THE INNER SANCTUMThe air in the inner sanctum was thick and tasted like old dust and iron. It was supposed to be a place of peace, a hidden room where the spirits of the past rested. But now, it was filled with the heavy boots of the Hunters.

Esmeralda stood at the heavy stone archway. She could hear them inside. They were throwing things. She heard the smash of a clay jar—something that had probably sat untouched for hundreds of years.

"They're looking for the source," Kael whispered beside ...