The luster of my aura intensified, stars swirling around me in a cyclone of glittering golden light. In the storm, a silhouette took shape. A heartbeat later, a powerful presence gripped the cathedral, dispelling the mist.
"Emlica," I greeted, holding my staff horizontally, clutched in two hands.
Emlica looked around, lips pursed in a frown. Her gaze focused on the shard, then on me.
"Not much for a cathedral, is it?" she asked.
"The elves are…modest," I said.
She harrumphed, returning her gaze to the shard. "Our time is wasting. Are you prepared?"
I nodded, stepping back amid my friends. They were watching Emilca carefully. Gayron, especially, seemed wary of the translucent mage.
"Then allow me a few minutes. This is going to require a lot of mana, so don't be alarmed," she warned me. "And before you ask, it's going to take the same to bring you home. Plan for five minutes, and a good third, maybe even half, of your mana."
"That much?" I gasped.
