Book Three: Chapter 89

“I don’t get it. The Geas seems super powerful, but that woman outside was able to make serious progress in a matter of hours.”

“I wondered about the banging down here. The Geas, in a way, is just the shield. Now that you are the Caretaker, you must find a way to wield the sword. Bang on any shield long enough, and it will finally give.” Ratu set her goblet down. “The objects I was working with, however, were like barely contained wildfires.”

“Such as?”

“I would prefer not to say for reasons that will become clear. Another analogy. The Ark of the Covenant. You have heard of this, yes?”

“Indiana Jones?”

Ratu gave him an odd look. “No, it was created by Moses at the instructions of the Hebrew God. A powerful magical talisman that brought grave misfortune to anyone it considered an enemy. Fires, floods, boils. In the hands of the believer, however, it could confer divine blessings.

“Consider this. Magic is like energy. It cannot be destroyed once har