Darius's Pov

Elder Nahara spent the entire next day preparing for the ritual and I watched her work with growing concern. She was gathering ingredients from the forest and mixing them into strange combinations that smelled terrible and looked even worse. She was also drawing symbols on the floor of her cabin using some kind of powder that glowed faintly in the firelight.

"What are all these symbols for?" I asked as she worked.

"They are protective wards that will contain Kieran's spirit once it is separated from Soraya. Without these wards the spirit would be free to attack us or escape into the forest where it could possess another...