Chapter 16 – The Stone Marker
The night air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp leaves and moonlit grass.
Elmwood Academy slept quietly — unaware that five students slipped out through a forgotten maintenance passage at the boundary wall.
Ariana led the way.
It felt different tonight — familiar yet heavier.
Like every shadow had a story, every tree a memory.
Kai walked beside her, silent but alert.
The Four Pillars followed, their steps synchronized, each one ready for anything.
Calen grumbled softly, "We're doing more sneaking than studying."
Rylan grinned. "That's because sneaking is more fun."
Zane answered without looking back.
"It is also illegal."
"Which makes it fun," Rylan corrected.
Ariana laughed under her breath — a small, nervous sound.
Kai glanced at her.
"Still sure you know where this symbol is?"
Ariana nodded.
"I used to come here to hide from Max and Mason when they would prank me."
Kai smirked.
"You needed a hiding place. Makes sense."
Ariana shot him a look.
"I grew up with six brothers. I needed a bunker."
The boys chuckled as they headed deeper into the old grounds.
The Southern EdgeThe southern boundary of the academy was ancient — older than the school itself.
Twisted trees grew thickly, wrapping around stone ruins covered in moss and vines.
No lights.
No paths.
Just history swallowed by nature.
Ariana stepped over a fallen log and motioned them closer.
"It should be… right around—"
She pushed aside a curtain of vines.
Kai inhaled sharply.
Rylan let out a low whistle.
Calen whispered, "Well, that's not creepy at all."
Zane only said:
"Found it."
A stone pillar, half-buried in the earth, stood silently before them.
Ancient.
Cracked.
Carved with symbols older than recorded magic.
And near the bottom…
The mark.
Three lines.
A half-moon.
A vertical slash.
Exactly as in Ariana's notes.
Ariana crouched down, fingertips brushing the engraving.
"It's the same one from the Dark Vampire DNA diagram."
Kai knelt beside her.
"This symbol shouldn't be here," he muttered.
"It definitely shouldn't be on academy grounds," Zane agreed.
Rylan walked around the marker.
"Okay, so why does this feel like a giant warning sign?"
Calen touched the stone lightly, letting frost creep over the surface.
"It reacts," he noted. "This mark isn't just carved. It's active."
Ariana frowned.
"Active how?"
Calen stepped back.
"Try using your light."
Ariana hesitated.
"My wolf gets… sensitive when I use too much power."
Kai shook his head.
"Just a little. Enough for illumination."
Ariana nodded.
She touched the symbol with two fingers and whispered:
"Lux."
A soft silver glow flowed from her hand.
The symbol flared to life.
Ariana gasped and stepped back.
The pillar pulsed — once, twice — like a heartbeat.
Rylan grabbed her arm.
"You okay?"
"Yes—" she whispered. "But look!"
The stone marker shimmered.
The earth beside it began to tremble.
The ground cracked open, revealing a dark hole beneath the roots.
Zane's eyes widened.
"No… that's not just a marker…"
Kai finished the sentence:
"…It's a door."
A hidden, underground entrance.
A tunnel leading below the academy.
Ariana stared into the darkness, heart pounding.
Kai moved in front of her protectively.
"Ariana. Don't go in yet."
"I'm not," she said, but her wolf stirred uneasily.
Rylan leaned over the opening.
"How deep is it?"
Calen conjured a shard of ice and dropped it.
It fell for a long moment.
Then—
CLINK.
Zane's voice was even quieter than usual.
"There's something down there."
Ariana swallowed hard.
"What?"
Kai knelt at the edge, sniffing deeply.
His expression changed.
Hardening.
Darkening.
Scared.
"A lab," he said.
Ariana's heart stopped.
"A lab?"
Kai nodded.
"A vampire modification lab."
He looked up at her with eyes like steel.
"This is where they were created."
Ariana's breath shook.
Not summoned.
Not resurrected.
Not accidentally evolved.
Made.
She stepped back, trembling.
"This can't be the academy's doing…"
"It's not," Zane said calmly. "This is too old. Too secret."
Rylan growled.
"Then who used it recently?"
Calen lifted his hand.
"I feel heat from below," he murmured. "Fresh heat. Someone was down there in the last twenty-four hours."
Ariana felt her wolf rise — not violently, but protectively.
"We found the place where the Dark Vampires were modified," she whispered.
Kai nodded.
"And now… we're going down there."
The ground rumbled again, the ancient tunnel yawning open like a warning.
Ariana took a slow breath.
"Together?"
Kai extended his hand.
"Together."
She took it.
The walls glowed with Ariana's light.
The ancient steps disappeared into the earth.
And the five of them began their descent —
into the place where monsters were made.