The morning’s crisp air prickled Kamira’s skin as she drew an elaborate circle outside the cave. The ground resisted, and the lines were far from perfect, adding frustration to her anxiety. Veranesh hovered in the nightfly’s body, but spoke little, letting her work. With weeks spent in the cave, they’d had enough time discussing the plan while they worked on the circle, so all there was left was to test it.
“Can you control the demonling once I summon it?” she asked. “I saw Uganel doing it.”
“Uganel was here, in this world, in flesh, and unrestricted,” Veranesh replied. “But I should be able to manage one long enough.”
She sighed. Recreating the ritual from centuries ago had proven more of a challenge than expected, and her lack of knowledge brought a whole new array of emotions. The th
