The light from the circle had not yet completely faded.
It no longer exploded outward.
But pulsed.
Deeply.
Rhythmically.
Like the breath of something that had just awakened.
Daniel stood rigid at the edge of the circle.
His eyes stared at the empty space in its center.
The spot where the child had vanished seconds earlier.
"It… has fully activated…" his voice was faint.
Leonard Graves slowly ran a hand over his face.
"And we've lost the only one who knew how to turn it off. Brilliant."
Richard Blackwood did not reply.
He stood a little closer.
His gaze pierced through the light.
Searching.
Assessing.
"No," he said finally.
Daniel turned quickly.
"What?"
Richard lifted his chin slightly.
"She hasn't disappeared."
Silence fell.
Daniel looked back into the circle.
More focused.
Deeper.
And for a split second
he saw something.
A silhouette.
Faint.
Like a shadow behind water.
"She… is still there…"
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
