the crowns hollows

chapter eleven

The door closed behind them.

Not with a crash.

Not with the grinding roar of ancient stone.

It simply clicked.

A tiny sound.

Almost delicate.

Kael turned around.

The enormous doorway they had just walked through was gone.

There was no seam in the wall.

No handle.

No mechanism.

Only a seamless expanse of black stone.

Kael stared at it.

"That's not good."

Darius walked over and ran one scarred hand across the wall.

"Agreed."

"Can you open it?"

"No."

Kael looked at Lyric.

"Can you?"

She shook her head.

"Not from this side."

Kael's stomach tightened.

"So we're trapped."

Orin's voice came from behind them.

"Not trapped."

Everyone looked at him.

He studied the wall.

"Committed."

Kael frowned.

"There's a difference?"

Orin turned toward the darkness ahead.

"Trapped means you can't leave."

He began walking.

"Committed means the only way forward is through."

Kael looked at Lyric.

"Does he always talk like that?"

"Unfortunately."

Darius chuckled.

"You'll get used to it."

Kael followed them.

He wasn't sure whether that was possible.

The Road Beneath Veyr

The passage stretched into darkness.

At first, Kael assumed it was simply another tunnel.

Then he noticed the walls.

They weren't stone.

Not entirely.

The surface was too smooth.

Too dark.

There were subtle curves where no curves should exist.

The walls seemed to bend inward like ribs.

Thin silver veins ran through the black material.

Kael stopped beside one.

It pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

He pulled his hand away.

"Did you see that?"

Lyric looked.

"Yes."

"That's alive."

"Probably."

Kael stared at her.

"Probably?"

She gave him a tired look.

"Do you want the comforting answer or the honest one?"

"The honest one."

"We don't know."

Kael sighed.

"Right."

Orin continued ahead.

"Don't touch the walls."

"Why?"

"Because they respond."

Kael immediately stopped reaching toward one.

"Respond how?"

Orin didn't turn.

"To life."

That answer wasn't nearly specific enough.

They continued.

Their footsteps echoed strangely.

Sometimes Kael heard the sound ahead of them.

Sometimes behind.

Once, he heard a fourth set of footsteps.

He stopped.

Everyone stopped.

Darius turned.

"What?"

Kael listened.

Nothing.

"I thought I heard someone."

Lyric's eyes narrowed.

"Where?"

"Behind us."

Darius looked down the corridor.

Nothing.

Orin raised a hand.

"Don't move."

Everyone waited.

The silence was oppressive.

Then—

Step.

A footfall echoed somewhere in the darkness behind them.

Darius tightened his grip on his axe.

Step.

Another.

Closer.

Kael's heart began pounding.

"There's someone there."

Lyric whispered:

"Don't turn around."

Kael frowned.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what you'll see."

Another step.

Then silence.

Kael couldn't resist.

He turned.

The corridor was empty.

But something was standing at the far end.

A silhouette.

Tall.

Thin.

Almost human.

Kael blinked.

It was gone.

"Did you see that?"

Lyric looked at him.

"No."

Kael swallowed.

"Good."

He wasn't sure why that made him feel worse.

The Chamber of Faces

After another ten minutes, the passage widened.

A huge circular doorway appeared ahead.

There was no door.

Only an opening.

Orin raised a silver lantern.

The light revealed an enormous chamber.

Kael stepped inside.

He immediately stopped.

Hundreds of statues surrounded them.

Men.

Women.

Children.

Warriors.

Kings.

Beggers.

Priests.

Every statue was carved from pale stone.

Every one stood facing the center.

Kael slowly turned.

"They're people."

Orin's voice was quiet.

"They were."

Kael moved closer.

The details were incredible.

He could see wrinkles.

Hair.

Clothing.

Even tiny scars.

Then he noticed something.

Every statue had its mouth slightly open.

Kael frowned.

"Why are they all..."

Lyric finished for him.

"Listening."

Kael looked toward the center.

"Listening to what?"

Something whispered.

You.

Kael froze.

His mark burned.

The statues began turning their heads.

One by one.

