Burning Star: A Twilight FanFic

Side Story 2- The Safe

GAVRILA'S POV

I was always good at getting myself into trouble. But this- this was beyond any sort of trouble I could've ever imagined.

I had come to Romania to have another of my infrequent, awkward visits with my uncle. Nikolai was never sure how to act around me. After all, his brother was the one who'd murdered my mother, and kept my locked in a basement for the first three years of my life. His brother, my sperm donor, was an absolute monster, and Nikolai didn't realize it until I'd already accidentally killed him. He never stopped feeling bad about that. 

After the visit, I took some time to wander aimlessly through the Carpathian mountains, camping in caves at night. I spent my days in contemplation. Though I didn't hate my uncle or his wife, I could never fully stop resenting them. Not only had they not realized what my abuser was doing, or even that I existed, despite being high ranking council officials, they refused to take me in when I was found. When I heard I had family, a word I was only vaguely familiar with, I had desperately hoped to find people to love me like my mother did. But they said they couldn't do it, and I was left as an orphaned council ward.

I knew now that it was the right decision. Nikolai and Aveline would've been horrible parents. They're uncomfortable with kids, they travel constantly, they party frequently, and in general, neither one of them has a parental bone in their body. But still, the rejection did its damage.

Eventually, I decided it was time to head back to my house in Alaska. I was wandering down toward the city of Piatra Neamt when I caught the faintest hint of magic energy. I reached out with my mind and quickly located its source. Enhancing my speed, I moved rapidly to investigate. The magic seemed to be coming from some kind of underground bunker. 

When I arrived at the spot I looked around for an entrance. There was a strangely mangled tree that caught my attention. A simple touch showed me that it was a very ancient gate. The magic was intricate, excessively so. I recognized this type of cast from what I'd seen from artifacts, old witches, and old books. This space was also untouched, untainted by modern times. The seal on this hideout hadn't been tampered with since it was cast. And it was at least 2 and a half thousand years old.

I gnawed on my lip. Technically, as an information broker and council informant, I did have the authority to investigate on my own. But something about this felt off. I weighed my curiosity against the bad vibes. As always, curiosity won.

First, I implanted a record of the seal's construction and aura and an image of the tree in my mind. I wanted to make sure everything was documented. Then I carefully assembled the sequence required to break it. 

My unique spell casting method, which only I used, was particularly useful for ancient seal breaking. Most witches used magic based on long spell sequences that were specific to every spell. No two formulas were the same. I on the other hand, casted spells that were built of a collection of formulas, allowing my magic to be far more customized. Ancient seals were far more intricate than modern seals, and often varied wildly in their construction, so being able to build a unique counter spell meant an easier break.

Whoever cast this was relatively powerful, but more than that, they were subtle. There were a number of seals layered on top of each other, all with highly specified powers. They all worked together to make it nearly impossible to find this place. I deducted that I only found it because the magic was so similar to my own that it resonated with me in a similar way it would to the original caster.

With a quick flash I found myself in an underground cave. I created an artificial light to radiate inside. The space was large, and was clearly a residence at some point. The construction was similar to what I'd seen in records of the long destroyed witch villages. Sitting on the small kitchen table was an ornate box. I gasped in shock.