The magical reactions gradually settled. I could still see the faint tracery of the purple frost veins and obsidian labyrinth channels. The opalescent shimmer of dissolved moonstone remained. The silver itself had been transformed.
"Excellent. The silver is now attuned to your magical signature and charged with the protective and purifying properties of the herbs. Now repeat it for the other anchors."
I did as instructed, quickly transforming the rest of them. This time, I didn’t wait as each one processed. I dripped the blood and moved on as Nina placed them in front of me. When I was done, I looked up at Luciana.
The European Pleaides showed us a detailed chart of ancient symbols on the screen. "Now to do the runic inscriptions. They will anchor the purification magic to the physical plane. Each disc requires forty-seven distinct symbols arranged in five concentric circles. And you can all help with this part."
She pointed to the outer ring. "Start with the protection runes. Algiz for divine protection. Eihwaz for strength. Thurisaz for defensive magic. These create the magical framework."
Nina handed me a device that looked like a metal pen. It was a normal engraving tool, but it hummed with contained energy. "Aidon blessed these with his magic so they cut cleanly into the silver."
"Hold the stylus at exactly forty-five degrees," Luciana instructed. "Channel your magic through the tool, but don't force it. Let it flow naturally. The runes should burn themselves into the metal, and when it cools, they will be permanent engravings."
I pressed the stylus to the first disc, trying not to think about how many ways this could go spectacularly wrong. My magic flowed through the metal tool like water finding its level. The moment it touched that opalescent silver, the stylus turned hot enough to brand cattle. It was like drawing on paper that happened to be the surface of the sun.
"Damn right," Nana cackled, her runes appearing with stunning speed and precision that would make a master craftsman weep with envy. "At my age, subtlety is for suckers. You want to stand out, sweetheart?" She shot Nina a wicked look. "Stop trying to be perfect and start being memorable. Perfect is boring. Memorable gets results."
Mom snorted with laughter while she worked on her own disc. "I should add more... flair?" Nina asked, holding up her stylus with new determination.
"Kid," Nana said, not looking up from her increasingly dramatic light show, "flair is just another word for 'watch me work’. And trust me, people always remember the person who made them stop and stare." Well, I couldn't exactly argue with that philosophy.
Nina's next attempt was definitely more confident. She didn't achieve Nana's pyrotechnic display, but her stylus definitely glowed brighter than before. She studied her work with the intensity of someone trying to crack a code.
"I just... believe harder?" Nina asked, looking between her disc and Nana's light show.
"Not believe harder," Nana corrected, adding what looked suspiciously like a tiny lightning bolt to her latest rune. "Feel it. Remember, magic isn't about following instructions, kiddo. It's about letting who you are pour into what you're doing."
"That's actually not terrible advice," Luciana admitted grudgingly. "Though perhaps with a bit more focus on control and safety."
"Safety is overrated," Nana declared cheerfully. "I spent seven decades being safe and sensible, and where did it get me? A nice, quiet retirement and orthopedic shoes. Now I've got magic and attitude. And honey, that's a dangerous combination."
Mom snorted with laughter. "Mother, you've always had an attitude. The magic just gave you a way to weaponize it."
"Exactly!" Nana's grin was pure trouble. "You want to stand out, Nina? Stop worrying about doing it wrong and start worrying about doing it like nobody else would. Put some of that teenage sass into your magic."
Nina's face lit up like someone had just handed her the keys to the magical kingdom. "I can do sass."
"Oh, we're all doomed," I muttered, but I was grinning as I said it. Watching Nina find her confidence—even if it meant she was about to become a magical menace—made something warm unfurl in my chest. She was going to be just fine. Probably terrifying, but definitely fine. And that was important because she was next in line to become the Pleiades after me.
"I love your family, Phoebe," Luciana said with genuine warmth, watching Nana explain magical theory using increasingly creative curse words while Nina hung on every syllable like it was gospel. "They're... unique."
"That's one word for it," I muttered, though I couldn't keep the fondness out of my voice. Unique was putting it mildly.
"Okay, now for the second ring," Luciana continued, getting us back on track before Nana could corrupt my daughter's magical education any further. "These are the binding runes. We will use a trio to form the base of what will bind the corrupted magic and transform it into a purifying force. Nauthiz for constraint. Isa for containment. And Hagalaz for the destructive transformation of negative energy."
Each rune required the kind of careful attention that made my eyes water and my hand cramp. But we settled into a rhythm. "Gammy, you're holding your breath again," Nina pointed out without looking up from her work.
"I am not," Mom protested, then immediately exhaled in a whoosh. "Okay, maybe a little. This is nerve-wracking."
"It's just magic, Gammy," Nina said with the casual confidence of someone who'd grown up thinking impossible things were Tuesday. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Famous last words," I said with a smile. Watching the four generations of my family work together reminded me why we were doing this.
"Okay, now for the third ring. This will bring elemental balance," Luciana explained once we'd managed the binding runes without setting anything on fire. "Laguz for water's flowing cleansing. Kenaz for fire's purifying flames. Jera for Earth's grounding stability. And ansuz for air's dispersing winds. These ensure the purification magic affects all aspects of the corrupted area."
Nana started humming "Highway to Hell" while carving her runes then. The woman had been given magic a couple of years ago, and she was already treating it like she'd been born to it. Some people had all the luck.
"Appropriate song choice," I commented, trying not to laugh as purple sparks danced around her stylus in perfect time with the beat.
