Page 13 of Forged in Fire
Everything.
Tomorrow, I finish this.
Chapter 5
Iris
The compound spreads across the mountainside like an elaborate archaeological dig, complete with research buildings, equipment staging areas, and the kind of purposeful activity that screams legitimacy to anyone watching from a distance. But my dragon vision cuts through the careful illusion. Those aren’t graduate students manning the perimeter—they’re armed professionals with tactical gear disguised as field equipment. And weapons. Why would an archaeological dig require so much security?
It’s a question I know the answer to. There’s more to this place than meets the eye.
I crouch behind weathered rock, studying their setup. Years of tracking leads around half the globe, and this is where it ends. Guard towers masquerading as observation platforms. Motion sensors camouflaged as survey equipment. What looks like a sleepy dig site is actually a fortress built to keep secrets buried.
The Syndicate doesn’t do anything halfway.
Shadows reach for me before I even call them, darkness sliding along my skin, cloaking me. They respond to the restless energy that’s consumed me since Kieran disappeared. The pull to my brother.
The pull grows stronger as I watch the compound. Not just magical resonance, but something more personal. The twin bond that’s been my compass since birth, finally pointing true north.
And somewhere down there, Kieran waits for me.
Hold on,I whisper to the darkness.I’m coming.
I slip over the ridge, and the shadows embrace me completely. Not just concealment but communion—darkness wrapping around my body with an intimacy I’ve never allowed another person. This search has meant I’ve spent too much time alone. But it’s a sacrifice I’ve made willingly. I let the shadows engulf me. I vanish from sight.
My enhanced vision cuts through the night, revealing details invisible to human eyes. Guards. Cameras. Security checkpoints.
I take it all in, then move silently forward, my shadows deepening until I’m little more than a whisper against the stone.
I move through their perimeter like smoke. The first motion sensor never sees me coming—I flow beneath its detection arc, close enough to touch the metal housing. The second gets the same treatment. By the time I reach the outer fence line, I’m pure darkness in their carefully monitored world.
The razor wire poses the biggest challenge. Cutting through it would set off alarms. Going over it risks the motion detectors. Instead, I compress myself into shadow, darkness becoming liquid as I slip through a maintenance gap near the eastern corner. The wire catches my jacket, tears a line across my shoulder blade that stings and burns. Blood wells, glistening in the moonlight, but I’m through.
The compound opens before me like a movie set designed to fool satellites and casual observers. Prefab research stations. Equipment sheds that probably house surveillance gear. Temporary structures that are supposed to look hastily erected but show signs of permanent foundations beneath.
A guard rounds the corner ahead, assault rifle in hand, scanning systematically. Human. No enhanced senses to penetrate my shadow manipulation. I press myself against the nearest building, becoming one with the darkness, and he walks past close enough that I could reach out and touch his jacket.
His radio crackles. “Sector Seven clear. Moving to Eight.”
“Copy that,” comes the response. “Kitchen reports the coffee’s finally ready in Building Three. Team leaders can grab some after the shift change.”
Building Three. Living quarters.
Another voice cuts in. “Perimeter sweep complete. All equipment secured for the night. Recommend we maintain minimal lighting in the residential area.”
Definitely living quarters.
I turn away, running an eye over the compound. Each prefab structure is clearly marked with large lettering on corrugated sheeting walls. Building Three sits in the center, larger than the others and designed to look like a main research facility. But the subtle details give it away—reinforced windows that could be bedrooms, ventilation systems too complex for a simple lab, multiple entry points that suggest corridors rather than open workspace.
The pull grows stronger as I approach. The twin bond that’s been stretched thin finally vibrating with certainty.
He’s in there.
The entrance is equipped with both electronic locks and magical wards, but I’m prepared for this. The lockpicks slide home smoothly, a satisfying click telling me I’m past the first lineof defense. The magical protections require more finesse—I have to coax them open rather than force them, letting my shadows seep into the mechanisms like water finding cracks.
The door swings open on a corridor lined with what could be dormitory rooms or holding cells, depending on your perspective.
Is he locked in here?
