With Sister Devlin's final blessing, the bonfire behind them suddenly flared. Centered on the bonfire, the flames flowed along the Ritual Traces laid out on the ground beforehand. Within a few breaths, fiery red lines had illuminated the entire courtyard.
Those winding patterns and Ancient Runes danced beneath the starlight. The flickering firelight made them increasingly three-dimensional, increasingly real.
At the same time, the flames flowing across the ground passed Shade and Sister Devlin, following the gutters on either side of the path toward the mansion ahead. But they turned at the mansion steps, splitting into two streams that extended to either side and encircled the entire building.
The nuns beside the path shook bells, raised porcelain bottles, and gently waved white banners. Meanwhile, the two high-ring nuns at the entrance pulled open the mansion doors together.
In an instant, white fog representing the boundary between two worlds poured out like a roaring beast. Yet as it moved away from the doors, it grew thinner and thinner, stopping its spread precisely at the edge of the courtyard. The courtyard's firelight danced within the mist, keeping the boundary firmly in place.
Beneath his feet was still the land of the Material World, but the World of the Dead had seeped into it as well.
Shade said nothing more and walked forward along the path. The white fog seemed thickest on the path, and as he walked through it, he could not even see the nuns on either side.
Yet he could still hear the nuns whispering softly. They were praying to death itself, using archaic words and old grammar that seemed to pull time back to the Old Era, when everyone revered death.
Outlander, you have felt a Miracle.
Outlander, you have felt Blasphemy.
Outlander, you have felt Enlightenment.
Outlander, you