I chant out loudly, the candles going out one by one in succession around us as though a puff is wafted in succession, followed by the fire. A second of darkness before all explode back to light with a combustive boom that creates tiny sparkles around the room. Like pouring lighter fuel onto a tiny ember of a flame and igniting a volcano eruption of light.

Cornel jumps to his feet in alarm, crying out in anguished pain like a dying animal, his body stiffening and twisting as he fights the internal agony. He grasps his heart with both hands, clutching at his chest as though to claw out what...