Chapter 3

I found Julian one morning, supervising a crew near the entrance to the oldest part of the caverns, the place we called the Echoing Deep.

They had chainsaws.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, my voice tight.

Julian turned, his smile infuriatingly calm. "Just a little... expansion, Eli. For the hydrotherapy pools. Izzy approved."

Izzy. Of course.

I went to her, found her on the veranda, sketching designs for a new guest lodge.

"You can' t let him do this," I said, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. "This is sacred ground."

She sighed, putting down her pencil. "Eli, we' ve been over this. It' s an untapped resource. Think of the good we can do, the people we can help. And honestly, it' ll bring in significant revenue."

Revenue. Our dead child was barely cold, and she was talking about revenue.

"My family has protected this for generations."

"And now it' s time for it to protect us, our future," she said, her tone implying I was being unreasonable, stuck in the past.

Later that day, Eleanor confronted them.

I heard raised voices from the study. I rushed in.

My mother was standing, her face flushed, pointing a trembling finger at Julian. "You are a viper, sir! You will not defile this place!"

Izzy was trying to calm her. "Mother Vance, please, you' ll make yourself ill."

Julian just watched, a look of detached amusement on his face.

Then, Eleanor gasped, her hand flying to her chest. She swayed.

I caught her before she fell. A stroke.

As the paramedics carried her out, Julian murmured to Izzy, loud enough for me to hear, "Tragic. All this negative energy from the old ways... it takes a toll."

My blood ran cold.