72: Chapter 72 Magic Growth!

Max left as soon as she finished speaking; she was a smart person and knew better than to get involved in this matter.

Today's phone call could be considered repaying yesterday's favor.

Shaun didn't say much more. He looked at the rolling shutter door in front of him, truly not knowing what to do.

He thought back to what Cordelia had said last time about practicing his magic.

Come to think of it, he had recently felt his magic breaking through as well, seemingly just one step away.

If his magic could truly break through... perhaps... the subsequent investigation would be a bit easier!

How about... giving it a try?

...

Thinking this, Shaun didn't make any more calls. He started the engine and drove toward Robichaux Manor.

Soon, the car drove through the manor gates.

The leaves on both sides of the oak-lined driveway rustled in the wind, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, spreading across the ground like scattered gold.

Cordelia was already standing under the porch, wearing a light blue dress with her hair loosely tied up.

Seeing Shaun get out of the car, she walked up to meet him.

As soon as Shaun got out of the car, he waved: "Cordelia, there is something I want to tell you."

Cordelia looked at him, somewhat surprised: "What is it?"

"The thing in that church, and the Colombian clubhouse, I've been investigating for two days. The leads have gone cold, but..." He paused, "I felt something..."

"Recently, my magic hasn't felt very stable. I feel like something is responding to it."

Cordelia's expression changed: "Responding to it?"

"Yes," Shaun said. "I can't quite explain it, but I feel like the magic within me is being summoned by something."

Cordelia was silent for a moment.

Then she reached out and took hold of Shaun's wrist.

Her fingers were cool as she placed them on his pulse and closed her eyes.

Shaun stood still, able to feel her magic probing, seeping into his skin like water and flowing slowly along his veins.

After about half a minute, she opened her eyes, her expression even more solemn than before.

She said: "Your magic is growing."

Shaun was stunned: "What?"

"When I tested you last time, your magic was still at the most basic level, like a newly lit fire. Now..."

Cordelia looked at him and said: "It is growing. This power does not come from the outside; it is your own, growing within your body."

"Now... you need a ritual."

Shaun looked at her. "What ritual?"

"A meditation ritual," Cordelia said. "To guide your magic to stabilize and find its own path. You are like a river right now; the water is rising, but the riverbed hasn't been dug yet. If it continues like this, it will overflow and flood places you don't want it to."

As she spoke, Cordelia turned and walked toward the house: "Follow me."

Shaun followed her through the hall and pushed open a door at the end of the corridor.

Inside was a small room, looking like a private meditation room.

Dark wooden floorboards covered the ground, and an ancient tapestry hung on the wall, woven with patterns Shaun couldn't understand.

In the center of the room was a meditation cushion, and next to it, a small lamp flickered with dim light.

"Sit down." Cordelia pointed to the cushion.

Shaun sat down.

The cushion was soft, and the floor was a bit cool.

Cordelia sat down opposite him. The two sat face-to-face, their knees almost touching.

Cordelia said: "Close your eyes."

Shaun closed his eyes.

"Breathe! Slower! When you inhale, feel the air enter through your nose, reach your throat, your chest, and then your stomach."

"When you exhale, let it come out from your stomach, to your chest, to your throat, and out through your nose."

Shaun breathed along with her rhythm.

Slower, and then even slower.

He could feel his heartbeat, steady, beat by beat.

"Now, feel the magic inside your body." Cordelia's voice was very soft, as if drifting from far away. "Where is it? In your chest? In your stomach? Or somewhere else?"

Shaun felt it.

It was in his chest, but not where his heart was; it was deeper, like a ball of fire in the very center of his chest cavity.

It wasn't large, but it was very hot.

Shaun immediately said: "I feel it."

Cordelia guided him: "Good! Do not suppress it, and do not push it away. Just watch it, and see what it is doing."

Shaun watched that ball of fire.

It was pulsing.

Not the rhythm of a heartbeat, but another rhythm, slower and deeper.

Like something inside it was breathing, rising and falling, rising and falling.

Then he saw light around the ball of fire.

Golden, like molten gold, wrapping around the outside of the flames. The light was moving, like a snake, like a vine, like a living thing.

He remembered what happened inside Hill Manor.

When Bobby Hill was consumed by him, those black powers were purified by the golden book, turning into golden light that merged into his body.

Could that be the aura of the Old Gods?

"What do you see?" Cordelia asked.

"Golden light," Shaun said. "Outside the fire."

Cordelia quickly said: "This magic is not foreign; it is a part of you. You don't need to fear it, and you don't need to push it away. Let it stay there."

Shaun took a deep breath and relaxed.

The ball of golden light was still moving, but it didn't expand outward anymore, just quietly circling the flames.

"Now," Cordelia's voice rang out again, "repeat after me."

She began to chant some words Shaun didn't understand.

It wasn't English, nor was it French or Spanish; it was an older sound, like stones grinding against each other.

Shaun followed along, word by word.

As those words left his mouth, he felt the ball of fire in his chest suddenly pulse.

It wasn't pain; it was coming alive.

Like something inside had opened its eyes.

He continued to chant.

The words became smoother and more natural, as if he had always known them and had only forgotten.

The ball of fire began to grow, from the size of a fist to the size of a palm, and from the size of a palm to the size of a head.

The golden light grew along with it, wrapping around the flames, spinning like a river.

The heat spread from his chest to his shoulders, to his arms, to his fingertips; he could feel his fingers heating up slightly.

"Shaun." Cordelia's voice suddenly became clear. "Now, open your eyes."

Shaun opened his eyes.

The room was still the same room, the cushion was still the same cushion, and Cordelia was still sitting opposite him.

But everything was brighter. The light from that small lamp was no longer dim yellow, but golden, shining on the tapestry, on the floor, and on Cordelia's face.

He could see the dust motes floating in the air, every single one glowing.

He could hear the chirping of birds outside the window, very far away, but very clear.

He could feel all the life within this house!

Cordelia's magic flowed slowly within her, like a quiet river; the telekinetic fluctuations coming from Madison upstairs were like wind, like waves; further away, in the direction of Fiona's room, there was a very dim light, like a lamp about to go out.

Cordelia looked at him, and in those gentle eyes, there was surprise and relief.

"You've broken through!"