Chapter 35: A Hidden Truth

The morning had invaded Eldridge Falls, yet a hint of the sun had managed to fight its way over it. All morning the town had stayed in this bleak shade. She strolled down the quiet streets, Nathaniel sauntering beside her. She knew that pressed into the air between them was the weight of what stood the fires were gone, but the fear wasn't. Those whom they once sought for protection now eyed them with distrust. It was as though the divide in that town increased with every day, and Emma knew this was far from over. "We're missing something, Nathaniel," Emma whispered as they drew near to the town hall. "Something in this town. It's deeper than we thought." Nathaniel furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? Emma halted and turned toward the old, rickety building. "The secret society, Marcus, the symbols. All here, all tracing back to town history. There's something in Eldridge Falls' history we missed. I think this is affiliated with this awakening of evil." Nathaniel nodded, eyes squinting with resolved hardness. "Then we find out what it is. Whatever it takes." Inside, the Town Hall lay stale, thickly coated with dust. Creaking opened into darkly lit archives to admit them: a small room lined up with old books, yellowed papers, and records forgotten by time. It smelled of mould and age, one of those smells that crawled over her skin. "This place is ancient," Emma breathed, running her fingers over a stack of dusty books. "There has to be something here." They separated, wading into no man's land made of papers so they could, hopefully, emerge on the other side with something that would draw them closer to the truth. It wasn't until Nathaniel came across some tattered leather bound book in some far corner that things took a turn for the better. "Emma," Nathaniel called low, raising the book. "I think I found it." She was in an instant beside him at the bookshelf, her heart spurting into action. It was a very, very old book; the leather cover cracked with age. On the front was a symbol-one they'd seen before. The same one carved into the walls and painted on doors burned into the town hall. "It is," Emma whispered, her voice still in partial shock. She reached to take the book from Nathaniel; her hands were shaking a little. She opened the cover with such gentleness, that the crackling of her fingers on the brittle pages sounded like wood popping in a fire. The writing inside was all but illegible, yet one word leapt out at her, sending her blood to ice: **Paganmoor**. "A name," she breathed back. "A place." Nathaniel scowled and hunched a little nearer over the book. "I have never heard of it. Still, it does sound as though it has to do with the founding of the town. They did, and the pages began to turn as the story of Eldridge Falls unfolded before them-a town that was founded many, many centuries ago, not by ordinary settlers but by the founders of that town, those who had belonged to some sort of secret group, an ancient order that had come to Eldridge Falls in search of power. And there, they had found something underground-something dark and terrible. "They found an ancient evil," Nathaniel said, his voice grim, as he read over her shoulder. "And they used it in the town's construction." Emma shook hands as she turned the page. "They didn't just build it. They tied evil to it. And now. It's waking up." They stood out of the woods later that evening, staring into the darkness. In that book, there was a map to where, deep in the forest, **Paganmoor** was said to reside. "We gotta go there," Emma said with a stern determination, clutching the map in her hands. "If we don't stop whatever's waking up, Eldridge Falls won't survive." Nathaniel merely nodded. His voice was cold and grim: "We go in, find the source of evil, and end this." The air grew cold, shades lengthening as they journeyed deeper into the woods-as if the very forest was alive and watched them. Every snap of the twig in the woods made Emma's heart run a mile and her nerves tingle. Yet every step further into those uncharted parts of the woods that the map had taken them was another step further into darkness. The figure burst from behind a tree in one second and stood in their path. Emma let out a little gasp; she turned into Nathaniel for support, clutching at his arm rigidly. The figure was hooded, shrouded-not a detail of his face visible. It didn't move or say a word; it simply stood. "Who is it?" Nathaniel growled, stepping forward. "What do you want?" He lifted his head, and in the light from the moon, Emma saw an ancient face lined and creased with years of knowledge and struggle. It was not the face, through the eyes were what sent the shock through her. Very, very old, filled with ancient knowledge and pain, than she had ever seen before. "My name is Galen," he said in a voice low and gravelly with age. "And I know what you seek." Emma cast a surreptitious look at Nathaniel, really not sure if they were ready to trust him, but something in Galen's eyes gave her reason to pause. "You know about Paganmoor?" Emma asked warily. Galen bowed to her slowly, "I have kept this secret for centuries. This evil that dozes off beneath this land is much older than you can imagine. And if you ever are to defeat it, then you shall need a little more than just courage." Emma swallowed, "What do we need? Galen's eyes went dark. "The founders of this town made a terrible mistake. They thought they might tame the darkness, to bind it to their will. But darkness cannot be tamed. It has always waited, and now it's free." Nathaniel clenched his fists. "How do we stop it?" Galen took a deep breath; his eyes never once left Emma's. "There is one way, but it calls for a sacrifice of a bloodline, descendants from the founders have to pay the price." Emma's heart stopped beating. "You mean. Someone from one of the founding families?" Galen nodded, "Yes. Before the next full moon that has got to be done, or this town shall be consumed by evil." They rode up to the entrance of Paganmoor as the moon reached a high point in the sky, its silvery beams casting an eerie light upon the old stones marking the forgotten place. The skin tingles on Emma as the energy radiates from the ground, something thick with air from something old, something powerful. "We are out of time," Nathaniel said in a low, almost unheard-of tone; his eyes upwards to the sky. "In just a couple of days, the full moon will appear." Emma nodded, her heart racing. "We have to find a source of evil and stop it before it will be too late." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a low growl rumbled through the trees, making Emma's skin prickle. The earth gave way, and suddenly, the stirring darkness around them seemed to writhe alive. "They're here," Galen said, calm replaced in his voice with a higher note of urgency. "Society knows you're coming." Figures began to emerge from behind trees, hooded and masked, threatening. The secret society had at last arrived and most definitely did not intend to let Emma or Nathaniel out alive. "Run!" shouted Nathaniel, grabbing her hand. They ran through the woods, footsteps not far from their heels. Scratches lashed at faces, branches tearing through in a frantic race for life. Finally, they emerged into a clearing no bigger than a football field and found themselves surrounded. "You cannot outrun the darkness," sneered one of the cloaked figures stepping forward with a grin that spoke evil. "The prophecy will be fulfilled." Once again, the ground this time with much more violence. In the beating below her feet, Emma felt that primaeval malignity became stronger with every passing second. "We have to fight," Nathaniel said, pulling a knife. "We can't just let them win." Emma nodded shallowly, yet there was no choice; all hinged on what they did next: the town and all the people they loved.