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“Do you know where they are?”
“Not exactly, but I think it is on the other side of the park. Further to the west. If the demons are looking for it too, they are close, but in the wrong spot.”
Daryn did a U-turn in the road and his tires squealed on the pavement. “Shannon and I are headed over there now. Tell Indy and Kaine to meet up with us when they finish helping Lochlan with rookie training.”
“There are park trails all over that mountain. I will send you a link to the closest parking lot and where I believe the entrance to the old caves may be.”
I took another bite of my breakfast burrito. “Good thing we hit the drive-through.”
Daryn took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah.”
We ate in silence and since the location Cipher sent was a half-hour drive, I didn’t rush my breakfast or my coffee. It was almost cold when I took the last swig and Daryn turned down a dirt road with a trail sign.
As Daryn and I arrived at the parking lot that led to the enchanting mountain trails, a sense of anticipation filled the crisp morning air. The early hour had gifted us with an empty lot, but the glistening sun overhead hinted at the promise of a bustling day ahead.
As we parked the car, the gentle rays of sunlight streamed through the windshield, casting a warm, golden glow on my hands.
Stepping out of the vehicle, I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of pine and earth, feeling the freshness of the day enveloping me. Daryn and I exchanged knowing glances.Appearances were deceiving, and if Cipher was right, our current warmth would be short-lived.
The empty parking lot held a sense of quiet serenity, a momentary respite before the world came alive with hikers and nature enthusiasts. Our footsteps echoed softly as we made our way to the trailhead, our boots crunching the gravel beneath them.
As we began our ascent, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of the wilderness that surrounded us, from the vibrant wildflowers that lined the path to the majestic trees that stretched toward the heavens. The sun continued its ascent, casting dappled shadows on the trail, a reminder that time was in constant motion.
We ventured deeper into the mountain’s embrace, ready to face the challenges that lay ahead. The sun was high, and the world had awakened, but in this moment, it was just Daryn and me, and the threat of evil on the horizon.
Daryn grabbed his phone as we strolled down the trail that led from the parking lot. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, so we just took the path that led toward the mountain in the distance.
I grabbed Daryn’s arm when a hissing sound interrupted our stroll. We stopped on the trail, looking for the source before the rustle of branches.
A raccoon darted onto the trail and stopped to hiss at us again, before continuing its journey. “Damn, that scared the crap out of me.”
Daryn arched an eyebrow. “I am perfectly capable of protecting you from a raccoon.”
I smacked his shoulder playfully. “No way. You aren’t hurting Rocky on my account.”
He chuckled. “I would never hurt an animal. I can persuade them to move away. It’s a simple high-frequency blast. Their ears are sensitive to it, that’s all.”
We resumed our trek on the trail. As the lush canopyenveloped us, I wished we were there for different reasons. It was beautiful here.
Daryn glanced at his phone when he received a text. There were two more beeps. “Cipher has sent some images. They could be icons or symbols for something that leads to the entrance.”
He held the phone out for me so I could see the strange image. It was on the scroll, but it was a simple ink drawing in a small circle.
“It looks like a rock. Do you think it symbolizes the mountain?”
Daryn shook his head. “The scroll had an image of the mountain on the other side. That is why Cipher assumed the tunnels were here. This looks more like a specific rock or bluff.”
I searched the mountain in the distance. “I don’t see anything that looks like that, or like any of the symbols Cipher sent.”
“This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There have been people in the past who looked for the Dark Witch’s prison. If it were easy to find a dark magic user would have discovered it by now.”
He stared at the images on his phone. “This is too general. We need information on this area. Cipher has looked for any digital images that could match these symbols and found nothing.”
“What about good old-fashioned paper? There were no computers and no Internet when the Dark Witch was locked away. Most things get digitized, but not everything. Where would we find old maps of that area?”
Daryn smiled. “You are brilliant. The bookstore. Give me a second.”
He tapped a contact on his phone. “Hi, Lia. We need maps of the mountain range from a few hundred years ago. Any chance there is anything like that in the bookstore archive?”
