Zoey's hand grabbed Jude's. "Now or never."
And behind the wall, from deep in the crack of the spiral, something else moved.
Not the creature they had seen before.
Something older .
A low rumble started in the depths of the spiral's fracture, like stone grinding against bone. The light pouring from the crack was no longer warm or rhythmic - it was wild, jagged, chaotic, sparking across the cavern like lightning in slow motion. The watcher-being in the pool shuddered, the liquid form rippling in spasms as if something inside it had turned against itself.
Rose staggered back two steps, her eyes locked on the growing break in the wall. Layla caught her arm, but Rose didn't look at her. For the first time since the river, there was fear behind her eyes. Not confusion. Fear.
"What is that?" Grace whispered.
"It's not part of the spiral," Rose answered.
And Jude realized something chilling.
Rose wasn't in control.