Chapter 22

Half an hour passed without the black robe's return and Uriel was becoming very worried. He had tried to go back to sleep but it was futile. His subsequent pacing did nothing to relax him either. He was convinced something drastic or unfortunate had happened. Another quarter hour elapsed and just when he persuaded himself to leave her room, Eyrmysse walked in, looking very tired and on edge.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Uriel asked.

"There has been a horrible incident. The Rune of Destruction is missing."

"What?" Uriel said in an alarmed tone.

"Someone or something has managed to remove it from the barrier in the Sanctum."

"I don't believe it," Uriel said, still astonished. "How?"

The black robe ran a hand through her hair. "I do not know."

"When did it happen? Just now? You've been gone for over an hour."

"It must have happened earlier in the night. I sensed something wrong in my sleep. I was having nightmares about the Rune and when I awoke, I felt compelled to visit the Sanctum. When I arrived there, I found the room in disarray, Qenthyeffe under some sort of spell and the Rune gone."