Olivia sat on the stone floor of the basement apothecary. She'd swept the space clean, scattered salt in the pattern drawn in the book, then used a coal fragment to complete the circle. Ash from the burned edge of the ritual page completed the seal.
Her heart pounded as she pulled out a small needle and pricked her palm. The blood welled up slowly. She let it drip onto the center of the circle.
"Memoria Sanguis," she whispered.
The words tasted strange on her tongue, familiar and wrong at the same time.
For a moment, nothing happened and she let go of the breath she was holding. What was she even thinking? She must have been overwhelmed by the recent accidents and thinking too much. She took a step forward to leave the circle. But just then, the salt shimmered.
