Chapter 33 The Thing in the Hills
It was dark on the estate when they got there.
Seraphina walked through the trees with Laurent next to her and the guards behind them. The clouds hid the moon, making the path hard to see. There was still snow on the ground, but it was soft and dangerous.
Laurent came to a stop at the edge of the clearing.
He whispered, "The drainage tunnel is on the other side." "We'll have to go around."
They crept along the tree line, staying low and keeping an eye on the windows. No lights on. No motion. The caretaker was either sleeping or not there.
The entrance to the tunnel was exactly where he remembered it, half-hidden by bushes, and the grate was still there, even though it was rusty.
"Like before?" Seraphina wanted to know.
“The same.” He pulled the grate open, the hinges groaning. “I’ll go first.”
He vanished into the night.
There was nothing different about the cellar.
The same crates they had looked through before were stacked against the walls. Laurent's lantern made shadows that were very faint, showing dust and cobwebs.
He said, "This is below the old chambers." "There is a stairwell in the back. "When my dad worked here, it was sealed. I don't know if Mallory opened it.
The stone steps led down into the dark, where the air got colder and wetter. The light from the lantern made Seraphina's breath foggy.
"How far down?"
“I don’t know. My father never went all the way.
They descended.
The road went up.
Kael's group had left the last village behind. The path was getting narrower and was barely wide enough for the wagons. The trees were close together, with bare branches and twisted roots.
Theron rode close to the front, looking at the map.
He said, "The first lords built a road here." "You can still find the stones if you know where to look."
Liana looked at the ground under the wheels. Faint shapes that have been worn smooth over the years. A road that was built before the kingdom, the castle, and everything else.
"Why did they make it?"
"To get to the site in the east." To bring stone, workers, and supplies. He looked at her. "And to lock something up."
Pip talked from the wagon behind them. "She is getting stronger." The Looker. She remembers more the closer we get.
Liana touched her chest. The warmth was there and steady, but there was a hint of worry.
"What's she remembering?"
"Darkness." Hungry. Something that wanted to eat everything. Pip's voice sounded far away. "The first lords stopped it." But they weren't able to kill it.
At the top of the stairs, there was a door.
It was old, older than the estate, older than the stones above. Iron bands, rusted but intact. A lock that Laurent picked with trembling hands.
There was a room made of natural rock on the other side, and the walls were rough and uneven. The air was thick, cold, and still. And in the middle—
A pole. Falling into darkness so deep that it looked like it was eating light.
Seraphina stood at the edge and looked down.
"The mine of the first lords." Laurent's voice was soft. "They were digging for something." And they found it.
"What did you find?"
"I don't know." He pointed to the walls. "There are carvings. Old ones. Like the ones up north.
She glanced. The same patterns she had seen in Theron's drawings, worn smooth by time.
“The binding.”
“The binding.” He nodded. “They sealed something down there. And Mallory was trying to reach it.”
They camped in the ruins of an old way station.
The walls were still standing, the roof long gone, but the hearth was intact. Theron built a fire while the guards set up tents.
Kael stood watch at the entrance, looking out at the dark.
Liana joined him.
“We’re close,” she said.
“Another day. Maybe two.”
She looked at the hills ahead, black against the stars. “The Watcher is restless.”
“She knows what’s there?”
“She remembers.” Liana touched her chest. “The first lords dug deep. They found something. And they couldn’t destroy it.”
Kael took her hand. “Then we’ll seal it again.”
Pip sat by the fire, her silver eyes fixed on the flames.
Theron sat across from her, his map spread on his knees.
“The Watcher,” he said. “What is she?”
Pip was quiet for a while. Pip was quiet for a while. Then, "She was here before the first lords." Then, "She was here before the first lords. "Before the hunger. Before the Hunger. Before anything else. Before anything else. She saw the world wake up. She saw the world wake up.
"And the thing in the hills?" "And the thing in the hills?"
“Something that should have stayed asleep.” Pip’s voice was soft. “The first lords woke it when they dug. They couldn’t put it back. So they sealed it.”
"And what about Mallory?" "And what about Mallory?"
"He didn't know what he was doing." "He didn't know what he was doing." He just wanted to be in charge. He just wanted to be in charge. She gave him a look. She gave him a look. "He almost woke it up again." "He almost woke it up again."
Laurent watched the stairs while Seraphina looked around the room. Laurent watched the stairs while Seraphina looked around the room.
Seraphina explored the chamber while Laurent watched the stairs.
There were carvings on every wall. There were carvings on every wall. She saw some of the same signs as in the north. She saw some of the same signs as in the north. Others were not the same.
Others were not the same. More old. More old. More important. More important.
She found a hole in the far wall that was hidden by a stone that had fallen. She found a hole in the far wall that was hidden by a stone that had fallen.
A leather-bound journal is inside. A leather-bound journal is inside. The writing of Mallory. The writing of Mallory.
