Dad paced the pentagram while Sassy sat just outside it, tail thrashing back and forth, a soft cloud of silver hair floating in the air around him. Dad looked up at me as I descended, hurrying forward to hug me when my feet hit concrete.

I sagged into his arms for a moment, the warmth of his body not quite offsetting the hard edges of his diamond statue, the form of the effigy still present beneath the spirit filling it.

"Syd," he whispered. "It's going to be ...