The vault door sealed with a dull stone thud.
Thomas Black turned toward the laboratory stairs, already moving.
"Stay behind me," he said quietly.
Petra nodded, gripping the lantern with both hands as its light trembled across the stone walls.
The laboratory beyond the vault lay in darkness except for the faint blue glow of dormant glyph arrays.
And somewhere above them, another footstep.
Slow and Careful.
Black stepped into the laboratory, his eyes adjusting to the low light.
"Whoever you are," he said calmly, "you've picked an unfortunate night to trespass."
No response.
Petra whispered behind him.
"Maybe it's just a servant-"
Black shook his head slightly.
"Servants don't walk like that."
Another sound came from the far side of the room.
Metal scraping.
Black moved toward it silently.
The workshop tables loomed like dark islands between them and the far wall.
Petra lifted the lantern higher.
The light stretched across scattered instruments, crystal lenses, and stacks of old schematics.
Then, a shadow moved.
Black lunged forward.
"Stop!"
The figure bolted.
A hooded silhouette darted around the workbench, knocking a tray of glass vials to the floor.
They shattered loudly.
Petra gasped.
Black vaulted the table and gave chase.
The intruder reached the stairwell first, sprinting upward toward the estate.
Black followed two steps behind.
"Running only confirms guilt!" he shouted.
The figure didn't slow.
They burst into the ground-floor corridor at full speed.
Moonlight spilled through the tall windows, casting long pale bars across the polished floor.
The intruder slipped slightly on the stone but recovered instantly, racing toward the rear hall.
Black gained ground.
"Stop!"
The figure turned suddenly.
A flash of silver.
Black barely managed to twist aside as a small throwing blade sliced through the air where his chest had been.
It clattered against the wall behind him.
The intruder used the moment to sprint again.
Black cursed under his breath and pushed harder.
They raced past the grand staircase.
Through the dining hall.
Down the long eastern corridor.
The intruder moved like someone familiar with the estate.
Too familiar.
Black closed the distance just as they reached the rear doors.
He grabbed the hood.
The fabric tore away.
The intruder spun around, and Petra's voice echoed down the corridor.
"Wait!"
Black froze.
The lantern light caught the intruder's face.
Petra arrived seconds later, breathless.
Her eyes widened.
"Lucien?"
Lucien Vale stood before them, his breathing sharp and uneven.
His usually immaculate hair was disheveled, and the sleeve of his coat was smeared with dust.
Black released his grip slowly.
"Well," he said flatly.
"This is interesting."
Lucien glared at him.
"You're lucky I didn't aim that blade properly."
Black gestured toward the corridor.
"You broke into a murder investigation and attempted to stab the detective."
Lucien brushed dust from his coat.
"I wasn't aiming for you."
"Comforting."
Petra stepped closer.
"What are you doing here?"
Lucien hesitated.
Then sighed.
"I came looking for the same thing you did."
Black's eyes narrowed.
"The vault."
Lucien nodded reluctantly.
"You knew about it?"
"Not exactly," Lucien admitted. "But after your little interrogation yesterday, I started reviewing Alabaster's old design logs."
Petra frowned.
"You never told me that vault existed."
"I didn't know it did," Lucien said sharply. "But the energy routing diagrams didn't make sense unless there was a private control chamber somewhere."
Black studied him carefully.
"So you broke into the estate to confirm your theory."
Lucien folded his arms.
"I came to protect the grid."
Black raised an eyebrow.
"That's generous."
Lucien met his gaze.
"If the control plate is missing, the inheritance system becomes unstable."
Petra's eyes widened.
"What do you mean unstable?"
Lucien looked toward the laboratory stairs.
"It means whoever stole the plate can redirect the siphon flows."
Black's voice remained calm.
"Redirect them where?"
Lucien's answer came quietly.
"Into themselves."
Petra's lantern shook slightly.
"You mean someone could absorb all that power?"
Lucien nodded once.
"Yes."
Black leaned against the wall, processing the information.
"And you're absolutely certain the plate is missing?"
Lucien stared at him.
"You opened the vault, didn't you?"
Black said nothing.
Lucien's expression darkened.
"You idiots."
Petra blinked.
"What?"
Lucien pointed toward the laboratory.
"If the plate was taken, then the thief didn't just steal a device."
He lowered his voice.
"They stole the heart of the inheritance grid."
Black straightened.
"Which means?"
Lucien's gaze moved between them.
"It means the next siphon event won't be subtle."
Petra swallowed.
"How bad?"
Lucien answered with unsettling calm.
"Catastrophic."
The corridor fell silent.
Then, a faint pulse of blue light flickered through the windows.
All three of them turned.
The distant skyline of Corvalis glowed faintly for a brief moment. Like a heartbeat.
Black's voice dropped to a whisper.
"That…"
Lucien finished the thought.
"…was a grid fluctuation."
Petra's breath caught.
"But that's impossible."
Lucien shook his head slowly.
"No."
His voice was grim.
"It means the plate is already being used."
Black stared toward the glowing city.
Then he spoke the words none of them wanted to hear.
"Someone just activated the inheritance siphon."
And somewhere in Corvalis, someone was about to receive far more magic than any human was meant to hold.