Underworld (Dark Passage)
Read Underworld (Dark Passage) Online
Authors: M.L. Woolley
UnderworldThe Dark Passage Series
Copyright by M.L. Woolley
2013
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters
and incidents are either used fictitiously or are
products of the author’s imagination. Any
resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead,
business establishments or locales are purely
coincidental.
Art by Charles Winslow
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without permission.
978-1477559468
ISBN-10:
1477559469
for you, do not think it impossible.
MARCUS AURELIUS
DedicationTo my husband who is my one true love, I would like to
thank him; for the many happy years we have spent
together.
To my mom who lived her life to help others. You
overcame so many tragedies and yet never gave up on
humanity. Thank you for all you taught me and for all that
you were. I will always love you.
******
become friends. Without you this would not have
been possible.
She walks in beauty, like the night of
cloudless climes and starry skies; And all
that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her
Prologue
Long, long ago there was a time of terrible conflict
and darkness came to the land. Bloody wars
destroyed the lives of many innocent people; and in
the midst of the chaos, came one from the light,
known as the Shining One. He was a peacemaker and
came to restore love and peace to the people who
lived above ground.
The Shining One spoke of goodness and light and his
place was a neutral zone where all could pass in
peace. He had great powers of persuasion and
kindness radiated from his being. All the people were
amazed at his words and his light eradicated the evil
from the earth.
He dwelled on a hill, within a beautiful valley, that
overlooked the sea. When peace had been restored to
the people, it was time for the Shining One to return,
to the place from whence he had come. He planted a
tree on the hill as a symbol of peace for all people.
The tree would grow and the roots would connect
both the heavens and the underworld so the Shining
One could keep the darkness away from the realm of
humans. As long as the tree remained, the darkness
would be hidden in the depth of the ground, in the
bowels of the underworld.
The tree grew rapidly and reached a towering height.
The trunk measured 50 feet around and the branches
spread for a thousand feet in every direction. Green
leaves grew in clusters of three; and sweet flowers
emitted nectar that was enriched with healing
properties. The roots of the great tree spread out to
the North, South, East and West and penetrated the
earth to the very core. Eagles nested in the tree and
served as sentinel for the portal to keep watch for
evil. People came from far and wide to find peace
and healing in the nectar that the tree produced.
If one were to rest in the shade of the tree, and ingest t
he nectar from the flowers, a dreamlike state would
come upon them. While under the
spell of the
unconscious
, the dreamer could learn things about
self; see the future and interact with people in other
realms. During the dream sequence, the dreamer was
able to cross over to the other realms, and many went
on quests to find the great treasures hidden in the
realm of the dead. It was said, that if the dreamer
went alone into the other realm; they risked being
trapped, and would never again live above ground.
Myths about the tree grew and people came from
around the world to learn of the mysteries it held.
There were groups who were inspired to move to the
area to live in the beauty it emitted and others who
would destroy it for selfish reasons. Rumors of
impending war came to the people who dwelled in the
peaceful valley. Miles of tunnels were bored out, and
preparations were made so they could survive, should
chaos come to their valley. Hidden below the earth’s
surface were mysterious caverns which connected the
man-made tunnels to the bowels of the underworld.
The people of the valley tried to make peace with
outsiders but despite their efforts, war did come to the
land.
Darkness once again covered the land and great evil
was unleashed on the world. The Shining One did
not return to the valley for they had turned from the
light and become children of darkness.
The great tree was cut down and left for waste, but
the portal remained, to be discovered at some later
time. After that generation of people had passed
away the myths of the Tree Of Life faded from the
pages of time. The legends of the Shining One and
his tree were forgotten and eventually new settlers
came to the area.
A certain sea sailor came to the area to build a home
for his family and discovered the beautiful property
where the tree once stood. Excavation of the land
began and the sailor discovered a maze of tunnels
beneath the building site. He made his way through
the ancient caves and found himself at a great wall.
Stalactite growths hung from the ceiling, and cave
pearls had developed over the years, from the sea
washing into the caves. They made an iridescent
glow on the water that flowed from the slanted ceiling
to the floor. Curious, he put his hand on the wet wall
and pushed on it, and to his surprise he fell through
the shimmering water. On the other side, he could
see what appeared to be a parallel world that stretched
as far as the eye could see. He was thrilled with his
discovery and told no one what he had found.
