Primalcraft: Sins of Bygone days (book 2)

Rituals in the Dark, Chapter 3

Darkness fell, as Alex and Hadrien walked. A sigh escaped Alex as he watched the dark sky, maybe it was better to turn around. They have walked for eternity following the Vegvisir but nothing remarkable has appeared yet.

"Can you smell anything?" Alex asked Hadrien as they came to a small bridge going over a creek leading off the river.

"Je sens rien, there is no-" Hadrien suddenly froze, his eyes darted all over the dark trees.

"What? Can you smell her?" Alex asked, his eyes watched the trees since he has better sight in the dark but nothing was moving.

"Non, but-" He scented the air, a dark growl escaped him. "I smell foul magic."

Alex grimaced and tried to catch it but he smelled nothing. "It must be vague. Can you follow it?"

"Is that wise?"

"Probably not, but foul magic is most likely a good sign. It can hide other scents such as kidnapped girls," Alex said looking down on to the Vegvisir. "And artifact is pointing straight into the woods."

"Towards the dark magic," Hadrien muttered and started to walk. Alex followed him, becoming surer that they were on the right track as Hadrien never strayed from the way the Vegvisir pointed as he followed the scent.

As they walked deeper into the woods, the area started to change. They followed the small creek, the hum of the water had a calming effect as the eerie trees seemed to sigh in the wind. The thick leaf trees covered the sky, ensuring that no light entered between the branches. Alex suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" asked Hadrien, looking around.

"Hear that?"

"I hear nothing."

"Exactly, no birds, no mice, no owls hooting. Nothing."

"That is never a good sign."

"Normally no, but for what we searching for, it is. life doesn't thrive in the presence of tainted earth," Alex said and leaned down, letting his finger go through the grass that crumbled under his hand showing dark earth. Hadrien frowned and walked over to the closes tree and clawed at it, under the bark the tree had started to rot.

"What is this?"

"Something my father told me," Alex said."Soil touched by dark magic become tainted and all that grows on it rots."

"Then why are there still trees here?"

"They are fighting. This soil has been tainted recently so the plants have not died yet, give it a week or two and this entire area will be covered in dead plants," Alex answered and followed the trail of dead plants. The further into the forest they got, the darker the soil became. The grass had crumbled into ash while the trees stood there as mere bones of their former self. All the trails led to one area.

A cellar hidden between some rocks.

"That doesn't look eerie at all," Alex muttered and walked over. He pulled on the cellar doors but the chains that bound them together didn't budge. "I can' get the-"

With a loud rattle, Hadrien grabbed onto the doors and almost ripped them off. Musky air hit Alex's face and he had to turn away from the smell of rot coming of it before he turned to Hadrien with a cocked eyebrow.

"Seems that you aren't just good to have around when I want to open a jar."

Hadrien smirked and gave him a dramatic bow," That is what I'm for, mon chaton."