Panic surged through Glint.

No. No, no, no. According to all the research he and Eido had done on the Headless Ones over the years, this shouldn't have been possible. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen. Nothing in this room was real, or at least shouldn't have been able to power a ritual—the book! It had to have been the book.

The teens were lost in the trance of their spell, a palpable energy lifting them slowly from the ground.

This was only supposed to be a prank! Glint tried once more to reach out to the Vanguard, to Crow, but his radio was eating static. He did the next best thing.

"Hey!" he shouted. It worked instantly. The startled teens yelled in surprise and, with their concentration broken, tumbled to the ground with loud thuds.