The moon still hung high when the dust settled. The shattered glass of the destroyed mirror glimmered faintly, fragments reflecting the torchlight like fractured stars.
Darenn crouched among the debris, the scent of smoke and lightning thick in the air. His hand brushed over a faint mark scorched into the marble, a circular rune, drawn in spiraling curves.
"Wait," he muttered. He leaned closer, tracing the outline with his fingers. The groove pulsed faintly in response to his touch, as though still alive. His eyes narrowed. "This isn't a summoning seal… this is a resonance mark."
Irving, wiping soot from his hammer, looked over his shoulder. "Resonance with what?"
Darenn didn't answer immediately. His pulse quickened as he took something from his pocket. The locket. The moonlight hit it just right, and for a second, the same pattern shimmered across its backplate.
Irving saw it, too. "Irving says that's not good."
"No," Darenn agreed grimly, standing. "It's worse than that."
