”Oh, don’t let me interrupt. The Patriarch wants everyone at dinner in a half hour, though. He has some news that he wants to share with the Family. You two should shower first and change.” The Elder’s smirk was impossible to miss, and Cassie covered her face with her hands, but Wolfe still had a hold on her waist, and her legs didn’t reach the floor, so she couldn’t flee.
“Before you go. We made you a gift. Cassie wanted you to have something as a thank you for all the effort you put into caring for her. Please, take this trinket.” Wolfe told the Elder while channelling mana into the third talisman that they had created.
The capacity was under half of what the first one was, but it was still a functional item and rather pretty, with the rose silver lines of the circle made with his blood mixed in.
“This is incredible. You two made this together?” Maria asked.
Cassie nodded her head but didn’t look up at all. “We just finished. I have to ask you something before dinner if you have time, Grandma.”
Wolfe helped her to her feet since she was still a little shaky with exhaustion, but Elder Maria took hold of Cassie and ushered her out of the room right away, leaving Wolfe alone again.
“They forgot the other Talismans. I suppose I can set them in resin while I shower and polish them after dinner.” Wolfe decided.
Wolfe called on one of the house’s many maids to bring him the required materials for a resin casting, which they conveniently had available in the crafts supplies for the kids, and coated the first and strongest amulet that they made in clear resin for protection. Instead of clear resin, the second was set into an opaque green resin and put into a larger container.
He had always had skill with carving, and he intended to make a fake Jade amulet from this one so that Cassie could wear it as a family heirloom.
Their Noxus Family Crest was a venomous snake wrapped in a circle with a cluster of interlocking runes in the middle. It looked a lot like a spell circle to Wolfe, so while he showered, he decided that he would test that theory as he carved.
The resin wouldn’t be ready until after dinner, so he put on a clean set of clothes and left for the dining room, moving the curing resin out of sight and locking the door behind him. He didn’t need others to see what he was up to and start asking questions that he couldn’t or wouldn’t answer.
While Wolfe was busy making resin moulds, Cassie was having an intense conversation with her Grandmother.
“Seriously, you evil witch, how could you not warn me? You said that drawing mana was a personal experience between a Familiar and a Witch, but you didn’t warn me about that.” The young woman complained.
“It is just a little feeling of affection. There’s no need to be melodramatic.” Maria replied, rolling her eyes at the raging teen emotions confronting her.
“A little affection? When the mana flowed from him through me to finish the spell, the pleasure hit me so hard that I passed out. Literally passed out in his arms and woke up in his bed. Do you have any idea how mortified I was?” Cassie complained.
Maria’s eyes went large as she listened to her granddaughter’s explanation. “You what now? Oh, you naughty girl, who knew you were so sensitive when using a human as a Familiar? Are you sure that you want to give me this, even after you went through all that to create it?”
“It only happened the first time. That talisman was our third attempt, and we were both tired, I think, so the experience wasn’t as intense. But it seemed to last forever.” Cassie whispered while her grandmother stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re telling me that after what happened the first time, you did it twice more, knowing it would probably happen again?” The Elder asked.
“I wanted a backup talisman in case it was stolen after I got to the academy. Plus, it wasn’t as bad with more skin contact. With more practice controlling the flow of mana, I think it will just be pleasant.” Cassie explained.
“My girl, you will fit right in at the academy. But if the other Talismans are this strong, I am certain someone will want them. Even most second-years with trained familiars can’t make a storage talisman with this much capacity. Be careful who you let see them.” Maria told her with a concerned frown.
Powerful was good, but too much power invited envy.
Maria got Cassie showered and changed into a fresh sweater dress and tights before leading her down to dinner, making sure she was seated between the Elder and Wolfe.
“I heard that you are getting along well with my granddaughter, so I rearranged the seating for dinner. I hope you don’t mind?” Maria asked with a wink at Wolfe.
“Not at all. We might not see each other for a while after she leaves for the Academy since the schedules don’t quite match, according to the Patriarch. It is good for us to get to know each other while we have the time.” Wolfe replied, returning the wink just for the blush that it brought to Cassie’s face.
If looks could kill, Melody would have just assassinated her sister. She wasn’t even trying to hide her rage at seeing their friendly interaction after Wolfe turned her down earlier that same day.
Uncle Ivan, the Noxus Family Patriarch, stopped their banter and silenced the dining room by standing up to address the assembled family members.
“There has been an incident in our territory that requires everyone’s attention. A high-level magical item was traced back to our floor, and the Witches believe an exiled Noble Witch is hiding among us. The Countess who governs our floor has asked for the Family’s assistance to find the fugitive.
The Witch’s accomplice was found dead outside our territory, but on this floor, and it was the only clue that they had to go on.” Uncle Ivan informed them.
“One more body usually wouldn’t be enough to attract attention from the higher floors. Do we know what tipped them off? It wasn’t something we’re doing, was it?” One of the Elders asked with a meaningful look at Elder Maria.
“No, a Witch on an upper level made the report. I couldn’t get all the details, but it seems that the item cursed someone, and it was too powerful for a Commoner to have cast.” The Patriarch explained, and Wolfe began to relax a little.
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He could hide his mana well enough for most situations, but a search team would include dozens of people, specialized spells to detect even the faintest traces of mana and recent spell casting, as well as hounds to track suspects once they were close enough to catch a scent.
None of those techniques was something that Wolfe was capable of dealing with on his own, and with so little time to prepare, he wasn’t sure that even Uncle Ivan would be able to keep him safe through this.
“Everyone needs to discard or use up any and all contraband that they have in the compound. We will have Noble Witches joining us as guests in the morning.” Uncle Ivan finished, and everyone began to panic.
That wasn’t enough time for Wolfe to put his plan into action. Everything in the city would be locked down after curfew, meaning he couldn’t leave the city tonight even if he wanted to.
