Becka turned her focus back to the book. Wearing the gloves that had become her daily habit, Becka opened the book carefully. She was intent on not damaging the book despite Quinn’s apparent lack of concern. And wow, was this book layered in magic! The first time she’d touched it, something had been knocked loose by her Nulling ability and given her a heck of a headache.
Quinn had asked her to find something, anything, of consequence in these pages. Becka was determined to help, especially considering the trouble she’d gotten him into. Besides, like she could turn down a good mystery?
Each page was covered in the glyphs she’d become all too familiar with. There was no known translation for them; the enforcers had exhaustively searched to no avail. Yet Becka couldn’t help looking for some sense of a pattern between the pages.
A few rare pages were blank. A handful had only one or two glyphs. Most were covered with the arcane symbols. Becka couldn’t determine any rhyme or reason to it. There didn’t appear to be chapters or sections. Each page felt random. More like artistic styling than a language.
One thing she’d learned from research was to keep asking questions to find the answer beyond the answer. Focus on what you observed and look for patterns and meaning based on what you’d seen later.
Was she looking for the wrong thing?
Switching gears, Becka focused on the energetic signatures of the pages and how her gift reacted to each. Using this method, she discovered that not all pages felt the same energetically. Could separate enchantments effect different sections of the book? She knew the magics were there because they made her head throb when her gloved fingers slid over the pages. She took great care to not loose her powers upon the book. Instead, she selectively moved around those elements, jotting down in her notebook pages that seemed to be more magically complex, as well as those which appeared to have no additional magic imbued. Curiously, the level of magic infused into the pages appeared in no way related to the number of glyphs on a page.
What if the glyphs aren’t even important? What if only the magic matters?
She had yet to figure out what the magic did, but she felt like she was getting closer to… something. The magics used were sometimes familiar and sometimes unfamiliar to her. Some patterns felt like the illusion magic she trained against daily. Others reminded her of the more subtle movements of Vott’s air elementalist patterns. Still others were completely foreign to her. The combination reaffirmed her understanding of Shadow-Dwellers; they alone wielded a spectrum of stolen magics.
Becka felt like she was on the cusp of putting the puzzle together and the answer was floating around the back of her mind, just needing the right push for it to float to the surface of her consciousness.
Becka bit her lip, wishing she could talk with Quinn and tell him what she suspected. Perhaps he’d have ideas on things to test out.
She thought about venturing out of her room to find him, but would he even want to talk to her right now?
Just then there was a knock on her door, and Becka set the book aside and jumped up to get it, hoping Quinn was on the other side.
Swinging the door open, Becka came face-to-face with Maura Rowan and Hanna Hawthorne.
“From the disappointed look on your face, I am guessing you were hoping for someone else,” Maura replied. “May we come in?” she asked as she stepped in. Maura motioned for Hanna to follow her, which she did a bit reluctantly, appearing less willing to invade Becka’s personal space.
Becka closed the door behind them.
“You have such a lovely room, Becka,” Hanna said.
“Thank you, Lady Hanna,” Becka replied, grateful for Hanna’s upbeat presence.
“I see you haven’t gotten dressed for the day yet,” Maura said, taking Becka by the elbow and walking her in the direction of her changing room. “Hanna, why don’t you wait for us here while I help Becka finish getting ready?”
Once they entered Becka’s bathroom, Maura gently shoved her toward her changing room.
Still stinging from their conversation yesterday and moody from her thoughts of Tesse, Becka didn’t protest. She was determined to move forward with Maura, which right now meant placating her. “Are you planning to accompany me all day?” Becka asked.
“No, but I thought I’d check on you. What have you been up to this morning?” Maura asked.
Becka looked around her closet, searching for the perfect outfit to match her mood.
“I had breakfast and was engaging in some light reading. I’m still feeling worn out and didn’t want to tax myself before the long day ahead.” Her red tracksuit and neon green sports bra were calling her name.
“That’s sensible,” Maura replied. “You’ll be thrilled to hear Lady Hanna has offered to act in the role of your political and romantic advisor.”
“That sounds…” Becka started to reply, pulling the sports bra over her head. She searched for the right words, wanting to be snippy, if only because Maura wasn’t giving her an option. But, to her own surprise, Becka liked the idea.
“Generous and gracious of Lady Hanna, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, it does,” Becka replied. “I could use her perky energy at my side.”
A brief smile graced Maura’s lips. “How… refreshing. Now, let me appeal to you, Becka, on a topic I know you care about,” she spoke in low tones. “I spoke with Chief Elowen last night. If I push the matter of Enforcer Quinn’s breach of behavior, then I can get him reprimanded. Fired, even.”
Becka’s heart skipped a beat. Quinn lived to be an enforcer and hunt the Shadow-Dwellers. “Wouldn’t a formal complaint embarrass House Rowan as well?”
Maura smiled, broadly this time. “I do appreciate how you are thinking of your house first. And yes, it would, but do not think I would not do it. Do not push me.”
Becka tugged her hair into a messy bun and emerged from her dressing room looking ready to run a marathon, which was exactly how she thought about the day ahead.
“Fine,” she said to Maura, walking around her back into her bedroom. “Lady Hanna, I hear we’ll be spending a lot of time together going forward. I must say, I am grateful for your company.”
Hanna’s brief frown at Becka’s attire lasted only a moment, and then she was all smiles again. “Yes, I am so excited to learn what your days look like. Your schedule looks so entertaining. Are you ready to go?”
Becka tucked the Shadow-Dweller book and her journal into her bag, which felt heavy slung over her shoulder. There was some clue she was missing. Something that didn’t quite fit together. Maybe the book’s simple presence, as a constant reminder, would help her subconscious surface whatever clues it was trying to puzzle out?
She remembered her schedule, steeling her nerves for the upcoming day. She luxuriated in a long, deep yoga breath. “I’m ready.”
“Do not forget your meeting with Elder Alaetha later today,” Maura said, her still-exhausted features otherwise placid and calm. “She is keenly interested in meeting you. And please, for the love of all things sacred, be polite to her.”
“Dearest Mother, there’s no other way I know how to be,” Becka replied as sweetly as she could muster.
Hanna looked back and forth between the two of them, brows knit in confusion. “Your words and your emotions are wildly disparate.”