Chapter 169: Part 2-Chapter 9

The room was still vibrating from the last ward scream when my phone began ringing. Not buzzing. Not chiming. Ringing: harsh, jarring, old-world ringtone I had never bothered to change. The sound sliced through the air, cutting into the space with a cold precision that made everyone in the room tense.

Redakai stiffened instantly. “Ignore it.”

I shook my head. “I can’t,” I whispered.

His eyes narrowed with authority that usually worked on…well, everyone. “Kaisha—”

“It might be Lucas,”  I interrupted, cutting him off.

That broke through whatever command he was about to give. His expression shifted, not softer, but sharper, calculating. He stepped aside, allowing me to cross the room to reach my phone. Even so, he hovered close enough that I could feel heat radiating from him.

I grabbed the phone, glanced at the caller ID: SARAH.

My stomach dropped. “Oh no.”

Corton leaned in without invitation, expression scrunching. “Your editor? Seriously? You are being hunted by a cosmic signature and your book deadlines are stalking you too?”

Syrus’s head snapped up. “Lucas’s sister?”

Redakai muttered a curse under his breath. “He told her too much.”

I didn’t wait. I answered the call on the second ring. “Sarah?”

Noise flooded the line…wind, traffic, something that sounded like a panicked crowd in the background…and then Sarah’s trembling voice broke through. “Kaisha? Oh thank god. Kaisha, are you okay?”

The raw fear in her tone clawed at something deep inside me. “I’m fine,” I said quickly. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Everything,” she breathed. “Kaisha, something’s wrong with the city.”

My pulse slammed hard against my ribs. Redakai moved closer. Not crowding, but close enough to intervene if the phone itself decided to explode. Dirk quietly warded the door behind us, as if Sarah’s voice could become an entrance point.

“Sarah, slow down.” I rubbed my forehead. “Tell me what you saw.”

“Not saw,” she corrected, voice shuddering. “Felt. And then saw. Kaisha, I was walking out of my building and suddenly I was somewhere else.”

The room froze. “A glitch?” Corton whispered. “Like a jump-cut?”

Sarah inhaled shakily. “I don’t know what to call it. One second, the street was normal. The next…I swear I was standing in a cold, dark place. Like an old courtyard with broken pillars. It lasted a heartbeat, maybe less, but…Kaisha…”

I gripped the phone tighter. “I’m here. Tell me.”

“There was a smell,” she said, voice breaking. “Rain and wet leaves. And then, someone said your name.”

My pulse stuttered. Redakai’s hand found my arm, steadying instead of restraining.

“What name?” I whispered.

“Not Kaisha,” Sarah said. “It sounded like…‘Eter’? It wasn’t English. But it…it felt like it was calling you.”

A cold shiver crawled up my spine. Dirk’s brows drew together sharply. “It’s projecting the first-life identifier across distance.”

Sarah continued, her words tumbling. “And it wasn’t just me. A man dropped his coffee and just stared at the sky. A woman fainted. Dogs started howling. Kaisha, whatever brushed through the city? It checked everyone. Like it was searching.”

Syrus swore under his breath.

I pressed a hand to my chest. “Sarah…did it see you?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But I think it was looking for you through me.”

Redakai stiffened so hard the floorboard under his boot creaked.

Sarah’s breath grew unsteady. “And then my phone…Kaisha, your picture showed up.”

“My picture?” I exhaled.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “Not from social media. Not from my gallery. Just…appeared. You were standing somewhere I’ve never seen. That same courtyard. Stone arches. Dust everywhere. Ancient…and then it vanished.”

Dirk muttered, “Convergence image projection. Very old magic.”

I ignored him. “Sarah,” I whispered, “did that place have stars overhead? Too many?”

A beat of silence, then, “Yes.”

Redakai swore. Corton rubbed his face. “Great. It is giving civilians cosmic flashbacks now.”

“And then—” Sarah’s voice cracked. “I remembered something.”

My chest tightened painfully. “What did you remember?”

“A clearing. A moon. You standing within it,” she whispered.

My heart lurched.

Syrus whispered, “Past-life resonance. It is reaching across lifetimes now.”

My breath trembled. I tried to keep my voice steady. “Sarah. Where are you right now?”

“I’m home. But I don’t feel safe here.” Her voice trembled. “It’s like the air is listening.”

Redakai moved so close I felt his breath at my temple. “Tell her not to move.”

I swallowed. “Sarah, stay inside. Lock the doors.”

“I’m scared of people right now,” she whispered.

I frowned. “Why?”

“Because they keep looking at me,” Sarah said. “Not like they know me…like they expect something from me.”

A cold dread pooled in my stomach.“Sarah,” I whispered, “are they looking at you or for me?”

A long, trembling pause. “…I think they’re looking for you.”

Redakai cursed under his breath. Corton mouthed shit.

Dirk whispered, “It’s using her as a sensory thread.”

I pressed harder against the phone. “Did anyone approach you?”

“No,” she said. “But I heard someone behind me. A man. His voice wasn’t…normal.”

“What did he say?” I gasped.

Sarah inhaled sharply. “He said, ‘She’s waking.’”

My legs nearly buckled. Redakai caught me instantly, grounding me. Dirk moved closer to hear. Syrus’s eyes sharpened, calculating.

“Kaisha?” Sarah whispered. “Please tell me you’re safe.”

I forced my voice still. “I’m safe. I promise. And I’m coming to get you.”

Redakai’s grip tightened painfully. “No. You are staying put.”

Syrus nodded. “Leaving the Manor now would be suicide.”

Dirk added, “If the entity is sweeping the city, Sarah is already woven into its pattern.”

I fought a surge of helplessness.

The line crackled. “Kaisha?” Sarah whispered.

“I’m here,” I said, throat tight.

Sarah’s voice dropped to a shaking whisper. “Kaisha…something just said your name again.”

My pulse froze. “What voice?” I breathed.

“I don’t know,” Sarah choked out. “But it’s outside my window.”

Every ward in the Manor shuddered at once. Redakai stepped in front of me, shield-like. Dirk swore. Syrus bared his teeth, and I whispered, “Don’t look at it, Sarah. Don’t answer it. Just run.”