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CHAPTER 9 — “WHISPERS IN THE DARKROOT”
Frank didn’t sleep. Not even when the forest finally quieted, not even when Morgan ordered a short rest.His body was exhausted, but the inside of his mind felt crowded, like someone else was pacing inside his skull.By dawn, his nerves were frayed raw. Morgan kicked dirt over their small fire. “Pack up. We’re moving.”Frank rubbed his eyes. “Already?”“Darrius won’t wait.”Frank laced his boots slowly. “Morgan… what if I’m the danger now? Not the solution.”Morgan paused. “What did you hear this time?”Frank looked away. “Not words. Just… breathing. Like something asleep is waking up. Inside me.”Morgan slung his pack over his shoulder. “Then we keep moving. The Darkroot is ahead.”Frank froze mid-step. “The what?”“The forest we avoided yesterday,” Morgan said. “We go through it now.”Frank blinked. “You want to take me into a forest literally called the Darkroot?”Morgan didn’t answer directly. “It’s the only place Darrius’s scouts fear entering.”“That doesn’t comfort me!”“It sho
CHAPTER 8 — “THE SPEAR OF ASHENFIRE”
The armored warrior crashed into the clearing like a meteor, scorching a black crater beneath its boots. Heat washed over Frank, forcing him backward until his spine hit a tree.Morgan didn’t move. He stood like a wall between Frank and the monster. The warrior’s helm tilted. “You cannot protect the boy.”Morgan raised his sword. “Try me.”Frank whispered, “Morgan… that thing is huge.”“Size isn’t everything,” Morgan murmured.“His spear is on fire.”“I noticed.”The warrior slammed its spear into the ground, sending a blast of flames across the clearing. Morgan shoved Frank behind a fallen log. “Stay down!”Frank ducked as flames roared over his head, searing bark and earth. The heat made his lungs burn. “Morgan!” Frank shouted, “You can’t fight fire with a sword!”“Watch me,” Morgan said, and charged.The warrior swung its spear. Morgan dodged under it, sparks flying as the spear sliced through trees like paper. Morgan countered with a slash at the creature’s leg, but his blade boun
CHAPTER 7 — “THE MARK OF THE SILENCED”
Frank was already awake when Morgan shook his shoulder. Dawn hadn’t even cracked yet, the forest still looked bruised with lingering night.Fog coiled low, sliding between the trees like something with intention. “Up,” Morgan whispered. “Quietly.”Frank pushed himself upright. “Another patrol?”“Worse,” Morgan murmured. “Listen.”Frank held his breath. At first he heard nothing. Then, not footsteps, but absence. The forest wasn’t silent. It was being silenced.Frank shivered. “That’s… not normal.”“No,” Morgan said. “And it means Darrius sent a Silencer.”Frank’s stomach dropped. “A what?”Morgan shouldered his pack. “Move. I’ll explain once we’re not in its hunting zone.”They started down a narrow deer trail, branches drooping overhead like warning hands. Frank caught up to Morgan, whispering frantically: “What’s a Silencer?”“Assassins made from people who died screaming,” Morgan said. “Darrius binds their last breath inside them. They hunt sound. They erase whatever they catch.”F
CHAPTER 6 — THE GIRL ON THE ROOFTOP
Frank shoved the rusted hatch upward, blinking against the sudden blast of cold night air. The city stretched out before him, a maze of high-rises, neon billboards, and streets glowing with the blue pulse of barrier lights.He climbed out onto the rooftop of an abandoned building. Wind whipped at his hair. Sirens wailed somewhere far below. But what froze Frank wasn’t the noise, It was the figure already waiting for him. A girl.Maybe sixteen. Maybe seventeen. Hard to tell. She crouched on the edge of the rooftop like a shadow given shape, dark jacket fluttering in the wind, hair braided tight along one side.She didn’t turn around when Frank climbed out. Frank whispered, “Um… hi?”No answer. He stepped closer carefully. “Are you Mirra?”The girl didn’t move. Frank frowned. “The, uh… voice in the speakers? My maybe-father? He said”She cut him off with a single word: “Don’t.”Frank blinked. “Don’t what?”“Don’t come any closer.”Her voice was steady, cold, almost eerily calm. Frank fr
CHAPTER 5 — THE HUNT IN THE TUNNELS
Frank hit the platform hard, palms scraping the metal as the Shadowfire ripples ebbed around him. His chest tightened with a sharp, unfamiliar pressure, not pain, not quite, more like a second heartbeat awakening beneath the first.“Get up,” the voice urged through the speaker. “They’re closing in.”Frank tried to push himself upright, but his muscles spasmed. “Hold on, I’m still”“No time.”The voice sharpened. “Frank, stand. Now.”Frank forced himself up, gasping, sweat sliding down his neck. “Why didn’t you tell me it would feel like that?” he demanded.“Because you wouldn’t have stepped onto the platform.”Frank groaned. “Honesty would’ve been nice.”“You’ll appreciate it later.”Frank clenched his jaw. “I’ll complain later.”He staggered toward the chamber door, the one he’d entered through, but the voice snapped: “Not that way.”Frank froze. “Why not?”“It’s already too late. They’re there.”As if on cue, a long, guttural snarl echoed from the tunnel. Frank stiffened. “How many?
CHAPTER 4 — THE FATHER IN THE STATIC
Frank staggered back from the speaker, heart pounding so loudly he could hear the blood in his ears. “No,” he whispered. “You’re lying.”The voice didn’t hesitate. “I wish I were.”Frank shook his head violently. “My father died before I was born.”“That is the story Morgan chose to give you.”“It’s the truth!”“No,” the voice murmured. “It’s the safest version of the truth.”Frank slammed his fist against the console. “Stop talking in riddles!”Static crackled through the speakers like heavy breathing.Then: “Frank… Darrius hunted your bloodline long before you were born. Telling the world your father died was the only way to keep you hidden.”“That doesn’t mean you are him,” Frank shot back.“I know. So let me prove it.”Frank paused, tension coiling in him like a drawn bow. “…And how are you going to do that?”“Say your full name.”Frank’s throat tightened. “You already know my name.”“Say it anyway.”Frank swallowed. “Frank Tarrow.”“Your real name, Frank.”Frank’s fingertips went
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