Coraline The Secret Door Novels & Stories

Afnan stood in the moon hall, candlelight dancing across the silver threads woven into her dark robe. She had been studying the crystal basin at the room’s center when Corin burst through the doors. Her head snapped up. “Corin?” He was breathless, rainwater clinging to his shoulders where the storm had caught him through the corridor windows. “I found something,” he said, voice strained. Her expression sharpened immediately. “What happened?” He crossed the room in hurried steps, placing the journal in her hands. “This was hidden among the Council’s records. There’s another chamber beneath the eastern mountains, a second Gate.”

Zinnia threw her shoulder against it, to no effect. “She locked the main entrance!” Both women pushed, hammered, clawed at the door, but it didn’t even rattle. “She must’ve triggered something that sealed both doors,” Caitlin muttered. “What do we do now?” Zinnia asked, her voice trembling slightly. “Find the mechanism,” Caitlin ordered. “There must be a control somewhere near the hidden door.” They ran their hands along the smooth wall, searching for hidden seams. Outside, Nicoletta was already making her way through a dark, narrow corridor lined with old pipes and power conduits. She stopped to catch her breath, smirking as she stared back at the sealed door behind her.

A massive steel door stood before her, the red sensor glowing like an angry eye. She swiped the card. Beep. Green. The door groaned open with a heavy metallic sigh, revealing a lightless void—the Herald’s cemetery of secrets. Lina pulled the brass key from her boot, her fingers tight on the cold metal. She was in the dark now, and the truth was somewhere in the dust.

“I think this was where they filmed it.” “Stage 7,” Dorian murmured. They pushed the door open. No alarm. No light. Only a long corridor with paneled walls, mirrors half-broken, dust thick enough to muffle sound. They moved slowly, flashlights cutting through the dark like scalpels. At the end of the hallway stood a vault door. Old. Industrial. Dorian stepped forward and entered a code. Nothing. Then Isolde reached into her coat pocket and drew out the black chip.

It wasn't long before she found some of the omega's milling about in the hallway, and as soon as they saw her, they stood and bowed their heads respectfully. "I'm looking for Coral. Have any of you seen her?" The girls exchanged a look and pointed down the hallway. "Last bedroom on the right your highness." They answered in unison, keeping their eyes firmly fixed on the floor. Ann frowned and nodded her thanks as she made her way down to the bottom of the corridor and knocked gently on the door. "Coral? Are you there?" There was a muffled sound from behind the door before a tremulous voice called out: "Just a minute… I'm coming!"

Click! In the middle of the night, a small sound of a door being unlocked echoed throughout the office. At the end of this sound, everything was in absolute silence. A tall figure in black entered the room and looked around. The person was on a mission to find the missing material. It was important that everything in this room was thoroughly searched—every drawer, every shelf, even the small spaces between furniture. The sources informed what was needed was hidden in an object. Luckily, the night was long enough for a detailed search of every item.

Nadi excitedly pointed at the chandelier that hung at the center of the hall and exclaimed how beautiful it was. “Beautiful, isn’t it, Nadi?” was all that Flora was able to say before she had to run with Nadi to keep up with Maya who was going towards a bronze statue near the staircase. Then, Maya took a look at mother and daughter before pushing the wall near the statue. Instantly, a rectangular outline appeared and it became apparent to Flora that it was a concealed door. “I wouldn’t know that there was a door here had you not shown it to me,” remarked Flora. Maya did not say a word. She just let mother and daughter enter the door before entering it herself and closing it behind her.

Once in a while his eyes checked the ever-congested, until they finally stopped in front of a college called the University Of Coral, London. Celine didn't descend directly, she smiled as she saw a beautiful woman walking right in front of the edric car he was riding. "You're not coming down?" reproof Edric. "Look, it's professor Crystall!" Celine exclaimed excitedly, coming down and saying hello to her teacher, "Professor!" Next to Edric's eyebrow raised, he didn't care about Celine at first. However, when his eyeballs accidentally caught the lovely face of a familiar looking woman, Edric walked out of his car.

“Are you sure she’ll betray her boss?” “Once she’s had enough to drink, she can’t control her mouth,” Coral said with a chuckle. “She even told me that Hades’ personal assistant was having an affair with an angel.” I pictured the red-haired secretary. “Are you talking about Namara?” Coral nodded. “Beneath that glamor, she’s an imp.” “Wow.” I sat straighter, my heart thrumming with excitement. With the detailed map a magical cartographer could make with Coral’s memories, we could tell Ophois exactly where he needed to open a doorway. And if her secret-spilling could confirm the Hellfire pack’s location, then we could free them in a matter of minutes.

"Let's move, then. We must hurry if we're to catch up to them." The four of them pushed through the chaos. They had to reach the secret door before Magnus and Hawk. As they reached the narrow corridor leading to the secret door, Cayden's heart raced even faster. Time seemed to blur, and he could feel Magnus' presence drawing nearer. Thalia's instincts guided them, and they moved with a swiftness born of desperation. Thalia halted at the entrance to the chamber housing the secret door, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns etched into the stone. "This is it," she whispered, her voice carrying the weight of centuries of secrets.