Chapter 36: Beneath Blackwood

The countdown hit thirty-seven minutes.

Nobody argued after that.

There wasn't time.

The atmosphere inside the house changed immediately.

The endless questions.

The secrets.

The hesitation.

All of it got shoved aside by a much simpler reality.

Jacob was running out of time.

Lena stood and grabbed her jacket.

Caleb was already moving.

Checking equipment from a storage case she'd never seen before.

Flashlights.

Knives.

Ropes.

Things that raised far more questions than answers.

Adrian disappeared for several minutes and returned carrying a long black duffel bag.

James looked like he wanted to protest.

He looked like he wanted to stop everything.

Instead, he only said:

"Bring her back."

The room fell silent.

Lena looked at him.

For the first time that night, he looked old.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like a man who'd already lost too much.

"You will."

It wasn't a question.

It was a plea.

Caleb nodded once.

"I will."

Something about the certainty in his voice made Lena's chest tighten.

Twenty minutes later they were standing at the edge of Blackwood Forest.

The countdown read:

00:18:44

The forest looked different at night.

Bigger.

Darker.

Wrong.

The trees seemed too tall.

The shadows too deep.

The silence too complete.

Lena stared into the darkness.

A strange feeling stirred inside her.

Not fear.

Recognition.

The same feeling she'd experienced during the visions.

As if she'd walked these paths before.

Long ago.

The thought unsettled her.

Beside her, Adrian studied the forest.

His expression grew darker with every passing second.

"You feel it too."

It wasn't a question.

Lena nodded.

"What is it?"

Adrian looked ahead.

"The forest remembers."

She waited.

Nothing else came.

"Can people in your world answer questions normally?"

Adrian actually laughed.

A short, genuine laugh.

"Not often."

Caleb groaned.

"Can we move?"

The countdown showed seventeen minutes.

That ended the discussion.

They entered the forest.

Immediately the temperature dropped.

The deeper they walked, the stranger things became.

The sounds of the town vanished.

The wind disappeared.

Even the insects seemed absent.

No crickets.

No birds.

Nothing.

Only footsteps.

And the growing sense that something was watching them.

Lena checked the countdown.

Fourteen minutes.

They moved faster.

Then faster again.

Branches whipped past.

Roots twisted beneath their feet.

The forest thickened around them.

Until suddenly...

It stopped.

Lena nearly walked into Caleb's back.

The trees had ended.

Not gradually.

Abruptly.

As though someone had drawn a line through the forest.

Beyond it stretched a massive clearing.

And at its center stood ruins.

Lena froze.

The breath left her lungs.

Because she'd seen this place before.

Not in photographs.

Not in stories.

In memories.

Broken white pillars.

Collapsed walls.

Silver stone covered in vines.

Moonlight reflecting across shattered marble.

The palace.

Or what remained of it.

Nobody spoke.

Even Adrian seemed affected.

His eyes remained fixed on the ruins.

Like a man staring at a grave.

The countdown hit twelve minutes.

Then eleven.

Lena's pulse quickened.

"Where are they?"

No answer.

Then a scream echoed through the ruins.

Jacob.

The sound ripped through the night.

Alive.

Definitely alive.

Lena started running.

Caleb swore and followed immediately.

The ruins rushed past.

Broken archways.

Fallen statues.

Cracked pathways.

Every corner of the place felt familiar.

Painfully familiar.

Like walking through a dream she'd forgotten.

Another scream.

Closer.

Lena rounded a collapsed wall.

Then stopped.

The world seemed to tilt.

Jacob was there.

Exactly where the photos showed.

Tied to a stone chair.

Bruised.

Bleeding.

Alive.

Relief flooded through her.

For about two seconds.

Then she noticed the others.

The missing students stood around him.

Seven of them.

Motionless.

Silent.

Watching.

Their eyes glowed silver.

Not moving.

Not speaking.

Just staring.

A chill crawled down Lena's spine.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Jacob lifted his head.

His eyes found hers.

For one brief moment hope appeared on his face.

Then terror replaced it.

"RUN!"

The scream tore from his throat.

Instantly.

The students moved.

All seven at once.

Like puppets yanked by invisible strings.

Their heads snapped toward Lena.

Silver eyes blazing.

The ruins exploded into motion.

Caleb lunged forward.

Adrian cursed.

One of the students slammed into a stone pillar hard enough to shatter it.

Not human.

Not anymore.

Lena stumbled backward.

The mark on her wrist suddenly burned.

The pain was immediate.

Violent.

Silver light erupted beneath her skin.

The students froze.

Every single one.

The entire clearing became silent.

Jacob stared.

Caleb stared.

Adrian stared.

The silver-eyed students slowly turned toward her.

Then, one by one...

They dropped to their knees.

Lena's heart stopped.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The students remained kneeling.

Heads lowered.

Like subjects before a queen.

The sight made Lena feel sick.

Because deep inside...

A part of her recognized it.

A part of her knew exactly what it meant.

Then applause echoed through the ruins.

Slow.

Mocking.

Deliberate.

Everyone turned.

A woman stood atop a broken staircase.

Silver eyes.

Dark hair.

A black dress that seemed woven from shadows and moonlight.

Beautiful.

Terrifying.

Familiar.

Seraphine.

Not through a vision.

Not through another person's body.

Actually there.

Actually real.

She smiled at Lena.

And the smile wasn't cruel.

That was the frightening part.

It was affectionate.

Proud.

Like a mother seeing her child after years apart.

"Look at that."

Her voice drifted across the ruins.

Soft.

Almost warm.

"They still remember who you are."

Nobody breathed.

Seraphine descended the stairs.

One step at a time.

Unhurried.

Certain.

Like she had all the time in the world.

Her gaze never left Lena.

Not once.

Then she stopped.

Only a few yards away.

Close enough for Lena to see tears gathering in her eyes.

Actual tears.

"You have no idea how long I've searched for you."

The emotion in her voice sounded real.

Which somehow made everything worse.

Lena's pulse hammered.

"Who are you?"

Seraphine laughed softly.

Not offended.

Not angry.

Heartbroken.

"Oh, little star."

The words hit Lena like a punch.

The exact same words from her memory.

The woman kneeling before her.

The voice.

The warmth.

The grief.

Everything.

For the first time, Seraphine's smile faded.

And beneath it Lena saw something terrifying.

Not hatred.

Not madness.

Love.

The kind of love that becomes obsession.

The kind that destroys.

Then Seraphine whispered:

"I was the one who raised you."

And somewhere behind Lena, Caleb went completely still.