Observed, that

• John Matteson appears to have above-normal physical strength
• John Matteson has a consistent, but not unusual, workout routine
• John Matteson is an Anchor, a partially-spirit being
• Anchors are believed to have a lower ontological gap, meaning their metaphysical selves more closely interact with their physical selves than the average human
• Father Benedict de Monte may have physical strength at least as potent as John Matteson’s
• Father Benedict de Monte is slightly taller but less muscular than John Matteson
• Father Benedict de Monte has not maintained a consistent weightlifting routine in the three years he has been traveling with Akshainie
• Father Benedict de Monte is a nephil, a being with one physical and one metaphysical parent
• If the theory of ontological gaps is accurate, nephilim have no appreciable ontological gap, meaning Benedict’s metaphysical self should interact fully with his physical self
• Lord Zachariah Hudson is likely a nephil and could possibly shed insight into this matter, but I cannot ask without revealing how I know he’s likely a nephil
• I have recently had latent metaphysical energy unlocked within myself
• It is possible that I would notice a minor increase in physical strength if I had maintained records of my baseline ability
• I do not know how to replicate that process
• Specimens like John and Benedict are rare and I am in an unusual position to study them both

Therefore

• It is distinctly possible that the addition of metaphysical energy to the physical form increases the physical power of one’s body
• If I can verify a correlation between physical strength and proposed ontological gap, it would not only prove that metaphysical energy can be converted to physical energy, but that the ontological gap is a real element of human nature
• Correlation would require that I rule out any other explanations, which will require additional tests
• I am not a specialist in human muscular efficiency, but I may be able to find one through my school
  
• If a strictly metaphysical concept such as the ontological gap can be proven, it opens the door to scientifically study magic itself
  
• If I can develop a method for understanding how metaphysical energy interacts with physical bodies, I may be able to find new ways to apply metaphysical energy to the development, sustaining, and repairing of biological systems
• I should get as much data on both John and Benedict as I can before (or in case) I lose contact with one or both of them

We were walking back from the restaurant when Matteson suddenly stopped and started staring off into space, his nose flaring as if he smelled something foul and goosebumps erupting on his arms. I stepped forward to look him in the face and barely stopped myself from jumping back when I saw his eyes, dilated and bloodshot.

“John?” I asked, resting my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” He muttered a reply, almost in a droning voice, then met my gaze and told me he was sensing the flow of magic from the site being activated. So he frantically called Benedict and, after telling him what was going on, turned back to me.

“I guess I should call you a cab,” he said. “Sorry our date has to end like this.”

“Absolutely not!” I crossed my arms and stared into those seemingly bottomless eyes. “You are in no condition to go alone, and I’m certainly not letting you walk into some nest of evil without some kind of backup!”

“What are you talking about? I feel fine.”

“You don’t see what I see.”

“Okay, we can talk about that later, but, this might be dangerous.”

“Yeah! And you’re not doing it alone.”

“Alice—”

“We can stand here arguing about it or we can follow the trail. Your call, babe.”

He sighed and nodded, and off we went. It was weird watching him, he moved almost like a bloodhound, his eyes always fixed on something that wasn’t visible to me, his attention fully absorbed in the sensory trail he was following. I realized how accustomed to it he must be when I realized he was still aware of things like traffic and obstacles, but it was impossible to tell he was aware of anything physical until he reacted to it. We didn’t talk the whole way. I was thankful I’d worn flats when I realized we were leaving the town center, and more so when we finally stopped outside an abandoned stone manor nearly a half hour later.

Following the trail as we were, we arrived at a plain wall instead of the door. We went around the building, like we had for other obstacles along the way, but by the time we were around the other side he whispered to me that the energy wasn’t continuing on from this place. Whatever was happening was happening here. So we crept back around, listening for any sign of activity, and I peeked in a couple windows as we went until I got a view of the parlor through a broken door. I tapped his shoulder and waved him toward the window, and we watched as four people in hooded robes paced around a large basin. We couldn’t hear them, but when we saw the basin his eyes narrowed.

“I think they’re scrying,” he whispered.

“That’s the bit where you watch things elsewhere?” I asked, and he nodded. “Do we have any way to know what they’re scrying on?”

“Not from here. Jackie or Michael probably could, though.” We both slipped away from the window and he called Benedict again, explaining where we were and what we’d found. As he was talking, he made his way to the corner of the house and I followed. We saw a pair of headlights appear over a rise down the road, then park, and Matteson confirmed he saw them before hanging up. “Now comes the fun part,” he said, turning to me. “You can still go to the car.”

“Not a chance,” I said. “If this is what you do on a regular basis, I want to know what it’s like.” He grudgingly accepted that answer, and we went to get into position. It had apparently been agreed upon by the others that they could handle the cultists themselves, if Matteson cut off their extra power while I played lookout to tell him when to stop. I asked how he intended to do that, and he led me back to the wall where we originally arrived at the house and explained that the energy was flowing along a ley line, where he was now standing.

“Ley lines are pretty durable,” he explained, closing his eyes and cracking his knuckles. “The simple presence of an Anchor on one isn’t enough to disrupt them, unless it’s over some years, like if I lived on one or at a nexus site. But I can serve as a dam on one, or cap a nexus site entirely, if I try hard enough.”

“Have you ever tried that before?”

​“No. But Jackie’s told me about it, apparently she’s seen the results of it.” He slowed his breathing and began moving his hands as if pushing down against resistance, and soon I could taste a bit of static in the air. There was a faint, tangible crackle, and then something like a pop. I heard the people inside react immediately, apparently aware their power was gone, and got to the window just in time to see Michael’s team charge in.