As her chant reached its crescendo, Crystal drew a blade from her cloak and, with a swift motion, slit the rabbit’s throat. Blood poured from the wound, dripping into the dark liquid below.
But instead of the expected reaction, a swirling vortex of power, the liquid in the bowl emitted a strange, grey smoke. Crystal froze, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“This is impossible,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “It... can’t be.”
One of the witches stepped forward cautiously. “High Priestess, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Crystal didn’t respond immediately. She stared at the smoke as though it had personally betrayed her. Finally, she turned to her coven, her voice sharp and unsteady. “The spell was rejected. It bounced back.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
“Rejected?” another witch as
