Sanctum of Death

The woman guides you down a series of passages, following a convoluted, tortuous route back through the caves that you could never have found on your own. But somehow, through the blur of fatigue and waning adrenaline, you find yourself back outside the caves above the waterfall, breathing in the fresh rain-washed air of a soft, mellow Irish evening. The events in the caves below seem like an unreal nightmare.

The woman gruffly introduces herself as Imane Mokrani, the owner of the lands adjoining Glenkildove. She removes the damp cloth from her face to lead you down the hillside, back through the glen, and into her Land Rover, where she takes a pair of shades from the sun visor pocket. The others, most of them too tired to even speak, collapse into the back, but Imane gestures for you to take the passenger seat. You sense that it has been a long time since she's spoken much with anyone else, and she seems to have difficulty finding words.

"Hop in. I'll get you home. Glad I found you," she says as the car pulls out across the fields. "That Madigan girl, that Áine, told me where you were. Don't go there again. It's dangerous."

"Áine? What? Why?"

"There was an animal, a…beast."

I just nod, still recovering.

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