Page 43 of Something Worth Keeping
Julian zoomed to a specific structure. “This one. According to the data youhave, it was recently purchased through a shell company that’s three layers deep but connects to one of the financial records Silas flagged. The building underwent HVAC modifications last week - you have a work order showing they were completed. It is excessive for the structure’s size unless climate control matters for equipment or material storage. There was also a security system upgrade last week. Again, you have records of that in your intel.”
Cillian’s hand settled on Julian’s lower back. “You determined all this from looking at our data for ten minutes?”
“Twelve minutes, and yes. Pattern recognition is efficient when you remember everything.” Julian finished the eggs and began analyzing approach vectors for the Highway 47 location. “You’ll want to surveil from…”
“You’re not going anywhere near that building.” Cillian’s voice dropped to something ancient and dangerous.
“I wasn’t suggesting I would. I’m suggesting optimal surveillance positions foryou.” Julian glanced at his mate. “We’ve had this discussion, Cillian. I’m not an idiot. I have no combat training and would be a liability in the field. You would get too distracted by me being there. My value is analytical, not tactical.”
The tension in Cillian’s shadows eased slightly.
Rook reappeared with coffee. “You’re amazing. Have I mentioned that? Because you’re amazing.”
“You’re handling stress through food preparation,” Julian observed.
“I stress-bake. Or cook. Right now, I’m cooking.” Rook grinned happily as he waggled his eyebrows. “You wantlunch? I’ll make lunch. Dinner? I’m on it. Midnight snack? Say the word.”
“Your coping mechanism is helpful rather than destructive. I approve.” Julian accepted the coffee. “Though you should monitor your own nutritional intake, not just mine.”
Rook laughed. “Oh, I like you so much.”
“Thank you.” Julian felt his cheeks heat, and that wasn’t typical for him. “What else do you have?”
/~/~/~/~/
After a long day, Julian sat cross-legged on Cillian’s bed, surrounded by books from his mate’s surprisingly extensive library. Most of the volumes were ancient texts about guardian history, cosmology, and, unsurprisingly, warfare tactics. But one slim volume caught his attention. It was a technical manual dated 1952,and unusual for that time, was written in Latin.
Julian’s Latin was serviceable. From what he could tell, the manual described suppression technology designed to contain Eldritch entities. Most of the text covered the obsidian chains, which were described as metaphysical restraints that could bind a guardian’s form temporarily. Julian had heard those mentioned more than once throughout the day. But one chapter detailed something else.
Apparatus Suppressionis Mechanica, the heading read. Apparently it was a mechanical device powered by blood sacrifice and ritual magic. The schematics showed a cage-like structure approximately three meters in diameter, inscribed with symbols Julian recognized from his medieval manuscript research. The text claimed the device could hold a guardian indefinitely, drainingtheir essence to fuel its containment field.
“What are you reading?”
Julian looked up. Cillian stood in the doorway, fresh from the shower, dark hair damp and shadows coiling lazily around his shoulders.
“Technical documentation about suppression devices.” Julian held up the book. “Specifically, a mechanical apparatus from the 1950s that supposedly could contain guardians indefinitely through blood magic.”
Cillian’s expression shuttered. He crossed the room and sat beside Julian, close enough for their shoulders to touch. “Where did you find that?”
“Your bookshelf. Third row, between the cosmology text and the warfare manual.” Julian studied Cillian’s face. “You’re concerned.”
“That technology was eliminated.” Cillian took the book, flipping to the schematic page. “The Order spent decades tracking down every device, destroying them completely. The last confirmed apparatus was dismantled in 1987.”
“Confirmed?”
“We believed we’d found them all.” Cillian’s shadows tightened. “But we’ve been wrong before.”
Julian processed this. “You said Vane acquired obsidian chains. Those are different.”
“Yes. The chains are temporary restraints. They’re uncomfortable, restrictive, but breakable with enough effort. A guardian can shatter obsidian chains within hours, maybe minutes if sufficiently motivated.” Cillian’s jaw tightened. “The mechanical apparatus is different. It doesn’t just restrain a guardian, it drains them.”
“Explain the mechanism.”
Cillian set the book aside and took Julian’s hand, shadows wrapping around their joined fingers. “Guardians are essentially concentrated energies. In our case, we focus on corruption. For us, that energy is what keeps us going - we consume it and process it, and by doing that, we help to maintain balance among the populations.
“The apparatus reverses that process. It forces a guardian to continuously purge their essence while the containment field prevents reformation. The blood sacrifice powers the initial activation, but the guardian’s own nature sustains it afterward.”
“A parasitic feedback loop.” Julian cataloged the implications. “The guardian becomes the power source for their own restraints.”
