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Evander’s eyebrows rise. “Yes, but we know that although it’s really rare, some supernaturals develop some gifts later on.”

Realization crosses through Raiden’s eyes, as he remembers that River actually developed more gifts and that, according to the guys, all of their magic has been playing up recently, so it is possible that Coen has developed a new gift since they knew him properly.

“Could it be possible that the new gift has developed because his other magic has been suppressed?” Ribit asks curiously. “I have never heard of it happening before, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.”

“That’s a really good point,” Griff replies. “Historically, magic has always found ways to adapt to protect supernaturals. It’s a part of us, and it’s capable of protecting us when we’re unable to. It’s well known that magic has created force fields around knocked out or injured supernaturals, giving them time to recover or heal enough. It obviously doesn’t happen every time, but it has happened. So I don’t see why Coen couldn’t have developed extra magic that could help protect him in his current situation.”

“That happened to a demon when I was a kid,” Reed interrupts looking thoughtful. “Pretty much like your example, he was a part of the hunting party, and they got ambushed. He got severely wounded and they were crowding around him, his magic threw up a protective shield. He had never done it before and was never able to do it again.”

“So, it is definitely possible, although your example was a temporary thing and we’re thinking that Coen’s is more of a gift development thanks to the dangerous situation that he is in,” Doc replies.

“Yeah,” Reed nods.

“It concerns me that the magic that he has been given thanks to his current situation is death magic,” I reply, my heart squeezing tightly in my chest.

I fucking hate this.

Ribit’s expression fills with understanding, “Whatever the reason is, he could see me, which helped a lot actually. He moved around the room while Kylen was talking to him, so Kylen would lift his head and move, so that I could get a better look. He caught on pretty fucking quickly to what I was doing.”

I smile, “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“I tried to grab it, but I couldn’t.”

Chapter Nineteen

Neith

“Oh okay, so it’s warded then. We’re going to have to figure out how to take the ward off before we grab it and replace it with another one,” River says, with a slight frown.

Ribit shakes her head, “Not necessarily, it might just be warded against the dead, but you should be able to figure out what it’s warded against when you’ve got the description and can do some proper research on it.”

“Do you think that you could describe it?” Ransom asks hopefully.

Ribit nods, “Yeah, absolutely. I could draw it for you exactly, but for obvious reasons, I won’t be able to hold the pencil long enough to actually draw it. I can manipulate things around me for a short amount of time, but I won’t be able to do it for the length of time that it will take to draw a proper, detailed rendition of the pendant.” She pauses, and then carries on with a slight frown, “I suppose I could draw it in stages for you, but honestly, thatwill take me quite a long time to do and I don’t want to delay you any more than I have to.”

“Don’t worry, we’re just grateful that you were able to get a better look at it than any of us could. It gives us a good point to start from, and if you can describe it well enough, then Ransom should be able to draw it,” Van says.

“You draw?” I ask Ransom.

He smiles, “A little bit. I’m rusty, and it is always difficult to follow someone else’s description.”

Raiden clears his throat and looks slightly uncomfortable, “If you’re comfortable with it, and it is completely fine if you’re not, I could help you have enough strength in order to draw it yourself. I have to warn you that I would need to be in my full reaper form.”

“You can?” Griff asks.

Raiden nods, “Yeah, I have done it for souls before. Sometimes they want to write letters to their loved ones, as if they were alive. It’s happened when someone has died suddenly, and they wanted to somehow lessen the blow of their sudden death by leaving their loved ones a letter to find in their belongings.”

“I have never heard of that,” Doc says.

“That’s because it’s not a normal thing to be able to do,” Ribit says, looking intrigued. “Reapers, normal ones, aren’t able to do that.”

Raiden shrugs, “I only found out that I could do it by accident, maybe no other reapers have tried.”

“I doubt that’s the reason, you’re all a lot more than even you guys realize,” she replies.

“What do you mean?” Reed asks, his eyebrows rising slightly as he watches her with caution.

This time it’s her who shrugs, “The dead know things, and they’re gossips.” It’s the only answer that she’s willing to give because she then changes the subject: “What exactly will it entail?”