The seven of them joined hands, and there was an instant ricochet of power that sent me back a few steps. I wasn’t the only one, books and goblins flying around me. Luckily, the demi-fey were tough, taking their impromptu flying lessons in stride, not missing a beat as they got back to their feet and started to gather up books and paper.

A deep vibrating ding echoed through the library, originating from the center of the circle of power that was starting to build between the seven. I found myself moving forward, drawn into their energy as they began building a visible and intertwining cage of power.

As more of the energy grew, golden lights twining into each other, I understood why Shadow had been so worried by this task. Each strand of power had to be painstakingly created and then woven, one at a time. Shadow was the first and when the full rotation of his golden cord was complete, it was Reece’s turn, followed by Angel, followed by Len, and then so forth. Over and over, in the same order, they wove their power into this complex blanket of energy, until there was a half-formed golden dome rising above their heads.

“Enough!” Shadow bellowed.

It cost him to speak through the fortress, his voice echoing around the entire library. The others in the circle relaxed, and then one by one, they withdrew their power. It seemed that when it was intertwined, the only way to pull it back was to untangle it in the same manner.

“That was actually a really good first try,” Gaster said, appearing at my side and near sending me out of my skin.

“It looked impressive,” I admitted, my eyes on the group. “I’m guessing if even one of them falters in concentration, though, it could fuck up the entire thing?”

He nodded. “Oh, yes. The strands look innocent enough contained like they are, but it’s similar to when electrical wires cross each other. It only takes one wrong connection for a surge of power that could kill all seven of them.”

I hadn’t been that nervous, but I was now.

Thankfully, they managed to untangle their power with no incidents, and after a quick discussion about ways to finesse what they’d done, they started it all over again.

I settled in to chew off my nails, all the while hoping no one would kill themselves before we got to the realm. Dannie would love it if we took ourselves out first.

Here’s hoping we didn’t make it that easy for her.

42

By the time they were done with their practice, they were somewhat confident that they could call up a strong enough fortress to contain Dannie. After, we all took a moment to refuel, and then it was time to head to the realm.