Beyond the silent Ridge

d, like just before a storm. My grandfather's initials on the journal-C.E.G.-glowed faintl

ed it with his handheld spectrometer. "Energy signature is off the c

et it out

"I don't know

, stepped forward and placed his hand

o us," he said. "To you,

llowe

I said, step

t, the crystal surface rippled like liquid. The journal moved-rotated, shifted-unti

atter.

wer, revealing the book in its center. It floated g

s. No re

had been

leather was dry, but intact. My grandfat

is older than civilization-older than memory. The entity watches but does not sp

eath

ed on a climbing accide

red. "To protect th

phs that matched those we'd seen outside. Then something darker: drawings

a wa

nty years it calls. If you're re

p sharply. "Th

of sorts, projected into the space above the platform. It showed the valley from above... then the stars... and f

ga

ay. "What the he

d, clutching the j

age. "So what happens

m. "Then the cyc