DOCTOR WHO? : THE SHADOWBORN HEIR

CHAPTER 4 — HUNTERS IN THE DARK

The marsh swallowed their footsteps as Jake followed Lyra into the blackened borderland ruins. Lightning flickered above jagged stone spires jutting from the swamp like broken teeth.

The air smelled like wet ash and old sorcery. Jake’s breath came fast. “Lyra, slow down. I can’t see anything.”

“You don’t need to,” she said. “Just stay close.”

“That’s very comforting,” Jake muttered.

A distant howl echoed across the ruins, not human, not animal. Something in between. Jake froze. “What was that?”

Lyra didn’t stop walking. “The hunters released scouts.”

“Scouts? As in… looking for us?”

“As in tracking your shadow signature.”

Jake felt the shadows curl nervously around his wrists. “Can they smell it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh fantastic,” Jake groaned. “So I’m basically a walking scented candle for assassins.”

Lyra didn’t respond. Another howl echoed, closer. Jake swallowed hard. “Lyra, what do they want with me?”

“To kill you,” she said plainly.

Jake stopped dead. “You say that like it’s a normal errand.”

“It is. For them.”

Jake jogged to keep up. “Why?”

“Because your death awakens the relics,” Lyra said. “And if the relics awaken for the wrong hands… your father’s kingdom collapses for good.”

Jake blinked rapidly. “My father didn’t have a kingdom. He was a doctor.”

Lyra shot him a sharp look. “He was Shadowborn royalty.”

Jake shook his head. “No. No, he wasn’t, my father was a poor street physician. I remember his hands. Calloused. Gentle. Tired. Royalty doesn’t get calluses.”

Lyra slowed. “Your father hid what he was. He hid you.”

Jake’s voice cracked. “Why would he hide me?”

“Because,” Lyra said softly, “the Shadowborn prophecy stated the last heir would surpass all who came before. That heir would control disease spirits, life threads, and death itself.”

Jake felt his stomach twist. “That’s insane.”

“It’s your bloodline.”

“No,” he whispered, stepping back. “I’m not,  I’m not some chosen savior. I’m barely a competent healer.”

“You saved two plague victims tonight with power you can’t even control,” Lyra replied. “Imagine what you can do once we teach you.”

Jake grabbed her arm. “Why should I trust you to teach me anything?”

Lyra turned her head toward him slowly. “Because if you don’t learn,” she said, “you will die by the end of this night.”

Jake’s pulse hammered. Something moved in the swamp behind them. A splash. A low, guttural growl. Jake whipped around. “Lyra”

“I hear it.”

“Should we run?”

“No. Running draws them. Don’t turn your back.”

Jake immediately turned his back to her. “Too late!”

Lyra hissed under her breath. “Jake, don’t panic.”

“Too LATE!”

The sound came again, something slithering through the reeds. The moon broke through clouds for a heartbeat, shining on a creature emerging from the swamp.

Jake’s breath froze. It was humanoid… mostly. Tall, lean, skin stretched grey and slick like wet leather. Its eyes were hollow pits, its mouth too wide, its limbs jointed wrong.

It lifted its head and sniffed the air. Jake whispered, “That’s a hunter?”

Lyra shook her head. “A scout.”

“That’s the SCOUT?!”

The creature hissed, a long, wet sound, and pointed directly at Jake. Lyra grabbed his wrist. “Close your eyes.”

“What? Why”

“Just do it!”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. Lyra’s voice shifted, deepened, and the air around them vibrated. Jake felt the shadows around him stretch, then snap like rubber bands.

Heat flared against his skin, then vanished. “Open your eyes,” Lyra said.

Jake did. The creature was gone. Jake blinked. “Did… did you kill it?”

Lyra shook her head. “No. I redirected its sight. It now believes you ran east.”

“So it’s chasing hallucination-me?”

“Yes.”

“That’s, actually very flattering.” Jake exhaled shakily. “So the hunters can be fooled?”

“Yes,” Lyra said. “But not for long.”

Jake frowned. “Why not?”

“Because,” Lyra replied, “they’ll smell the truth.”

Jake’s stomach dropped. “And the truth is…?”

“That the heir is awake.”

Jake rubbed his face with both hands. “I really hate tonight.”