The cave entrance was eventually concealed within
the foundation of the Victorian home that was built
on the site. An elaborate façade was built in the
basement to hide the entrance so the man could come
and go as he pleased. He discovered great wealth in
the underworld and learned that he could trade gold
and treasure for the life forces of humans.
The sailor became very wealthy and used his riches to
live an extravagant lifestyle. He hosted elaborate
parties in the grand home and many guests came from
around the world to attend the events. The sailor and
his wife befriended a physician who was an enthusiast
of spiritualism. They learned that she was licensed to
practice medicine in the State and she would be the
ideal vehicle from which life forces could be attained
without arousing suspicions of local authorities. Thus
began the story of the infamous doctor who murdered
her patients. The numbers of people actually
murdered by the doctor are unknown but said to be in
the hundreds. People would come to her sanitarium to
be healed and would die within a year of arrival.
Their deaths deemed “natural causes” but eventually
family members of the deceased began to suspect her
and the doctor’s treachery became headline news in
the Seattle area.
The sailor and his family died tragic, untimely deaths,
not long after the public exposure of the doctor. No
one suspected that the sailor had made a deal with the
demons and they had collected on the debt. What the
demons didn’t know is that the sailor’s daughter,
Maggie, had composed journals. The stories within
the journals had come to her in a series of dreams.
The final dream instructed her to hide the collection
of books and shortly after that she went missing. A
body was eventually discovered in the woods about a
half mile from the house. It was so badly burned that
the identity of the woman could not be established.
The crime scene consisted of skeletal remains of a
female who had been chained to a huge piece of stone
that was situated in a small clearing. There was a
sharp piece of stone lying next to the charred body. It
appeared as though she had tried to saw off her wrist
as part of the lunate bone had been crudely cut away.
She had succeeded in freeing part of the lunate bone
from the forearm but was not able to cut herself loose
before the bonfire consumed her flesh. The journals
she left behind would change the course of many
lives, and in time, her act of courage would set her
free.
The house changed hands many times over the
decades that followed. It finally found its way into
the lives of a writer and his friends. They opened the
portal quite by accident and found themselves in the
midst of the demonic. The two worlds would merge,
as global terror was unleashed, and darkness once
again settled over the face of the Earth; reminiscent of
the darkness of the Middle Ages. The chosen few
prepared for what was to come and waited for their
destiny to unfold. They had taken refuge from war in
a labyrinth of underground caves, in the depths of the
hillside, near the harbor called- the Dark Passage.
Destiny is a powerful thing and when two souls are
meant to be together nothing will stop them. From
one world to the next, the human heart evades time
and space.
My name is Ivy and I am not the typical 19 year old
girl. I am a free spirit. I am beyond stereotypes of
girls my age and march to my own drum. I don’t
typically fit in with my peers, but between you and
me, I willadmit I am somewhat of a freak. It’s not so
much my appearance, although the jeans and
motorcycle boots don’t always give off the right
vibes, it’s my creepy associations with the people
from the other side.
I guess I should explain. I seemed normal enough
when I was a kid and even had a couple of friends
from the right type of families. I will be the first to
admit my family was crazy but I was still considered
an average kid. Then crazy things started happening
to me. Ghosts would visit me in my bedroom and I
would see things that others couldn’t see. Back then I
thought I was going out of my mind and that I was on
my way to the mental ward. If it wasn’t for my friend
Jen I would have been locked away years ago.
My life was built on rocky relationships, lots of fights
and general discord. So when I started to realize that I
really was different, I lost it for a while. Life throws
lemons at me and I throw tomatoes back. I will be
the first to say that I have gone too far with things. I
don’t back down from a fight and probably deserve
what life has given me. Deep down, I would prefer to
chill and just have a peaceful life but that can never
happen. You see, I am chosen. Being chosen does
not mean I will be famous, rich or respected but
rather act as a conduit. I came to know that I have
hidden talents and eventually learned of my destiny.
In sacrificing myself, for the path I am to follow, I
will find the treasure I am seeking; although I don’t
yet understand the connection. ****
