Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
The moment her skin made contact with the silver, impressions flooded her mind.
Water filled desperate lungs, salt burned her throat. Hands dragged her through stone passages while she fought and screamed. The beacon spun overhead as blood streamed down her face. Winston Aldrich’s voice echoed off stone walls: “She knows too much about our operations.” The splash as they threw her into the tidal pool beneath the structure, where the current would carry her body out to sea.
Vivienne gasped and dropped the locket. It clattered onto the desk.
Brooks was on his feet. “What just happened? Your eyes—they went completely white.”
Her hands trembled. She reached for her water glass with shaking fingers and took a measured sip, using the grounding techniques her mother had perfected. The room spun, then steadied.
“Vivienne.” Brooks moved closer but didn’t touch her. “What did you see?”
She pulled a small cloth bag from her desk drawer, removing dried herbs that she crushed between her palms. The familiar lavender and sage scent helped center her. “Water. Drowning. Lily fought—she fought so hard. But they dragged her through the tunnels.” Her voice caught. “Winston Aldrich. I heard his voice. He said she knew too much about their operations. Then they threw her into the water beneath the structure.”
“Jesus.” Brooks ran a hand through his hair. “You’re still shaking.”
“It always happens after. The intensity . . .” She tucked the herb sachet back into her drawer and met his eyes. “That’s why no one ever found her. The tidal pools connect to the underground river system. The current carried her deep into the flooded chambers.”
Brooks stared at the locket on her desk. “What I just watched—your eyes, the way you weren’t here—that’s not possible.”
“And yet.”
He paced to the window, then back. “This is insane. Except you knew about the cove. You knew about the blood. And now you’re telling me exactly where to find a body that’s been missing for twenty-five years.”
“There’s an entrance through the sea caves, accessible only at low tide.”
“If you’re wrong about this—if I drag Chief Sullivan and a forensics team out there based on a vision—”
“I’m not wrong.” Vivienne’s voice was steady now despite her trembling hands. “My mother spent years developing techniques to manage these abilities. Previous generations thought the gift would kill them. She proved it was just exhaustion, that with proper preparation you could help the dead without destroying yourself.”
Brooks stopped pacing. “The dead.”
“Lily is still there, Brooks. Still calling for justice. The dead don’t rest until someone hears them.”
He looked at her for a long moment, his rational mind clearly at war with what he’d just witnessed. Finally, he nodded. “What do you need to prepare for this?”
“Just my grandmother’s compass and some protective herbs. The spirits want to help us. They’re not a threat, they’re our allies in this investigation.” As they prepared to leave, Vivienne cast one last glance at the grimoire. The symbols on its cover seemed to pulse with warm light, responding to her confidence in her family’s true legacy.
Someone had to speak for the dead, but that didn’t mean sacrificing the living.
They met Chief Sullivan at the beacon an hour before low tide. The chief had brought Officer Daniels and proper cave exploration equipment: rope, waterproof flashlights, and safety harnesses. His expression suggested skepticism about Vivienne’s “feelings” but also recognition that her insights had proven accurate before.
“Miss Hawthorne believes there’s an entrance to underground chambers accessible through the sea caves. Given the tidal patterns and what we know about Lily Morgan’s disappearance, it’s worth investigating.”
Sullivan studied the rocky coastline, calculating risk. “The caves are dangerous even at low tide. Sharp rocks, unstable footing, limited time before the water rises again. If we’re going in, we do it by the book: safety protocols, constant communication, and we’re out at the first sign of trouble.”
“Understood.”
Vivienne stood slightly apart, her fingers wrapped around Emmeline’s compass. The needle spun, then pointed toward a section of cliff face that appeared solid from this angle. “There. Behind that rock formation.”
They descended, using the rope system Daniels had set up. The footing was treacherous, made worse by seaweed and spray from the retreating tide. Vivienne moved with confidence, her boots finding purchase on the slick rocks.
The opening was exactly where she’d indicated, a narrow fissure partially obscured by the natural rock formation. Brooks shone his light inside, revealing a passage that widened after the first few feet.
“I’ll go first,” he said, but Vivienne was already moving forward.
“The spirits are strongest near entrances. I need to be in front to read their guidance clearly.”
Before Brooks could argue, she’d slipped through the opening. He followed with Sullivan and Daniels close behind. The passage opened into a larger cave system, the walls glistening with moisture and phosphorescent algae providing an eerie greenish glow.
Vivienne paused, her hand pressed against the stone. “She was here. Lily. I can feel her terror, her desperate attempt to escape.” She moved deeper into the cave, following a path that seemed invisible to the others.