Edgar appeared behind him, moving beside the root platform that carried the immobilized Matthew.
Gabriel glanced across the altar, his eyes passing over the seven black-robed ritualists and the dark-red spikes surrounding them before finally settling on the silver-masked captain and the single operative who had managed to reach this place with him.
"Thirteen entered the forest. Only two of you reached the altar."
The silver-masked man did not answer.
The dormant Godslayer Spark pulsed again within Gabriel. He still did not know whether the residue contained within those dark-red spikes was usable, but regardless of the answer, there was clearly something on this altar worth investigating, and as that thought crossed his mind, the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
The moment the silver-masked man saw that expression, he felt genuine foreboding for the first time, because Gabriel did not look like someone who had just stepped into an altar prepared in advance by his enemies.