Then faster.

Until all of them were staring directly at him.

Darius raised his axe.

"Tell me those things aren't going to move."

One statue's finger twitched.

Darius sighed.

"I knew I shouldn't have asked."

The Dead That Remembered

The first statue stepped forward.

Stone scraped against stone.

Its movements were wrong.

Too abrupt.

Too fast.

It took one step.

Stopped.

Then suddenly appeared ten feet closer.

Kael backed away.

Another statue moved.

Then another.

Lyric drew her sword.

"Stay behind me."

Kael shook his head.

"I'm not helpless."

"I didn't say you were."

The first statue lunged.

Darius's axe came down.

CRACK.

The statue shattered.

Black smoke exploded from the pieces.

The smoke crawled across the floor like fingers.

Kael stared.

"That isn't normal."

Darius looked at him.

"You're becoming an expert."

Another statue attacked.

Lyric moved like a shadow.

Her sword flashed.

The statue's head fell.

It didn't shatter.

It simply turned to dust.

Then another moved.

And another.

Kael backed toward the center.

A statue stepped into the light.

He froze.

The stone began changing.

The face softened.

Stone became skin.

The hair darkened.

The shoulders broadened.

Kael's heart stopped.

"Dad?"

Garran stood before him.

His father.

Exactly as Kael remembered him.

The worn face.

The tired eyes.

The crooked scar along his jaw.

Even the old leather coat.

The imitation smiled.

"Kael."

Kael couldn't breathe.

Lyric immediately stepped in front of him.

"Don't."

Kael stared around her.

"That's my father."

"No."

"He looks like him."

"I know."

"He sounds like him."

"I know."

The imitation stepped closer.

"You've grown."

Kael's eyes burned.

"You're not him."

The thing smiled.

"How do you know?"

"Because my father would never say that."

The smile widened.

Then the face changed.

Kael's blood ran cold.

His mother's face replaced his father's.

Her eyes.

Her mouth.

Her dark hair.

The small scar beneath her chin.

Everything.

"Kael."

He couldn't move.

Lyric stepped closer.

"Don't listen."

His mother's face smiled.

"Come here."

Kael whispered:

"Mom."

Lyric grabbed his hand.

"No."

"But—"

"Look at the eyes."

Kael did.

His mother's eyes were wrong.

There was no warmth.

No recognition.

Only curiosity.

Like a scientist observing an insect.

Lyric whispered:

"That's how you know."

Kael looked at the creature.

"My mother loved me."

The imitation's expression changed.

For the first time, uncertainty appeared.

Kael continued.

"She would never look at me like that."

The creature's face twisted.

Lyric raised her sword.

"Exactly."

The imitation screamed.

The Thing Wearing a Face

Its body erupted outward.

Bones cracked.

Arms lengthened.

The torso split apart.

Black armor pushed through flesh.

Its face opened vertically.

Not like a mouth.

Like a wound.

Several pale eyes appeared inside.

Kael stumbled backward.

The creature unfolded.

It was too tall.

Too thin.

Its limbs bent at angles that shouldn't have been possible.

Darius raised his axe.

"Now that's more like it."

The creature lunged.

Kael's body reacted before his mind did.

His mark ignited.

Black armor exploded across his forearm.

His fingers elongated.

Claws formed.

The creature struck.

Kael caught the blow.

The impact threw him across the floor.

He rolled.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

He looked up.

The creature was already coming again.

Kael moved.

Faster.

His legs changed.

The muscles tightened.

His vision sharpened.

Everything slowed.

He dodged.

The creature's claws passed inches from his face.

Kael struck its ribs.

The blow sent it crashing through three statues.

He stared at his hand.

The transformation had spread.

Black plates covered his arm and shoulder.

One side of his chest was changing.

His fingers were no longer completely human.

And inside him—

something was smiling.

Not him.

Something else.

A thought entered his mind.

Threat.

Kael looked at the creature.

Another thought followed.

Destroy.

He felt the urge.

Powerful.

Simple.

Absolute.

Kill it.

End the threat.

He took a step forward.

The creature rose.

