Chapter 53 Dance With Shadows

The air was heavy with tension as Alex and Mara descended into the abandoned cathedral, once majestic arches now engulfed by creeping vines and shadows that seemed to have a life of their own. The faint dripping of water resonated through the vast space and mixed with the quiet creak of their footsteps against the cracked stone floor. Alex's grip on the hilt of his blade tightened as he scanned the darkness for any sign of movement. Hellfire flickered faintly along its edge. "Do you feel it?" Mara whispered, her voice barely audible but laced with urgency. Her own weapon, a slender spear of luminous light, hummed faintly in her hands.