Sunrise gilded the snow as Bryony's stiff fingers found the van's handle. The door opened with a groan, releasing a rush of warmth carrying Emil's familiar blend of dark roast coffee, dried sage, and his latest alchemical work.

  "Finally," Ash muttered, shouldering past. "Another minute, and I'd have gone full polar bear."

  Bryony noticed Mara's protective headphones sliding down, the psychic wincing as she massaged her temples.

  "Bloody hell." Mara's words came through gritted teeth. "You're both lit up like corrupted Nexus points. Take Emil's herbs before the dark energy settles. The resonance is killing me."

  Emil sat in his corner, quill flying across his leather notebook, hands stained with ink. At the sound of Bryony retrieving the relic, his head snapped up, lit with scholarly interest.

  Emil's glasses slipped as he hunched over the testing case. "Oh... no, that can't be right." He adjusted a dial, peering through his goggles. "The harmonic frequency is off the charts, but that's—" He raked a hand through his messy hair. "The temporal markers suggest fourteenth-century craftsmanship, yet these energy signatures are reading as ancient. Far more ancient."

  Bryony sank into her chair, flexing life back into her frozen fingers. Steam rose from the cup Mara placed beside her, the blend of chamomile and Emil's magical herbs bringing a grateful smile to her face. Her team's quiet efficiency slowly eased the tension in her chest.

  The lead-lined case lay open before her, protective runes flickering in the lamplight. As she traced their edges, the silvery etchings danced beneath her touch, drawing a sharp breath from Emil as he watched through his testing goggles.

  The pendant's crimson core quickened like a frightened heart as she reached for it. Her breath caught as its energy surged, and she gripped it tighter, fighting the urge to drop the deceivingly delicate piece.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Careful..." Emil murmured from her shoulder, his goggles glinting in the light. After a century of handling artefacts, she didn't need Emil's notes on her performance but kept that to herself, movements flowing with practised precision. She nestled the pendant in its velvet cradle, ancient syllables of protection rolling from her tongue as the air crackled with energy.

  Click. Click. Click.

  The case's locks engaged sharply, making Mara wince and tug her headphones higher. Bryony traced each seal with her fingertips, noting the subtle flaws in their protective barriers with growing concern.

  "It'll do until we get it home." She murmured to herself before settling it beside her on the chair. Mara traced sigils in the air, glancing between her tablet's readings and the sealed case. Her headphones slipped as she leaned forward, brow furrowed.

  "The energy signature's shifting," Mara whispered. "There's something else wrapped around this relic - something ancient." She met Bryony's gaze, dark eyes anxious. "That resonance in the church - you felt it too?"

  "The containment field's compromised." Bryony's tone was steel-edged and final. "This stays locked down until we return." Ash's feline ears pricked forward at her words. "It's more volatile than we anticipated."

  The case hummed against her palm with a discordant vibration. Bryony withdrew her hand, recognising the cold twist in her gut - an instinct from decades of handling dangerous artefacts. That familiar warning sense, their lifeline through countless missions, now signalled ancient power straining against the protective runes.

  "Oh, please. The extraction was flawless." Ash's eyes sparkled with mischief, though his hands trembled. "Well, apart from that itty-bitty trap situation."

  Bryony fixed him with her signature stern look, but the case's unsettling resonance made it challenging to maintain her usual authority.

  "Careful now," Ash singsonged. "You're giving me that look again, Boss."

  "You mean my 'shadow guardians would appreciate a shapeshifter snack' look?" Bryony's mouth quirked despite herself, the brief humour a welcome distraction from the case's unsettling vibrations.

  The van lurched as Emil started the engine and pulled onto the snow-covered road. Ash fell quiet, pressing his forehead against the frosted window. Beside him, Mara worked at her tablet, magical signatures casting strange shadows across her face. The wipers cut through the thickening snow in a steady rhythm.

  Bryony watched the church's dark silhouette fade into the night through the side mirror, shivering despite the van's heater. Her fingers traced the case's cold edges. "Let's hope it's the last of its kind," she whispered, though her crawling spine told her otherwise. Some instincts were rarely wrong.