claude sat back in his chair, processing this information. "The songs really do something?"
"More than you know," Lia said. "We think your performances have been maintaining protective barriers. Every time you play those family songs, you're strengthening magical defenses that keep supernatural threats at bay."
"But there's a problem," Dani continued when Lia fell silent. "Someone's been hunting families like yours. People have been disappearing, and we think you might be next on the list."
Claude's expression darkened. "That would explain the strangers who've been asking questions. They said they were music historians. I found it odd that they wanted to know about family traditions, inherited instruments, and old recordings."
"What did you tell them?" Phi asked urgently.
"Nothing much. But..." Claude hesitated. "There might be a problem. My grandson Marcus has been talking to some of them. He's excited about preserving our family history."
My sisters and I exchanged alarmed glances. "What can you tell us about that?" Dani asked carefully.
"Marcus has been helping these researchers document traditional music families. He said they were particularly interested in instruments and sheet music that had been passed down through generations."
"Mr. Moreau," Dre said seriously, "we need to know exactly what you told these people. And more importantly, what your grandson might have shared with them. Has he seemed odd lately?"
Claude rubbed his forehead. "I have no idea what he told them. Marcus has access to everything. I inherited a collection of special instruments, old sheet music, and recordings from way back. It's all stored in a secret room beneath Preservation Hall."
"A secret room?" Kota leaned forward.
"It's only accessible during the new moon, when the building's... well, when it feels different. Safer." Claude looked embarrassed. "I know that sounds crazy."
"It doesn't sound crazy at all," Dani assured him. "What's in this collection?"
"A trumpet made from silver that my great-grandmother said was blessed by Marie Laveau herself. Sheet music that glows when you play the songs. And old cylinder recordings of songs that sound like nothing I've ever heard in any church or concert hall."
I felt my pulse quicken as the implications hit me. "Mr. Moreau, we need to see this collection. Tonight, during the new moon."
"I don't understand," Claude said. "What does any of this have to do with people disappearing?"
"Someone is trying to collect artifacts and knowledge while eliminating members of families like yours," Dani explained. "They're using the information to break something out that should stay locked up."
"It's a creature," Kota offered with a grimace. "Your grandmother likely told you about some hungry monster your songs kept in prison."
"It's called the Collector," I added quietly, making Claude visibly shudder.
"You know that name?" Lia asked sharply.
"My grandmother... she used to have nightmares. She'd wake up screaming about 'the Collector coming for the music'. She said it fed on songs and souls." Claude's hands were shaking now. "I thought it was just an old woman's fears."
"It's not," Dani said grimly. "And if these researchers have been asking about your family's musical traditions..."
"They've been mapping the Guardian network," Phi concluded. "They could be using the music to track down bloodlines."
Claude stood up abruptly. "I need to call Marcus and warn him not to share anything else."
"Mr. Moreau, wait," Dani said, grabbing his arm gently. "What if Marcus isn't in danger? What if he's working with them willingly?"
The color drained from Claude's face. "That's... that's not possible. He's family."
"Family members have betrayed the Guardians before," I said softly, feeling the weight of centuries-old pain. "It's how the Collector has been hunting you for so long."
