I reached past Val to look at it more closely.

The rune was small, pressed into the wood grain of the door near the upper corner, the kind of mark that would pass as a natural split in the wood if you weren't looking for it. Up close it had warmth. Not temperature exactly.

A pulse. Faint and rhythmic, like something on the other side of it was breathing.

It pulsed once under my fingers and I pulled my hand back.

Then I grabbed Val's shoulder and moved her away from the door.

"Don't touch ...