Kael's claws extended.

"Kael!"

Lyric.

Her voice cut through the instinct.

He looked at her.

She stood several yards away.

Her sword was lowered.

She wasn't afraid of him.

She was afraid for him.

"Look at me."

Kael's breathing became heavier.

The creature moved behind her.

"Lyric."

"I know."

"Move."

"No."

The creature lunged.

Kael disappeared.

For one heartbeat, there was nothing where he had stood.

Then he appeared between them.

His claws slammed into the creature.

The impact cracked the floor.

The monster screamed.

Kael drove it backward.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Then he stopped.

His claws were inches from its throat.

The creature's many eyes stared into his.

Kael could feel the thing inside him urging him forward.

End threat.

His claws moved.

Then stopped.

He looked at Lyric.

She was watching him.

Waiting.

Trusting him.

Kael slowly lowered his hand.

"No."

The creature vanished into black smoke.

The transformation immediately began receding.

Kael fell to his knees.

Lyric reached him.

He was shaking.

"I wanted to kill it."

"I know."

"I really wanted to."

"I know."

He looked at her.

"What if next time I don't stop?"

Lyric crouched beside him.

"Then I'll remind you who you are."

Kael swallowed.

"And if that doesn't work?"

She met his eyes.

"Then I'll fight you."

The Chamber Below

Orin had been studying the floor.

He finally spoke.

"There's another level."

Darius looked at him.

"Of course there is."

Orin pointed toward the center of the chamber.

The circular platform had opened.

Beneath it was a staircase descending into darkness.

Kael stood.

His legs still felt weak.

"How far down?"

Orin looked into the darkness.

"Far."

"That's not helpful."

"No."

They descended.

The air became colder.

The walls became darker.

Eventually the staircase opened into a chamber unlike anything Kael had seen.

Hundreds of small lights floated in the air.

Each one was different.

Blue.

White.

Gold.

Black.

They drifted like stars.

Kael stepped closer to one.

An image appeared inside.

A village.

Another.

A battlefield.

Another.

A woman running through snow.

A child hiding under a table.

A man standing before a black door.

Kael realized what they were.

"Memories."

Orin nodded.

"Stored memories."

"Whose?"

"Everyone who has touched the Hollow."

Kael stared.

"Everyone?"

"Some."

He stepped closer.

"Why keep them?"

"Because memory is evidence."

Kael looked around.

"And because the Hollow steals them."

The Memory of His Parents

One light floated toward Kael.

It was dim.

Almost gray.

He didn't touch it.

But it moved closer anyway.

The image appeared.

A mine.

Twenty years earlier.

Kael recognized it immediately.

His father stood inside.

Younger.

Bloodied.

His sword was drawn.

Across from him stood a woman.

Kael's mother.

Kael stopped breathing.

"Mom."

The memory continued.

Garran grabbed her arm.

"You can't go in."

His mother shook her head.

"I have to."

"You know what's down there."

"I know."

"You won't come back."

She smiled sadly.

"I know."

Garran's voice broke.

"You promised me."

"I promised I'd protect him."

"Then stay."

She looked toward the black doorway.

"He's already been marked."

Garran froze.

"How?"

She whispered:

"Before he was born."

Kael's blood went cold.

His father stepped backward.

"No."

"The Crown has chosen him."

His mother shook her head.

"No."

She looked toward the darkness.

"It hasn't chosen him."

A pause.

"It remembers him."

The memory shattered.

Kael staggered.

Lyric caught him.

"What did you see?"

Kael couldn't answer immediately.

His throat felt closed.

Finally:

"My mother."

"What did she say?"

Kael looked at her.

"She said the Hollow knew me before I was born."

Lyric's face went pale.

Orin closed his eyes.

Darius stopped joking.

Nobody spoke.

Then Kael asked:

"What does that mean?"

Orin answered:

"We don't know."

Kael laughed bitterly.

"Of course."

But this time Orin didn't look annoyed.

He looked frightened.

The Broken Crown

Something moved in the center of the chamber.

A small object rose from the darkness.

Seven black fragments.

