Chapter Thirteen: Moonfall Cove
1014 Words
The music floated across the water.
Like a wind-whispered lullaby.
It was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Each haunting note ensnared Rowan’s mind. Dragging her feet toward the ocean.
She didn’t realize what she was doing.
One step.
And then another.
“Rowan.”
Elias sounded far away.
She didn’t even hear him.
The singing became louder.
The waves stopped crashing.
Instead, they sighed.
***Come closer…***
She took one last step.
Cold water splashed over her boots.
A pale hand grasped her wrist.
Rowan yelped.
Elias.
His hold on her arm was tight.
And his silver-gray eyes were wide with fear.
“Don’t listen to it.”
Rowan blinked.
The enchantment vanished.
She lurched backwards into the sand. Gasping for air.
“What… what just happened?”
“You were walking into the ocean.”
“I didn’t even realize I— “
“I know.”
Elias pointed toward the dark water.
“It almost happened to me.”
---
The music stopped.
As if it had never even begun.
The sea calmed down to a complete stillness.
Hovering just above the ground, a thick fog rolled over Moonfall Cove, masking everything beyond a few feet.
Rowan flicked her flashlight on.
The small beam struggled to pierce through the fog.
The compass Mrs. Holloway had given her began spinning wildly.
“It wasn’t doing that before,” she whispered.
“It means we’re close,” Elias answered.
“Close to what?”
“I don’t know.”
---
They continued walking along the beach until Moonfall Point jutted out into an enormous cliff.
Cloaked behind curtains of thick ivy was the opening of a sea cave.
The raven-shaped brass key around Rowan’s neck began to pulse with a soft blue light.
“I think this is it.”
Rows upon rows of silver stone lined the cave walls. Water dripped loudly from the cracks in the ceiling.
Muted by the expanse of rock around them, the world outside seemed quieter the further they walked.
At the very back of the tunnel sat an ancient stone door.
Engraved into the surface was the same symbol she’d seen all over Ashmoor House:
A half-moon cradled by winding ivy.
Words were etched below it:
***Only truth opens this path. ***
---
“There isn’t a keyhole,” Rowan murmured.
Elias studied the engraving.
“No.”
“There isn’t one.”
Her fingers traced over the intricate patterns etched into the cold stone.
Still nothing.
Then the stone trembled beneath her fingertips.
***Keeper…***
Rowan held her breath.
***Answer truthfully. ***
Light blossomed from the stone door.
Words slowly appeared:
***What binds the living to the dead? ***
Rowan stared at Elias.
“I don’t know.”
“You have to answer.”
“What if I say the wrong thing?”
“I don’t think you can say something that’s not true.”
The cave waited in silence.
Rowan thought of everything she’d learned over the past few weeks.
The memories.
The Heart.
The ghosts.
“Love.”
Her voice was quiet.
Almost a whisper.
But she said it.
Nothing happened.
Then the engravings erupted with silver light.
The stone door creaked open.
---
Behind the door was a circular chamber lit by hundreds of crystals.
Instead of the red crystals beneath Ashmoor House, these gems shone pale blue.
In the center of the room sat a marble pedestal.
And on that pedestal…
…was another crystal key.
It glowed from the inside out.
“The second key,” Rowan gasped.
Before she could move forward, another voice echoed through the chamber.
“You finally found it.”
Rowan spun around.
The woman in white stood at the entrance of the cave.
Clara.
For the first time since meeting her, Rowan could clearly see her face.
Clara was no longer transparent.
She looked almost alive.
There were tears in her eyes, but her lips curled into a smile.
“Elias…”
He looked at her.
“I know you.”
“You do.”
“I remember you.”
“You do.”
“Elias…”
He stepped forward.
“I remember your face.”
Clara smiled.
“You remembered that before.”
“But they took that from you.”
---
Elias’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Who?”
Clara shook her head.
“The Keepers.”
Rowan’s heart pounded.
“What?”
“They didn’t just guard the Heart.”
“The Keepers guarded its secrets.”
“They manipulated memories.”
“They changed history.”
“They made Elias believe dying was about love.”
Her gaze fell upon Rowan.
“It wasn’t.”
“It was about power.”
---
The cave shook beneath them.
The ground split open.
The crystals flickered out.
Clara looked towards the entrance of the cave.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
“The Watchers.”
Rowan had so many questions, but before she could speak, dozens of dark silhouettes spilled into the cave like ink.
The shadows merged until three tall creatures formed in front of them. Each one wore a cracked porcelain mask.
The creature Rowan recognized from the clock tower stepped forward.
But there were three of them this time.
The one standing in the middle spoke.
“You have taken what belongs to the prison.”
Clara stepped between Rowan and the masked figures.
“No,” Clara answered. “It belongs to the Keeper.”
The creature tilted its head.
“There should never have been another Keeper.”
It locked eyes with Rowan.
“The last Keeper failed.”
The cave shook harder.
One of the masked creatures raised a gloved hand.
The crystal key levitated from its pedestal and floated into the air.
Rowan lunged forward.
So did Elias.
The second their fingers brushed against the crystal…
Fire erupted throughout the cave.
Blinding white light.
Images bombarded Rowan’s vision.
Not Elias’s past.
Not Clara’s memories.
But her own grandmother’s.
And the last thing Eleanor Vale said to Rowan before she blacked out was:
***“Don’t trust the first Keeper.” ***
- Writer
