''Finally!'' Sara said the minute Laurel got into their room.

''Sara, we need to talk,'' she said and made her friend sit next to her on her bed.

''Tell me.''

''Look, I know that I have been making you worry lately, but some things are going on related to my family.''

''But you said your parents are dead,'' she said, confused.

''It's complicated. The thing is that I have to go somewhere. I might find proof about something important about my family, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. So, I wanted to tell you not to worry about me. I can protect myself. I promise I will explain everything as soon as I get back, hopefully with more answers than questions. If you need help or something happens, call Asher.''

''I know you two are very close now,'' she said with a tone half-stating, half-complaining.

''He had some problems, and I was there for him. You can trust him He's one of the good guys. I know you don't like him very much but trust me.''

''Laurel, you are scaring me with this speech.''

''No need. Everything will be fine. All I ask is for some patience.''

''I love you, Laurel. I never had a friend like you, well, I never had many friends at all, but you know what I mean.''

''I do,'' she nodded reassuringly.

''After my sister's accident, I felt lonely. I crossed the entire country to get away from the fights of my parents. I was never the first one to speak, but when you entered this room for the first time something changed. To everyone else, I might look cheerful and maybe naive sometimes, but only my heart knows how difficult it is to wake up every morning. You became my sister, Laurel, and I can't lose you,'' she said, hugged Laurel strongly, and buried her red and teary eyes in her friend's shoulder.

''I'll do my best to return safely. I'll be fine, Sara,'' she whispered and soothed her, but deep inside her heart, she knew that she would never be completely fine again.

''Now turn left at the crossroad and then straight ahead. The road must stop after one kilometer,'' Lena informed them, who was using the GPS.

After two hours of driving, the three friends arrived at the starting point. From there, they needed to walk and climb to get to the cave. It was an hour before sunrise. They got off the car and started taking out their equipment. Thomas seemed very calm, almost slow with his moves.

''Come on, Thomas! You know I want us climbing not long after the sunrise. We can't lose time,'' Laurel said impatiently.

''I'm just checking the equipment,'' he answered while counting the knives and the ropes.

''Zach did, multiple times,'' Lena said and let her rucksack fall to the ground.

''I want to be sure, okay?'' he said and stopped only for a few seconds before going back to his task.

Laurel turned her head towards the direction they came from. A repeated noise was heard, and it was getting louder by each second. It was far for her to understand at the first hearing what it was.

''Do you hear that?''

''No, I don't hear anything,'' Thomas said immediately.

''I do. I think it's a car,'' Lena said listening carefully.

Indeed, a car was coming with four people in it. They could hear their heartbeats. Laurel started feeling differently. She sniffed and checked the sky. She could smell the rain, but the cloudless sky made her realize the first occupant of the car.

James didn't know where she was going, and neither did any of his pack. She turned around and stared at Thomas. His brows furrowed nervously, and she was reminded of the times he tried to cheat at board games when they were kids. Of course, he could never bluff when she was around. She knew every little facial expression of his.

''What did you do, Thomas?'' she asked him, irritated, put her hands on her waist.

''Nothing,'' he answered with an unreadable expression.

''You will pay for it,'' she warned him the moment the four men got off the car.

''We are ready to start.'' James smiled.

Laurel looked at him with a smile that meant ''Please, don't test me'' and neared him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

''Why are you here?'' she asked, the smile never leaving her face.

''You might need help up there,'' he answered, smiling back and nodding at the peak of the mountain that stood behind them.

''I would ask who told you about it, but the culprit is pretty obvious,'' she said, turning her head to look at Thomas.

''I had to.'' Thomas mind-linked her. ''They are strong, and an extra pair of eyes and arms are always welcome.''

''Fine,'' Laurel said after some thought. It was pointless to get into a fight with James or Thomas right now, and Thomas was right even though she didn't want to admit it to him. Also, having James here was giving her a feeling of safety, but, exactly, that feeling made her worried at the same time. She didn't know what would happen if she let her emotions take over, and she didn't want to test it while searching for that cave. ''If something bad happens to any of you, it's on you,'' she added and pointed her finger towards James.

''I think we can protect ourselves. After all, I'm not ready to die yet,'' Tyler said half-joking, half-serious.

''Death is the easy part. Trust me,'' she said while her eyes got darker and the smile disappeared from her face, ''there are worse things than death that may happen to any of us. Way worse.''

