The reading Authority was at one hundred and thirty meters south-southeast when Vane first registered it at the sixteenth marker's dwell.
Not the pair themselves. Their mana signatures were distinct but not unusual. What was unusual was the Authority's output quality: sustained, low, running continuously rather than in the active bursts that combat or movement Authorities produced.
Vane's attention sharpened.
This was the specific frequency of something building a model rather than executing one. He'd seen this type once in the evaluation records Lyra had reviewed during preparation. A pair from the independent northern sections. Not in her four. Assessed as mid-tier, capable, not a genuine problem.
