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"Of course I'm Ruth," the entity replied with Ruth's familiar smile.

"I've been Ruth Blackthorne for thirty-seven years, ever since the real Ruth had that unfortunate accident during her investigation into certain municipal record discrepancies.

I've been your beloved elder, your trusted leader, your source of wisdom and guidance through every supernatural crisis this town has faced. "

Leo managed to speak despite the binding magic that was affecting them all. "How long? How long have you been manipulating this town?"

"Oh, much longer than you might think," Ruth said, settling into one of the reading chairs as if she were simply joining them for afternoon tea.

"I've been guiding the Blackthorne family for four generations, ensuring that the right people ended up in positions of authority, that the right records were preserved or altered as needed, that the right bloodlines would eventually converge in exactly the way I required. "

She gestured toward Griff, Mara, and Tilly with obvious satisfaction.

"And here you are, my greatest success. Three founder bloodlines, united at last after centuries of careful breeding and manipulation.

Garrett Halloway's wolf magic channeled through a bear shifter whose protective instincts make him the perfect anchor.

Silvane Beaumont's fae heritage diluted through generations until it produced a witch whose herbal magic can bridge any gap between different types of power.

And Helena Whitaker's chaos magic and a shifter blood concentrated in a child whose abilities exceed anything the original founders could have imagined. "

Tilly, who had been unusually quiet throughout Ruth's revelation, suddenly stood up straighter. Her young face held an expression of ancient wisdom that was heartbreaking to see on someone so small.

"You're not going to hurt us," she said with absolute certainty. "You need us. You need our magic, but only if we give it willingly. That's why you've been pretending to be nice, why you've been helping us become stronger. You can't just take what you want."

Ruth's expression shifted, revealing something inhuman and infinitely patient beneath the familiar features.

"Very good, child. You understand the fundamental limitation that has frustrated me for centuries.

I can consume magical beings, absorb their power and memories, but I cannot simply steal abilities that are given freely through love and trust. I need you to choose to merge with me, to willingly become part of something greater than yourselves. "

"And if we refuse?" Griff asked, though he suspected the answer would involve threats to everyone they cared about.

"Then I continue as I have for the past century," Ruth said with a shrug that was entirely too casual for the circumstances.

"I pick you off one by one, starting with the most vulnerable.

Tilly's little friends at school, perhaps.

Or the other supernatural families in town who depend on my protection.

So many people could have such unfortunate accidents if the three of you prove to be uncooperative. "

The binding magic suddenly intensified, pressing against them with enough force to make breathing difficult.

But instead of panic, Griff felt something rising within him.

The same protective fury that had driven him to shield his family from the shadow beings, amplified by the magical connection he now shared with Mara and Tilly.

"You made one mistake," he mentioned, his voice low with the effort of speaking against the magical pressure. "You taught us to work together. You showed us how to combine our abilities. And you gave us something worth fighting for."

Ruth's eyes narrowed as she realized that the binding magic, instead of weakening them, was actually strengthening the connection between the three of them. Their shared resistance was creating resonance, their combined will pushing back against her control.

"Interesting," she murmured, her knitting needles moving faster as she attempted to reinforce her magic. "But ultimately futile. I have had centuries to perfect my abilities, and you have had days to discover yours."

That was when Nico spoke up from behind his desk, his tone tinge with confidence an individual who had spent months preparing for exactly this confrontation.

"Actually," he said, opening one final book that blazed with light bright enough to make Ruth hiss and shield her eyes.

"They have had centuries. Every generation of their bloodlines, every ancestor who fought to protect their communities, every founder who gave their life to create the original binding.

All of that accumulated power, all of that inherited purpose, it doesn't just disappear when someone dies. "

The book in his hands was revealing text that wrote itself in golden letters across its pages, words in languages that predated human civilization.

"The original founders didn't just create a prison for ancient entities.

They created a legacy, a magical inheritance that would activate when their descendants were threatened by something that sought to corrupt the very foundations of supernatural community. "

Ruth's confident expression finally cracked, revealing the alien intelligence beneath. "That's impossible. I destroyed those records. I eliminated every reference to the legacy protocols."

"You eliminated the official records," Nico corrected with satisfaction.

"But you forgot about the books themselves.

Ancient texts have their own memories, their own loyalty to the truth.

And they've been waiting a very long time to tell the real story of what happened to Mordaine Ashglen and what her sacrifice was meant to protect. "

The binding magic suddenly snapped, releasing all of them at once as Ruth's concentration faltered. But instead of attacking, she smiled but it held no warmth whatsoever.

"How delightfully educational," she said, rising from her chair with movements that were far too fluid for human anatomy. "But I'm afraid playtime is over. If you won't join me willingly, then I'll simply have take what I need by hook or by crook."

The air in the bookstore began to thicken with malevolent energy as Ruth's human disguise finally started to slip, revealing something ancient and hungry underneath. But ever since the crisis began, Griff felt ready for whatever was coming.

They weren't victims anymore. They were the inheritors of a legacy that had been building for centuries, and they were finally strong enough to claim it.