"Well," Jean-Marc began, "dreamshade doesn't just hide your magical presence. It makes you appear as something else entirely. To Lyra's traps, you'd look like ambient magical energy instead of an intruder."
"That might actually work," Vera said thoughtfully. "Let me check what I brought."
She moved around to the small table in the breakfast nook. Her collection was spread across the surface like someone had dumped the contents of Hogwarts' lost and found onto it. Every surface in my house seemed to be covered in magical items nowadays. It said more about the state of our lives than anything else.
"Here it is," Vera said, picking up a small glass vial filled with what looked like purple sand. "Dreamshade powder. It's tricky to work with because it has to be taken internally, but it could work."
"This one might help too," Nina said, picking up a silver tuning fork that made the air shimmer when she touched it. "It's designed to find the resonant frequency of magical bonds.
"We'd still need to map the frequency of each connection first," she continued, putting down the tuning fork. Once we have that, we can enchant the dreamshade to disguise each tract while you slip through."
It sounded too simple to work, which meant there was a good chance it would blow up in our faces. "Let's try it."
"This could get you killed," Mom said bluntly.
"That's where you all come in. I survived last time because Nina cast protections on me and the babies." I took the vial of dreamshade powder from Vera, watching it shift colors in the light like an opal. "You can make it so the worst I'll encounter are those razor wires that nearly knocked me unconscious before."
“Be careful, Queenie. I don’t like this.” Aidon let his anguish show on his face.
Cupping his cheek, I smiled at him. “We will be okay. You can help keep us safe.”
Nina struck the tuning fork against the table edge as I was pressing a kiss to his lips. A chuckle left me at the not-so-subtle nudge from my daughter to get on with it. The tone the device made caused my eyeballs to start vibrating in their sockets. With the process started, I tipped a small amount of the bitter herb and blackberry-flavored powder onto my tongue. My face puckered like I’d sucked on a lemon.
Shaking that off, I pushed all thoughts out of my head. Instead of bulldozing through the connections like a magical battering ram, I focused on letting the dreamshade alter my signature. Focus was key to magic, and I embraced the notion fully.
Turning back to the silver scrying bowl, I felt the others gather around me. I placed my hands on either side and closedmy eyes. I looked inward first. I had to find the connections before I could follow them.
Deep in my magical core, I sensed the three parasitic bonds wrapped around my babies' developing power like invasive vines. They pulsed as they constantly siphoned energy from the triplets. "I can see them," I whispered. "There are three channels leading away from the babies."
The tuning fork's clear tone resonated through the kitchen. It stabilized the bonds and made them easier to navigate. Concentrating on what I wanted, I focused on becoming a random magical current instead of a nosy observer. The dreamshade helped, making my awareness feel like flowing energy.
I let myself slip into the first connection. I rode it like electricity through a wire. The first few attempts produced nothing but discordant noise that split my skull. It probably pissed off every magical creature in a three-block radius. But unlike my earlier solo attempts, I wasn't hitting those brutal razor-wire barriers.
"The dreamshade is working," I said. "I can feel her on the other end. She’s distant and I can’t see anything.”
“Are you setting off her wards?” Aidon asked.
Shaking my head, I replied, “No. Lyra's traps aren't recognizing me as a threat."
"Keep going," Vera encouraged. "Try slipping through while the powder masks your signature."
On the fourth try, something clicked. I rode the disguised connection like a ghost in the machine. The dreamshade had actually made me appear as harmless background magic. Feeling triumphant, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I let my consciousness slip along the parasitic bond like water flowing downstream. The sensation was nauseating. It felt like being flushed down a cosmic drain. I held on.
Between one breath and the next, I wasn't in my kitchen anymore. I stood in an abandoned warehouse, watching Lyra pace before a massive ritual circle carved into concrete. Black candles flickered around the perimeter. There were symbols etched into the floor. Of course, they pulsed with dark energy that made my stomach clench with instinctive terror.
"The connections are weakening," she snarled to someone in the shadows. "Those meddling fools are interfering with my work."
"Perhaps we should accelerate the timeline," a smooth male voice suggested.
"No. The lunar eclipse is still optimal. But we need to ensure they can't disrupt the ritual." Lyra's expression turned calculating. "Send the others to test their defenses. I want to know exactly what we're dealing with."
The vision wavered, and I snapped back to my body with a jarring impact that left me gasping and clutching the table. Aidon’s arm went around my waist, and he tugged me close. "What did you see?" he asked.
"I saw a ritual circle in what looks like a warehouse. Lyra's planning something for the lunar eclipse." I rubbed my temples against the building headache. "She knows we're interfering and is pissed. She's sending more creatures to test our defenses."
"What is she sending and how many?" Mom asked.
"I have no idea. She didn’t say, and I couldn't see the man she was talking to."
