Chapter 419: Chapter 419: Corvus is attempting a blood curse
"Where?" Eve asked immediately, every instinct going on alert.
"I can’t pinpoint it," Silas said, frustration clear in his voice. "But it’s recent. And it’s... building. Like they’re casting something major."
Damian and Damon materialized at Eve’s sides within seconds, both of them having felt Silas’s alert through their connections.
"Raphael," Damian said. "We need to find Raphael. Now."
***
They made their way through the celebration, moving with purposeful speed but trying not to create obvious panic. The last thing they needed was word spreading that something was wrong before they understood what was happening.
They found Raphael in one of the Council’s private chambers, reviewing documentation from the hearing, Elena at his side looking over his shoulder.
"Something’s happening," Eve said without preamble. "Silas sensed a major magical working. Something being cast within the Court."
Raphael’s expression went serious immediately. He moved to a window and looked out over the Court’s gardens, his ancient eyes narrowing as he tried to sense what Silas had detected.
"Blood magic," Raphael said after a moment, his voice low and dangerous. "Someone’s using blood magic. And not small-scale. This is...."
He stopped, his expression shifting to absolute horror.
"Corvus," Raphael said. "Corvus is attempting a blood curse."
"What kind of curse?" Elena asked, fear clear in her voice.
"The kind that doesn’t discriminate," Raphael said grimly. "The kind designed to harm everyone in a specific location simultaneously. He’s probably targeting the Court chambers where the Council members are."
"To what end?" Damon demanded. "He’s already been exposed. A curse won’t change that."
"No," Raphael said. "But it might eliminate the Council members who voted against him. It might remove enough evidence to create doubt about the conspiracy. And most importantly, it might shift the narrative from ’old guard leader exposed through evidence’ to ’tragic accident that killed multiple Council members.’"
Eve felt her blood run cold. "How long until the curse completes?"
"Minutes," Silas said, his connection to magical workings giving him clearer information than the rest of them had. "Maybe five. Maybe ten. The casting is complex, which is buying us time, but not much."
"Where is he?" Damian asked, his voice dropping to something dangerous. "Where is Corvus casting from?"
"Has to be somewhere private," Raphael said. "Somewhere he won’t be interrupted. Somewhere with access to...."
"The lower vaults," Elena said suddenly. "The old Court archives beneath the main chambers. They’re restricted, but Corvus has access as a Council member. And they’re deep enough that the casting wouldn’t trigger the normal magical alerts."
"Can you get us there?" Eve demanded.
"Yes, but..." Elena started.
"Then move," Eve said. "Now."
They ran.
Elena led them through the Court’s corridors, moving deeper into the structure, descending staircases that grew older and more worn the further down they went. The air grew colder, the magic denser, the sense of ancient power stronger.
By the time they reached the lower vaults, Eve could feel it, the blood magic Silas had sensed, much stronger now, the magical working nearly complete.
Elena pushed open a heavy wooden door, and they burst into a vast underground chamber filled with ancient texts and preserved documents.
Corvus stood in the center of the chamber, his arms raised, blood....his own blood, running down his forearms as he chanted in a language Eve didn’t recognize. The magical energy around him was dark and violent, pulsing with malevolent intent.
"Stop!" Eve shouted.
Corvus’s eyes snapped open, and for a moment, there was surprise in his expression. Then his face twisted with rage.
"You’ve taken everything from me!" he screamed. "Everything! My position, my influence, my entire faction’s standing!"
"Because you conspired against the throne," Eve said, stepping forward carefully. "Because you tried to destabilize the reform through fraud. You did this to yourself."
"I did what needed to be done!" Corvus screamed. "The old system worked! Your so-called reform is destroying everything we built!"
His hands moved faster, the chanting becoming more frantic. The magical working was seconds away from completion....Eve could feel it building toward a crescendo.
Damian moved without thinking.
He ran straight for Corvus, and Corvus threw a barrier up, a wall of blood-tinged magic designed to keep anyone from reaching him.
But Damian was an Alpha, born to overcome obstacles. He pushed through the barrier with sheer force and will, blood running down his arms as the magic tore at his skin, and he grabbed Corvus by the throat.
The chanting stopped abruptly.
The magical working collapsed, the accumulated energy dispersing into the chamber without focus or direction, dissipating harmlessly into the stone walls.
Damian threw Corvus to the ground with enough force to knock the wind from him, and then Damon and Silas were there, binding him with magical restraints that Eve quickly reinforced.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Everyone was breathing hard, processing what had just happened, understanding how close they’d come to catastrophe.
"Get him to the holding chambers," Raphael said, his voice like ice. "And notify Elder Meridian immediately. Corvus just committed a second conspiracy, this time attempting to kill Council members through blood magic. This is treason."
The holding chambers were deep within the Court’s secure areas, designed for prisoners who required magical restraint. Corvus was thrown into one, the magical barriers locking behind him with finality.
Eve wanted to feel satisfaction at his capture, but instead she felt something more complex...anger mixed with sadness that someone had allowed their pride and fear to drive them to such extremes.
***
Back in Raphael’s private chambers, Elena was treating the cuts on Damian’s arms where the barrier magic had torn his skin.
"You’re insane," she said to Damian, not unkindly, as she bandaged his wounds. "Running straight through a blood magic barrier. You could have been killed."
"He was seconds away from completing the curse," Damian said simply. "There wasn’t time for a more careful approach."
"Still insane," Elena muttered, but she was being careful with her work, making sure the bandages were tight enough to stop the bleeding.
Comments