The silver dust swirled for a long moment, suspended in the stale air like it was deciding something. Then, with a slow sweep, it drifted downward and settled across the floor of the tunnel. At first it looked random, just a spill of glittery powder. Then the pieces shifted. They lined up. They brightened.
A thin glowing line stretched forward along the stone floor, perfectly straight, as deliberate as a blade drawn across the ground.
“Great,” I muttered. “Asterin’s breadcrumb trail. Super trustworthy. Nothing screams safety more than sparkly ghost dust.”
Felix looked at me like he wanted to agree but did not want to encourage my coping mechanisms. Ember, however, made a tiny noise of distress and shuffled behind him, as if the glowing line might leap up and grab her legs.
Nathan was l
