The room’s door ripped off its hinges.

I lunged, grabbing Shannon’s wrist hard enough to bruise.

“Back!” I yanked her behind me as the violet claws surged.

It’s jagged, grasping fingers of darkness that shredded the wooden beams above us. Splinters rained like shrapnel.

Shannon’s lighter clattered to the floor, her face was bone-white in the violet glow.

“Lua—Luna!” she choked, the old childhood name spilling out raw. “What’s in that thing?!”

“I don’t know, Shannon,” I choked out, still gripping her arm as violet smoke thickened around us. My voice wavered, but I forced the words steady. “But whoever bound this amulet… they knew we’d try to burn it.”...