Ethan was just about to lead everyone out and head back up to rearrange the next steps when a low, rumbling boom suddenly rolled from the mottled, cracked wall not far away.
Everyone paused for a beat.
In the next instant, the wall caved inward. Stone and dust blasted outward, and a long, pitch-black figure stepped out from behind it.
Its silhouette looked like a crow standing upright—narrow shoulders, a razor-edged back. Between its arms and its wing-feathers, there was a natural, built-in aggression, like its body had been shaped for killing.
Its eyes were dark to the point of terror. The moment it appeared, the energy in the air began to ring with tiny vibrations.
"Damn you outsiders," the voice was sharp and deep, like stone scraping metal. "Again and again you defile our sacred altar. We Ravenkin have had enough of you. Today, we will tear you into pieces."
The words had barely fallen when violent power detonated out of it.
