“Maybe you can just check to see which way it's moving?”
Everything inside me stills. I gape at my brother and cross my arms to contain the shiver that rocks through me.
“Jordi.”
“At least try to see if you can sense where Arlo is,” he pleads.
I turn to the fog. Toward the Shroud that pulses somewhere beyond it. The thought of reaching out with my serephony. Of letting it sense me back?—
I shake my head and look at him. “You don't know what you're asking.”
“I'd do it myself if I could!”
The sigil on my chest burns. “Of course you would. You're reckless!” I jab a finger toward the fog. “Those things are attracted to emotive gifts like serephony. What if I open myself up and they sense me?”
He scowls. “Only one person made that claim! He didn't even explain why.”
I look away. “Let's just keep walking. Maybe we'll find them.”
“And if all we find are more Shroud creatures?”
I shut my eyes and exhale.
“I'm not asking you to channel those things.” His voice softens. “I'm asking you to find our friends and pull back. That's it.”
“Gods.” I uncross my arms and shake them at my sides, trying to loosen the tension coiled in my muscles. “This is the stupidest plan you've ever had.”
His eyes brighten. “I'll be right here. If you start acting strange, I'll shake you until you open your eyes.”
I shoot him one last glare before I close my eyes and try to center myself. He wouldn't ask this if he truly understood. Everyone in Lunaris loves to act tough when they talk about the Shroud. But that’s all it is.
Talk. None of them actually walk into the pit of darkness. Most won’t even get near the Shroud mushrooms.
That’s the thing about darkness. We’re all drawn to it. We like to look at it, talk about it, and wrap ourselves in the safety of its mystery. But few are willing to fully immerse themselves in it.
Myself included. Especially when it comes to the Shroud, because it’s not just the darkness that makes it terrifying. It's not even the creatures. It's the lack of life.
The silence. The stillness. The kind of stillness that people fear more than the darkness itself. On my next exhale, I let Jordi’s energy fade.
I picture myself drifting down the street, searching each corner and alley. Nothing. I reach further. Still nothing. The only thing I sense is the Shroud’s void. Its quiet hunger, lurking just beyond the edges of my awareness. Waiting.
All at once, I stop drifting. I’m standing at the edge of the darkness, right beside the Shroud mushrooms that grow just outside of it. The damned mushrooms that are partly responsible for the stagnant state of my life.
A whisper curls through the darkness. A gust of cold wind hits the back of my neck and slithers down my spine. I turn my head in that direction. Nothing.
The whisper comes from my right this time. Closer. Heart in my throat, I turn my head again. Still nothing. I shake it off andtry to focus on finding Arlo’s calm, steady energy, but there’s another sound. Waves crashing against the cliffs. I decide it’s enough. If this is happening anywhere near the cliffs, it means the creatures are moving in the opposite direction. I start pulling back, and then …there.
Something ripples in the darkness. I follow it to its source and find myself staring into a pair of glowing eyes. A burst of warmth rushes through me, chasing away the cold. My body starts to shake.
My eyes fly open. I’m back on the sidewalk. Jordi’s face is inches from mine.
“Ada!” He shakes my shoulders. “What happened? Look at me!”
I sag against him on the exhale. He catches me, both arms tight around me.
“Goddess strike me. You’re shivering!” His voice is rough. “What happened?”
I swallow. “I couldn't find him. But the creatures … I think they're moving toward the cliffs.”
