As Jared paced slowly around the massive stone door, discovered the hair-thin charms hidden inside the seam. They matched the human race charms had noticed earlier in the corridor.

“Looks like the only way through is with charm arts,” said, glancing over his shoulder. “Your ancestor’s legacy, does it mention how to dismantle a demon ward?”

Flaxseed shut his eyes and sifted through the knowledge the stone stele had force-fed into his mind.

A heartbeat later, his lids snapped open, bright with sudden certainty. “Yes! Positive and negative energy charms! Light counters dark, dark tempers light, together they neutralize the demons’ corrupt aura.”

He pulled two blank talisman papers from his robe. Guiding spiritual energy through his fingertips, traced one radiant golden charm, then another of deepest black.

The gold one pulsed with blazing positive energy, while the black one whispered with negative energy.

“Jared, cover me while I work!” Flaxseed slapped the gold charm to the left side of the door and the black one to its right. His fingers wove seal after seal while his lips poured out an ancient incantation.