I used my finger to push one of the artifacts out of the circle, and instantly, the other ones stopped glowing when I did that. The moment I moved it, the magical energy that had been pulsing and radiating from the circle faded. A quiet stillness fell over the area. It seemed so simple, but it was enough to throw the entire ritual off course.

At the time, I didn’t realize that if I moved just one of the objects, then they would have to start from the beginning all over again. The ...