Born from Magic

I could see the yellow orange light, playing with the shadows around the trees. I crawled closer and peeped out from behind a tree.  hirteen hooded figures were standing in a circle down there. They were chanting in some foreign language I understood nothing of. One hooded person was lifting something up above his head, as if in an offering. I could not take my eyes off the scene. The chanting grew louder, and then a scream tore through the night. A high pitch inhuman sound of terror, that made my neck hair stand up. Startled, I listened. It had come from the right of me. The scream returned. I froze completely. This time I was sure it came from the left. At the edge of panic, I tried to withdraw from the scene as slowly, and silently as possible. Bushes grabbing me, making my retreat difficult, and even more terrifying. What was out there? Did it know I was there? What about the hooded people. Did they know? My eyes finally adjusted to the total darkness I was left in, after I turned away from the campfire, and I managed to move a little faster.