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"Glyphs?" Tina repeated curiously. "So people used these glyphs to do magic in the past, like I did yesterday?"

"Looks like it." Charlotte agreed. "You're probably the first to do so for a thousand years or more, though."

"Wow! But if one spell knocked me out like that, how did they do it?" Tina said.

"Hmm..." Charlotte started looking through the book again. "Here!" she exclaimed, pointing out another group of glyphs. "The book says these glyphs are used to set boundaries to spells."

"Boundaries? What does that mean?" Tina asked.

"I think...it means that, without a boundary glyph, your spell has no limit on its duration or power. So it just drained power out of you until you ran out. If that is the case, you're lucky you didn't drain yourself to the point of death." Charlotte said somberly.

"Oh." Tina said softly. "I guess I need to do some more studying before I try to do that again."

Charlotte agreed heartily, so they went back to work on deciphering spell forms. This time Tina kept an eye out for boundary glyphs within the spell forms. She wouldn't even consider casting a spell like that again without setting a limit on it!

Tina went to bed exhausted that night, but happy that they were making such amazing progress.

The atmosphere at work the next day was strangely tense. Sarah was acting strangely, and Tiffany was watching her all the time. Tina could have sworn there was someone else there watching her, too, but she never spotted them. It was an odd feeling for her, almost like when she'd sensed magic being used while in the trance, though not as strong. She finally shrugged it off as her imagination and went on with her work.

After work was the usual routine, followed by more trance work. She'd managed to identify and define a couple of boundary glyphs by the end of the night, though she still wasn't entirely sure how to use them properly.

Tina was glad to see Friday finally arrive. With it being New Years Day, both stores were closed. She ended up spending half the day deciphering more glyphs before exhaustion finally forced her to take a break. At which point Charlotte decided to take a turn herself after asking Tina to wake her in a couple of hours.

When she did, Charlotte looked exhausted, as well. "You okay Grandma?" Tina asked.

Charlotte nodded tiredly, "Yes, it just takes a bit more out of me than it does you. Since you're doing so well deciphering the glyphs that make up spell forms, I decided to use my time experimenting with the glyphs themselves. It's a fascinating way to approach magic."

They were both so tired they took a nap before making dinner. While they were washing up afterward the phone rang and Charlotte answered it. Other than "hello", she said nothing and just listened with increasing worry. Finally, she said, "Thanks." before hanging up.

"What was that, Grandma?" Tina asked.

"A friend of mine. I've known her for a long time. She's a seer." Charlotte replied absently.

"A seer?! You mean she sees the future?" Tina asked excitedly. She had never heard of that kind of magic before!

"Yes, sometimes. Her gift has become more reliable in the last few years. She calls me whenever she has a vision she thinks I should know about. Most of the time it doesn't make any sense to me until after whatever it is happens, if then." Charlotte said.

"Well? What did she say?" Tina prompted.

"Oh, yes. It was as cryptic as ever, but still disturbing. She said that 'An agent of law watches over the ascendant one. The awakening has begun.' The rest of the conversation was her interpretation of it." Charlotte said.

"So, what did she think it means?" Tina asked.

"I've told her a little of what we've accomplished so far, so she thinks it's talking about you as the 'ascendant one'. She also thinks the awakening is the rest of the world learning about magic. Basically she thinks that our experiments are going to result in the exposure of the magical community because of this 'agent of law'." Charlotte said worriedly.

"So some cop or something is watching us?!" Tina exclaimed.

Charlotte didn't seem to hear her at first, lost in her own thoughts. Then she came back to the present with a jolt and laughed, "No, I don't think so. A name like the 'ascendant one' is too grand for what we're doing. You are going to be really powerful by our standards, but not that powerful! There must be another explanation for it. It could be something that isn't going to happen for years, after all."

Tina sighed in relief, "Good, I don't think I like the sound of that 'ascendant one' stuff. What about the awakening part?"

"It probably refers to the increasing amount of magical energy that is available these days. Perhaps sometime in the future it will reach a point where it will be impossible to keep magic a secret. Still not a very positive interpretation, but it's something I've been worrying about anyway. After all, what you did the other day probably wouldn't have been possible twenty years ago." Charlotte said thoughtfully.

"So this is probably something that we don't have to worry about for a few years, right?" Tina said hopefully.

"Probably. It could even take decades. Let's not worry about that and concentrate on getting a handle on glyphs. I think we have our hands full enough with that." Charlotte said. Tina was only too happy to agree.

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To Be Continued…

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