The hole was deeper than it looked.
Sera stood at its edge, feeling the warm air rising from below. It smelled of earth and stone and something else — something metallic, like old blood dried on steel. The darkness at the bottom was absolute, swallowing the moonlight as if it had a hunger of its own.
"We go down," she said.
"Or we burn it," Dax said. "Seal it. Whatever's down there stays down there."
"It's already moving." Sera looked at him. "The wolves. The villages. Whatever's in there, it's not staying put. Better to face it on our terms than wait for it to come to us."
Dax's jaw tightened. But he nodded.
Ryder found a path — a narrow stairway carved into the stone, spiraling down into the dark. It was ancient, the edges worn smooth by centuries of use. By feet that had walked th
