Page 312 of Hidden Depths
Uneven.
Written by a man who knew he didn’t have much time.
If this journal is found, they know I survived.
Do not trust the harbormaster.
Do not trust the men who carry the serpent.
And whatever happens...
Do not let them open the gate beneath Blackwater.
No one spoke.
I read the final line again.
The gate beneath Blackwater.
Ward looked toward Nathan.
Nathan looked toward Ben.
Lieutenant Akana’s face had gone still.
Too still.
Then his radio crackled.
A dispatcher spoke from the Coast Guard vessel beside us.
“Lieutenant, we’ve received an urgent update regarding the grounded boat.”
Akana lifted the radio.
“Go ahead.”
The voice hesitated.
“The vessel’s registered owner has been identified.”
“Who owns it?”
Another burst of static filled the air.
Then came the answer.
“James Daniel Sinclair.”
The journal slipped from my fingers.
Grandpa had been dead for more than three years.
But according to the official registration...
The boat that had chased us across the ocean...
The boat whose crew had tried to kill us...
