In Backlund's East Borough, heavy curtains covered the windows of a room lit only by a few flickering candles.
Sitting at the head of the bed, Tracy gathered her black curls and stared unblinkingly at the clock on the wall.
When the hour hand reached ten, she rose at once. Her slender figure swayed in the candlelight as she walked seductively to the Full-Length Mirror, then raised her right hand and brushed it across the glass.
A layer of black flame sprang up, silently burned through the air, and vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The mirror it left behind had become dark and deep.
Light and shadow shifted within it, swiftly revealing a spacious hall paved with dark stone slabs and supported by eight pillars of the same color.
It was a scene from an underground ruin, and the place where Tracy and her mother had an unspoken agreement to exchange items.
Before long, a figure in a simple, immaculate white robe appeared in the ruins. It was the White Saintess, Katarina. She turned toward Tracy and met her daughter's eyes for two seconds, then smiled faintly, like a painting come to life.
The sudden sight of her mother startled Tracy. In all their previous contacts, she had never actually seen her.
But Tracy quickly recovered. A trace of joy entered her eyes, and she parted her lips to ask eagerly:
"Mother, did you manage to break free of his control?"
As Tracy saw it, the fact that her mother had appeared instead of capturing her said enough.
Katarina shook her head and replied in a teasing tone:
"No. I lost...
"I came to see you on Master's orders."
Tracy's heart skipped a beat. She nearly cut the connection and fled on the spot, but she was a