“Sure, but as you’ve just pointed out, I have a ton of guards now. I’m not sure if they’re here to keep me from running or prevent me from touching things or protect everyone around me. But they’re here, and I won’t send anyone away as Tesse did.”
Becka could hear his teeth grinding.
“Plus, I have you by my side.”
“Not after tomorrow you don’t,” Quinn replied.
Chapter 26
They reached the viewing hall without incident, Becka stewing in her thoughts the entire way there. She had new powers but no idea how to wield them. Even the testers and Aunt Astrid were admittedly taking an experimental approach. Becka now had an idea of her own she wanted to try out.
The shifter guards had followed them, but, once they reached their destination both held back and didn’t follow Becka and Quinn inside. The chamber was just as Becka had first seen it, and as expected, Tesse’s body remained upon the limestone slab, funerary shroud draping her form.
“Tell me what you expect to find here,” Quinn said. “You mentioned something about being reminded of childhood games and then brooded the rest of the way here.”
“I didn’t want the shifters overhearing our conversation.” Becka stood next to Tesse and took off her newly gifted gloves, tucking them gently into the waistband of her yoga pants. “I do remember Tesse’s ‘hidden in plain sight’ forts. She was declared gifted at age twelve, so I got to see and experience her creations for four years before they’d exhausted hope that I too was gifted.”
“Which turns out was premature.”
“Right, but the point is, Tesse loved to create mirages and it was rare others could suss them out.”
Becka pulled the silvered funerary fabric away from Tesse’s throat and shoulders. Even prepared as she was this time for the sight, she still had to fight with her too full stomach to settle down.
Quinn placed a hand on her shoulder. “It is a difficult sight, even when you are prepared for it.”
“I’d hate to think of becoming accustomed to witnessing this level of violence,” Becka replied, and then looked him in the eye. “I suspect living as an Enforcer must expose you to this on occasion. Is it still shocking to you?”
“It’s still shocking. And yes, I do see it too much for my liking, which would be never.”
Becka nodded, turning her attention back to Tesse. “I got to thinking about my newfound gift, which we didn’t know about when I first saw those markings of the glyphs on Tesse.”
“Right, they are something you can see but no one else can. Do you think it is because you had nulled the energy?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so? At least, not exactly. Perhaps by looking up close I didn’t break the illusion, but instead was able to see through it?”
“You can still see the glyphs now, right?” he asked.
Becka nodded. “Yes, plain as day. You still can’t see them?”
“No. The working theory is the killer somehow left them as a remnant of their attack.”
“Tesse’s memorial pyre being tomorrow, I have just this small window of time to test out my working theory.”
“Which is?”
“I’d like to test and see if those glyphs are painted on, or if they were magically created. If I’m right, they’re magic, and there’s some sort of illusion to hide them as well.”
He frowned. “How would you be able to tell?”
“I’ll touch her and we see what happens.”
Quinn cocked his head to the side. “Per the testers, your touch breaks most or all magic.”
“Exactly. So what will happen if I touch her now? Will you be able to see the glyphs or will they disappear?”
“A fair proposal. It’s not like you can hurt her, and anything new we learn should help the investigation. Hold on a moment.” Quinn pulled out his phone and primed it for recording Tesse. “Go ahead.”
She looked down at her twin, their faces so much alike, when otherwise they were so different. “I wish you were still here,” she whispered. “I’m sure you’d have some super clever ideas about my gift. But for now, let’s see if I can do one last thing for you.”
Becka reached out her hand and placed it upon Tesse’s shoulder, brushing her fingers across the marks. Her head throbbed at the contact, and Becka let out a low groan. Her chest tightened and her muscles tensed, as if bracing for an impact. “It’s like I’m pushing against a wall.”
“I can not see anything different yet. Keep going.”
Becka held with the sensation, and moments later it felt like she fell past an unseen barrier, as a ripple of force dissolved like waves on the surface of a lake. She held onto Tesse’s unmarred shoulder, as the energetic waves whipped at her like a gale force wind.
“I do not know if you can see anything different, but the glyphs are appearing,” Quinn said. “There must have been some sort of magical illusion or obfuscation hiding them from view. It is remarkable, they are exactly as you drew them. I can show you the video after, if you would like.”
“It looks the same to me, but I definitely feel something when I touch her.”
“What’s it like?”
She searched a moment for the right words. “Like waves? Or maybe a strong magnet?” She maintained contact with Tesse. There was something like a vibration in the contact, as if something unseen was still churning under the surface.
“Says the woman who’s spent years in collegiate science classes,” he chuckled.
Quinn continued to take video of the glyphs, moving around Tesse’s supine form to get clear shots of all the images. “Few fae would use such an analogy.”
“What do you expect from an atypical fae?” She swiped her finger across one of the marks, and a dusting of gray ash marred the design. “Look. I’d thought the ink might have been more than skin-deep, but it’s like it’s been painted on.”
“Or burned? It reminds me
