Chapter 13: The Book of Shadows
Elias stared at the book, its leathered cover pulsating as if it were alive. The air in the chamber thickened, pressing against his chest. The whispers had quieted, but an oppressive silence filled the void they left behind.
Grayson shifted beside him, his grip tightening on his revolver. “I don’t like this.”
Elias swallowed hard. “Neither do I.”
But despite every instinct screaming at him to leave, he couldn’t. The book called to him in a way he couldn’t explain. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out and turned the cover.
The pages were yellowed and brittle, filled with symbols and writing in a language he couldn’t recognize. But as his eyes moved across the words, something happened—
The letters twisted and shifted, rearranging themselves into something legible.
The first sacrifice opened the door.
The last will close it.
Elias’s fingers trembled. “The last…”
Grayson leaned in. “What the hell does that mean?”
Before Elias could answer, the torches flickered wildly, casting jagged shadows across the stone walls. A cold gust of air swept through the chamber, carrying with it the unmistakable scent of decay.
Then—
The door behind them slammed open.
A force, unseen but violent, hurled them both backward. Elias hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from his lungs. Grayson rolled, struggling to get to his feet, but something—
Something crawled through the doorway.
It was not human.
Its limbs were too long, its fingers ending in ragged claws that scraped against the stone floor. The thing’s face was stretched, grotesquely elongated, its hollow eyes burning with an eerie glow.
And it was whispering.
Elias couldn’t move. He couldn’t even scream.
The thing tilted its head, its mouth parting to reveal rows of jagged, uneven teeth. Then, in a voice that was both many and one, it spoke.
“The door is open.”
The chamber shook violently. The torches flared one last time before extinguishing completely, plunging them into absolute darkness.
A breath against Elias’s ear.
“And now, you belong to us.”
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