“Maybe it’s one of the knights,” Willow suggested. “Maybe he doesn’t like us being here.”
“Go to the corners,” Landyn instructed. “When it comes again, follow it.”
The stale air was disturbed by the shuffling of feet as they moved. Raven tracked the length of the coffin with her fingers to orient herself. Her other arm was outstretched, searching for the corner.
“Ow,” Sage said. “I’m here.”
“Sorry,” Willow murmured.
The sound came again, echoing through the crypt, bouncing off the rock walls, and reverberating through the air. It grew louder as it filled the room, making it difficult to tell where it originated.
Raven crouched, her heart pounding. The indistinguishable moan from the dark seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. Goosebumps prickled her skin, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the noise rose and then slowly died away, leaving her unable to pinpoint its origin.
“Anything?” Landyn asked.
Raven shook her head even though Landyn couldn’t see her.
“Keep searching,” he said. “When it happens again, track it.”
The space was so still that the only sound Raven heard was her shallow breaths and the faint rustle of her clothing. The air felt thick and heavy around her, laden with the musty stench of death. Waiting for the haunting wail to begin again, Raven grasped the coffin’s edge.
Nothing happened.
She waited.
Just when she was about to straighten, the low rumble of a moan echoed through the crypt, followed instantaneously by the shuffling of clothing and boots as everyone moved to find the source of the groan.
“Here,” Sage called. “It’s coming from here.”
It was too dark to see where Sage was.
“Stay there,” Landyn called. “I’ll light the torch.”
“Wait!” Sage ordered. “Look!”
Beneath Raven’s fingertips, an unexpected light appeared on the stone coffin. She gasped in surprise and shock, pulling her hand away from it. The line of light spread along the stone, illuminating the crypt. “It’s glowing,” she whispered.
“It’s the moon,” Sage clarified in awe.
Raven tilted her head back and squinted into the sliver of night sky between the two boulders forming the crypt ceiling. A half-moon emerged from behind wispy clouds and shone down on the etchings of men lining the coffin. Somehow, only the men indicating one direction shone. The light brightened the entire area in the crypt, and Raven could see the others.
“The dead point the way,” Sage said softly, staring raptly at the etched men.
Raven ran her fingers over the intricately carved glowing men along the coffin’s side. When her hand blocked the moon’s rays, the radiance disappeared.
The carved men all pointed the same way in a direct row of light.
Sage followed the path, ending up in the corner near the seventh coffin Brother Henry had labeled strange.
Landyn weaved between the other coffins until he reached Sage. Raven and Willow trailed close behind, marveling at the lighted men on the coffin.
“Here,” Sage called from the corner. She crouched down and pressed her hand against the stone where the coffin met the wall. “I can feel a breeze.” The soft moan suddenly stopped as if it had been choked off, and then when she removed her hand, it started up again.
“It’s all explainable,” Landyn said with amazement.
“Not quite,” Sage replied. “I still can’t figure out how these are glowing.” She ran a finger along the line of men.
Landyn shrugged. “There must be some…”
