THE DEVIL'S CONSPIRACY Chapter3 The thing behind the door
1260 Words
THE DEVIL'S CONSPIRACY
Chapter 3: The Thing Behind the Door
The light disappeared.
Michael opened his eyes.
For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was.
Then he heard the breathing.
Slow.
Heavy.
Close.
He looked ahead.
The black stone door was still open.
But the creature behind it was gone.
Michael turned toward Malachar.
The devil was lying against the stone wall.
His body was covered in cracks, as though something had tried to tear him apart from the inside.
Michael had never seen Malachar afraid before.
Now the creature was terrified.
“Get up,” Michael whispered.
Malachar didn't move.
“What happened to you?”
Malachar slowly lifted his head.
“You opened the door.”
“I know.”
“No,” Malachar said. “You don't understand.”
He struggled to stand.
“I have spent centuries making sure that door remained closed.”
Michael stared at him.
“Centuries?”
Malachar looked toward the darkness.
“Before your family. Before this house. Before your ancestors were even born.”
A deep rumble shook the chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Michael stepped back.
“What is it?”
Malachar's voice dropped.
“The first one.”
Michael frowned.
“The first what?”
“The first thing that ever answered when humans called into the darkness.”
Another rumble.
This time, the stone floor cracked.
Michael looked at the doorway.
Two enormous eyes opened inside the darkness.
A voice followed.
“Malachar.”
The devil froze.
The voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
The entire chamber seemed to obey it.
Malachar lowered his head.
“My master.”
Michael stared at him.
“You serve it?”
Malachar didn't answer.
The creature behind the door spoke again.
“You were sent to collect the debt.”
“Yes.”
“And you failed.”
Malachar's hands trembled.
“Yes.”
Michael suddenly understood.
Malachar had never been the master.
He had only been the collector.
The creature was the one behind the family bargain.
Michael looked at the black key in his hand.
“Why does it want me?”
Malachar turned toward him.
“Because your ancestor betrayed it.”
“What did he do?”
“Your great-grandfather didn't make the original bargain.”
Michael's eyes widened.
“Then who did?”
Malachar looked at the doorway.
“Someone much closer to you.”
Michael felt his stomach tighten.
“Who?”
Before Malachar could answer, a woman's voice came from the darkness.
“Me.”
Michael stopped breathing.
He knew that voice.
His grandmother.
“No.”
A figure slowly appeared beyond the doorway.
An old woman stepped into the light.
Michael's eyes filled with tears.
“Grandma?”
She looked exactly as she had before her death.
But her eyes were completely black.
Michael stepped backward.
“You're not her.”
The woman smiled sadly.
“I'm what remains of her.”
Michael shook his head.
“You died.”
“I did.”
“Then why are you here?”
She looked toward the creature behind her.
“Because death wasn't the end of my bargain.”
Michael clenched his fists.
“You lied to me.”
“I tried to save you.”
“You knew about all of this!”
“Yes.”
“You knew they wanted me!”
“Yes.”
Michael's voice broke.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
His grandmother lowered her head.
“Because if you knew the truth, it would have found you sooner.”
The chamber became silent.
Michael looked at Malachar.
“What truth?”
His grandmother answered.
“Your family wasn't chosen by accident.”
Michael stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Your bloodline was created for one purpose.”
Michael's heart pounded.
“What purpose?”
“To open the door.”
The creature behind her moved.
Its enormous hand appeared from the darkness.
Michael stumbled backward.
His grandmother screamed:
“RUN!”
The creature's hand slammed into the stone floor.
The chamber shook violently.
Michael turned and ran.
Malachar grabbed his arm.
“Not that way!”
“Let go!”
“The stairs are gone!”
Michael looked behind him.
The staircase had disappeared.
The only exit was the black door.
And the creature was standing in front of it.
Malachar looked at Michael.
“There is another way.”
“Where?”
Malachar pointed toward the wall.
“Your family hid it.”
Michael rushed to the wall.
Symbols covered the stone.
He remembered the diary.
His grandmother had written about a hidden passage.
But the page had been damaged.
Only three words remained:
THE BLOOD OPENS.
Michael placed his hand against the wall.
Nothing happened.
Then he remembered the black key.
He pressed it against his palm.
The sharp edge cut his skin.
A drop of blood fell onto the symbol.
The wall moved.
A narrow doorway appeared.
Michael stared.
Malachar stepped closer.
“Go.”
Michael looked at him.
“What about you?”
Malachar shook his head.
“I cannot leave.”
“Why?”
“Because I am part of the bargain.”
The creature behind them roared.
Malachar pushed Michael toward the passage.
“GO!”
Michael entered.
The hidden door slammed shut.
Darkness surrounded him.
He could hear Malachar screaming behind the wall.
Then silence.
Michael stood alone.
He pulled out his phone.
There was no signal.
The screen showed one notification.
A message from his grandmother.
YOU HAVE ONLY UNTIL DAWN.
Michael stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
DO NOT TRUST MALACHAR.
He frowned.
A third message appeared.
DO NOT TRUST ME EITHER.
Michael's blood ran cold.
The phone slipped from his hand.
Something moved behind him.
He slowly turned.
A figure stood at the end of the tunnel.
It was a young woman.
She looked frightened.
“Michael?”
He stared at her.
“Who are you?”
She took a step forward.
“My name is Sarah.”
Michael didn't move.
“How do you know my name?”
The woman looked behind her.
“Because I've been trapped here for twelve years.”
Michael's heart stopped.
“Twelve years?”
She nodded.
“And I've been waiting for someone from your family.”
“Why?”
Sarah's eyes filled with fear.
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
She whispered:
“Your grandmother wasn't trying to break the pact.”
Michael felt the ground disappear beneath him.
“What are you saying?”
Sarah stepped closer.
“She was trying to finish it.”
Michael stared at her.
“That isn't possible.”
Sarah shook her head.
“She brought you here.”
Behind Michael, something scratched against the stone wall.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Sarah's face went pale.
“It's awake.”
Michael looked toward the sound.
“What is?”
Sarah whispered:
“The thing your family has been feeding for seventy-two years.”
The tunnel suddenly went dark.
Then a voice whispered directly into Michael's ear.
“Welcome back.”
Michael spun around.
Nobody was there.
But on the wall in front of him, fresh letters appeared as though carved by invisible hands:
CHAPTER ONE WAS NEVER THE BEGINNING.
Michael stared at the words.
Then another line appeared beneath them.
YOUR FAMILY'S FIRST SIN HAS YET TO BE REVEALED.
Somewhere far behind him, Malachar screamed.
And Sarah whispered:
“It's coming.”
To be continued…
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