Ember ran into the night rain beside Lyra. Her heart pounded as they reached a black SUV parked by the road. Lyra pushed Ember into the passenger seat and jumped into the driver's seat.
The shadow creature came rushing after them.
Lyra started the car fast and drove away. Ember looked out the back window and saw the shadow standing in the street, watching them leave.
"What was that thing?" Ember asked, breathing hard.
"A shadow demon," Lyra said. Her voice was calm but serious. "And it won't be the last one you see."
Ember stared at her. "A demon? That's not real."
Lyra looked at her. "You just saw it."
Ember had no answer. She held onto the strange book, still shocked it was real. She looked down at it. "This… this belonged to my mom, didn't it?"
Lyra nodded once. "Yes."
Ember frowned. "You knew my mother? My dad said she had no family."
"Your father doesn't know the truth," Lyra said, eyes on the road.
"What truth?"
Lyra glanced at the book. "Your mother was not a normal person. And neither are you."
Ember shook her head. "No. I'm normal. I go to school, I live in a normal town, I don't—"
"Normal?" Lyra cut in. "Then explain why a demon came after you tonight."
Ember went silent.
Lyra continued, "There is something inside you, Ember. Something powerful. Your mother tried to hide you from it—but it has found you now."
Ember pressed a hand over the necklace she wore. "Why was that thing after me? Why me?"
Lyra hesitated before answering.
"Because of the prophecy."
Ember frowned. "What prophecy?"
Lyra looked straight ahead. "The prophecy of Raven's Peak."
Ember didn't know why, but the name sent a strange chill through her.
"And what does this prophecy say?"
Lyra didn't answer right away. For a moment, Ember thought she wouldn't. Then Lyra said:
"It says a girl will rise. Marked by fate. Hunted by shadows. And in the end… she will either save us all."
Ember swallowed. "And if she doesn't?"
Lyra looked at her with cold eyes.
"Then she will doom the world."
Ember felt a cold weight in her stomach. "You think that girl is me?"
Lyra didn't blink.
"I know it is."
The car fell silent. Ember didn't want to believe any of this. Prophecies. Demons. Raven's Peak. None of it made sense.
"I just want to go home," Ember whispered.
Lyra shook her head. "You can't go home now." She drove off the main road, turning down a dirt path surrounded by trees.
"Why not?" ember asked
"Because the shadows know who you are now. They will come. Tonight was only the beginning."
Ember looked at her, fear growing inside her again. "Where are you taking me?"
Lyra finally answered.
"To where it all began."
Ember's eyes narrowed. "Where?"
Lyra looked at her.
"Raven's Peak."