As promised, Raffé began to feel warm, and as though hundreds of buzzing insects were rubbing against his skin. He let out a soft sigh, relieved it was quite simple a matter after all. Håkon smiled briefly at him, but it was distracted, his eyes focused on the floor. Raffé looked down and saw the rune circle was glowing, and as he watched, it shifted from indigo to blue and then quickly turned green.
He began to feel hot, clammy, the buzzing turning more into sharp pinpricks. His chest felt tighter, and he could not draw a deep breath. The circle slowly moved from green to yellow, and as it turned orange, the pinpricks turned into real pain, and Raffé sucked in a sharp breath, biting his lip to avoid crying out.
The circle turned red, and Leifsson muttered something he could not quite ca
