Owls hooted from the tops of the great pines that made the rainforest.
OOT! OOT! OOT!
The cawing was eerie against the general serenity of the island, but Rafel had seen far more horror in his days. It was night, and a mist had begun to creep in from the river path they had taken up this morning during their hike over. A full moon peeked through the woods. Sekhmet had dropped her Go-bag over by a pillar in the great entrance chamber. The floors were decorated opal marble. Rafel and the other girls sat around as Sekhmet made a fire and skewered the wild pig Blue had so mercilessly chased, caught, and dragged up the Abbey's steps in a bloody trail.
Though they had discovered the Abbey of [Saint] Tomasina at a time a little past noon, Rafel forbade anyone to go beyond the vestibule. He understood above all that a temple ribbed in such open riches of gold and cedars, and smelling like sandalwood didn't come without it's own share of haunting.