She opened it up. She opened it up.
The first year of digging.
We have found the old rooms. We have found the old rooms. The workers are scared. The workers are scared. In the dark, they hear whispers. In the dark, they hear whispers. I have hired new people. I have hired new people.
The second year.
We got through to the lower level. We got through to the lower level. There is something down there. There is something down there. I could feel it looking at me. I could feel it looking at me. I have closed the passage. I have closed the passage. The workers won't come back. The workers won't come back. Fourth year. Fourth year. I have chosen to put the estate on that land. I have chosen to put the estate on that land. To keep it a secret. To keep it a secret. To keep it safe. To keep it safe. No one should know what's here. No one should know what's here.
The third year.
We broke through to the lower level. There is something down there. I felt it watching me. I have sealed the passage. The workers will not go back.
The fourth year.
I have decided to build the estate on the site. To hide it. To protect it. No one must know what is here.
The fifth year.
The whispers have stopped. Perhaps it was my imagination. Perhaps the sealing worked.
But sometimes, at night, I dream of darkness. And something is waiting.
Seraphina closed the journal.
“Laurent. We need to go.”
The road stopped at a ridge.
A valley full of trees below. And in the distance, you can see the gray stone of Mallory's estate.
Kael lifted his hand to tell the caravan to stop.
Theron said, "That's it." "That's the spot."
Liana looked at the building, at the hills around it, at the dark line of the forest. The Watcher was uneasy, her presence flickering like a candle in the wind.
"She knows," Pip said. "She has been here before."
"Can she tell us what's down there?"
"She can show you." When you're ready.
They descended into the valley.
From the inn's window, Seraphina watched.
The caravan came down the road with wagons and riders, and she recognized the flags. Kael was in front, and Liana was next to him.
She said, "They're here."
Laurent came to the window to join her. "They were quick."
"They had better weather."
They went down to see them.
"You found something."
"We found something." She took him inside to the room where she had laid out the papers and the journal. "Something was buried by Mallory. Something that the first lords locked up.
Theron picked up the journal and read it in silence.
He said, "The whispers." "The dreams." That's the hunger. Or something like it. ing like it.”
"Is it awake?"
"Not yet." He put down the journal. "But it knows. 'Waiting.'" Liana put her hand on her chest. The hunger stirred, but only a little. "I can feel it." "The Watcher?"
Liana put her hand on her chest. The Hunger stirred, but only a little. "I can feel it."
"The Watcher?"
"The Hunger." She looked Theron in the eye. "There's a link between them." The thing in the hills and the hunger in my heart. They're both dark in the same way.
They all met in the inn's common room.
Theron spread his maps across the table. Seraphina laid out Mallory’s journal. Laurent stood by the window, watching the dark.
Theron said, "The first lords built two binding sites." "The northern one, where the castle is, was the main anchor. "The one in the east was a backup. A backup plan.
"But the failsafe didn't work," Kael said.
“No. The failsafe worked. It held whatever they sealed down there. For centuries.” He pointed at the journal. “Until Mallory started digging.”
"Did he wake it up?"
"He got close." Close enough to touch it. "To dream about it." Liana looked at Theron. "The hunger in your chest is bound." But it's the same kind of dark. The same need. The same need to eat.
"Then we can tie this one up, too."
“Maybe.” Theron’s voice was quiet. “But the first lords couldn’t destroy it. They could only contain it. And Mallory’s excavations have weakened the seals.”
For a moment, Liana was quiet. Then: "We make them stronger."
Pip sat by the fire and stared at the flames with her silver eyes.
She sat across from Seraphina.
"You are the seer," she said. "The one who sees things."
"I see some things."
“What do you see about this place?”
Pip was quiet for a long moment. Then: “Darkness. Old darkness. It’s been waiting for a long time. It thought Mallory would free it. But he was too afraid.”
For a while, Pip was quiet. Then: "Darkness." Darkness from the past. It has been waiting for "And now?" I thought Mallory would set it free. But he was too scared.
“Now it’s waiting for us.” Pip looked at her. “It wants to know if we’re like the first lords. If we seal it again. Or if we’ll try to destroy it.”
“Can we destroy it?”
“I don’t know.” Pip’s voice was soft. “The Watcher doesn’t know. No one has ever tried.”
Liana walked the grounds alone.
The moon was bright, the stars sharp, and the air cold. The estate loomed behind her, dark and silent. The hills rose on all sides, their slopes thick with trees.
She stopped at the edge of the clearing.
The Watcher stirred.
"You feel it," the voice said. Not words. Presence.
“I feel it.”
It knows you’re here. It knows what you carry.
“Is it afraid?”
It’s hungry. It’s always hungry. But it’s also cautious. The first lords hurt it when they sealed it away. It doesn’t want to be hurt again.
Liana touched her chest. “Neither do I.”
Then we must be careful.
She looked at the hills, at the dark, at the thing that waited beneath.
“We will.”