Chapter 411

Kieran grimaced as he handed over seven rite-passing seals, clearly feeling the sting of the cost. Valerie took them, murmured a short incantation, and the seals lit on their own. A moment later, she dropped the burning seals into the box and exhaled, her expression softening. "Let go of what you're clinging to. Withdraw the murderous energy. In your next lives, may you land somewhere better." Maybe the rite worked. Maybe it was just the world balancing itself. Either way, when the last seal burned down, the stink in the air thinned out and vanished. Almost at the same moment, the ground less than 20 feet from the gate suddenly collapsed. Someone blurted, "My goodness! Was that an earthquake?" Valerie's lips curved into a sly smile. "That wasn't an earthquake. The anchor has finally revealed itself." Lora was visibly shaken. "Anyone capable of leaving an anchor behind in a broken geomancy array must be a mystic master." Valerie agreed. "I figured as much. If it were a hack job,