‘There should be a cave here, which is where she found it,’ Henry called out, peeking over the map, pointing out the directions they needed to take.

Though the ground was flat, Kellan walked slowly to avoid slipping on the snow. He had two goals that day, to keep himself and Henry alive.

The trees were becoming less dense; the land they stood on felt like rocks underneath the thin layer of snow. A looming cliff came into view, and in the distance, so did a dark tunnel etched in the huge rock.

‘I’m guessing that’s the cave?’ Kellan asked, throwing a glance at Henry, who rolled up the map.

He slid it into the side pocket of his red backpack and nodded.

They proceeded into the cave, Kellan taking it upon himself to go first.

Kellan summoned his powers to create light as they entered the dark cave; bats flew out at the sight of the fire. Henry ducked for cover, blocking his ears from their irritating screeches. A gust of air blew into their faces as the bats flapped their way out of the cave. Eventually, the screeches and chirping stopped completely, and the cave was silent once more.

‘I hope that’s all that is in there,’ Henry mumbled.

Kellan nodded and moved farther into the cave.

He was mindful of the ground beneath him in case the rocks were to collapse. The smell was the hardest thing to get through. It smelled like rotten fruit, likely from the bats that dwelt there.

Thankfully, the end of the tunnel was near, and the narrow space widened. Kellan shined his flames on the cave’s walls. Industrial and construction lights stood at the foot of the small alcove. A podium made from deteriorated limestone stood on a single step; the top surface was flat and empty, the object that would have been displayed on top clearly missing.

‘The archaeologists must have left some excavation equipment behind,’ Henry said, grazing his eyes over the strange equipment.

They spent about ten minutes scanning everything; there was nothing else to be found. Kellan had no idea what he expected when he arrived at the cave. He wasn’t sure what he would find. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have any questions. He had plenty of those.

‘Why would the Original Family hide them both and separate them if they were meant to be used together?’ he said under his breath.

He didn’t know how close Henry stood next to him.

‘I must say I never really thought about why. I’m guessing they wanted to prevent people from using the grimoire.’

Kellan shrugged; the grimoire was supposed to be a force for good; why did the Original Family need to hide it?

‘I suppose so, but it doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like the is a big gaping hole in Krete’s history, and there’s nothing to fill it.’