The vision Ivory, Moshi, and Poe had been witnessing began to unravel, ribbons of light tearing away in violent strips, dissolving into the humid, breathless heat of nighttime at the lake. They were back at the same haunted waters where she had once seen a spirit trapped, suspended in silence and sorrow.

The air pressed against her chest like a breath held too long But clarity melted, giving way to something darker. Something primal as understanding gave way to a heavier sensation... fear. The nobleman was here. Alive. And he had multiplied. Not once, but four total reflections of him emerged from the mist, each distorted and alive with power, each more ravenous than the last. All of them reaching for her and her wand. Her focus. Her center. Her.

Their fingers curled toward it like they already owned her, like they could feel the pulse of her magic through the air and with each beat of her heart. She clutched it tight, every muscle in her arms straining against their pulling and pushing, her breath shallow. Not long from now, they would gain full control of the wand.

It was more than just a tool, it was her anchor, the channel through which she moved the world. Without it, she was stripped bare, exposed to their hunger. The necromancer had sensed her. Through time. Through space. Through magic. He had tasted the tremble of her power in the air, and now he was here no longer hiding in the shadows, but craving control. He didn’t just want to take her. He wanted to consume her.

Was it to bury the crime he committed all those years ago? To silence the whispers of truth before they grew louder? Or was there more? It didn't matter, for soon, she would lose control and these questions wouldn't matter.

NOTES:------
The calm before all hell broke loose is in slot #2. Ivory was whisked back to the lake where she saw the apparition earlier that day. Poe and Moshi not in site but she could feel that something was about to take place.... something wicked this way comes.

Second image is the

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