The word remained in John's mind long after the golden light vanished from the northern hills.
*Finally.*
Whatever lay beneath the earth had spoken as though it had been waiting for someone. Not the Legacy's bearer, according to the black crystal, but someone who should have reached the sleeping heart centuries ago.
John didn't like the sound of that.
He had spent enough time following ancient trails to know that the past rarely stayed buried just because people stopped talking about it. The Legacy had already shown him that its history was more complicated than the stories passed down through generations. Now, just when they had begun to understand the role of the witnesses, something beneath the northern hills had awakened and spoken as if an appointment had finally been kept.
The problem was that nobody knew who was supposed to arrive.
John turned toward the woman in gray.
"You said the sleeping heart has never called anyone before. How do you know that?"
