Arias' note was still on her desk. She had not forgotten about it. She just could not stop reading it. It said to stop searching for the people. Start searching for the living people. Aria had read the note many times that she knew every word. It still did not make sense to her. It was easy to make a list of the people. There was Liam. Daren. The healers who had disappeared. The people who had gone missing under the reservoir. Even her father. The man she thought was dead for twenty years. The living people... Who was she supposed to find? It was raining outside. The sound of the rain was loud against the windows of the Healers Hall. The building was quiet except for the sound of the night staff walking around and the crackling of the fireplace. Then there was a knock on the door. "Come in, " Aria said without looking up. Nyra came in with two cups of tea. "I thought you might have forgotten that people need to sleep, " Nyra said. "I have not forgotten, " Aria said

The warning bell kept echoing long after it should have stopped.That was part of it.Not the loud noise. The silence that followed.The village changed in a few seconds.It went from looking like a forgotten place to feeling like it was hiding something.Doors that were open moments before were now closed.Windows that had been watching them arrive were now covered up.People who had been walking in the streets disappeared into their homes like they had practiced it times before.They had.Aria noticed this.This was not panic, this was routine."They have done this before, " she said quietly.Rowan looked around his face serious."Yes, " he said.Nyra folded her arms."I am starting to hate how often that word is the answer to our problems, " she said.Nobody responded because she was right.Many things had happened before.The notes, the missing records, the investigation into Liam, the serpent mark, her fathers disappearance, Darren's death.Someone had been moving pieces long bef

The old reservoir did not look like a place that held answers.It looked like a grave.Aria stood at the entrance staring down at the cracked stone steps that went into darkness. The city had forgotten this place. Moss covered the walls. The iron gates were covered in rust. The air smelled old like something that had been sealed away for long.Someone had been here recently.That was the part she could not ignore.The lock on the gate had been broken. Not destroyed. Opened.Someone had entered.Someone had known where to go.Rowan stood beside her silent as usual when his thoughts were too loud.Nyra looked between them. "I just want everyone to know that when we find something down there I am officially blaming both of you.”Aria glanced at her. "Both of us?”“Yes." Nyra pointed at Rowan. "Him for knowing much." Then at Aria. "You for refusing to stop looking.”“That’s fair, " Aria said.Nyra looked surprised. "Wait. You agreed?”“Don’t make me change my mind.”For a moment the tensi

The stone door made a noise as it moved across the entrance.Dust fell from the ceiling.The tunnel shook under their feet."Move!" Rowan shouted.The guards went forward pushing their shoulders against the stone slab.It did not move.Arias' heart beat fast."Again!"They pushed harder.Nothing happened.The old mechanism kept movingNyra looked at the space that was getting smaller."We are not going to make it!"Adrian appeared in the opening just before it became too small."Stop pushing!" he yelled.Rowan turned quickly."Have you lost your mind?""If you force it you will start the lock!"The guards stepped back immediately."What second lock?" Aria asked.Adrian bent down beside the doorway running his fingers over the stone."This entrance was made to catch people who are not supposed to be "His hand stopped over a carving that was almost invisible under the dust."There."Aria moved closer to The Keepers Path.The carving was not just for show.It was another snake.This one

The deep groan of stone echoed through the complex.Everyone stopped moving.This time it was not their imagination.The sound went through the corridors like thunder that's far away and it made the ground shake beneath their feet.Nyra swallowed hard."I really liked it when this place was empty, " she said.Rowan lifted his lantern up high."That noise came from downstairs, " he said.Adrian nodded."The Second Chamber " he said.Aria looked at the letter again.It said "Do not let Elias reach the Second Chamber."These words meant a lot more now."If my father is alive..." she started to say "...then someone thinks he is coming here.""Or maybe he is already here, " Rowan said.Nobody liked this idea.Aria carefully folded the letter. Put it in her coat next to the photograph and the map.Every clue seemed to fit now.There was Daren's message, the hidden entrance, the serpent ring and her fathers watch.All of these things had been leading them deeper into the place beneath the re