Chapter 15: The Hunt Begins

The silence that followed the entity's departure was thick, suffocating. The air still crackled with the remnants of its presence, and the shadows, though receded, seemed to lurk just beyond the candlelight, waiting.

Amelia sat frozen on the floor, her pulse a thunderous drum in her ears. The words echoed over and over in her mind. This is not over.

Samuel wiped blood from his lip, pushing himself up from the wreckage of fallen books and splintered wood. "That thing…" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "I barely touched it, and it threw me like a rag doll."

Evelyn paced near the window, her fingers tightening around the silver pendant she had used to drive the entity away. "It was never meant to be stopped by force."

Amelia found her voice, though it wavered. "Then how do we stop it?"

Evelyn turned, her face a mixture of frustration and something deeper—something close to fear. "We don't stop it. We outrun it. We outsmart it. And most importantly, we find out why it's after you."

Amelia's throat was dry. "Because someone stole me from death."

Evelyn nodded. "And now we need to find out who."

Samuel frowned. "You don't just 'steal' someone from death. That takes power. Real power."

Evelyn's expression darkened. "Yes. And whoever did this had a purpose."

Amelia clenched her fists. The memories of drowning were coming back in fragments—water closing over her head, cold seeping into her bones, a desperate struggle against the inevitable. But there was something else. A presence. A whisper in the dark. And then—

Nothing.

Until she woke up. Alive.

She looked up at Evelyn. "Where do we start?"

Evelyn didn't hesitate. "We need to find a Seer."

Samuel raised an eyebrow. "A Seer?"

Evelyn nodded. "Someone who can read the threads of fate. If anyone can find out who tampered with death's design, it's them."

Amelia hesitated. "That sounds… dangerous."

Evelyn gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Everything from this point on is dangerous."

Samuel cracked his knuckles. "Where do we find one?"

Evelyn's jaw tightened. "There's one person who might help. But she's not exactly… welcoming."

Samuel smirked. "Sounds like my kind of person."

Evelyn shot him a look. "Don't push your luck."

She moved quickly, grabbing a satchel and stuffing it with various herbs, charms, and small glass vials. "We leave now. Before the entity finds its way back."

Amelia's stomach twisted. It had taken all of its strength just to drive the thing away—what if it came back stronger? What if, next time, there was no escape?

She forced the thought aside and followed Evelyn and Samuel out into the night.

The forest beyond the town was dense, the trees pressing in from all sides. The path they followed was barely visible, overgrown and winding. The deeper they went, the more the air seemed to change—thicker, charged with something unseen.

Evelyn led the way, moving with the confidence of someone who had walked these woods a thousand times. "Stay close. The deeper we go, the more the veil between worlds weakens."

Amelia swallowed. "Meaning…?"

Samuel glanced at her. "Meaning things might get weird."

As if on cue, the wind shifted. The trees whispered—not from the rustling of leaves, but in voices. Murmurs that slithered through the air, brushing against Amelia's skin like unseen fingers.

She shuddered. "I hate this."

Samuel grinned. "Yeah, I've had better walks in the woods."

Evelyn shot them a warning glance. "Do not speak to them."

Amelia's blood ran cold. "To who?"

Evelyn didn't answer. She just walked faster.

The path twisted, and suddenly, they were standing before an old wooden door—embedded into the trunk of an enormous tree.

Evelyn knocked once. Twice.

Silence.

Then—the door swung open on its own.

A voice drifted from the darkness beyond. "Enter if you dare."

Amelia exchanged a nervous glance with Samuel. He smirked. "Well, that's not ominous at all."

Evelyn stepped inside without hesitation.

Amelia took a deep breath—and followed.

Inside, the space was impossible. It wasn't a room—it was a void. A vast, endless expanse of swirling mist and floating lights. The air was thick with magic, pressing against Amelia's skin like a heavy blanket.

A figure emerged from the mist.

She was old, but ageless. Her skin shimmered like moonlight, her eyes a shifting silver. She regarded them with an amused smile. "Evelyn. It's been a long time."

Evelyn inclined her head. "We need answers, Vasha."

The Seer's eyes flicked to Amelia. "Ah. The girl who cheated death."

Amelia stiffened. "I didn't exactly have a choice."

Vasha chuckled. "No one ever does."

Evelyn's voice was urgent. "Who brought her back?"

Vasha tilted her head, considering Amelia. Then, slowly, she raised her hands.

The air shimmered. Reality itself seemed to twist. And then—

A vision.

Amelia gasped as images flooded her mind. A dark figure, standing over her lifeless body. A whispered incantation. A flicker of golden light. And then—a name.

A name she knew.

Her breath caught in her throat. "No… That's impossible."

Vasha smiled knowingly. "And yet, here you are."

Amelia's heart pounded. The person who had stolen her from death wasn't a stranger.

It was someone she trusted.

Someone who had betrayed her.

To be continued…