is the same one you entered when you escaped the dollhouse. When I sensed you moving towards the cave, I tried to go and help you—you and your double. One of you entered the water just before the other. And then the two of you became one.”
I exhaled steadily. “You saw me through the crystal eye—from here? And that time at the bay at Miami when I was drowning?”
“Yes, but I could only stay a few seconds. My energy is limited. And while you and Missouri have been at the castle, I couldn’t come to either of you at all. Everything here is under the castle’s control—they were able to block me from communicating with you.”
“Prudence... why were the girls taken to the dollhouse in the first place? And why them? It makes no sense. Any of it.”
She lifted stormy eyes to me. “Henry believes that all of us would either find our own way to the dollhouse or he would find the girls that were meant to be there. He believes that all of this is preordained. He wanted me because of a newspaper article he read, about my psychic ability. I’ve always had that ability, ever since I can remember. And he thought I would be of most use to the serpent, because I could see further than anyone. The shadow plagued me relentlessly, from the time I entered the dollhouse.”
She breathed out slowly. “The serpent wanted more of us in its service, so that it can see even further—but Missouri was too strong for it. And she made the others strong. She wouldn’t let any of them give in to the shadow. She beat herself up over what happened to me, but it wasn’t her fault.” Her eyes widened. “Because I could already see other worlds and ghosts, being in the dollhouse was too much for me. I could suddenly see evil that I’d never known before, and it broke me. I could sense Balthazar and the castle... and the tree that had existed on earth far before mankind ever did.”
“The tree that the castle was built upon?”
“Yes. And I could sense the hunger of the serpents. Exchanges between the serpent and humans goes back to the beginning of people on the earth. They were here long before us, in times when the earth was frozen. The serpent empress can inhabit the earth at any time she chooses, in her portal—the cave. The second book of the mirrored tree will show humanity how to use the serpents and their shadows at their will—to use them as servants to reach any part of the universes. But the serpents themselves cannot travel anywhere they wish. They are dependent upon us—they need our sight.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “Please tell me, how do they use our sight? How does the serpent empress see through the crystal eye?”
“When Francoeur takes it, he puts it on the temple in an ocean cave at the bottom of the cliff. The serpent presses her third eye to it—which is a cavity in her forehead. Through the crystal eye, she sees everything I have seen. She communicates with the other serpents. She tells them what to do.” Prudence gazed downward. “Soon, it will be time for them to leave....”
I studied her pale face, holding my breath as I waited for her to continue.
“They’ll leave when every human is dead, except for those in the castle,” she whispered.
“Why must they kill every human before they leave?” My voice was dry and empty—a well without water.
“Because the castle wants it. Balthazar wants only his own kind to flourish on this earth. The castle wants the serpents to freeze the entire earth to a temperature that no one can survive. But the serpents are weary. Keeping the earth frozen is draining them. They’ll die if they remain much longer—they need to go somewhere where there are large deposits of the crystal that the eye is made from, as they need the vibrations of this crystal to heal. And the planet must be deathly cold. But they cannot leave until the person who summoned them—Henry—allows them to go, or until the second book of the Mirrored Tree is
I exhaled steadily. “You saw me through the crystal eye—from here? And that time at the bay at Miami when I was drowning?”
“Yes, but I could only stay a few seconds. My energy is limited. And while you and Missouri have been at the castle, I couldn’t come to either of you at all. Everything here is under the castle’s control—they were able to block me from communicating with you.”
“Prudence... why were the girls taken to the dollhouse in the first place? And why them? It makes no sense. Any of it.”
She lifted stormy eyes to me. “Henry believes that all of us would either find our own way to the dollhouse or he would find the girls that were meant to be there. He believes that all of this is preordained. He wanted me because of a newspaper article he read, about my psychic ability. I’ve always had that ability, ever since I can remember. And he thought I would be of most use to the serpent, because I could see further than anyone. The shadow plagued me relentlessly, from the time I entered the dollhouse.”
She breathed out slowly. “The serpent wanted more of us in its service, so that it can see even further—but Missouri was too strong for it. And she made the others strong. She wouldn’t let any of them give in to the shadow. She beat herself up over what happened to me, but it wasn’t her fault.” Her eyes widened. “Because I could already see other worlds and ghosts, being in the dollhouse was too much for me. I could suddenly see evil that I’d never known before, and it broke me. I could sense Balthazar and the castle... and the tree that had existed on earth far before mankind ever did.”
“The tree that the castle was built upon?”
“Yes. And I could sense the hunger of the serpents. Exchanges between the serpent and humans goes back to the beginning of people on the earth. They were here long before us, in times when the earth was frozen. The serpent empress can inhabit the earth at any time she chooses, in her portal—the cave. The second book of the mirrored tree will show humanity how to use the serpents and their shadows at their will—to use them as servants to reach any part of the universes. But the serpents themselves cannot travel anywhere they wish. They are dependent upon us—they need our sight.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “Please tell me, how do they use our sight? How does the serpent empress see through the crystal eye?”
“When Francoeur takes it, he puts it on the temple in an ocean cave at the bottom of the cliff. The serpent presses her third eye to it—which is a cavity in her forehead. Through the crystal eye, she sees everything I have seen. She communicates with the other serpents. She tells them what to do.” Prudence gazed downward. “Soon, it will be time for them to leave....”
I studied her pale face, holding my breath as I waited for her to continue.
“They’ll leave when every human is dead, except for those in the castle,” she whispered.
“Why must they kill every human before they leave?” My voice was dry and empty—a well without water.
“Because the castle wants it. Balthazar wants only his own kind to flourish on this earth. The castle wants the serpents to freeze the entire earth to a temperature that no one can survive. But the serpents are weary. Keeping the earth frozen is draining them. They’ll die if they remain much longer—they need to go somewhere where there are large deposits of the crystal that the eye is made from, as they need the vibrations of this crystal to heal. And the planet must be deathly cold. But they cannot leave until the person who summoned them—Henry—allows them to go, or until the second book of the Mirrored Tree is
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