I leaned back against Kaspar, my heart drumming frantically in my chest. The silence was heavier than the noise had been. It was like a thick expectant pressure that made my skin tingle. My palm burned where the cut had met the crystal, but it didn’t hurt like an injury. It was something electrical. I could feel Kaspar — really feel him — vibrating with the same energy as the stones beneath my feet.
“The peak,” I whispered, and the words, soft as they were, echoed off the walls.
“The peak,” Kaspar agreed. He didn’t let go of me immediately though. He seemed to be drinking in the stillness. His eyes searched the dark obsidian dome above us. “The Great Bell has aligned the mountain. We must go now though. We have to start the ritual.”
He led me to a narrow, vertical fissure at the back
