Chapter 1810

Layla examined the lower portion of the carving.

"There are more markings."

She brushed away some dust.

Beneath the island was another shape.

A dark circle.

Around it were thirteen smaller circles.

And beneath them, a line of writing.

Layla stared at it for a long time.

"What does it say?" Jude asked.

She looked troubled.

"It says the island is not the island."

Serena frowned.

"What does that even mean?"

Layla didn’t answer.

A sudden sound echoed through the corridor.

A small, cheerful voice.

"Jude?"

Jude turned so quickly that the lantern nearly slipped from his hand.

"Sol?"

The voice came from somewhere ahead.

"Are you coming?"

Jude hurried forward.

"Sol! Where are you?"

"Here!"

They reached the end of the corridor.

A large stone door stood before them.

It was circular, with the same three curved lines carved into its surface. At its centre was a small depression, exactly the size of the silver disc they had found on the beach.

But there was no disc.

Instead, the depression was filled with a faint blue glow.

Jude approached.

"Sol?"

The boy’s voice came from behind the door.

"I’m right here."

"Can you open it?"

"I think so."

"Don’t touch it!"

A pause.

"Too late."

The blue light brightened.

The circular door began to turn.

Serena immediately grabbed Jude’s shoulder and pulled him back.

"Get away from it!"

The stone rotated with a deep, ancient grinding sound. Dust poured from the ceiling, and the corridor trembled.

The door opened only a few inches before stopping.

A thin line of light appeared between its edges.

Then came a sound from the other side.

A child’s laughter.

Sol’s laughter.

But it was followed by another laugh.

A second voice.

Lower.

Older.

Almost identical to Sol’s.

Jude’s blood ran cold.

"Sol?"

"I’m here."

The second voice laughed again.

This time, it spoke.

"Not that one."

The door shuddered.

A long crack appeared across its surface.

Layla stepped backwards.

"Jude..."

The crack widened.

Something moved behind the door.

Not a shadow passing across the light.

Something much larger.

A shape slowly approached from the other side.

Jude reached for the door, but Serena held him back.

"Don’t!"

Then Sol spoke again.

His voice was no longer cheerful.

"Jude, listen carefully."

Jude leaned towards the narrow opening.

"I’m listening."

"Don’t let it come out."

The blue light suddenly turned white.

The door began to open.

A deep voice emerged from the darkness beyond it.

"Thirteen have returned."

The corridor shook.

"Thirteen have awakened."

The carvings on the walls began glowing one by one.

"And the forgotten one..."

A pause.

Then the voice spoke a name.

A name Jude had never heard before.

Layla gasped.

Serena stared at the door.

And from somewhere behind them, far up the staircase, came three desperate tugs on the rope.

Scarlet and Sophie.

The agreed signal.

Something had happened in the chamber.

Jude turned towards the staircase.

But before he could take a step, the voice behind the door spoke again.

"Do not go back."

The stone door opened another inch.

"Your village is no longer where you left it."

And then, from far above them, came the sound of a bell.

One slow, heavy ring.

Then another.

Then a third.

Jude knew that sound.

It was the bell they had hung beside the central firepit, the one they used only when the entire village needed to gather.

He looked at Serena.

She looked as frightened as he felt.

The bell rang a fourth time.

Then a fifth.

And finally, through the narrow opening in the stone door, Sol whispered:

"Jude..."

"I’m here."

"Don’t believe what you see when you get home."

The blue light vanished.

The door slammed shut.

And somewhere behind them, the staircase began to disappear.

The first stone step vanished.

Jude turned sharply.

"What is happening?"

Another step disappeared beneath them, dissolving into a wall of darkness. The staircase was not collapsing. It was simply ceasing to exist, one section at a time, as though the mountain were swallowing the path behind them.

"Run!" Serena shouted.

They rushed towards the remaining steps.

Layla was last. She held her lantern high, trying to see how quickly the staircase was disappearing.

"Layla!" Jude called.

"I’m coming!"

The floor trembled. A crack opened beneath her feet, and she stumbled.

Serena turned back and caught her wrist.

"Got you!"

For one terrible moment, both women slipped towards the darkness. Jude threw himself forward and seized Serena’s other arm.

"Hold on!"

Layla managed to find a foothold. Together, they pulled her up.

Behind them, the final section of the staircase disappeared.

There was no longer a passage leading back to the chamber.

Only a smooth wall of stone.

Jude stared at it.

"Sophie! Scarlet!"

He struck the wall with his palm.

"Can you hear me?"

No answer.

He struck it again.

"SOphie!"

A faint sound came from the other side.

Three knocks.

Then silence.

Serena examined the wall.

"Perhaps the passage has closed temporarily."

"Temporarily?" Jude looked at her. "We are trapped beneath a mountain!"

"Shouting won’t open it."

"I know that!"

Layla was staring at the stone.

"There’s writing."

Jude turned.

The same silver lines had appeared across the wall, forming the familiar symbol. Beneath it, a sentence slowly emerged.

Layla read it.

"When the door remembers, the path forgets."

Serena frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"I don’t know."

"Can you make it open?"

Layla placed her palm against the stone.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

The silver lines flickered.

Then a small point of light appeared beneath her hand.

The wall gave a soft click.

A narrow seam appeared down its centre.

Jude stepped forward.

"Move back."

He pressed both hands against the stone.

It did not move.

"Together," Serena said.

The three of them pushed.

At first, nothing happened. Then the wall shifted inward with a deep groan, revealing a passage beyond.

Cold air swept across their faces.

And somewhere in the darkness, a familiar voice called:

"Jude?"