THE CODEX OF SHADOWS: AWAKENING OF DERICK GREENWOOD

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. “You, You’re lying.”

Lucas sighed with amusement. “Finally catching on.”

Aria shouted, “Derick, STOP LISTENING TO HIM!”

But Derick’s light surged again, uncontrolled. Lucas tilted his head. “There it is. That temper. Just like your mother.”

Before Derick could release another blast, Aria shoved herself between them, gripping his face with both hands. “Derick, look at ME!”

“I—he, he said”

“LOOK AT ME!”

Derick’s vision wavered. Aria’s eyes locked onto his, sharp, steady, unshakeable. “Breathe,” she ordered. “Focus on my voice. Not his.”

“Aria—he knows, he knows where”

“I don’t care what he knows! He’s provoking you.”

Derick trembled. “But my mother”

“Is NOT dead,” Aria said firmly. “If she were, I would’ve told you myself.”

Derick’s world paused. “You… you know that?”

Aria hesitated, but only for a split second. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I do.”

The light inside him flickered, wavering. Then dimmed. Slowly the glow retreating under his skin until the alley returned to darkness. Aria exhaled in relief. “Good. That’s good.”

Lucas clapped mockingly. “How touching. Truly. She lies so smoothly you barely notice.”

Aria spun toward him. “Lucas, shut up.”

Lucas raised a brow. “Hit a nerve, did I?”

Derick clutched the Codex. “What do you want from me?”

Lucas smiled like a man who’d already won. “You, Derick Greenwood, are the key to an unfinished prophecy. And the Order needs you.”

“Needs me for what?”

“To complete what your mother failed to do.”

Aria tensed. “Derick, don’t engage”

“No, let him talk.” Derick stepped forward, fists trembling. “For once, let someone give me real answers.”

Lucas smirked. “Such fire. I see why they panicked when you awakened.”

“Tell me what she failed to do,” Derick demanded.

Lucas’s smile sharpened, eyes darkening. “She failed to kill you.”

Aria hissed, “Lucas, ENOUGH!”

Lucas held up a finger. “Truth is truth.”

Derick’s heartbeat stopped. “That… that’s not possible…”

“You were born unstable,” Lucas said. “A threat greater than the Eclipse Order itself. Your mother tried to seal you, but even sealed, your power grew. She realized there was only one way to stop you.”

Derick whispered, “No… no, she wouldn’t”

Lucas leaned closer, voice a poisonous whisper. “Wouldn’t she? A mother willing to do anything to save the world, even if it meant killing her own son.”

Derick felt his knees weaken. Aria stepped in front of him. “Lucas Vale, you’re done talking.”

Lucas shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll see you soon, Derick.”

Then he stepped backward into the shadows, and vanished like smoke being inhaled by the dark. Silence flooded the alley.

Derick stared blankly at the space where Lucas had stood. “Aria… did… did my mother really…?”

Aria grabbed his arms. “Derick. Look at me.”

He didn’t. “Derick,” she said sharply, “that man lies with every breath. That’s what the Order does, they weaponize truth and falsehood until you can’t tell the difference.”

“He said she tried to kill me…”

“And I’m telling you he said it to break you.”

Derick tore himself away. “But what if, what if she DID try, what if Lucas was right”

Aria stepped toward him. “Then the Codex wouldn't have warned you he was lying.”

Derick froze. Aria continued, voice low and steady, “Look at your hands.”

He looked. No glow. No cracks of light threatening to burst free. Only trembling fingers wrapped around the leather book.

Aria said, “The Codex reacts to threats. It reacted to him. That means he was lying.”

Derick’s eyes burned. “I don’t… I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Aria softened. Just slightly. “Then believe this: the truth about your mother doesn’t come from Lucas Vale.”

Derick shut his eyes, inhaling shakily. “I just want to find her…”

“And you will,” Aria said. “But with me. Not with them.”

The Codex vibrated gently. A new line formed: “The truth begins where the first lie was spoken.”

Aria frowned. “What does that mean?”

Derick traced the words. “It means… someone lied to me before tonight.”

Aria asked, “Who?”

Derick looked at her, eyes full of confusion and fear. “I don’t know.”

Aria drew in a breath, professional calm returning. “Then we start by getting out of here. If Lucas found us, more will follow.”

Derick nodded weakly. “Where do we go?”

Aria pulled out a small device, clicking it open. A holographic map flared to life. “A secure location. Off-grid.” She pointed. “Two miles from here. We move fast.”

Derick tightened his grip on the Codex. “Halden…”

“We’ll check on him later,” Aria said. “Right now, if the Order catches you, you’ll wish the shadows had gotten to you first.”

They turned toward the mouth of the alley, when a faint voice behind them whispered: “D…Derick…”

They spun. A figure staggered into the alley, blood dripping down their chin. Halden. Derick ran to him. “Halden! Oh god, what happened?!”

Halden’s lips trembled. “They… they took something… from me…”

Aria knelt beside him. “Who did this?”

Halden’s eyes widened in terror. “Not the shadows… not them…”

He pointed a shaking finger at Derick. “Someone… someone looking for you.”

Derick’s stomach dropped. “Who?!”

Halden coughed blood. “She… said she knew you. Said… she knew your mother…”

Derick froze. Aria tensed. “Halden, what was her name?”

Halden’s voice cracked. “L-Lyra…”

Aria’s face went pale. “Derick, get back.”

“Why?” Derick demanded. “Who is Lyra?”

Aria swallowed. “Your mother’s sister.”

Derick’s heart stopped. Aria whispered, “And the first person who ever tried to kill you.”