The night was still, almost too still. Even the wind had stopped. "This is eerie," Della whispered.
"Tell me about it," Jaden whispered back, "it sucks the life out of you."
"No comment." Della said wryly.
The recon team stood at the edge of the clearing east of the river bend, the ancient trees towering like silent witnesses. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, glinting off the obsidian glyph carved into the moss-covered stone slab embedded in the earth. A spiral. Subtle, almost beautiful.
But beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Knowing what this was, it became sinister, terrifying. It was a gateway to something built on blood, hatred, and cursed darkness.
Alexander stood at the front, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. He wasn't planning on using it, not unless things went wrong, but everything in his gut told him they could. Things could go wrong, fast. He wanted to be prepared for anything.
