Rain fell sideways in sheets. The trees at the clearing's edge bent under the wind. Lightning branched across the clouds - white, sharp, followed by thunder that shook the car's frame.
The figure stood at the center of the clearing. Coat soaked flat against his ribs. Hair plastered to his skull. The white-green glow at his sternum pulsed again - slow, steady, visible through wet fabric.
Ichiro's stone answered.
Under his cloak, at his shoulder, the brown-yellow light brightened. Fine lines of luminescence traced down his arm, lit for a second, and disappeared in the rain.
A Warden in the lead car cracked his window and shouted into the rain. "Identify yourself!"
The figure raised one hand. The wind in the clearing shifted - pulled toward his palm, drawn inward, the rain bending around him in visible curves.
