Chapter 285

I slowly opened the hidden door to see what was on the other side.

Like the walls, the door was made of heavy granite, cut to fit between the columns, and perfectly balanced, making it easy to open and close after the lock was disengaged.

The short section of the hallway on the other side of the door was in shadow. Farther on, there was a T-junction about twenty feet into the tunnel. Light was shining from around both corners.

The walls, ceilings, and floor of the passage were granite. The space looked dry and a little dusty, but the air was clear and breathable.

Excitement buzzed through my veins as my mind tried to absorb what was before me. I heard stories about the Ivory Column Passages all my life.

Six of the tunnels led throughout and beneath the complex, making it possible for the highest-ranking members of the Association to move around the buildings without being seen.

The Association claimed the six passages had stopped being used a century ago and were sealed off.

But people still talked about the Seventh Passage somewhere in the maze of tunnels. Marked by a seventh unique set of Ivory Columns, it was said to be the entrance to the Seventh or Lycaon’s passage.

According to the legends, Lycaon’s passage was where a horrible beast slept, waiting to awaken and slaughter anyone who would dare to steal his priceless treasure.

In hundreds of years, nobody has ever reported finding Lycaon’s Passage, so maybe it doesn’t exist. But when we were young, Amy and I believed in the treasure, and we made childish plans to come to the Association and find it.

After we grew older, we forgot about the story of the treasure, the beast, and the Seventh Passage, but now my curiosity was fully aroused.

What this horrible beast looked like was unknown, but it was said to whisper to itself in a lost language when it sensed an intruder was near, and it killed them in a most painful way.

Even though I no longer believed the legend of the treasure and the beast, the mystery and adventure of exploring that ancient space was alluring.

“Plus, if I go into the passages, will I be worse off than I am now?” I asked myself.

As it was, I was lost. I didn’t know where I was or how to get out of the building. However, Cassidy had to be somewhere in the passages, and she must know her way around.

My excitement at exploring the passages took over my brain. I told myself I was doing the right thing and stepped through the hidden doorway.

The marble door closed behind me with a click, making my heart beat faster.

I walked toward the lights and gasped at the two snarling stone wolves carved into each side of the passage. The sculptor of these wolves was a master of his craft. The details of each figure were exquisite.

As I admired one of the stone wolves, something lightweight bounced off my head. I turned and stifled a shriek when I saw a fat spider swinging on its web.

I didn’t think about the likelihood of spiders.

“Yuck!” I said as I backed away from the quarter-sized arachnid and rubbed my hair to make sure there weren’t any other eight-legged creatures crawling in my hair.

Looking around to see how large the spider population was in the tunnels, I was relieved that the webs hanging everywhere near the ceiling were mostly old and empty.

The only places where live spiders hung around were near the overhead lights.

Single caged bulbs that looked as if they had been installed recently were spaced about thirty feet apart. The wires to each socket were hidden by metal conduit that ran between each light socket.

Where were the light switches hidden? I saw nothing that resembled a light switch on the smooth stone walls.

“Please, don’t let anyone turn off the lights while I’m in here,” I whispered into the silence and started walking.

I chose the right-hand side of the tunnel because it appeared to be longer than the left. There were cross tunnels at regular intervals that led to other passages, but I didn’t see any doors that could be an exit.

After walking about a hundred yards, the passage split in two. Spotting more stone wolves, I stopped to examine them and realized they may signify another door.

But a search of the dimly lit area showed nothing. Yet, there had to be a way to open the doors from inside the passages.

Finally, I gave up and moved on.

I felt like an explorer as I continued on, randomly choosing another segment of the tunnels when I had to change direction.

“I wish Amy were here,” I said softly. “She’d love exploring these tunnels too.”

Soon, I came to a four-way junction. The other three passages looked identical to the one I had just traversed.

“Which way should I go?” I said. “There must be a way out. I’d spotted more stone wolves along my way, but so far, I couldn’t find another door.

I held my breath when footsteps echoed through the passage on my left.

“It must be Cassidy!” I hurried in that direction, hoping to catch up with her. But the sound of footsteps faded, and there was nothing but silence and my heartbeat again.

Growing desperate, I began to run, trying to cover more ground quickly. After making several random turns into side tunnels, I had to stop and rest.

My heart was pounding, and my hands were shaking. I knew I had to calm down if I wanted to find a way out.

Because of the spiders around the lights, I chose a darker portion of a cross tunnel to squat down and lean my back against the tunnel wall.

Then, while concentrating on my breathing, I visualized myself finding the way out of the tunnels.

In a few minutes, I felt calmer and tried to get to my feet. But when I put my hands against the wall, I felt a rounded portion of the wall. What was it, another stone carving?

I ran my hand along its cool, smooth surface as I struggled to my feet, and the entire wall gave way. I fell forward into total darkness and landed on an uneven surface.

On my hands and knees, I could tell the floor sloped downward. I was afraid to stand in the total darkness.

“My phone!” I cried and pulled it from my pocket. I could use the flashlight feature to see where I was.

But the light from my cell phone only revealed more stone walls, ceilings with no light fixtures, and a downward-sloping floor.

The stone door behind me was closed, and there was no way to open it.

“Downhill it is,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

The sloping floor took me one level beneath the complex, and I began to look for another way out.

I reminded myself that my phone had almost a full charge and …wait. Could I call Victor for help?

I checked the phone screen and saw I had no signal. I tried to dial his number anyhow but was disappointed when the call wouldn’t go through.

Having no other choice, I began my search for a way out. I moved forward, searching for a door.

At the end of a cross passage, I found another pair of stone wolves. This pair had ruby eyes that glittered in my phone’s light. And behind them was a short passage with a door that was ajar!

I shone my light inside the room and saw boxes stacked as high as me and about ten feet across against one of the stone walls. Could it be the legendary treasure?

“Wait. The boxes are cardboard, and they look new.” I entered the room, shined my light over the boxes, and saw strange symbols and letters. “What language is that?”

I took a photo of the pile of boxes and then a closeup of the symbols and letters.

“I’ll look online when I get home to see what they mean,” I told myself. “I’ve got to keep moving and find a way out.”

My light struck the floor, and I screamed. Gravestones were making up parts of the floor! There were names and dates from centuries ago.

Did they bury people down here?

I was close to freaking out and began backing out of the room when I heard a sound that chilled me to the bone.

It was as if several people were talking at once in a language I didn’t understand.

Terrified, I began to tremble. It had to be the beast of the Seventh Passage.

It was awake!