Chapter 1811

"Jude?"

He went still.

"Sol?"

"Jude, hurry!"

Jude entered the passage immediately.

Serena followed, and Layla came behind them.

The corridor was different from the one they had travelled through earlier. Its walls were smooth and almost black, reflecting the lantern light like dark water. Thin silver veins ran through the stone, pulsing gently.

At the far end stood another circular door.

This one was already open.

Beyond it was a vast chamber.

Jude stopped at the entrance.

The chamber was enormous, much larger than the underground hall they had discovered earlier. Its ceiling disappeared into darkness. Tall stone pillars surrounded a central platform, and each pillar was carved with hundreds of tiny symbols.

At the centre stood Sol.

He was beside a low stone table, examining something placed upon it.

"Sol!"

The boy turned.

"Jude!"

He ran towards him.

Jude dropped to one knee and caught him.

For a moment, he simply held the boy, checking his arms and shoulders.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Did you fall?"

"Yes."

"Did you hit your head?"

"No."

"Did you touch anything?"

Sol hesitated.

Jude narrowed his eyes.

"Sol."

"I touched one thing."

"What did I tell you?"

"You told me not to touch anything."

"And?"

"I touched something."

Jude stared at him.

Sol lowered his head.

"It was very shiny."

Serena let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh, although she was still visibly shaken.

"Can we discuss his curiosity after we get out of here?"

Jude nodded.

"Where are we?"

Sol pointed towards the stone table.

"I don’t know. But that thing knows."

On the table lay a small object made of silver.

It was shaped like a leaf, with the three curved lines engraved on its surface.

Beside it was a wooden bird.

Jude recognised it immediately.

It was the little bird Sol had carved during his first days in the village.

The same one that had disappeared from his cabin.

Jude picked it up.

"Where did you get this?"

Sol shrugged.

"It was here."

"You brought it with you?"

"No."

"Then how did it get here?"

Sol looked at the bird.

"I think it came before me."

Layla approached the table.

"There’s something beneath it."

She moved the silver leaf aside.

A sheet of thin, pale material lay underneath. It looked like paper, but it was almost transparent, and its surface shimmered whenever the lantern light touched it.

There were thirteen small circles drawn across it.

Twelve surrounded one larger circle.

Jude leaned closer.

The twelve smaller circles contained names.

Susan.

Rose.

Serena.

Layla.

Natalie.

Zoey.

Lucy.

Stella.

Emma.

Grace.

Sophie.

Scarlet.

The larger circle contained one name.

Jude.

He felt his stomach tighten.

"Who made this?"

Layla studied the markings.

"I don’t know."

At the bottom of the sheet was another line.

A sentence written in a language none of them understood.

Yet as Jude stared at it, the letters seemed to shift.

The markings rearranged themselves.

And suddenly, he could read them.

The circle must remain complete.

Jude stepped away.

"Did you see that?"

Layla nodded slowly.

"It changed."

Sol walked closer.

"It’s not finished."

Jude looked at him.

"What isn’t?"

"The circle."

The boy pointed at the paper.

"There should be thirteen."

"There are thirteen," Serena said.

Sol shook his head.

"No. There should be fourteen."

The chamber fell silent.

Layla looked at the sheet again.

"Fourteen?"

Sol nodded.

"One is missing."

Before anyone could ask him what he meant, the floor trembled.

The silver veins in the walls brightened.

A low humming sound filled the chamber.

At the far end, behind the pillars, a massive stone structure began to rise.

It was a statue.

Or something that resembled one.

A tall figure stood with its arms crossed over its chest. Its face was smooth and featureless, and its body was covered in the same symbols they had found throughout the mountain.

As it rose, the stone beneath it opened.

A circular space appeared.

Inside it was a small, dark opening.

The same shape as the hole they had seen in the previous chamber.

Jude looked towards Sol.

"Is that what you found?"

Sol nodded.

"I think so."

"What is it?"

"A door."

"Where does it lead?"

The boy looked at him.

"Home."

Jude felt a flicker of hope.

"Can we go through it?"

Sol did not answer immediately.

Instead, he looked towards the statue.

"I don’t think it wants us to."

A deep voice filled the chamber.

"THE KEEPERS HAVE ARRIVED."

Serena immediately moved in front of Sol.

Layla raised her lantern.

Jude stepped towards the statue.

"Who are you?"

The figure did not move.

"THE KEEPERS HAVE ARRIVED."

"Who are you?" Jude repeated.

The voice changed.

It was no longer deep.

It sounded like a woman speaking from far away.

"Where is the thirteenth?"

Jude glanced at Layla.

"We are thirteen."

"THIRTEEN WERE BOUND."

The statue’s head tilted.

"THIRTEEN WERE REMEMBERED."

A pause.

"THIRTEEN WERE GIVEN."

Its smooth face began to change.

A faint outline appeared where its eyes should have been.

"BUT ONE WAS TAKEN."

The floor shook.

Sol moved closer to Jude.

"Don’t answer it."

Jude looked down at him.

"Why?"

"Because it doesn’t know which one."

The statue’s head slowly turned towards Sol.

For the first time, its face seemed to show something resembling an expression.

Recognition.

"THE CHILD."

Sol stepped behind Jude.

The statue raised one enormous arm.

"THE LOST ONE HAS RETURNED."

A wave of cold air swept across the chamber.

The lanterns went out.

Serena cried out.

Jude reached for Sol, but the boy was no longer beside him.

"Sol!"

A pale blue light appeared near the stone table.

Sol stood there, holding the silver leaf.

"Jude! Catch!"

He threw it.

Jude caught the object just as the entire chamber lit up.

The silver leaf burned with a brilliant white glow.

Every symbol on the pillars illuminated at once.

The statue stopped moving.

A deafening sound filled the room.

Then, all at once, the voice screamed.

"NOT THAT ONE!"