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“What – what did you do to runted I could hardly speak My lips were frozen nearly as badly as the rest of my body

“Surely you know yourself,” Monica said, stepping around her kitchen counter so that it stood squarely between her and ht kind of glyphs, you can use ritual eometry to create a circle of protection, to lock out any kind of entity in existence Gods, angels, demons”

My heart pounded as ether I couldn’tdown my throat

“Ah,” Monica continued “So you’ve figured it out You can use wards to keep entities out But you can also use them to seal entities in And since only half of you is huels to keep you trapped here”

“No,” I groaned, the sweat pouring out oftofrom every one of my cells

“I should have ainst a regular angel, the sigils I dreould be enough to keep therel like you? The effect would be horrific Terrible” I gasped for breath through a slitted rin “With you surrounded by all these glyphs, the reaction would be catastrophic Si”

I forcedwhy it felt likehad changed, noacrosspot of water My teeth clenched together so tightly that I thought they would shatter

Florian banged his fists against the invisible wall Just behind hi with tears of pain as Quillsome sort of spell

Hurry, I thought I could die here

Just when I thought that the pain couldn’t get any worse, the proverbial pot burst, dropping round I screa wordlessly for the mercy of a swift death

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I thrashed wildly on the ground, ony, each convulsion ofmy joints and my bones to contort with horrible creaks and cracks I was too weak to screa itself froh my tears My back and my arms were soaked in sweat and blood

“Don’t be so draets better over tireater resistance to the pain – oh, after a few hours, or so”

“Not unless we kill you first,” said Florian’s voice, his tone brutish and threatening

Monica laughed again I twisted h to watch as Florian launched hi at the air in barbaric fury The witch’s body seeed and weaved away from every last one of his blows