Page 55 of Echoes From the Void
“No. The Guardians had been experimenting for decades. Trying to stabilize the realms by creating perfect vessels. When it failed...” I pause, the blood-truth making me sick. “They brought in Blackwood. Made it darker. More brutal.”
“And now?”
“Now they’re succeeding. The essence trials are working. They’re creating stable vessels, but the cost...” I look at the sleeping child. “The cost is too high.”
Through our oldest bond, I feel Leo’s shadows darken with fury. “How many facilities?”
“Twelve. Hidden across both realms. And in the deepest one...” The blood shows me something massive stirring in shadow-thick depths. Something that makes my predator nature recoil. “They found him. Frankie’s father. The Eredar. They’re using his essence for the final phase.”
Leo goes still. “We have to tell Frankie.”
“We will. But first...” I gesture at the guards, still held by my shadows. “First we make sure these ones can’t warn the others. Can’t move any more children.”
Leo’s shadows dance with deadly intent, his usual bright nature completely gone. “What do you need?”
“Hold the child. Keep him safe.” I bare my fangs, feeling the predator rise. “The blood has more secrets to tell.”
I spend the next hour extracting every detail—security protocols, guard rotations, shadow paths between facilities. The blood tells me everything, showing me exactly how deep this conspiracy goes.
When we’re done, when the guards have nothing left to give, we leave them for Bishop’s cleanup team. The child stays asleep in Leo’s arms, his breath finally coming easy as the corruption fades.
“We’ll need the whole pack for this,” Leo says as we head back. “All of us.”
“Yes.” Through our bond, I feel his fierce determination matching mine. “We hunt them all. Save them all.”
“Together,” he says, shadows curling protectively around the sleeping child.
“Together,” I agree.
The night welcomes us as we return to our pack, carrying one saved child and the knowledge to save many more. The hunt isn’t over.
It’s just beginning.
And this time, we know exactly what we’re hunting for.
Chapter 19
Frankie
Five YearsAgo
I wake to the familiar sound of Valerie’s heels clicking down the asylum hallway. My body feels heavy from the drugs, bones sharp against paper-thin skin. They keep us weak here. Compliant. Malleable. The perfect vessels for their experiments.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Valerie’s voice drips false sweetness as she enters my room. Her lab coat is pristine as always, a stark contrast to our deliberately degraded state. “Today’s a special day.”
I keep my face blank, my body still. Five years in this place has taught me that any reaction becomes a weapon in her hands. Any sign of life just gives her more to shape, to break, to remake in her image.
“Dr. Chen will be conducting your examination today,” she continues, checking my charts with practiced efficiency. “We need to make sure you’re... compatible.”
The word makes my stomach clench, though there’s nothing in it to expel. They control everything here—food, water, light. Even our bathroom visits are monitored and measured, another way to remind us we’re not people anymore. Just subjects. Just vessels waiting to be filled.
“Compatible?” My voice comes out as a whisper, throat dry from the drugs they use to keep our powers dormant.
“For your new pack, dear.” She smooths my hair back with possessive fingers, the gesture a mockery of maternal care. “It’s time you started contributing to our program more... directly.”
I try to shrink away from her touch but lack the strength. The darkness that used to comfort me, used to feel like home, is silent now. Starved out of me like everything else that made me human.
But when Dr. Chen enters, something shifts. He sees me—really sees me—in a way no one has since they brought me here. His eyes widen fractionally before his professional mask slips into place, but in that brief moment, I glimpse something I’d almost forgotten existed.
