The Black Star base stood beneath an old building that looked half abandoned from the outside.
Its walls were cracked, the windows were dusty, and the front door looked like it had not been properly used in years. Anyone passing by would think it was just another dead corner of the city where no one important bothered to look twice.
But beneath that rotten shell, things were very different.
Narrow stairs led down into reinforced corridors. Hidden passages connected room to room. Watch points were built into the walls, and the deeper one went, the warmer and tighter the air became. Lamps fixed into the stone gave off a dim red light that made every hallway feel more closed in.
Gabriel stood outside the entrance with Barry beside him.
The blindfolded summoner looked pale even in the dark. His breathing had not settled since Grizzlenaught brought him back up, and every time the spectral bear's name crossed his mind, his shoulders tightened slightly.