For a few moments, no one spoke. James was staring at her, realizing she meant it, and wondered what had happened to her that he had yet to learn. Lena decided to break the silence and introduced herself.

''Lena Sandvig. Nice to meet you,'' she said, smiling and reaching out her hand to James.

''James Campbell. This is my Gamma Tyler Griffin, and these are two of my best men: Alan and John,'' he said while his men were nodding their heads in salute.

''Time's passing. The sun will rise soon. Let's go,'' Laurel ordered immediately, picked up her rucksack, put it at her back, and started walking. No one needed a second word. She was in charge, and they weren't going to challenge her.

They walked for an hour through the forest and its steep ground. Sometimes they had to walk inside the river that flowed on the left side. Sometimes they had to climb on big stones that had fallen during the previous winter. They kept getting higher, and the plants around them started variating more. If this wasn't a mission, they would have no other choice but to admire the glory of nature: green, tall trees next to tiny colorful flowers, birds singing, and animals passing by with no fear of them.

After two hours, the sun had risen, providing them with more light but making them sweat faster. They all had rucksacks and tools for climbing with them, and they carried some weapons as well. The trees were now scarce, and the river was barely being heard. Some birds were flying around them, but they would soon stop. They were tied with ropes, making two groups, so in case one of them fell, the others would keep him in place.

More hours passed, and the sun was high up in the sky. Their faces were shining with sweat, and their breaths were getting shorter.

''We must be close,'' Laurel said to encourage them.

Indeed, she was right. An hour later, they had almost reached the peak. The cave was now above their heads.

''Everyone stop climbing,'' Thomas ordered, who was the leader of the second group.

Laurel closed her eyes and focused.

''It's clear! No magic spell at the entrance,'' she informed them, and after five minutes, they were all lying tired on the ground a few meters away from the entrance of the cave.

Laurel and James were the first to get up and started examining the cave, but they found nothing suspicious.

''I'll go first. If there is a barrier or a spell, I'll sense it,'' she said.

''Okay, I will be right behind you,'' he promised.

Everyone got up and started walking. The cave was dark, but their eyesight was enough. There was no sound but their breathing. No insects or other animals were heard, and that made them worry about what there was to be found.

''I see something,'' exclaimed Lena suddenly, who was a meter behind Laurel. They came face to face with a tall wall made of huge strange stones. There was no way to pass over the wall. It covered the whole path. Alan tried to hit the stones, but they proved to be very strong.

''ܢܘܗܪܐ,'' Laurel whispered while touching the letters she found curved on one stone.

''What?'' four confused people asked her at the same time.

''Light. It means light. It's Aramaic. My mother used to write and read Aramaic,'' she explained.

''But that's a dead language,'' James muttered.

''Not for the witches,'' Lena answered.

''Some people still speak Aramaic. Witches speak many languages, and it's not uncommon to choose an ancient or even a dead one to learn to preserve it. Witches hold great records of many things that humans believe extinct or meaningless. What is created with wisdom and attention is sacred, and forgetting it is considered desecration. I, for example, know Sanskrit and Sumerian, and luckily for us, I understand some words in Aramaic.''

''Do you recognize any other words?'' James asked her, impressed while showing her the other four words that were carved on the stones.

''This one means moving on, and this means power,'' she said while pointing at different words on the stones. ''I don't know what the last one means.''

''That's it?'' Tyler asked in disbelief. ''That's not helpful at all.''

''Actually,'' Thomas said while scrubbing his head, ''it is. Maybe we can light a fire? It does create light. Or is it metaphorical? Like the light within us?''

''No, it must be literal. We need to create light for the wall to disappear.''

''What do you think, Laurel?'' James asked her, and something flickered in her heart.

It was the first time that she had heard her name by his lips, and it sounded like a melody. ''I loved it, too, but focus!'' Lyra advised her and snapped her out of her cloud.

''My mother wanted me to try to create things. Flowers, trees, blood, metal, sand but there was one thing I could never create. A source of light. I think it is a test for me. I must create light with my powers.''

''Can you?''

Laurel shook her head negatively, and then she neared James. She took his hand slowly, feeling his hard skin from the years of fighting and the curves of his hand that seemed so familiar and said ''I think I can do it. I need your help because to create something out of scratch requires emotions and willingness, and right now, my will is to win you back and be with you.''