A click echoed, and a thin beam of blue light sliced through the darkness.

It pointed directly at the floorboards near my feet.

There was a trapdoor, hidden beneath a faded rug.

“Open it,” the stranger said.

“Before the others arrive.”

I looked at Ana, her face pale in the blue light.

She nodded once.

I knelt down and pulled the rug aside.

The iron ring of the trapdoor was cold and rusted.

I grabbed it, taking a deep breath as I prepared to pull.

The hinge screamed as I lifted the heavy wood.

A blast of damp, earthy air hit my face.

The blue light shone down into the dark opening, revealing a ladder leading down.

“Go,” the stranger whispered.

“Now.”

I didn’t hesitate.

I put my foot on the first rung, descending into the unknown.

The legacy of Abigail Darcy was waiting below.

And there was no turning back.

The hatch slammed shut above us, plunging us back into the dark.

The lock turned.

We were in the earth.

The sound of footsteps echoed on the wood above our heads.

They had arrived.