Chapter 252

Sierra carefully opens the little vial and dips the very tip of her stone into it before gently closing it and laying it aside. She is careful not to touch her stone again and lets it hang over the map and still by itself as she concentrates and regulates her breathing to keep her hand steady. “Bring those candles, all four, from there. One on each corner of the map.” She points at a bookcase behind me with a nod, and I quickly move to collect four tapered candles in silver holders from the shelf and put them on the table. Moving them to the corners I can reach and handing Meadow the other two to lay out for me. Sierra clicks her fingers, and all four light immediately, with blue flames, like the passageway and lighting in here. She holds her pendulum still over the center of the map, closes her eyes as her hands begin to glow, and travels up as far as her elbows. She stays motionless and still as a statue as she softly utters the words with a faint breath that we almost don’t hear. “