Page 41 of The Brotherhood

She leaned back, getting a good look at his shocked expression, considering how to handle the insult. “I do,” was allshe said, looking back at the image with renewed interest now. “What unnatural effects have been observed?”

“Well, similar to real-world gravity holes in Earth’s crust, objects and even light itself bends near it, creating distortions. Anyone who enters, experiences time dilation or disappears entirely.”

She smirked at the outrageous idea, getting his chuckle.

“Then there’s the Quantum Rift theory—a tear in spacetime where laws of physics no longer apply. Could be linked to dark matter, explaining why its interior remains invisible and instruments fail, energy signatures vanish, like they’re absorbed.”

She drew back again, regarding him with guarded interest. “How do you know so much about this stuff?”

He hesitated, his eyes locking on hers for too many seconds. She forced herself to hold his gaze, feeling his answer would be worth the challenge. “Subterranean Penetration,” he murmured secretively. “It's on my bucket list,” he added in a whisper.

She didn’t need to have an exact definition before her face figured out what it meant, bringing his boyish grin back. She wasn’t sure what unnerved her more, how he looked with any sort of smile or that he would consider diving in that hellacious hell hole.

Her pulse suddenly spiked as she snapped at look to him. “You’re not talking about doing that here andnow, I hope.”

He laughed, enjoying her utter horror. “Nah,” he said a little too casually, setting his device on the table. “Maybe just a midnight swim.” He angled mischievous eyes over his shoulder at her. “Could be fun?”

Her full-on horror-gawk made him laugh.

“No?” he checked, sitting back with his huge grin.

“Not. In. A. Million. Years,” she guaranteed, getting his outright laugh.

“You’re having fun,” she observed, impressed. “When’s the last time that happened?”

“Oh, I’m always having fun, Swampy,” he assured, his tone nearly playful.

“How about you get back to what I’m supposed to do exactly when we get there. Besides make sure we’re not welcome to stay overnight.”

“Oh, come on,” he challenged and pled in the same breath. “You don’t want to miss spending the night in the Stronghold, trust me.”

“Trust you,” she marveled, aiming her shock at him. “I may not know you well, but I know mischief when I see it. You’re the exact kind of person I wouldn’t trust in a place sitting on top of the devil’s poop chute with the endless horror names.”

His booming laugh shot out, startling and astonishing her. He went on with it and she was sure it was an anomaly, one she didn’t want to interrupt.

She sat back, waiting for him to recover and when he finally did, it was to announce, “And we’re here.”

Panic grabbed her and she leaned her head, peering out the window.

“Wrong window,” he said, pointing to the ones across from her.

She hurried to the other side.

Her gasp flew out when the ancient wonder appeared, more massive than she’d imagined. “It’s even bigger!” she marveled, unable to deny the giddy excitement of visiting such a wonder. Beth stared at the massive structure, her stomach tightening at the sheer size of it. “How have I never heard of this place? Something this big—someone would have mapped it, documented it, written about it.”

Sinrik joined her at the window, looking out with her. “They have. It just never stays.” She regarded him as he peered out.

“Any digital records of this place—maps, satellite images, even written reports—corrupt over time.”

“How?” she wondered, perplexed to heck.

He looked at her, and she drew back a few inches from his gaze, too intense, too close. “A combination of natural and engineered interference,” he began. “The abyss beneath the mountain has a gravitational effect similar to the Bermuda Triangle. It distorts navigation and erases electronic data.

“So… even if someone did find it, they wouldn’t be able to get back?”

“Not without the right coordinates. And that’s where it gets fun. They’re always shifting. And if you do somehow find them, one degree off, and you’ll never see this place.”

How the heck? “Then how are we able to get here?”

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