Book One – Chapter 1

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Yves tested it once more.

The boundary answered exactly as before.

Satisfied, he set the pendulum down precisely at the threshold, then looked back at Midnight and gave one short nod. They were finally close enough. Still kneeling, Yves unslung his rucksack and the Heartwood Stave strapped against it. He removed his coat and spread it over the left-hand boulder. The stone was painfully hot, but several layers of cloth made the surface bearable. Midnight climbed onto it and folded herself into the cramped recess with controlled discomfort. She tucked her limbs close beneath herself to minimise contact with the ground. Her ears remained divided between the storm beyond the rim and the open slope behind them.

Yves was equally attentive. Crouched beside her, he watched the opening between the stones and listened for any alteration in the storm’s pattern. His right hand hovered over the pendulum, the other held ready to cast. Outside, the arch endured strike after strike. Each discharge threw its exposed curve into sharp contours and violent shadow. Every impact breached the buried mass as pressure and vibration. Still, no bolt bent into the recess. Nothing reached around the ruin.