"I apologize, Alpha Damon. I didn't mean any disrespect." Cassandra said in a shaky voice. With every passing heartbeat, her body was chilled by the cold sweat.
"It's OK," Talia responded, more to calm down Damon than for Cassandra. "I will think about it and let you know."
The truth was that Talia was curious about her powers as well. The only problem was that she didn't trust the Oracle.
"Can I?" Talia asked while pointing at the purple palm-sized crystal shaped like a crooked pyramid.
Cassandra gestured for Talia to go ahead, and Talia took the crystal into her hand. Its smooth surface was cold to the touch.
'What do you think, Liseli?' Talia asked.
'It's a pretty rock.'
'Can it measure magic? Or is it about something else?'
'Are you worried if it can detect me?'
'Yes.' Talia admitted while keeping the crystal back to the altar.
The old wolf didn't have an answer to this question. Can there be a thing that detects spirits and determines their nature? Anything was possible.
Talia would like to know more about her powers.
At first, Talia thought her powers stemmed because she came from the Midnight Guardians pack, but Axel's exaggerated reactions whenever she did something he thought was impossible told her it was more than that. Every member of the Midnight Guardians pack had only one ability, which applied even to Alphas, yet Talia clearly had more.
Axel and Damon said that things like sensing surroundings and precisely controlling the Alpha aura take years to master, yet she did it effortlessly.
And then there was Liseli, an ancient spirit that was raised by the Moon Goddess and was shrouded by many mysteries, just as Talia was.
However, no matter how curious Talia was, she didn't want to risk exposing Liseli. If people knew how special her wolf was, Talia would be in danger for much more than just being a female Alpha with magical powers.
After confirming that everything with Yasmin was fine, Talia asked Cassandra to show her the relics.
Axel, Yasmin, and Damon joined them as well.
They entered the archives of the Midnight Guardians pack.
The long and narrow room had tall shelves on each side, packed with books and rolls of parchment. Several tall ladders provided access to shelves that were at the top. There was no obvious categorization, but everything was neatly stacked, giving an impression it was organized.
Talia wondered if Axel read all those books with his ability. That was highly possible.
Cassandra led the way to a door that was in the back.
The room was dark and dusty, with old books and parchments scattered everywhere, some on the shelves, but most on the floor to create piles of mess. Faint squeaky sounds made Talia wonder if they had mice or rats here.
"How old are these?" Talia asked Axel.
Axel shrugged. "I was here once as a kid, and then the door was closed." He looked at Cassandra suspiciously. "I was not aware that the Oracle can come in here."
Cassandra turned to look at him. "This area is not off-limits. Anyone can come here. It's just that no one cared to see these old records." She continued talking to Talia. "I explored this place way before young Alpha Axel was born. Most of these are old ledgers about food, water, and other supplies, and there are notes people forgot to finish. Some list pack members and their occupations, but that information is now obsolete. You can think of this room as a place where we keep things we don't need anymore."
"And ancient relics are here?" Talia asked in disbelief.
Cassandra confirmed. "No matter what magical powers they possess, since no one can activate them, they are just trinkets."
Talia thought how some things didn't add up. If no one can activate them, then… "How did you know that the necklace resists magic?"
"There was a time when I thought I had answers to everything," Cassandra responded. "I was trying to figure out the nature of the relics, but nothing worked, so I left them here. About a few years ago, I had a vision that told me a necklace will be useful, and I found it here. Since then, I have carried it with me."
Cassandra paused while sorting her thoughts before continuing, "Another vision told me that the necklace could resist magic, and I took it with me when we headed to the realm of witches, thinking it would protect me from… whatever they were doing. But then I had another vision; a vision which included your guard, and you know the rest."
Talia was visibly disappointed. Part of her hoped that Cassandra would have universal answers, but that was not the case.
And there was one more point that rubbed Talia the wrong way. "If you had a vision of a guy coming after me, why didn't you warn me?"
Cassandra paused. "The vision was about your guard and the necklace. A man approached you with malicious intent, and I saw the woods. It was Keith's fate to rescue you."
"Wouldn't it be simpler if you told me to stay away from the woods?"
Cassandra looked at Talia like she had said something silly. "As an Oracle, I learned that some things shouldn't be said. I didn't know when or where it would happen. If I told you, would you stay away from the woods? Would you run away from anyone with dark hair?"
Talia pressed her lips into a line. Unless she cooped up inside, she would go into the woods. Actually, she would either become paranoid or dismiss the Oracle's warning as the rambling of a crazy woman. But still, this was about Talia's safety. Shouldn't she know about it?
Seeing Talia's stubborn expression, Cassandra shook her head. "My job is to do the minimum required in order to make it happen unless the vision tells me otherwise."
"Do you always blindly follow what your visions show you?"
"If it's not too troubling," Cassandra responded mysteriously, stopping at the end of the room. "Here we are."
Talia looked down to see a wooden chest that reached her knees. The red paint flaked brown due to its age.
"Disappointed?" Cassandra asked.
Talia confirmed. "When you said ancient relics, I was expecting display cases and not… this."
Cassandra chuckled. "This is not a museum, Alpha. Our kind doesn't care about material things, regardless of how old they are."
Talia had to agree with this. Werewolves were simple. They cared about food, clothes, the roof over their heads, and… mates. Pack and family were important, and many pack members were unmated. Why would they care about magic necklaces and whatever else was in that chest if they didn't have their other half?
Talia squatted and put her hand on the chest. Again, nothing. It was a plain, dusty chest.
Damon, Axel, and Yasmin stood on the side, eagerly waiting to see what was inside.
The rusty lock creaked when Talia flipped it, and then she opened the chest.
With a glance, Talia could see that most of it were jewelry. Necklaces and various chains, brooches, and gemstones. It was like a box of trinkets that belonged to a female. Talia put her hand inside and moved them around. There was a belt and a palm-sized dagger whose white hilt was embellished with emeralds.
