Avery stood in the middle of the woodland, her breath creating clouds in the bloodless air. The crystal Lucas had carried was long gone, its brightness absorbed into her chest. She should feel it beating weakly inside her, like a heartbeat that wasn't quite her own.
Her thoughts became clear, her emotions distant. There has only been one thought that has kept her going: prevent the event.
The words were not hers, but they rang in her mind as if they were engraved there. She could not recall who had spoken them or how she knew what they meant. Everything she knew shifted into that something loomed—a moment of disaster on the verge of truth. And only she may wish to save it for you.
The air surrounding her shimmered and rippled, like disturbed water. Her body tightened as intuition warned her that something had gone wrong. Before she could pass, the ground beneath her toes vanished, and she fell into darkness.
