Capítulo 1
Prologue
Where the Light Cannot Reach
I turned the handle of the old cellar door.
It opened just enough for a thin blade of light to slice through the darkness inside, as though the cellar descended into a bottomless void.
The smell reached me first.
Dust.
Age.
Spiderwebs clung to my arm.
I stepped down slowly, gripping the handrail. The wood groaned beneath my feet. A distant murmur seemed to drift alongside the creaking of the ancient staircase.
“Mommy?”
My voice came out small.
Silence answered.
My chest tightened, and my throat narrowed. I didn’t know whether something was watching me—or whether it was worse if nothing was there at all.
I bumped into a stack of boxes.
And then I saw her.
Curled up in the corner.
Her head rested between her knees. Her body rocked back and forth.
I moved closer, stretching out my hand until I touched her shoulder.
She lifted her head slightly.
Her eyes were far away, lost in a place I could not reach.
It was my mother.
But it wasn’t her anymore.
“Grandma said dinner’s ready...” I whispered.
When her eyes met mine, for a brief moment, I thought she was back.
But it didn’t last.
She sprang to her feet and grabbed my arm.
My feet dragged across the floor as I struggled to keep up with her hurried steps toward the far side of the cellar.
“They’re coming for us, Lara!”
Her hands gripped my arms tightly as she lifted me onto a chair.
“The serpents crawl along paths of venom and chaos... They must not find us.”
She rummaged frantically through the boxes, her movements quick and disordered. Her eyes were wide. Her voice trembled.
Then she began to cry.
I climbed down from the chair and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“It’s okay, Mommy... I won’t let anyone take you.”
Between sobs, her hand passed gently through my hair before she eased me back.
She crouched until her eyes were level with mine.
Her index finger pressed against my chest.
“Don’t let her out, Lara...” Her voice broke.
“If you do, they’ll come.”
“Do you hear me?”
Her hands tightened around my arms harder than they ever had before. Her red, wide eyes never blinked.
My heart pounded so loudly it felt as though it filled the room.
I didn’t understand what her words meant.
But something inside me knew they mattered.
Knew they were serious.
Terribly serious.
A strange fear began to grow in my chest, as if I had already done something wrong—even though I had no idea what it was.
“Promise me, Lara!”
I just wanted her to be okay.
I just wanted the moment to end.
Swallowing back my tears, I nodded.
