Page 100 of Lunar Diamonds
Agreed.
He looked around with Alice, leaving me close to Drake.
The scrying witch crouched with both hands on the ground. Deep in concentration, his brow furrowed into a frown.
I waited for the next part, as still as the rock around us.
“There.” Drake stood suddenly, placing a clawed hand on the wall. His fingers sank into the rock, a series of clicks following.
“Be careful,” I said, my stomach knotting.
Six blue runes shimmered to life, forming a circle around his hand. Each one was different in shape with small writing at its center. The outline of a door drew itself around the runes—a rectangle, the lines a shimmering blue.
“What does it say?” Alice asked.
“It’s Latin,” Drake said, pulling his hand free. Five indents remained in the rock.
He blew on his fingers, waving his hand as if he’d been burned.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, taking his hand to check him over.
No damage. No burns. Only his lovely copper skin, blocked from mine by my damn gloves.
“I’m fine,” he replied softly.
I met those dark eyes, receiving a pleasant jolt in my chest.
Not. Now.
I gave him back his hand. “Good.”
“Thanks for caring.” He smiled, the move threatening to buckle my knees. Almost. I retained a sense of professionalism, staying focused on the task at hand.
“Can anyone read Latin?” I asked, clearing my throat after.
Isaac thrust his arm in the air. “Fluent.”
There went my jaw making friends with the floor again.
“Don’t look so flabbergasted,” my brother said with an eyeroll. “It’s just a thing I know.” He got to reading. “Okay. It translates like this: And so comes the light of the moon to claim the precious prize.”
“This feels like a trap,” Alice said. “Step away. Now.”
She was right. This place made no sense, screaming “magical trick.”
Perpetrated by our uncle?
The runes began to move, rotating like a dial on a safe.
“Step back!” Drake grabbed me, dragging me away from the door.
A ripple of silvery magic passed over the door, the sound of griding gears rumbling behind it. Slowly, the door opened. The cave shook under my feet, pebbles and tiny rocks trembling under the quake.
“We’re leaving right now,” Alice ordered.
The door stopped, revealing a shimmering veil of silver light. Beyond it was a figure, only its silhouette visible. Thin, arms straight down at its sides, shoulders slightly hunched.
A strange tickle passed through me, my toes curling inside my boots.
