Traces of Dark Magic

“Mateo, did you spot that?” I hissed underneath my breath as I crouched near the scorched earth of the old battleground. The night time air changed into chill and damp, and each step I took made the soil crunch beneath my boots. I turned to my 2nd-in-command, Mateo, who was hovering nearby with a wary expression.

“See what, Lawrence?” he replied, his voice low and edged with tension. “You suggest the glint of light within the dust over there? It looked like… ...