Chapter 4 — Unheeded Warnings

Dylan Brooks

The streets of Cypress Falls shimmered under a pale wash of moonlight, the glow muted by a haze clinging to the humid air. Dylan leaned against the weathered wall of the library, his sharp gray eyes fixed on the faint pool of light spilling from an upper window. The thick scent of damp earth mingled with an ever-present metallic tang, a reminder of the artifact’s restless energy buried deep beneath the town. The hum, faint but insistent, reverberated through his bones, a constant gnawing presence that sharpened his senses and tested his patience.