Page 6

FOUR

AERIN

M oondrip Market looked like a crime scene from a supernatural disaster movie.

The quaint farmer's market that usually bustled with local vendors and enchanted produce had been evacuated, yellow caution tape fluttering around a building that was visibly vibrating.

Not the subtle tremor of settling foundations, but the rhythmic pulse of something large and magical stirring beneath the earth.

Sheriff Torres met them at the perimeter, her expression grim as she handed Leo a tablet displaying readings from the town's magical monitoring systems. "Started about forty minutes ago as a low-frequency hum.

Diana thought it was just the refrigeration units acting up until the root vegetables in the back storage room began glowing bright enough to read by. "

Leo scanned the data, noting energy signatures that registered far beyond normal magical background levels. "Any pattern to the disturbance?"

"That's the weird part. It's not random or chaotic like you'd expect from a malfunction.

The pulses are consistent, almost like a heartbeat.

" Torres gestured toward the market building, where the vibrations were strong enough to make the windows rattle in their frames.

"And whatever's causing it is getting stronger. "

Aerin pulled out her detection device, which immediately began screaming with alerts as multiple needles spun wildly across its face.

The instrument's harmonic resonance shifted into frequencies that made nearby glass sing in sympathy, and she had to adjust several dials to prevent feedback overload.

"This isn't equipment malfunction," she mentioned, her voice tense with professional excitement and growing concern.

"This is a massive magical system coming online after decades of dormancy.

The energy signature is similar to the founder rune under the inn, but with different harmonic characteristics. "

"Different how?" Leo asked, though his lion was already providing uncomfortable answers. The scent in the air carried traces of ancient magic and something that reminded him of the moments before a thunderstorm, when the atmosphere grew heavy with potential energy.

"The binding patterns are more complex. More layered.

" Aerin moved toward the market entrance, her device painting a map of underground magical activity that looked like a three-dimensional spiderweb.

"If I had to guess, I'd say we're looking at a secondary system designed to interface with the primary seal. A backup or control mechanism."

"Or a weapon," Leo muttered, following her toward the building despite every instinct that told him to evacuate the area and call in specialists.

"Or a weapon," Aerin agreed grimly. "Though based on my research, I'm hoping for backup."

They entered the market through the main doors, immediately hit by the scent of ozone and growing things that carried undertones of magic so ancient it made Leo's teeth ache.

The building's interior looked normal at first glance—rows of vendor stalls, refrigerated display cases, and the usual collection of locally sourced produce.

But the floor beneath their feet thrummed with energy, and the overhead lights flickered in rhythm with the mysterious underground pulse.

"Storage room's in the back," Torres called from behind them, though she maintained a respectful distance from Aerin's increasingly agitated detection equipment.

They made their way through the market, Leo's enhanced senses cataloging details that painted an increasingly strange picture. The vegetables in the produce section were definitely glowing, their natural colors enhanced to jewel-like intensity. The herbs hanging from the ceiling rafters swayed without any air movement, their leaves rustling with sounds that almost formed words. Even the honey display case hummed with activity that didn’t involve the bees that had produced it.

"The entire building is acting as a conductor," Aerin observed, making rapid notes while her device tracked energy flows through the structure. "Whatever's beneath us is using the market's foundation as an amplification matrix."

"For what purpose?"

"Communication, maybe. Or activation of other systems." Aerin paused beside a display of root vegetables that were pulsing with soft blue light.

"These aren't just glowing randomly. They're responding to specific magical frequencies, like biological sensors detecting changes in the underground matrix. "

Leo reached toward one of the glowing carrots, then stopped as Aerin caught his wrist. Her touch sent an unexpected jolt through his system—not painful, but startling in its intensity.

For a moment, he could swear he felt the pulse of the underground magic through her fingertips, as if her touch had made him temporarily sensitive to energies his lion couldn't normally detect.

"Don't touch anything directly," she warned, though she didn't immediately release his wrist. "If the vegetation is acting as a magical interface, skin contact could trigger feedback or unwanted activation."

Leo nodded, though he found himself reluctant to break the connection.

Aerin's skin was warm despite her fae heritage, and something about the contact felt significant in ways that went beyond simple physical attraction.

His lion was purring with interest, recognizing something in her scent that suggested compatibility on levels he wasn't ready to examine.

The storage room at the back of the market looked like the epicenter of whatever was happening beneath the building.

The concrete floor had developed a network of hairline cracks that glowed with the same blue light as the vegetables, and the walls hummed with vibrations that seemed to originate from somewhere deep underground.

Boxes of produce had been moved aside to reveal floor damage that formed distinct patterns—not the random stress fractures of structural failure, but deliberate geometric shapes that looked almost like writing.

"Holy sage," Aerin breathed, kneeling beside the cracked patterns and pulling out a magnifying glass to examine the details. "These aren't cracks. They're channels carved into the concrete, following natural stress lines in the foundation."

"Carved by what?"

"By roots." Aerin pointed to thin tendrils of what looked like silver thread emerging from the floor cracks. "Magical root systems growing up from whatever's buried beneath the building. They're following the foundation's weak points to create a conductive network."

Leo knelt beside her, studying the intricate patterns that seemed to shift and change when he wasn't looking at them. The silver roots pulsed with their own internal light, and he could swear he heard whispers coming from somewhere below his hearing range.

"There's something else down there," he said, his lion's senses picking up traces of magic that felt both ancient and deliberately hidden. "Something big enough to have root systems this extensive."

Aerin's detection device was now emitting a steady tone that bordered on musical, its needles all pointing toward a spot near the back corner of the storage room where the pattern of glowing cracks converged.

"The source is approximately eight feet down and slightly northeast of this position," she said, consulting the instrument's readings.

"Whatever it is, it's been dormant for decades but is rapidly approaching full activation. "

"Should we evacuate the area?"

"We should, but we probably won't get another chance to examine it before it either activates completely or goes dormant again.

" Aerin was already pulling tools from her satchel—trowels, brushes, and what looked like archaeological equipment designed for delicate excavation work.

"The energy signature suggests we have maybe twenty minutes before whatever's down there reaches critical mass. "

Leo wanted to argue, wanted to invoke safety protocols and proper procedures, but his lion was fascinated by the mystery unfolding beneath their feet. Besides, if Aerin was right about the founder network being in danger, they might not have time for cautious archaeological techniques.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, accepting that they were about to engage in what was probably the most dangerous excavation in municipal history.

"Help me clear this debris and see if we can expose whatever's causing the root growth," Aerin said, handing him a sturdy trowel. "And be ready to pull me back if I do something stupid like touching ancient magical artifacts with my bare hands."

They worked together in focused silence, clearing away years of accumulated dirt and debris from the corner where the glowing patterns converged.

Leo found himself oddly comfortable working alongside Aerin, their movements falling into a natural rhythm that suggested unexpected compatibility.

She was methodical but efficient, her archaeological training evident in the way she approached the excavation with scientific precision.

Twenty minutes later, they'd exposed a section of carved stone that definitely didn't belong to the market's original foundation.

The material looked like black granite carved with symbols that seemed animate, shifting between languages, and its surface was warm to the touch despite being buried beneath concrete and earth.

"Another founder's rune," Aerin said, her tone tight with excitement and apprehension. "But this one's different. The symbol structure is more complex, and the magical resonance patterns don't match the containment sigil under the inn."

Leo studied the carved surface, noting symbols that made his lion pace restlessly with unease. Where the rune beneath the inn had felt like a lock or barrier, this one radiated the energy of something designed for more active purposes. "What do you think it does?"