Lennox Estate — 5:40 AM
Dash's Bedroom
They were gathered in Dash's room, not because it was the safest place in the estate, but because it was, so far, the least haunted by the things none of them dared to name.
They knew he had been there, not just a feeling or a shadow, but undeniable proof: the faint impression on the curtain where he'd stood, the sharp creak of floorboards when no one else moved, and the subtle shift in the air that whispered of him.
But now? He was gone.
Not just gone, vanished.
And that was what chilled them most.
Gene stood rigid against the far wall, her face unreadable, but her eyes hard with certainty. She said, "He was here. I know it."
Dash nodded slowly, his voice low. "I felt it too. Like someone was standing right behind me. I swear I heard..." Gene interrupted, her tone sharp. "But he moved before we even turned around. Faster than anything we've seen before."
Maisie stepped back, her voice taut. "But he's gone now?"
Gene hesitated. "Probably. But that doesn't mean he won't be back."
Maisie's voice dropped, steady but filled with unease. "What changed?"
Gene pulled the sleek comm unit from her jacket and stared at it, hoping it held the answers. "He's adapting. Reclaiming what they tried to take from him. He's learning to move without leaving a trace, without being tracked."
Leo asked, eyes wide with unease, "Are we saying we've lost him completely?"
Gene shook her head. "No. But something's different now."
Her gaze found Maisie's. "Do you remember what you told me last night? About his wings."
Maisie's brow furrowed as she recalled. "He said they hurt. That they felt wrong. Like they'd been... tied."
Gene's nod was slow but certain. "That's part of the early conditioning. The wings are bound internally with nerve anchors to suppress movement. It makes flying, or even quick bursts of speed, nearly impossible."
Dash blinked, the implication sinking in. "So...?"
Gene said, her voice dropping, clinical but filled with gravity, "I think he's figured out how to undo it."
Maisie's breath caught sharply. "He unbound his wings."
Leo's eyes darted between them all. "Which means he can?"
Gene finished for him. "Move faster. Fly farther. Hide better. Strike harder."
Her tone was flat, matter-of-fact. "If he's done that, then he's not just resisting conditioning anymore."
Maisie whispered, almost reverent. "He's evolving."
Dash stood and crossed to the window to peer out through the thin curtain. The estate below looked untouched, quiet, even peaceful in the weak dawn light.
His nose tickled with a faint, acrid scent of smoke. The smoke drifted slowly on the cool morning air.
The faint odor, carried by the light breeze, crawled its way toward the north wing, toward their bedrooms, from somewhere deep in the east wing.
Maisie's face tightened. "Smoke.... From the incinerator?! We haven't used that in years!"
Gene's gaze darkened. "That means something is burning."
Dash's fists clenched. "And if that smoke is reaching this far... whatever it is, it's close."
A hush settled over them, their tension tightening with the faintest trace of smoke, a warning that something long buried was stirring to the surface.
The smell lingered, threading through the room like a warning.
Dash broke the silence, his voice steady but tense. "We can't just wait here. We need to split up, cover more ground."
Maisie, with sharp eyes, nodded. "The smoke is coming from the east wing, the incinerator room. That's where we need to start."
Leo ran a hand through his brown hair, uneasy but determined. "I'll go with Dash. We'll check the incinerator, see what's burning."
Gene fixed her gaze and was resolute. "I'm going to the greenhouse. If Igor is still around, that's where he'd likely hide. I want to try talking to him, maybe reach him before things get worse."
Maisie glanced between them and made her decision. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on any incoming messages or alarms," she said. "If anything changes, I'll warn you immediately." She didn't think she was of any help to them, and wanted to be in Dash's room just in case Igor showed up again to maybe talk to him individually.
Dash nodded curtly. "Good. Keep us connected. If anything goes wrong, we'll get a warning."
Leo swallowed, nerves tightening like a coil. "We need to move fast," he said. "Every second we wait, he grows stronger, more relentless, more dangerous." He knew Igor better than most; being half Alucard himself, he understood just how fierce and unpredictable Igor could be and the undeniable loathing he felt.
Maisie inhaled deeply, her gaze steady. "Be alert," she said. "We have no clue what we're about to face. We don't know what's going wrong with Igor."
They exchanged quick looks, uneasy but united by necessity.
Gene checked her comm unit. "I'll update you if I find anything. And if Igor's open to talking, I'll try to reach him." She tapped the small stun device strapped to her belt, a compact weapon packed with enough power to take down an elephant if she had to defend herself.
Dash warned, "Be careful. If he's as unpredictable as we think, this could go sideways fast."
Maisie spoke quietly but firmly. "Then we do what we have to. For all our sakes." She did not want to hurt Igor; he was a friend to her.
They moved out, each taking their role in the flimsy plan, knowing the estate held secrets darker than smoke and more dangerous than shadows.
They were human, flesh, bone, and breath held too long in trembling lungs. Despite their bravery and careful planning, they couldn't change the truth: they were fragile, easily broken. Something far stronger, faster, and more furious was moving in the dark somewhere in the house.
Igor was remade by pain and control, a being whose blood remembered chains and whose instincts had been sharpened into weapons. Against that, their footsteps felt small, their courage thinner than paper.