Chapter 1 – Rebirth in Shadows
Page 4 (Part 1/5)
The courtyard emptied into silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves. The fading sun had already surrendered to twilight, and the long shadows stretching across the pavement seemed to pulse with a life of their own.
Jim took a cautious step forward, eyes narrowing. "You both saw that, right?"
Claire's gaze stayed fixed on the far gate. "Yeah. Something moved."
Toby jogged out of the school doors, backpack swinging as he caught up. "Whoa—what's going on? You guys look like you just saw Bigfoot."
"Not Bigfoot," Claire muttered. "But something."
Seraphine rose from the stone wall, adjusting her bag over her shoulder. Her heartbeat quickened with excitement, but outwardly she wore only a mask of calm curiosity.
She tilted her head slightly, as though listening to the air itself. "It went that way," she said softly, pointing toward the shadowed street beyond the school grounds.
Jim glanced at her, surprised. "You saw it too?"
Her lips curved in a faint, reassuring smile. "I notice things, remember?"
The reminder slid into their minds like a knife sheathed in silk, reinforcing the myth she had been building all week. Toby's face lit up with awe. Claire, though wary, bit her lip and didn't argue.
"Should we… check it out?" Jim asked, uncertainty threading his voice.
"That depends," Seraphine murmured, her voice low and steady, "on whether you want to keep wondering or find out the truth."
The words were a challenge, but not reckless. She knew Jim too well already: he'd never walk away from a mystery that could threaten the people he cared about.
Sure enough, his jaw set. "We'll check it out. Just… carefully."
Seraphine hid her satisfaction as they moved toward the gates. Perfect, she thought. Bravery looks best when someone else declares it, and I simply follow.
The street beyond the school was quiet, lined with tall oaks that cast fractured shadows under the glow of the setting sun. The occasional car passed, but the neighborhood was otherwise still.
Jim led the way, Claire close at his side. Toby lagged behind nervously, while Seraphine walked a half-step apart, her gaze sweeping the treeline.
Her power whispered to her, faint ripples in the air that told her whatever had stirred wasn't entirely human. She didn't need to push her companions' minds to know they felt it too—fear hummed just beneath their skin, raw and tangible.
Claire broke the silence first. "This is probably nothing. An animal, maybe."
"Yeah," Toby said too quickly. "A raccoon. Or a… super raccoon."
Jim didn't answer. His hand hovered near his bag strap, where the Amulet of Daylight lay hidden. He wasn't ready to reveal it—not to Seraphine—but his instincts were screaming that this wasn't normal.
Seraphine noticed. She always noticed. And she stored that detail away for later.
They reached the edge of the block, where the streetlights flickered on, buzzing faintly in the cooling air.
A shape darted across the corner of their vision—a low, hulking shadow slipping between two houses.
Toby yelped. "Did you—did you guys see that?"
Claire swore under her breath, scanning the alley. "That wasn't a raccoon."
Jim's hand tightened on his strap, his expression set. He turned to Seraphine, maybe expecting fear. Instead, she stepped forward, her posture calm, her eyes bright with what looked like determination.
"Don't worry," she said gently, though her words held an undercurrent of challenge. "We'll be fine. Together."
The effect was immediate. Jim blinked, thrown off balance by her composure. Claire frowned but said nothing. And Toby straightened, reassured by her confidence.
Inside, Seraphine savored the shift. Every move she made was deliberate: planting herself as the steady center, the one who didn't flinch when others hesitated.
Brave. Trustworthy. Essential.
The qualities they wanted in a friend, in an ally. The qualities that would bind them to her even tighter.
They crept closer to the alley, the evening air thick with tension. The shadows inside were deeper, darker, as though the light itself bent away.
Jim swallowed, then glanced back at the group. "Stay behind me."
He stepped forward, the leader by necessity. Claire flanked him, Toby clutching his backpack straps nervously.
Seraphine followed last, her smile hidden by the dark. Not because she was unafraid—her power thrummed with eager recognition of what lurked ahead—but because the role she played demanded subtlety.
If Jim was the shield, Claire the suspicion, and Toby the heart, then Seraphine would be the balance they thought they needed most.
The perfect mask.
And when the moment came, she'd twist it.