“You will hate what’s coming even more,” Lyra said.

“What’s coming?”

She pointed ahead. Jake turned. At the end of the ruins, a massive archway rose from the earth, half buried, cracked, carved with symbols that glowed faintly silver. Jake stepped forward slowly. “What… is this?”

“Your father’s refuge,” Lyra said. “Where he fled after the crown declared the Shadowborn traitors.”

Jake stared, wind whipping through his soaked hair. “My father was here? In this exact place?”

“Yes.”

Jake approached the archway, heartbeat thunderous in his ears. “Why did he come here? What was he hiding?”

Lyra stepped beside him. “You.”

Jake’s breath hitched. Lightning illuminated the arch for a moment, revealing dozens of runes, all identical to the ones that had flickered across Jake’s skin earlier.

Jake whispered, “What is this place called?”

Lyra answered softly. “The Sanctum of Threads.”

Jake stared into the darkness beyond the archway. “I can’t go in there.”

“You must.”

“I don’t want to know what’s inside.”

“You need to. If you don’t understand your power, the hunters will kill you.”

Jake’s voice shook. “Lyra, I’m not ready.”

“You have no choice.”

Jake sucked in a trembling breath. “Fine,” he whispered. “But if something tries to eat me, I’m leaving.”

Lyra didn’t smile. “If something tries to eat you, I’ll kill it.”

Jake nodded, forcing courage he didn’t feel. They stepped under the arch. Immediately, a cold wave washed over Jake like he’d walked into a different world.

The ruins outside dimmed. The air shifted, thicker, humming with energy. Jake shivered. “This place feels… alive.”

“It is,” Lyra said.

As they walked deeper, faint silver lights ignited along the stone walls, threads embedded in the rock, pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.

Jake touched one gently. Instantly, a flash of memory exploded behind his eyes, not his memory, but someone else’s.

A man with dark hair and familiar eyes. Holding a baby. Whispering a lullaby in a language Jake had never heard. Jake gasped and tore his hand away. “I,  I saw someone.”

“Your father,” Lyra said. “The Sanctum keeps echoes of him.”

Jake staggered, breath trembling. “He… he was holding me.”

Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder. “He died protecting you. His memories linger to guide you.”

Jake swallowed hard. “Lyra… what exactly is this place supposed to teach me?”

“The truth,” she said.

“Which is?”

“The meaning of being Shadowborn.”

Jake closed his eyes. “I’m scared.”

“You should be.”

He opened them again. “That doesn’t help.”

Lyra nodded once. “Good. Fear keeps you alive.”

Jake clenched his fists. “What now?”

“We reach the inner chamber,” Lyra said. “Your awakening is incomplete. The Sanctum will finish what the shadows began.”

Jake’s pulse jumped. “Finish? Finish how?”

Lyra didn’t answer. “Lyra?” Jake repeated, voice rising.

She finally spoke. “It will show you your father’s death.”

Jake froze. “What?”

“And your mother’s disappearance.”

Jake’s heart slammed painfully. “No—no, I can’t—”

“You need to see it.”

“I don’t.”

“You must.”

“No!” Jake snapped. “I’m not,  I don’t want, I can’t watch that!”

Lyra grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close until her face was inches from his. “You cannot defeat your enemies,” she whispered, “until you know what they destroyed.”

Jake trembled violently. “But ”

A sound cut him off. Footsteps. Fast. Heavy. Coming from the entrance. Lyra’s eyes widened. “Too late.”

Jake turned toward the archway. “Is that”

Lyra nodded grimly. “The hunters found us.”

The shadows around Jake flared violently, responding to the danger. Lyra pushed him back. “Run,” she ordered.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“You can’t fight them yet!” she snapped. “You don’t know how!”

“I have to try!”

“No,” Lyra hissed. “You have to survive.”

The footsteps grew louder. Closer. Jake felt the stone beneath him vibrate. Lyra shoved him hard toward the inner chamber. “GO!”

Jake stumbled backward. “Lyra ”

“Run, heir!”

The archway exploded inward as three hunter-shadows lunged into the Sanctum. Jake had one second to see their hollow eyes lock onto him.

One second to feel the shadows burst from his wrists like black lightning. One second to understand that everything was about to change.

He ran. And behind him, the hunters screamed.