Chapter 1812

The stone pillars cracked.

A powerful wind rushed through the chamber, pulling loose stones and dust into the air. Jude covered his face.

"Everyone, get down!"

Serena grabbed Layla and pulled her behind one of the pillars.

Sol ran towards Jude.

The statue began to sink.

Its enormous body disappeared beneath the floor, but its hand remained raised above the opening.

And from beneath the stone came a sound like hundreds of voices speaking together.

"Return what was taken."

Then the floor closed.

Silence followed.

Jude slowly lowered his arms.

"Everyone all right?"

"I’m fine," Serena answered.

Layla emerged from behind the pillar.

"Where’s Sol?"

Jude turned.

The boy was standing beside the stone table again.

He looked perfectly calm.

"I’m here."

Jude walked towards him.

"Don’t ever run away from me like that again."

Sol looked up.

"I wasn’t running away."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Trying to stop it."

Jude glanced at the silver leaf in his hand.

"Is this what stopped it?"

Sol nodded.

"Maybe."

"Where did you find it?"

Sol looked at the table.

"It was waiting."

Layla carefully examined the object.

"There’s writing on the back."

She turned it over.

A new symbol had appeared.

Not three curved lines.

This one was different.

It looked like a tree with its roots extending upwards and its branches reaching beneath the ground.

Jude recognised the shape.

It was the tree near the northern path.

The one where they had found the first carving.

But there was something else.

A small line had appeared beneath the symbol.

Layla read it.

"The roots remember the first house."

Serena looked towards Jude.

"The first house?"

Jude frowned.

"We built twenty houses."

"No," Layla said quietly. "I don’t think this means one of ours."

She turned the silver leaf again.

A faint outline appeared on its surface.

It was a house.

A wooden house standing beneath a large tree.

Its roof was covered in leaves, and its windows were round. A narrow path led from its entrance to a small stream.

Jude stared.

"That’s not our village."

Sol moved closer.

"I know that house."

Jude looked down.

"You’ve seen it?"

Sol nodded.

"Not here."

"Where?"

The boy looked at the image.

"In a dream."

Jude’s expression changed.

"What kind of dream?"

Sol shrugged.

"The kind where someone keeps calling you, but you can’t find the person."

Layla looked at Serena.

The chamber suddenly seemed much colder.

Before anyone could speak, a familiar sound echoed through the stone.

Three knocks.

A pause.

Three more.

Then a voice.

"Jude?"

It came from behind the circular opening in the floor.

Jude turned.

"Who’s there?"

"Jude, please."

His heart began to race.

It was Sophie.

"Sophie!"

He ran towards the opening.

Serena followed.

The stone floor had opened again, revealing a narrow tunnel leading upwards.

At the far end, a faint lantern light flickered.

"Jude!" Sophie’s voice called again.

"We’re coming!"

Jude entered the tunnel.

The others followed, with Sol holding the silver leaf.

The passage twisted upwards. It was steep, but unlike the previous staircase, it remained solid beneath their feet.

After several minutes, they reached another chamber.

This one was familiar.

It was the original underground room where the circular hole had first appeared.

Sophie and Scarlet were waiting near the edge.

But something was wrong.

Sophie was sitting against the wall, holding her shoulder. Scarlet stood beside her, pale and frightened.

Jude hurried towards them.

"What happened?"

Scarlet looked at him.

"The chamber opened."

"What opened?"

"The floor. Just for a moment."

She pointed towards the circular hole.

"We heard something moving underneath us. Then the rope began pulling itself down."

"Where’s the rope?"

Scarlet pointed.

It lay in several pieces near the edge.

Jude stared at it.

"Did something cut it?"

"No," Sophie said quietly. "It unravelled."

Jude looked at her.

"Are you hurt?"

"Only my shoulder."

"Where is everyone else?"

Scarlet shook her head.

"We don’t know."

Jude’s heart sank.

"What do you mean?"

"When we came back from the entrance, the passage was gone. We tried to find another way, but the chamber changed."

"Changed how?"

Scarlet looked towards the wall.

There was a large opening behind them.

Through it, Jude could see something that should not have been there.

A forest.

Tall trees stood beneath a grey sky. Their branches moved gently in a wind that did not enter the cave.

Beyond the trees, he could see a wooden walkway.

And beyond that, a familiar cabin.

Jude stared.

It was one of their houses.

Their village was visible through the opening.

But it looked abandoned.

The walkway was broken.

The gardens were overgrown.

The central firepit was cold.

"That’s impossible," Serena whispered.

Jude stepped closer.

"Is that really our village?"

Scarlet nodded.

"We saw it when the opening appeared."

"Then why didn’t you go through?"

"Because something was standing there."

"What?"

Scarlet looked towards the forest.

"A person."

Jude searched the distant trees.

He could see no one.

"What did they look like?"

Scarlet swallowed.

"I couldn’t tell. They were standing beside the central firepit, facing away from us."

"Did they move?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Scarlet looked at him.

"They turned their head."

She paused.

"But their body didn’t move."

A chill ran through Jude.

Sophie stood with difficulty.

"There’s something else."

She pointed to the wall beside the opening.

A series of marks had been carved into the stone.

Fourteen small circles.

Thirteen were filled.

One was empty.

Beneath them was a sentence.

When the lost one returns, the house must choose.

Jude read it twice.

"What does that mean?"

Nobody answered.

Sol approached the wall.

He studied the empty circle.

Then he reached out and touched it.

The stone immediately began to glow.

"Sol, don’t!" Jude shouted.

But the boy had already touched it.

The empty circle filled with a soft blue light.

A voice came from the opening.

"Welcome home."

The forest beyond the doorway shifted.

The abandoned village disappeared.

In its place stood their actual village.