It wasn't until Sassy cried out and I felt the presence of my father I grasped the full extent of what Batsheva planned. She floated the granite effigy of Haralthazar into the circle before closing it tightly behind him. His statue settled in the pentagram, cold and lifeless, but an open vessel for his presence.

Sassafras cried out again, ending in a hissing, snarling growl. He pulled himself free of Meira's arms and dragged his horribly damaged cat body toward the statue, ...