Chapter 1837

The passage was narrow, with rough wooden walls that seemed to have grown rather than been built. Silver roots ran along the ceiling. Small drops of water fell from them, disappearing before they touched the floor.

The voices grew louder.

"Jude!"

"Over here!"

"Help us!"

Jude moved faster.

At the end of the passage was a small chamber.

A circular pool occupied its centre.

The water was perfectly still.

Around it stood twelve wooden chairs.

Each chair had a name carved into its back.

Jude recognised all twelve names.

Susan. Rose. Serena. Layla. Natalie. Zoey. Lucy. Stella. Emma. Grace. Sophie. Scarlet.

But there was a thirteenth chair.

Its back was blank.

And beside it stood a fourteenth chair, turned away from the pool.

Jude approached.

"Where are they?"

Sol pointed towards the water.

"Look."

Jude leaned over the pool.

The reflection showed the village.

The central firepit.

The shared house.

The gardens.

The wooden walkways.

And all twelve wives.

They were standing around the firepit, looking towards the northern mountain.

Jude recognised the clothes they were wearing.

The same clothes from the morning they had found Sol.

They were calling his name.

He reached towards the water.

The older Jude caught his wrist.

"Don’t touch it."

Jude turned.

"Why?"

"Because the pool doesn’t show what is happening."

"What does it show?"

"What the house wants you to remember."

The reflection changed.

The village disappeared.

Now the pool showed a small wooden bedroom.

A bed.

A table.

A window.

A child sitting on the floor.

Jude recognised the room from the fourteenth door.

But this time there were two children.

The first Sol was sitting beside the bed.

The third child was standing near the window.

They were playing with a wooden bird.

Jude watched as the third child handed it to Sol.

The first Sol smiled.

Then the image changed.

The two children were standing before a large wooden door.

The older Jude was kneeling in front of them.

He placed a hand on each child’s shoulder.

Then he stood.

And walked through the door.

The first Sol remained behind.

The third child began crying.

The older Jude did not turn around.

Jude looked at the man beside him.

"You left them both?"

The older man stared at the water.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I thought I could save one."

"And you couldn’t?"

"I saved the wrong one."

Sol looked up.

"Which one?"

The older Jude didn’t answer.

Sol stepped towards him.

"Which one did you save?"

The older man looked at the boy.

"You."

Sol stared.

Then he shook his head.

"No."

"I took you away."

"No."

"I brought you to the island."

"No!"

"I thought if I separated you from the first house, it would never find you."

Sol backed away.

The boy’s voice trembled.

"What happened to my brother?"

The older Jude lowered his head.

"I left him behind."

The pool began rippling.

A small hand appeared beneath the water.

Then another.

Jude stepped back.

The water rose without spilling over the edge.

A face appeared beneath its surface.

It was the third Sol.

His eyes were open.

He looked directly at Jude.

"Keeper."

Jude didn’t move.

"Can you hear me?"

The child beneath the water smiled.

"Can you hear him?"

Jude glanced at Sol.

The first boy was staring at the pool.

"Don’t listen," the older Jude warned.

The third child pressed his palm against the underside of the water.

A thin silver crack appeared across the surface.

"Ask your boy what he remembers."

Jude turned towards Sol.

"Sol?"

The boy looked down.

"Do you remember leaving your brother?"

Sol shook his head.

"Do you remember the door?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember who opened it?"

Sol looked at the older Jude.

Then back at Jude.

And whispered:

"I did."

The chamber fell silent.

Jude stared at him.

"You opened the door?"

Sol nodded slowly.

"I wanted to find Father."

The older Jude closed his eyes.

"I told you not to."

"I thought you were inside."

"I wasn’t."

"I heard you calling."

The boy’s voice broke.

"I thought you were waiting."

Jude looked towards the older man.

"What happened?"

The older Jude looked as though he could barely stand.

"He heard my voice from the other side of the door. He opened it. The first house awakened, and the world began to collapse."

Sol shook his head.

"I didn’t know."

"I know."

"I didn’t know it would happen."

"I know."

The boy looked at Jude.

"I thought I was bringing everyone home."

Jude knelt beside him.

"You were a child."

Sol lowered his head.

"But they disappeared."

The pool shuddered.

The third child beneath the water laughed.

"Not everyone."

The silver crack spread.

Something began pushing against the surface.

The older Jude grabbed Sol.

"We have to go."

Jude looked at the chairs.

"What are these?"

"Places," the older man said.

"For whom?"

"For the people the first house is trying to bring back."

Jude looked at the twelve names.

"And the fourteenth?"

The older Jude stared at the blank chair.

"That’s for the one who must remember."

Jude turned towards the chair that was facing away from the pool.

"Who sits there?"

The older man didn’t answer.

The chair slowly turned.

Its back was carved with a name.

Not Jude.

Not Sol.

Not any of the twelve women.

It was a name Jude had never seen before.

He stepped closer.

The letters were faint, as though someone had tried to erase them.

But he could still read them.

ELYRION.

A low rumble passed through the chamber.

The pool erupted.

Water rose in a perfect column, twisting into the shape of a tree. Its branches spread across the ceiling, and its roots curled around the twelve chairs.

The third child emerged from the water.

He stood on the surface as if it were solid ground.

His pale cloth hung around him like a small robe.

He looked at Sol.

"You remembered."

Sol stepped backwards.

The child smiled.

"Now remember the rest."