IT TOOK LITTLE TIME TO finish getting ready. Elena dressed in the garments specially created for this particular ritual. The long wide sleeves of the fitted ankle length navy tunic had certain crystals melded within the fabric to aid the rite; even the silk pants she wore beneath the tunic had crystals. It added unexpected weight to the garments.

Drying her wet hair with a thought, Elena bound her hair back with a length of black silk, tying it down so not a single strand ...