Chapter 76
A Fractured Seal
The air was thick with tension as they hurried through the dense jungle, their footsteps muffled by damp earth and fallen leaves. Every rustling branch, every distant cry of a nocturnal creature, sent Elena’s pulse racing. Something was wrong.
She could still feel it—the presence—lurking just beyond her senses, watching, waiting.
The safe house was only a few miles away, but the journey felt endless. And they were running out of time.
Richard led the way, his sharp gaze scanning the darkness. Behind him, Amira clutched her notebook tightly, her breath coming in uneven bursts. Naomi was silent, her focus shifting between Elena and the path ahead.
Mateo, usually the one to crack a joke in tense moments, was uncharacteristically quiet. His fingers twitched at his side, his nerves barely concealed beneath a hardened exterior.
Elena, however, was struggling to keep her thoughts together.
The whispers had returned.
Faint, like the echo of a forgotten dream, but undeniably there. It was still reaching for her.
“You know what you must do.”
The words slithered through her mind, cold and familiar.
She clenched her fists, refusing to acknowledge them. Not now. Not when they were so close to safety.
A Desperate Search
The safe house loomed ahead—an abandoned cabin, its wooden structure partially covered in creeping vines. It had been reinforced over time, serving as their temporary refuge whenever they needed to regroup.
Richard motioned for silence as he approached the door, gun raised. He tapped twice—a signal.
The door creaked open just enough to reveal Samuel’s tense face. His dark eyes flicked between them before he stepped aside, allowing them in.
“You look like hell,” he muttered as they filed inside.
Mateo let out a dry chuckle. “Feels about right.”
Once the door was secured, Samuel turned to Richard. “What happened?”
Richard exhaled. “The seal. It’s failing.”
Samuel’s expression hardened. “Damn it.”
“We need to find a way to reinforce it,” Naomi added. “Fast.”
Amira was already spreading out her notes on the wooden table, flipping through pages filled with ancient symbols and hastily scribbled translations.
“There has to be something here,” she murmured, her fingers skimming over the text. “Something we missed.”
Elena, still fighting the lingering whispers in her mind, stepped closer.
“There’s a pattern,” she said, tracing a particular set of markings with her fingertip. “This wasn’t just a seal—it was a lock. And if a lock has been forced open, it means—”
“It can be closed again,” Amira finished, eyes widening.
Naomi leaned in. “How?”
Amira hesitated, scanning the text again. “We need a conduit.”
Elena felt a chill run down her spine.
She knew exactly what that meant.
The Cost of Power
“A conduit?” Mateo scoffed. “Please tell me that doesn’t mean what I think it means.”
Amira didn’t answer right away.
Elena already knew.
“A living anchor,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “Someone to bind the seal and keep it intact.”
The room fell into silence.
Samuel shook his head. “That’s not an option. The last time someone tried that—”
“They didn’t do it correctly,” Amira interrupted. “If we can find the right balance, the conduit won’t have to—”
“Die?” Mateo snapped. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”
Elena’s stomach churned.
She had read about these rituals before. A person could act as a bridge, channeling the energy needed to reinforce a seal. But the risk was enormous. It could destroy them.
Her fingers trembled against the table.
The whispers were getting louder.
“You know what you must do.”
She closed her eyes, pushing the voice away.
“We don’t have time for arguments,” Richard said. “If this thing gets free, we’re all dead.”
Samuel exhaled sharply. “So what do we do?”
Amira hesitated before pulling out another page. “We prepare.”
Elena swallowed hard.
Because deep down, she already knew.
The only way to fix this was to sacrifice something.
And she wasn’t sure they had anything left to give.
