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Sophie
slipped
through
the
door
and
found
herself
on
a
rough
-
hewn
stone
staircase
that
spiraled
downward
.
She
’
d
been
coming
to
this
house
since
she
was
a
child
and
yet
had
no
idea
this
staircase
even
existed
!
As
she
descended
,
the
air
grew
cooler
.
The
voices
clearer
.
She
heard
men
and
women
now
.
Her
line
of
sight
was
limited
by
the
spiral
of
the
staircase
,
but
the
last
step
was
now
rounding
into
view
.
Beyond
it
,
she
could
see
a
small
patch
of
the
basement
floor
–
stone
,
illuminated
by
the
flickering
orange
blaze
of
firelight
.
Holding
her
breath
,
Sophie
inched
down
another
few
steps
and
crouched
down
to
look
.
It
took
her
several
seconds
to
process
what
she
was
seeing
.
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The
room
was
a
grotto
–
a
coarse
chamber
that
appeared
to
have
been
hollowed
from
the
granite
of
the
hillside
.
The
only
light
came
from
torches
on
the
walls
.
In
the
glow
of
the
flames
,
thirty
or
so
people
stood
in
a
circle
in
the
center
of
the
room
.
I
’
m
dreaming
,
Sophie
told
herself
.
A
dream
.
What
else
could
this
be
?
Everyone
in
the
room
was
wearing
a
mask
.
The
women
were
dressed
in
white
gossamer
gowns
and
golden
shoes
.
Their
masks
were
white
,
and
in
their
hands
they
carried
golden
orbs
.
The
men
wore
long
black
tunics
,
and
their
masks
were
black
.
They
looked
like
pieces
in
a
giant
chess
set
.
Everyone
in
the
circle
rocked
back
and
forth
and
chanted
in
reverence
to
something
on
the
floor
before
them
…
something
Sophie
could
not
see
.
The
chanting
grew
steady
again
.
Accelerating
.
Thundering
now
.
Faster
.
The
participants
took
a
step
inward
and
knelt
.
In
that
instant
,
Sophie
could
finally
see
what
they
all
were
witnessing
.
Even
as
she
staggered
back
in
horror
,
she
felt
the
image
searing
itself
into
her
memory
forever
.
Overtaken
by
nausea
,
Sophie
spun
,
clutching
at
the
stone
walls
as
she
clambered
back
up
the
stairs
.
Pulling
the
door
closed
,
she
fled
the
deserted
house
,
and
drove
in
a
tearful
stupor
back
to
Paris
.
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That
night
,
with
her
life
shattered
by
disillusionment
and
betrayal
,
she
packed
her
belongings
and
left
her
home
.
On
the
dining
room
table
,
she
left
a
note
.
I
WAS
THERE
.
DON
’
T
TRY
TO
FIND
ME
.
Beside
the
note
,
she
laid
the
old
spare
key
from
the
château
’
s
woodshed
.