Aurora woke with a gasp. The eastern room was dark. For a moment she remained frozen in bed, her heart hammering against her ribs. The dream lingered with unnatural clarity. The fractured sky. The warning. The terror in the entity's eyes. And those final words. He's found you.
A violent knock echoed through the estate. Aurora was already moving before the second knock came. She threw the blanket aside and rushed toward the door. The Veil was screaming. Not whispering. Not pulsing. Screaming. The sensation tore through her chest so violently that she nearly stumbled. Something was wrong. Something was happening now.
She yanked the door open. Elara stood in the corridor. Pale. Breathless. Terrified. "Aurora." "What happened?" "It's the north quarter." Aurora felt her stomach drop. "What about it?" Elara swallowed hard. "Half the town woke up screaming."
The streets were chaos. Lanterns burned throughout the valley despite the late hour. People crowded doorways. Children cried. Animals thrashed inside barns. The entire town felt awake. And afraid. Aurora pushed through the crowd as quickly as possible. The moment she entered the north quarter, she understood why. Blood covered the road. Not pools. Trails. Long streaks cutting through the mud and stone. Dozens of them. As though something injured had dragged itself through the streets. Or something had been dragged away.
The crowd kept their distance. No one dared approach. Aurora crouched beside one of the marks. Still fresh. Still wet. Her pulse quickened. The Veil tightened immediately. Recognition. Whatever left these trails was connected to it.
Darian arrived moments later. Sword in hand. "What is it?" Aurora stood slowly. "I don't know." That answer frightened her more than any other. Because she usually knew. The Veil always showed her something. This time— nothing. Only silence.
A scream shattered the night. Everyone turned. The sound came from the edge of town. Near the old grain fields. Another scream followed. Then another. Aurora was already running. The crowd parted as she pushed forward. People shouted after her. Some prayed. Others begged her not to go. She ignored all of them. The Veil was pulling her toward something. Hard. Urgently. As though it knew exactly where the danger was.
The fields appeared ahead. Dark. Endless. Swaying beneath the wind. Aurora slowed. Something stood among the grain. A figure. Tall. Motionless. Watching. Darian reached her side. "Do you see that?" Aurora nodded. The figure was too far away to identify clearly. Yet something about it felt wrong. Not supernatural. Familiar. The sensation sent a chill through her.
The figure moved. Not toward them. Away. Deeper into the field. Almost inviting pursuit. Aurora's jaw tightened. "No." Darian frowned. "What?" "It's bait."
The Veil surged. Hard. Aurora doubled over. A flood of images exploded through her mind. Not visions. Memories. Someone running. Someone hiding. Fear. Darkness. A child's voice crying. The images vanished as quickly as they arrived. Aurora straightened immediately. "There are survivors." "What?" "Something took people." Darian's face darkened. "Took them where?" Aurora looked toward the moving grain. The answer was obvious. Into the field.
The figure stopped. Slowly. Deliberately. It turned toward them. Aurora's blood ran cold. The face was visible now. Not clearly. But enough. Human. Almost. Except the proportions were wrong. The smile was wrong. Everything about it looked like a poor imitation of life. As though someone had built a person from memory rather than experience. Darian cursed. "What in God's name is that?"
The figure smiled wider. Then vanished. Not disappeared. Moved. Fast. Far too fast. One moment it stood among the grain. The next— the field exploded. Thousands of stalks bent simultaneously. Something massive was moving beneath them. Heading directly toward town. The screams started immediately. People ran. Lanterns fell. Panic swept through the crowd. Aurora felt the Veil react like a struck nerve. The thing wasn't alone. There were multiple movements now. Multiple disturbances. Multiple presences. Her eyes widened. "No."
Darian looked at her. "What?" Aurora felt the answer before she spoke it. The signal. The thing beneath the valley. The dream. The warning. It all clicked into place. The thing that had noticed her was no longer waiting beneath the valley. It was reaching upward. And pieces of it were beginning to emerge. All across town.
The ground shook. A crack split open near the edge of the field. Then another. And another. People stumbled as the earth trembled beneath their feet. Aurora stared in horror. The cracks weren't random. They formed a pattern. A circle. An enormous circle surrounding the town. Something was drawing itself beneath them. Something waking. Something remembering. The Veil screamed louder than ever before. And for the first time in her life— Aurora was afraid that it might be right.