The scream didn’t sound human. It was sharp, metallic, and impossibly close, coming from the bottom shelf behind the counter.Derick Greenwood froze, his hand hovering mid-air above a stack of returned books. “Tell me that wasn’t you,” he muttered.Mr. Halden, the elderly shop owner, popped his head out from between two aisles. “Wasn’t me, kid. You good?”“No,” Derick whispered. “Something just”The scream came again. Louder. A tearing, frantic shriek that made the light bulbs flicker. “What the hell…” Derick crouched, hand trembling as he reached toward the source.A leather-bound book lay wedged between two old encyclopedias. Its cover was blackened and scratched, as if someone had dragged it across asphalt.A thin chain wrapped around it was broken, the links snapped clean. Derick whispered, “Mr. Halden… did someone drop this off?”“Nope.” Halden’s worn shoes shuffled closer. “Never seen it.”The book vibrated violently, rattling the shelf. Halden jumped back. “Okay, nope, I’m too

The footsteps outside the back door stopped.Then a woman’s calm voice, steady, confident, unnervingly precise, slid through the metal. “Derick Greenwood. Open the door. You’re in danger.”Derick tightened his hold on the Codex. “Halden… don’t move.”Halden whispered, “Kid… we can’t stay here. She might actually be”“No.” Derick shook his head. “The book warned me.”Halden frowned. “Books don’t warn people.”Derick lifted the Codex slightly. “This one does.”The woman tapped the door lightly. “Derick, I know you’re scared. But if you stay inside, that thing will come back.”Her tone was soothing. Controlled. Almost too controlled. Derick called out, “Who are you?”A pause. “Aria Lockwood,” she answered. “Independent investigator. Your name came up on a case I’m working. We don’t have much time.”Halden leaned close and whispered, “Don’t trust that.”Derick nodded. “How do you know my name?”Another pause. Then: “Because someone asked me to find you before the others did.”Derick’s puls

White light swallowed everything. Derick wasn’t aware of his body, only pain, heat, and the distant echo of Lucas’s words tearing through his mind. Dead because of you.A lie. It had to be a lie. It had to be, “Derick!” Aria’s voice pierced the blinding haze. “Pull it back! Don’t lose control!”Derick gasped, the light bursting from his skin in violent surges. “He’s lying, he’s lying”Lucas’s silhouette stood unshaken in front of him, hands clasped behind his back as the light whipped around him like a storm.“My, my,” Lucas said calmly. “Such emotional instability. I see why the Order labeled you a catastrophe-class threat.”Aria grabbed Derick’s wrist. “Derick! HE WANTS YOU TO LOSE CONTROL!”Derick snarled, “TELL ME WHERE MY MOTHER IS!”Lucas smirked. “She died protecting you… little reclamation project that you are.”The Codex snapped open in Derick’s hand, ink racing across the page: “LIE.”A second line formed immediately beneath: “He knows where she is.”Derick’s breath broke.

The armored vehicle sped through the empty streets, its engine whisper-quiet, slicing through the night like a shadow with wheels.Derick sat pinned between the door and Halden, gripping the Codex so tightly his knuckles blanched. Its warning burned through his mind like fire. “THE FIRST LIE IS NOT LUCAS’S. IT’S HERS.”He stole a glance at Aria. She sat in the front passenger seat, shoulders tense, eyes fixed forward. Too still. Too quiet. As if she could feel his gaze but didn’t dare turn around.The driver, an older man with silver hair and deep scars, watched them through the rear-view mirror. “You picked up strays, Aria,” he growled. “And one of them is bleeding out.”Aria snapped, “Drive, Marcus.”Halden groaned softly, leaning against Derick’s shoulder. “I’ll… be fine. Just a scratch…”“It’s not a scratch,” Derick muttered. “Lyra nearly gutted you.”Halden managed a weak smile. “Still annoying.”Derick’s jaw tightened. “Halden, stay awake.”Aria twisted in her seat just enough t

The shadow rising in the warehouse didn’t move like a person. It moved like a wound in reality, peeling, bending, devouring the light around it. Derick couldn’t breathe.Two white eyes stared at him from inside the darkness. Cold. Ancient. Familiar in a way that made Derick’s bones ache. Aria whispered, “Derick… don’t answer him.”Derick didn’t react. He couldn’t react. The shadow stepped forward, and every lamp in the warehouse flickered violently.Halden rasped from the table, “That… that presence… sweet God…”Marcus aimed his gun with trembling hands. “Aria, that thing”“Is a Voidborn,” Aria said. “Stand down. Bullets won’t help.”The being tilted its head toward her. “Ah,” it said, voice echoing like it was spoken through empty caverns.“The traitor.”Aria braced herself, blade trembling. “…You.”Derick whispered, “Aria… what is happening?”The shadow-being stepped closer. “Derick Greenwood,” it said, savoring each syllable. “My son.”Derick staggered back. “Stop saying that.”The