2025-11-20 23:15:17The 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 pulse spiked. “Who?”
She hesitated just a little too long. “That’s classified for now. But I’m not your enemy.”
Derick exchanged a look with Halden. Halden mouthed: Liar.
Derick spoke louder. “Prove you’re not one of them.”
“One of what?” Aria sounded genuinely confused. “Derick, I don’t know what you’ve seen tonight, but I’m here to help you.”
“Yeah?” Derick snapped. “Funny. That’s exactly what the book said you’d say.” Silence.
Sharp, uncomfortable silence. Then Aria replied, tone sharp: “You have the Codex.”
Derick froze. “How do you know its name?”
“Because,” she said slowly, “I’ve been tracking it for six years. It belonged to your mother.”
Derick felt the air punch out of his lungs. Halden’s eyes widened. “She knows your mother?”
Aria continued, “Derick, your parents went missing because of that book. If you don’t open this door, you will disappear just like they did.”
Derick’s heart hammered. “You know what happened to them?”
“Yes,” Aria said. “But I’ll only explain once we’re somewhere safer.”
Halden whispered, “Don’t do it. She could be with the Eclipse Order.”
Aria must have heard him because her voice hardened. “I’m not Eclipse. If I were, the door would already be off its hinges.”
Derick bit his lip. “Prove it.”
Metal clinked softly, like she set something down. “I’m sliding my ID under the door,” she said. “Pick it up. See for yourself.”
A small plastic card slipped through the gap beneath the door. Halden grabbed Derick’s wrist. “Kid, don’t.”
Derick hesitated… then knelt and picked up the ID. A woman stared back from the photo. Dark hair, sharp eyes, expression hard enough to crack glass. ARIA LOCKWOOD Private Investigations & Paranormal Threat Assessment, License #XA-8042
Halden snorted. “Paranormal Threat Assessment? That’s as fake as it gets.”
Derick turned the ID over. “This feels real…”
Halden grumbled, “So does counterfeit money.”
Derick whispered, “Aria… what do you want from me?”
“Not you,” she answered. “The Codex.”
Derick’s stomach twisted. “Yeah, that’s not helping your case.”
Aria sighed sharply. “Listen carefully. The Eclipse Order wants that book because it’s the only remaining artifact tied to a sealed lineage, your lineage. But I don’t want to take it from you. I want to keep you alive long enough to figure out why it chose you.”
Derick whispered, “Chose me?”
“The Codex only reacts to a specific bloodline,” Aria said. “Your mother was one of the last. And now… it’s reacting to you.”
Halden muttered, “This woman knows too much.”
Derick stared at the door. “Aria… what happens if I open it?”
“You get answers,” she replied softly. “But if you stay in there, the next wave of creatures will be here soon.”
Derick stiffened. “Next wave?”
“The shriek earlier wasn’t just one of them,” Aria said. “It was a call. They’re hunting you.”
Halden paled. “Derick, she’s not wrong. I’ve seen what happens when those things gather.”
Derick turned to him. “You’ve seen this before?”
“Not like tonight,” Halden whispered. “But enough to recognize when something big's coming.”
The hallway lights flickered again. A low, distant growl rolled from somewhere outside. Derick’s breath quickened. “We can’t fight another one…”
Aria’s voice sharpened. “Derick. Open. The. Door.”
Derick stared at the Codex. “What do you think?”
The book didn’t move. Didn’t pulse. Didn’t warn him. Derick swallowed. “It’s… silent.”
Halden frowned. “So?”
“It warned me before,” Derick said. “And now it’s not.”
“Maybe it’s tired,” Halden muttered.
“Books don’t get tired.”
“Then maybe it’s dead!”
“It’s not dead.”
“THEN WHAT DOES SILENCE MEAN?!”
Derick stared down at the motionless pages. “It means,” he whispered, “that maybe she’s not lying.”
Halden grabbed his shoulder. “Kid. Think. Once that door opens, there’s no taking it back.”
Derick nodded slowly. “I know.”
He took a long, shaky breath. “Aria,” he called, “step back from the door.”
“Done.”
Derick unlocked the latch. Halden hissed, “Derick”
Derick opened the door two inches. Aria Lockwood stood in the alley’s dim light, tall, armed, and unapologetically dangerous.
A holstered weapon on her thigh, a silver blade strapped to her boot, her hands raised showing she wasn’t holding anything.
Her eyes swept over Derick in a single sharp assessment. “You look worse than I expected.”
Derick replied, “You sound bossier than I expected.”
“Good,” Aria said. “You’re still capable of sarcasm. Means you’re not dying yet.”
Halden cleared his throat. “Uh-huh. Great. Who the hell are you really?”
Aria glanced at him. “You must be Halden. The man who hid Derick.”
Halden stiffened. “I did what I had to.”
Aria ignored the challenge. “Derick. We need to leave. Now.”
