Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 105939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Victorian-era script filled the page in elaborate formal handwriting:
“The resonant imprint vessel commissioned by Charlotte Lacroix exceeds standard soul-binding methodology. Not preservation of consciousness across death transitions, but active guidance system ensuring reconnection regardless of circumstance or incarnation interval. Artifact programmed with essence signature recognition, designed to seek specific soul patterns across infinite temporal distance.”
Bastien continued reading, his chest tightening with each revelation:
“Creator embedded sophisticated tracking protocols requiring proximity activation through contact with related magical work. Vessel remains dormant until target soul interacts with original documentation, at which point echo-forged tether engages with increasing intensity. Not simple memento but comprehensive resonance tracker containing the soul signature imprint detailed enough for identification across multiple reincarnation cycles.”
The truth struck him hard as he realized what he’d just read. Charlotte hadn't crafted a romantic keepsake or protective charm. She'd created mystical technology sophisticated enough to operate across centuries, waiting patiently until the right combination of souls and circumstances activated its primary function.
“She programmed it,” he said quietly. “Like a weapon. Or a trap.”
“Both, depending on perspective.” Maman reclaimed the journal, turning to additional pages filled with technical diagrams. “According to these records, your locket was part of larger preparation network. Charlotte spent two years before her death creating multiple artifacts designed to support her reincarnation process.”
She showed him sketches of rings, pendants, even a silver mirror designed to reflect spiritual rather than physical images. All bearing variations of the same engravings that covered the locket's surface.
“Where are the others?”
“Lost, mostly. Destroyed during supernatural conflicts over the centuries or claimed by Collectors who didn't understand what they possessed.” Maman's finger traced the locket's image in the journal. “This one survived because she gave it to someone whose nature made him nearly indestructible.”
“What was I supposed to do once it activated?”
“Guide her to understanding. Help her access knowledge embedded in bloodline inheritance but locked away from conscious memory.” Maman's expression grew troubled as she turned to the journal's final entries. “But there's something else. Something my predecessor noted but never fully understood.”
Different ink marked the last section, suggesting it was an addition years after original documentation.
“Vessel activation creates bidirectional connection. While artifact seeks target soul signature, target soul begins seeking artifact in return. Proximity effects compound exponentially—closer they become, stronger mutual recognition grows. Eventually reaches critical threshold where separation becomes impossible without severing spiritual bonds transcending individual incarnations.”
“She's seeking the locket now,” Bastien said, understanding dawning like sunrise. “That's why it's becoming more active.”
“More than that.” Maman turned to additional pages filled with technical diagrams and formulas. “According to these records, she spent months refining the spiritual recognition patterns. Your locket doesn't just respond to her reincarnated soul—it's designed to guide you to her when conditions are appropriate for reunion.”
Maman moved to her window, peering through glass that looked out over the Quarter's twisting streets. “Which explains recent developments you probably haven't connected yet. Tell me about your visit to the Archive yesterday. About how she responded to those glyph sketches.”
The memory caught his lungs. “She touched the papers and they started smoking. Silver light, like what you see here. The keepsake reacted so violently I thought it might burn through my shirt.”
“Direct contact between her essence and Charlotte's documented magical work. That's what triggered full activation.” Maman returned to her reading table, spreading out materials she'd obviously been consulting while waiting for his arrival. “Look at these genealogical charts I've been updating since the contamination began.”
The papers revealed connections spanning multiple states and centuries—family trees branching and merging in patterns that suggested deliberate cultivation rather than random marriages. Every bloodline touched by recent supernatural incidents traced ancestry back to families that had maintained contact with Lacroix connections across generations.
“She's been preparing for over two hundred years,” Bastien said, the scope staggering him.
“Longer. These patterns suggest her family was involved in supernatural practices for generations before Charlotte's birth. She didn't develop soul-binding theories in isolation—she inherited foundation work from ancestors who'd been experimenting with consciousness preservation since Louisiana was French territory.”
“The spreading contamination—”
“Network activation. Charlotte embedded preparation protocols throughout bloodline inheritance, dormant until proper conditions emerged.” Maman's voice carried the authority of someone who'd tracked supernatural genealogies for decades. “Your Delphine isn't just reactivating dormant magic. She's calling forces that have been waiting centuries for this moment.”
The locket pulsed with increasing violence, the metal growing so hot he had to set it on the reading table. The moment it touched wood, symbols began burning themselves into the surface—not random marks but organized patterns that spelled words in languages the existed prior to Latin.
“It's trying to communicate,” Maman observed, watching characters appear in real-time. “Probably receiving signals from whatever source is coordinating the network activation.”
“What kind of signals?”
“Coordinates. Instructions. Maybe warnings about entities that don't appreciate souls developing beyond their designated positions.” She reached for protective items from her shelves—salt blessed by multiple saints, iron filings from sacred construction, water drawn from graves of martyrs. “Bastien, whatever's happening with that locket, it's attracted attention from forces that view individual consciousness as a harvestable resource.”