THE HEIRESS THEY BURRIED
Isaac found the drawer a few minutes later, hidden along the base of the pedestal, sealed shut until the obsidian disc slid free from its depression and released some final, waiting mechanism.
Inside were three things.
A brass map cylinder, dulled with age.
A folded note, in Jonathan's unmistakable hand.
And a photograph.
Elara lifted the photograph first, careful, as though it might crumble in her hands.
Four faces looked back at her.
Isabella.
Damien.
Jonathan, younger, with the same careful eyes he'd have for the rest of his life.
And a fourth person, standing just slightly apart from the others.
Scratched out.
Not faded. Not damaged by time or damp. Deliberately, violently scratched away