Chapter 81: The First Ones
The fog hit the mountain base at dusk.
It did not roll in like mist. It slammed into the tree line like a physical wave. The pine trees turned black and crumbled into dust instantly. The snow turned grey and melted into sludge.
We stood on the battlements of the fortress. The wind carried the stench of open graves up the cliff face.
Victor stood at the prow of the wall. He held a pair of military binoculars.
"What do you see?" I asked. I stood beside him shivering despite my heavy coat.
"Nothing," Victor said. "Just shadow."
"They are in the shadow," Mara said from behind us. She was clutching her spell book like a shield. "They are the shadow."
A howl cut through the silence.
It was not the howl of a wolf. It sounded like tectonic plates grinding togeth
