Chapter 8: Shadows on the Wind
The morning after the Temple of Echo, the skies hung low and gray as Ajay and Kael descended the mountains. The temple still echoed faintly in his ears, though its stones were now still and lifeless. Ajay's mind was heavy—still haunted by his mother's fading voice, by the image of his uncle in the shadows of her death.
But more than that, a new urgency stirred inside him: the Stone of Origin.
His mother's final words burned in his chest like fire. "A key… sealed in your blood." What could it mean? And where was the Stone hidden? The answers lay somewhere beyond these lands.
They traveled quietly for hours, their path winding through dead forests and frostbitten fields. The world seemed colder now, more distant—as if it sensed something ancient stirring beneath the soil.
As they set up camp that evening beside a black river, Kael sharpened his twin daggers in silence. Ajay sat nearby, staring into the fire.
"She said I wasn't whole yet," Ajay murmured. "That there's a part of my power locked away."
Kael didn't look up. "There is. The Stone of Origin was created by the first vampire-dragon hybrid. It amplifies both bloodlines and awakens the ancestral link. It's not just a weapon—it's a mirror. It shows you who you truly are."
Ajay turned to him. "Have you ever seen it?"
Kael hesitated. "Only once. My father was one of the guardians. It's kept in a place called Drakmor Hollow, far in the East, beyond the Obsidian Wastes. No maps lead there anymore."
Ajay leaned forward. "Then that's where we go."
Before Kael could answer, the fire suddenly flickered… then went out.
The wind died.
Everything fell into silence.
And then—movement.
Kael was on his feet instantly, weapons drawn. "We're not alone."
Ajay felt it too—a presence, two of them, circling like wolves.
They came from the trees: two tall figures, cloaked in black silk, faces covered with silver masks carved in the shapes of wolves. Their feet made no sound. Their eyes glowed faintly red.
Kael whispered, "The Twins of Nightfall…"
Ajay didn't wait. He summoned fire to his hands, the heat flaring brighter than the moonlight.
The Twins moved as one, blades drawn from beneath their cloaks, curved and whispering with dark enchantment. One struck at Kael, the other lunged at Ajay with terrifying speed.
Steel clashed with fire.
Ajay blocked the first strike with his flame, but the second cut into his arm—a blade so cold it sizzled against his skin. He grunted and spun backward, letting his dragon fire coat his body in a halo of heat.
But the twin didn't stop. She weaved between the flames like smoke, her attacks quick, methodical. She didn't fight with anger—she fought like someone who already knew how he'd move next.
Kael, meanwhile, fought the other twin in silence, neither of them making a sound as their blades met in brutal, ghost-like clashes. He was good—faster than Ajay had ever seen him—but the twin matched him perfectly, as though he too had trained for this moment.
Ajay's rage built as the masked assassin danced around his fire. He growled, letting his vampire speed take over, vanishing and reappearing behind her—but again, she dodged, landing a punch that sent him crashing into a tree.
His vision blurred.
The twin stepped forward, blade raised for a finishing strike.
And then—
A scream.
Not from the twin. Not from Kael.
From the darkness inside Ajay.
Suddenly, his body shuddered. The mark on his chest glowed white-hot. His skin rippled with energy. The fire around him turned black. The trees bent away.
He saw flashes—visions—not from the present but from another life. Memories not his own.
A girl with silver eyes holding a crystal.
A war of dragons in the sky.
A child hidden beneath a floorboard.
And his mother, crying over a burning village, holding a stone pulsing with light.
Then the voice returned.
"Awaken."
Ajay roared.
The fire exploded outward, hurling the twin backward. His wounds sealed instantly. His eyes burned with red and gold flame. His body felt impossibly light, his power unleashed.
The twin rose slowly, her blade melting in her hands.
Ajay didn't strike.
Instead, he spoke. "Tell your masters. I'm not hiding anymore. I'm coming for them."
She hesitated—then vanished in a blink of shadow.
Kael limped over, bleeding but standing. The second twin had also disappeared.
"They'll report back to the Crimson Order," Kael said, wiping blood from his mouth. "You've marked yourself."
Ajay looked up at the stars. "Good."
He walked to the center of the camp, and knelt, placing his hand on the earth. The fire returned to the pit. His power settled—but it had changed. It felt deeper now. Like he'd touched the edge of something ancient.
"They came to kill me," Ajay said quietly. "But I think they were also testing me. Watching to see if I'd lose control."
Kael nodded. "They're afraid. The prophecy is true—you're becoming something they can't predict."
Ajay looked at his hands. "The Stone of Origin… it's calling me."
Kael gripped his shoulder. "Then we go to Drakmor Hollow."
They packed at dawn. Behind them, the battle-scarred clearing lay quiet. The world around them had changed overnight. No longer was Ajay a hidden heir or hunted boy.
Now—he was a threat.
As they disappeared into the rising mist, a black crow watched from the treetops. In its beak, a small scrap of parchment.
It flew west.
Toward the Crimson Order.