It wasn't long before I knew they were there. They must have parked farther out and walked in, which was why they'd taken a little longer, but they were there.
I could feel their life forces approaching when I extended my senses, reaching out through the forest's rich green to find the smudges of alpha-red and regular old werewolf-orange.
Landon reached across our carefully arranged spell components, holding one hand palm-up and the other palm-down. I matched him, and we joined hands, going into that space under the mundane world where the energies flowed, visible to those with the talent and training to see them.
The book's incantation only required one vocalization, so I let Landon take the lead on that, concentrating on echoing his meaning with my own power.
The spell built between us. It layered, and folded, and started to thrum with magic.