Derick hesitated. “Before we do… answer one question.”
Aria crossed her arms. “Make it quick.”
“How did my parents die?”
Aria held his gaze. Too long. Too still. “They didn’t die,” she said quietly. “They vanished. And the Codex… was the last thing they touched.”
The book in Derick’s hand vibrated faintly. Aria flinched. “It reacted. Good. We’re running out of time.”
Derick asked, “If you were looking for me… why now?”
“Because the seal on your power finally cracked.” Aria stepped closer. “You used light, didn’t you?”
Derick swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Aria’s expression sharpened. “Means you’re awakening.”
“Awakening to what?”
Aria’s voice dropped to a whisper. “To something the Eclipse Order swore to burn out of existence.”
A distant roar echoed across the alleyway. Aria drew her weapon. “We move. Now.”
Derick grabbed Halden’s arm. “Come on.”
Halden shook his head. “No. I’ll hold them off. You get answers.”
Derick’s chest tightened. “Halden”
“Go, kid.” Halden forced a smile. “Someone’s gotta clean up this mess.”
Aria grabbed Derick’s wrist. “There’s no time.”
Derick hesitated, then stepped outside with her. Aria slammed the door shut behind them. The night air was sharp and cold.
Shadows warped along the alley walls, twisting unnaturally. Aria whispered, “They’re close.”
“Who?” Derick asked.
She didn’t look at him. “The things that hunt in shadows.”
Derick gripped the Codex tighter. “What do they want from me?”
Aria’s eyes flicked toward him. “They want you to awaken fully… so they can kill you properly.”
The sky above them rippled. And dozens of shadows crawled down the walls.
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CHAPTER 10 — THE DOORWAY WITHIN
The warehouse felt too quiet after the Voidborn vanished. Too still. As if the shadows were holding their breath.Derick sat against a crate, legs shaking, lungs refusing to calm. His hands still glowed faintly, flickering between silver and black.Aria hovered a few feet away, close enough to help, but not close enough to touch him. “Derick,” she said softly, “talk to me.”“No.” His voice cracked. “I don’t want to talk.”“Derick”“Aria, please,” he whispered. “Just… give me a second. I don’t know what’s real anymore.”Aria’s shoulders loosened, but her voice remained steady. “What you saw was real. What he said? Not all of it.”“You don’t know that,” Derick muttered.Aria hesitated. “I know enough.”“Do you?” Derick lifted trembling fingers. Dark veins pulsed faintly beneath his skin. “Because I don’t even know what I am.”Aria stepped forward. “Derick”He recoiled. “Don’t.”Aria froze, pain flashing across her face. “I’m not him.”“I know.” Derick swallowed. “But that doesn’t change
CHAPTER 9 — THE VOID THAT CALLS HIS NAME
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
CHAPTER 8 — THE TRUTH THAT BREAKS
Cold night air slammed into Derick as he stepped out of the armored vehicle. The “safe house” ahead looked nothing like a sanctuary, an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, windows boarded, metal siding rusted through in long streaks.Aria emerged behind him, supporting Halden. Marcus scanned the perimeter with a hand on his weapon. Aria spoke softly, “Derick… I meant what I said. I want to help you.”Derick didn’t look at her. “The Codex said the truth would break me.”Aria stiffened. “The Codex is manipulative.”Derick snapped, “Then stop proving it right!”Aria inhaled sharply, but Halden groaned, cutting off the argument.“Get him inside,” Marcus ordered. “Shadows will be on us soon.”Derick swallowed his questions, just long enough to help carry Halden inside.The warehouse interior was dimly lit by old generator lamps. Dust floated in the stale air. Equipment cases lined the walls, medical supplies, weapons, surveillance gear.Aria laid Halden on a metal table while
CHAPTER 7 — SHADOWS IN HER VOICE
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
CHAPTER 6 — BLOODLINE SECRETS
Halden’s words hung in the air like a curse. “Your mother’s sister… the first person who ever tried to kill you.”Derick felt the world tilt. “My… aunt? She tried to kill me?”Halden nodded weakly, eyes wet with pain. “I, I didn’t know who she was at first. She looked… normal. But when she realized I didn’t have what she wanted…” He coughed violently. “She turned vicious.”Aria pressed a cloth to his wound. “Halden, stay with us. What did Lyra take from you?”Halden clutched his side. “A… a piece of the seal.”Derick blinked. “What seal?”Halden’s look was almost apologetic. “Derick… your parents didn’t just seal your power. They split the seal into parts. To protect you.”Derick’s chest tightened. “And Lyra… took one of the parts?”“Yes…” Halden rasped. “She said she needs them all to break the seal completely. To awaken the thing sleeping inside you.”Derick staggered back. “The thing… inside me ? You mean the light?”Halden’s expression turned grim. “Not just light.”Aria squeezed
CHAPTER 5 — THE FIRST LIE
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.
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