They floated in a circle.

Slowly rotating.

One piece glowed faintly silver.

Kael stared.

"What is that?"

Orin whispered:

"The Crown."

Kael stepped closer.

"That's the Hollow Crown?"

"No."

Orin's eyes narrowed.

"It's what remains of it."

"The Crown was destroyed?"

"Long ago."

"By who?"

"We don't know."

Kael looked at the fragments.

"Then why is it here?"

Orin didn't answer.

The fragments rotated faster.

One separated.

It floated toward Kael.

Lyric immediately stepped between them.

"No."

The fragment stopped.

Kael felt something inside him pull.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

His soul seemed to recognize the object.

The mark on his arm ignited.

Lyric looked at him.

"Kael."

"I'm not doing anything."

"I know."

The fragment moved closer.

Kael reached out.

Lyric grabbed his wrist.

"Don't touch it."

Kael looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what happens."

"I need to know."

"Not like this."

The fragment hovered inches from his hand.

Then it suddenly turned.

It flew past Kael.

Straight into the darkness.

Orin's face changed.

"No."

Kael turned.

"What?"

Orin looked toward the passage.

"The Crown has awakened."

Darius's grip tightened around his axe.

"What does that mean?"

Orin answered:

"It means someone else has felt it."

The Crowned

Footsteps echoed from above.

Many footsteps.

Kael looked toward the staircase.

Darius raised his axe.

"How many?"

Orin listened.

"Too many."

Lyric drew her sword.

"Everyone back."

The footsteps grew louder.

Then a figure appeared.

Black robes.

A white mask.

A broken crown painted across the forehead.

Another figure appeared.

Then another.

Then another.

Dozens.

The Crowned.

The cult had followed them.

Kael felt his transformation begin.

The mark burned.

Black armor crawled across his forearm.

Lyric noticed.

"Kael."

"I'm fine."

"Control it."

He breathed.

The armor stopped.

He looked at his hand.

It remained partially transformed.

For the first time, he didn't panic.

He simply accepted it.

The claws stayed.

Controlled.

Waiting.

Darius smiled.

"That's the spirit."

Lyric looked at him.

"Don't encourage him."

"I like the claws."

"They're not a toy."

"Didn't say they were."

The cultists spread across the staircase.

Their leader stepped through them.

He wasn't wearing the same mask.

His face was visible.

Kael recognized him.

Not personally.

From his father's memories.

The man who had stood beside Garran in the eastern mine.

One of the men who had supposedly died.

Kael stared.

"You."

The man smiled.

"At last."

Lyric stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

The man ignored her.

His eyes remained on Kael.

"Son of Garran."

Kael's claws flexed.

"What happened to my father?"

The man's smile faded.

For the first time, there was something almost like respect in his expression.

"Your father was brave."

Kael stepped forward.

"What happened?"

"He opened the door."

"And?"

"He saw what was waiting."

Kael's voice hardened.

"Where is he?"

The man tilted his head.

"You're asking the wrong question."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"What question should I ask?"

The man smiled.

"Not where is your father?"

He pointed toward the darkness behind Kael.

"But what came back with him?"

Silence.

Kael felt the blood drain from his face.

Lyric's expression changed.

"What are you talking about?"

The man laughed quietly.

"Your father didn't disappear."

Kael's heart stopped.

"He came back."

The chamber went silent.

Kael stared at him.

"You're lying."

"No."

The man looked toward the black mark on Kael's arm.

"He came back twenty years ago."

Kael's breathing stopped.

"Where?"

The man smiled.

"He's been waiting for you."

The lights went out.

Every single one.

Darkness swallowed the chamber.

Lyric shouted Kael's name.

Something moved behind him.

A hand touched his shoulder.

Cold.

Familiar.

And a voice whispered directly beside his ear:

"You finally came home."

Kael froze.

He knew that voice.

He had heard it in his dreams.

He had heard it in memories that weren't his.

He had heard it through the Hollow.

His father's voice.

Garran.

Kael slowly turned.

Two pale eyes opened in the darkness.

And whatever stood behind him smiled.