Chapter Fifty — Toward the Door
The valley emptied. Thousands of returned turned toward the mountains. The movement happened gradually at first. A single figure. Then ten. Then hundreds. Then thousands. Like a river changing course. Like blood rushing toward an open wound.
Aurora stood at the edge of the Ashbourne property and watched the dead abandon the town. The sight should have brought relief. It didn't. Because they weren't leaving. They were gathering. Answering a call. Following a purpose. And every instinct in her body screamed that whatever waited in those mountains was worse than anything Hollow Vale had endured so far.
The Veil burned beneath her skin. Not pain. Panic. The ancient power pulsed violently through her veins. Silver threads flickered across her hands. Across her arms. Across her throat. The reaction was getting stronger. The closer the returned moved toward the mountains, the stronger the Veil became. Or perhaps the more frightened it became.
"The door is opening." Darian's voice sounded distant. Like he was speaking from underwater. Aurora turned. Her brother remained pale. His eyes unfocused. His breathing uneven. He looked exhausted. But something else lingered beneath the exhaustion. Something darker. Every few seconds he would flinch. As though seeing things nobody else could.
"The stones..." His voice trembled. "The hill..." Then his eyes widened. A sharp gasp escaped him. He staggered backward. Aurora immediately caught him. "What did you see?" Darian stared toward the mountains. Terrified. "There are more." The answer emerged as a whisper. Aurora frowned. "More what?" The response came instantly. "Doors." Silence. Even Lucien stiffened. The reaction did not escape Aurora.
Caelum smiled. A slow smile. A dangerous smile. "Interesting." The word settled heavily over the valley. Darian grabbed Aurora's arm. Hard. Painfully hard. His eyes locked onto hers. "I don't think they're memories anymore." The statement sent ice through her veins.
Before she could respond a scream erupted nearby. Not from the town. From the road. Everyone turned. A group of survivors burst from between two houses. Five people. A man carrying a child. An elderly woman. Two teenagers. And a girl no older than twelve. They ran desperately toward the Ashbourne house. Toward safety. Toward hope.
Behind them came the returned. Not walking. Running. Aurora's stomach dropped. This was new. The returned had never moved like that before. They sprinted through the darkness. Silent. Fast. Terrifying. The survivors screamed. The distance between them vanished rapidly. The elderly woman fell first. The others didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
One of the returned reached her. Then another. Then another. Aurora expected violence. Blood. Screaming. Instead the old woman stopped struggling. Her face relaxed. The fear vanished. A smile spread slowly across her lips. Then she stood. Turned. And began walking toward the mountains. The survivors saw it. The little girl screamed. The sound cut through the night.
Aurora moved. The Veil exploded outward. Silver threads tore through the darkness. The nearest returned were thrown into the air. Several crashed through fences. Others slammed into trees. The survivors reached the property moments later. The man carrying the child nearly collapsed. "They've gone mad." His voice broke. "They've all gone mad."
Another returned lunged from the darkness. Gideon met it head-on. His blade connected. The impact sent both of them crashing into the dirt. Elara dragged the child behind her. Aurora unleashed the Veil again. Silver light erupted across the road. The ground cracked. The returned staggered. But they did not retreat. They simply smiled. That terrible smile. The smile Aurora was beginning to hate more than any monster.
Then the earth shook. Violently. The tremor nearly knocked everyone off their feet. A deafening crack echoed through the valley. The Ashbourne house groaned. Walls split. Windows shattered. Blue light erupted from beneath the foundation. Aurora spun around. Her blood ran cold. The house was collapsing. Not from age. Not from damage. From below. The ground beneath it was giving way.
"The Veil." Lucien's voice emerged sharply. "The anchor is failing." Another crack. Louder. The front porch collapsed inward. The yard split apart. The blue light beneath the earth intensified. Aurora suddenly understood. The house had never been ordinary. It had been part of the Binding. Part of the prison. And now it was breaking.
Her mother looked toward the sinking house. Pain filled her eyes. Generations of Ashbournes had lived there. Laughed there. Grieved there. Built lives there. Now it was dying. Just like the valley. Caelum watched the collapse with fascination. Not sadness. Not joy. Curiosity. As though observing a clock finally running out of time.
The roof caved in. The ground swallowed half the structure. Blue light burst into the sky. The returned immediately stopped. Every single one. Thousands of faces turning toward the dying house. Watching. Listening. Waiting. Then a sound emerged from beneath the earth. A deep groan. Ancient. Massive. Wrong. The kind of sound that belonged in nightmares.
Aurora felt every hair on her body stand upright. Even Caelum's smile faded. Only for a second. But it happened. And that frightened her more than anything else. Lucien grabbed her arm. "Move." Aurora looked toward him. "We're out of time."
The silver-eyed being stared toward the mountains. Toward the marching dead. Toward the darkness waiting beyond Hollow Vale. The urgency in his expression said everything. Whatever waited beyond those hills it was close. Far too close.
Aurora looked once at the collapsing remains of her home. Then at her family. Then toward the endless line of returned disappearing into the mountains. The choice had already been made. The nightmare was moving. And if they wanted any chance of surviving it they would have to follow.