Chapter 14: The Knock That Echoed

The cold knock echoed again, louder this time, rattling the old windows in their frames. Samuel's hand instinctively went to his knife, his eyes scanning the dark corners of the room.

Amelia's breath caught in her throat. The sense of being hunted—of being found—clung to the air.

Evelyn's expression shifted, her calm demeanor breaking for the first time. She moved quickly to a small table near the window, pulling out a small, silver pendant.

"Get down," Evelyn hissed, holding the pendant out toward them. The charm glowed faintly in the dim light.

Amelia's heart raced. "What's that?"

"Protection," Evelyn replied shortly. "It won't stop him, but it might slow him down."

The door creaked open on its own, and for a moment, the world outside seemed to hold its breath. Then, the figure appeared.

Tall. Cloaked in shadows, a shape that seemed to swallow the light.

Amelia's pulse thudded in her ears. The figure was death itself—a darkness given form. Its presence chilled the very air, and even the flames from the candles bent away from it.

"You shouldn't have come back, Amelia." The voice was low, cold, and dripping with ancient authority.

Amelia couldn't move. She could only stare at the thing that stood at the threshold, watching her with eyes that were voids of nothingness.

Samuel's hand tightened around his knife. "We're not letting you take her."

Evelyn's eyes narrowed. She stepped forward, her voice firm. "You can't take her, Death. Not yet."

The figure tilted its head, as if considering her words. Then, it spoke again.

"You know the rules, Evelyn. She doesn't belong here. She was not meant to return." The voice reverberated, like the earth itself was speaking through it.

Amelia backed away, her mind racing. She remembered drowning. The hands that had pulled her under. The suffocating darkness. This was it. This was the moment she had been pulled from.

Evelyn clenched her jaw, stepping between Amelia and the figure. "I'm not letting you take her. Not until we understand why."

The figure's presence seemed to grow heavier, its darkness spilling into the room like ink in water.

"You know why, Evelyn."

The temperature dropped. The shadows around the figure seemed to stretch out, lashing at the walls. Amelia could feel it, pulling at her from the inside, the weight of inevitability pressing against her chest.

"She belongs with me."

Samuel stepped forward, positioning himself between Amelia and the figure. "You won't have her. Not if we can stop you."

The figure looked at him, and a cold wind swept through the room. "You cannot stop what is already written."

Amelia's heart was racing now, but the panic didn't come. It was like she had already accepted her fate.

"Amelia," Samuel said softly, turning to her. "We're not giving up. We're going to figure out who pulled you from death and why. But you need to fight this."

The figure's shadow seemed to respond, growing thicker, like it was reaching for her.

Evelyn's hand trembled slightly as she held up the pendant. "Stay back, Death. She isn't yours yet."

The figure flinched, its form momentarily fading into the shadows. But then it stepped forward again, its dark energy crackling in the air.

"I'll be back."

And just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, leaving only a cold gust of wind in its wake. The door slammed shut behind it.

The room fell silent, save for the sharp breaths of those left behind.

Evelyn slowly lowered the pendant, her face pale. "This is worse than I thought."

Amelia's voice trembled. "What does it want from me?"

Evelyn looked at her, her eyes full of regret. "It wants your soul. And it won't stop until it gets it."

Samuel moved closer to Amelia, his voice hard. "We'll stop it. We have to."

Evelyn shook her head. "We don't have time. If it's found you once, it will find you again—and next time, it might be too late."

Amelia's stomach churned. If Death was hunting her, there would be no escape.

But there was something else—

Something that still lingered in the back of her mind.

The mystery of why she had been brought back—why someone had stolen her from death in the first place.

They didn't just want her dead.

They wanted her for a reason.

To be continued…