Only the half of the square stone table where the oil lamp sat was illuminated. A round stone stool stood beside it, seemingly fixed to the ground and impossible to move.
Mister Riddell lifted his robes and sat down, while Shade stood behind him.
As Mister Riddell took his seat, a soft puff sounded from across the table. A faint yellow flame appeared in the dense darkness on the other side of the room, where no light could penetrate.
At a point almost symmetrical to the kerosene lamp beside Mister Riddell's hand, a short white candle appeared at the edge of the stone table's other side. The candle had been burned before, with wax pooled around its base.
Its flame was still only the size of a soybean, but it at least illuminated the other half of the table, as well as a hooded figure in black robes who had appeared on the other side.
The sight was especially terrifying. Until then, the darkness in the other half of the room had been utterly impenetrable. Therefore, neither Mister Riddell nor Shade could determine whether the figure had been sitting there all along, silently watching them converse, or had only just appeared.
The stranger's arrival seemed to turn the air in the room from gas to solid in an instant, freezing the entire chamber. Not only did their bodies feel restrained, but the pressure on Shade's spirit made him frown.
Mister Riddell gave an even more muffled groan and collapsed face-first onto the stone table before him. It took him quite some time to brace himself against the tabletop and raise his head.
Fine golden gleams appeared over Shade's clothes and skin. The information Mister Riddell had provided was actually correct. This table really had summoned a god.
It's just that