THE SUMMONING
CHAPTER 1
The storm outside was putting on a show. Rain rattled the windows, thunder rolled low enough to vibrate the floorboards, and lightning painted the attic in quick, sharp flashes of white.
Perfect.
I stood barefoot in the center of the chalk circle I’d drawn hours ago, breathing in the cloying mix of candle wax and iron. My hair stuck to my cheeks from the heat of the flames, the air thick with smoke from the incense I’d stolen from Madame Lovain’s locked cabinet.
The runes on the floor shimmered faintly in the candlelight—tight, precise lines I’d traced over three times until the chalk dug into the grain of the wood.
“You look like hell,” I muttered to my own reflection in the black mirror propped against the wall. “But that’s fine. He won’t care.”
He. The inc
