Eternal Embrace by Evelyn Winters

Author:Evelyn Winters [Winters, Evelyn]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2023-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Kira shoved aside the overgrown brambles, her boots crunching on the gravel path. Behind her, Ezra, Eli, and Mia peered through the tangle of vines at the mossy stone structure nestled against the side of the cabin. After the failure of her one try at shape-shifting, she walked the perimeter of the cabin, that’s when she found the ruins and had raced to gather the others.

"What the hell is this thing?" Kira muttered. She reached out, brushing dirt from the weathered symbols etched into the stone. They almost seemed to glow for an instant before fading back into the lichen.

Eli stepped up beside her, eyes wide. "I always thought it was an old well, but you’re right. It looks like a passageway almost.”

Kira's heart quickened, her palms tingling. "I’m going to see if I can get through." Without waiting for the others, she grasped the iron handle set into the stone door and pulled with all her strength. The ancient hinges creaked and groaned in protest.

Mia laid a hand on Kira's shoulder, her purple eyes glinting in the sun. "Careful. We have no idea what's down there."

Kira shrugged off Mia's hand, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She had to know what laid on the other side, she had to move, to act, to do something. An electric current ran through Kira's body and she gasped as the door finally swung open, revealing a dark staircase descending into the earth. She took a tentative step forward, the cool, damp air rushing over her skin. This was it. No turning back now.

"Well, are you boys really going to let me go down on my own?" She glanced back at the others, steeling her nerves. "Let's see where this damn thing goes."

Kira descended the stone steps cautiously, one hand trailing along the moss-covered wall to steady herself. The air grew colder and damper with each step, her breath a frozen plume of exhaled air. She had to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust to the dim greenish light. She could hear the steady steps of the others behind her.

At the base of the stairs, the passageway opened into a larger chamber, the stone ceiling arching overhead. Strange symbols were carved into the walls, illuminated by shafts of sunlight from occasional cracks and crevices above. Whatever this place was, it didn’t appear to be very structurally sound. She reached out to touch one of the symbols, a circle bisected by a winding line.

"What do you think these mean?" she asked as the others gathered behind her.

Ezra stepped up beside her, frowning as he examined the carvings. "No idea. But this place must be ancient. I've never seen anything like it."

Mia nodded, drifting over to the far wall. "And look - there are more tunnels branching off from here. This must connect to something bigger."

Kira felt a shiver run down her spine. It was like a spider’s web underneath the forest floor. She glanced over at Eli, who was running his fingers along a series of spiraling shapes carved into the stone.

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