Chapter 4 The Warning in the Dark

Chapter 4: The Warning in the Dark

Leah's POV

"Leah, are you truly prepared to discover what's hidden here?"

I was so startled by the voice behind me that I spun around. I hadn't heard the footsteps coming because I had been so preoccupied with the lighted road ahead, my mind buried in the shadowed trees and the strange quiet that surrounded the settlement.

The lady from before, Margot, was standing in the doorway shadow of the bar. Her normally calm face was suddenly taut with an emotion that I couldn't quite make out.

"Margot?" I asked, feeling my heart race. How come you're out here?

As the mist swirled around her, she took a step forward, her boots digging a little into the muck. "Assisting you in avoiding the most significant error of your life."

I scowled. "What are you discussing?"

"You don't understand, do you?" She ignored me and scanned the darkened town as if she was looking for someone or anything. "Moonshadow differs from other locations. There are things in this town that don't want to be known, yet you assume you can simply go in and ask questions without getting in trouble. Items that-

"What are those things?" Curiosity overriding prudence, I pushed.

For a second, I believed she may not respond as her lips formed a thin line. She sighed, nevertheless, her breath hazy in the chilly air.

"Things that, if you're not careful, will tear you apart," she said in a steady, quiet voice. "Leah, I've lived here my whole life. I have seen stuff. Odd stuff. Additionally, I have seen decent individuals lose themselves in an attempt to comprehend them.

I drew closer, my eyes narrowing. "What are they, Margot? What knowledge do you possess on the Blackwoods? What about the wolves? Regarding everything that is taking place here?"

She winced when the Blackwoods were mentioned, as if the name itself meant something more than a family.

She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "Some things are better left untouched." "You're already in danger because you've already seen too much. You're too near.

Like the mist that coiled around her ankles, her words settled into the void between us. Her hurry and dread were palpable, as if she were attempting to shield me from something far more sinister than I had previously recognized.

Despite the unsettling twist in my stomach, I firmly said, "I can't back down." "I must know what is going on in this place. The assaults, the abductions, and Ethan-something is up with him.

When Ethan's name was spoken, Margot's eyes widened and she stepped back, as if the air had suddenly become thicker.

Her voice was tense as she continued, "You don't know him." "You don't, even if you believe you do. He is not like the others. He's She paused, trying to think of the proper thing to say. He isn't totally human. You must realize that. And you won't make it through the truth if you don't.

I gazed at her, attempting to interpret her enigmatic caution. "Not a human? Even so, what does it mean?

Margot paused once again, her eyes darting anxiously over her shoulder. "Leah, return to the mansion. Put Ethan and all you believe you know out of your mind. It's better for you to remain ignorant.

"I am unable to do that." Doubt had started to sneak in, but I spoke steadily. With so many questions still unanswered, I wasn't prepared to go back.

Margot's look turned into one of annoyance. "You can't stop me, can you?"

I gave a headshake.

With a heavy sigh, she took a little, frayed book out of the inside of her coat. She pushed it into my grasp.

"What is this?" With my fingertips grazing the tattered leather, I inquired.

Margot remarked, her eyes dark with something I couldn't quite read, "It's a warning." "A history of previous events here. And what will occur once again if you don't exercise caution.

The book seemed like a piece of history in my hands, even if the pages were ancient and the writing was fading in some spots. I found a scribbled sentence in a trembling hand when I opened it to a random page:

"The curse never really gets lifted. It slumbers until it is roused by the firstborn's blood. The moon will then rise, and they will come back.

My heart pounding, I hurriedly closed the book. "What is this?"

Margot took a while to respond. Rather, she observed me with a ferocity that made the atmosphere seem heavier.

Finally, in a quiet but determined voice, she said, "You're in over your head." "Remember this if you're determined to keep digging: The Blackwoods are more than simply a family. They are the stewards of something far more terrible than you can fathom. Furthermore, Ethan is more than simply Ethan. He belongs to a group that is older than this town and older than anything you have ever experienced.

Her remarks were like a kick to the stomach. I opened my lips to answer, but before I could say anything, the sound of a howl, far away, cut through the quiet like a knife. Cold perspiration appeared on the back of my neck, and my heart thumped in my chest.

"What was that?" I asked, hardly raising my voice above a whisper.

Margot's demeanor was strained and pallid as her eyes darted toward the woods. "It's too late."

I strained my ears and looked toward the sound. Then there was another wail, this one louder. Then there was the distinct sound of a big object smashing through the woods.

I took hold of Margot's arm as my breathing became labored. "What is that? What will happen next?

Margot's expression twisted in terror. "Leah, they're coming for you." She pushed the book back into my hands after jerking her arm free. "Take it. You won't ever comprehend the true stakes if you don't.

I took a step back and held the book close to my chest. My thoughts were racing, and I wanted to ask her questions and demand more information, but all I could hear was the sound of the woods coming to life-something swiftly and deliberately approaching us.

The wail became more intense. Nearer.

I looked in the direction of the bar, but it was too far away. Everything appeared to be engulfed by the blackness in front of me.

"You must flee," Margot said desperately. "Now. It's already too late for me."

Before I could respond, she disappeared into the night, leaving me standing alone in the cold mist, the book burning against my chest.

And then, the shadows in the trees shifted, and something-someone-stepped into the clearing ahead of me.

The figure was tall, cloaked in darkness, its eyes glowing with an eerie, unnatural light.

I froze, every instinct screaming for me to flee. But I couldn't move. The figure took a step forward, and I saw the unmistakable shape of claws, gleaming in the moonlight.

And then, in that heartbeat of time, the voice I had been dreading, the voice that I hadn't wanted to hear...

"Leah," Ethan said softly, his tone unmistakably hungry.

"Leap."