The present day...
Outside the stronghold, the shadow dome shattered with a deep, rolling crack. The dark barrier that had hidden the place for so long simply fell apart.
Claire's body sagged at once. The pale blue glow that had been pouring off her skin for the last ten minutes flickered like a candle in the wind. It ran back down her arms, thinned at her fingertips, and went out. Her eyes, which had been burning white, faded back to their ordinary hazel, and she pitched forward.
Jessica caught her before she hit the dirt.
"I've got you," she gasped, taking the older woman's whole weight against her chest and going down on one knee to manage it. "I've got you, Ms Claire, I've got you."
It had all been the plan. Every part of it. A full Nexus could have brought that dome down without breaking a sweat, but a full Nexus was inside it, and so they'd done what they could with what they had.
