I miss the warmth of his hug the moment he urges me forward, but try not to think about it. My position for this ritual is the center point Sebastian marked on the map with an X. It's just grass. No plaque, no monument. Just earth and the energy of ley lines converging beneath the surface.
I sit cross-legged. Asher settles opposite me, close enough that his presence steadies me.
"If anyone asks, we’re meditating," he murmurs.
"Got it."
I close my eyes and breathe.
The world doesn't disappear—I still hear the breeze rustling leaves, and the distant hum of car engines—but I sink beneath it. Down into the place where magic hums.
I reach for the first thread.
Rowan's shadow magic flares to life at the standing stones. Dark and cool, wrapping around the anchor point like smoke given form. I feel her—steady, focused, a little defiant even now. I feel the power of her guardians, too.
Thornhill has sent us powerful help.
Sebastian's spirit magic joins next, rising from the cemetery. It carries the weight of old souls, history pressed into bone and stone. Clinical. Precise.
Then Wylder. His magic unfurls like roots breaking through soil—earthy, warm, alive. It smells like rain and growing things.
Clara's water magic flows in, gentle but relentless. A current that shifts and bends but never stops.
Izzy's animal magic pulses—soft and fierce all at once, protective in a way that makes my chest tighten.
Orion is right there with her, adding to their combined thread of power.
Mica's metal magic snaps into place last, sharp-edged and unyielding. She anchors it like a bolt driven through stone.
They're all here—all connected.
I pull their magic—and the magic of the others who have joined us—toward me, weaving it together to create a web that spans across Emberwood.
The mistake we made last time was to cast from one point and push outward. This ritual has us blanketing the town with a grid of magical intention.
The energy builds—magical streams reaching over the vastness of Emberwood, connected and bolstered by the natural power of the ley line convergences.
And I'm at the center, anchoring it all together.
My spirit magic is stronger than theirs. Maybe that’s because it was bound and locked away for so many years, or maybe it’s because I’m an Emberwood Elite.
I doubt I’ll ever know.
But maybe, if all happens the way it is meant, me being here right now, having lived through what I did, is all part of the Goddess Mother’s plan.
Lend me strength, Goddess Mother. Help me free the innocent from the hold of a wicked beast.
As always, the response to my prayer comes immediately. And with her blessing comes a powerful calm.
I push my intention outward.
The strands of my web expand, becoming a net, rippling across Emberwood like a shockwave made of light and intention. I feel it stretch—over rooftops, through alleyways, down streets and into homes.
I’m connected to the others as they stand at their posts.
I sense the sigils as our web of magic washes over them.
They're everywhere. Dozens of them. Targeted marks clinging to souls like burrs, feeding off the negative energy of people. Draining them to bolster him.
