Chapter 7: A Shared Vision

Lucas’s dreams were never peaceful, but tonight was different. Tonight, they were vivid, almost too real. He stood in a dark forest, the trees twisted and gnarled, their branches clawing at the sky. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the ground beneath his feet was soft, like walking on rotting flesh.

In the center of the clearing stood a wolf, its fur matted and its eyes glowing with an unnatural purple light. It was the creature, but not as Lucas had seen it before. This wolf was smaller, its form less twisted, but the corruption was there, spreading through its body like a disease.

The wolf turned to face him, its eyes filled with pain and rage. “Help me,” it whispered, its voice a broken echo. “Please… help me.”

Lucas tried to move, but his body was frozen. The wolf’s eyes bore into his, and he felt a surge of emotions—fear, anger, despair. Then the vision shifted, and he saw a figure standing over the wolf, their hands glowing with dark magic. The figure chanted in a language Lucas didn’t understand, and the wolf howled in agony as the corruption spread.

Lucas woke with a start, his heart pounding and his shadows swirling around him. He was drenched in sweat, the images from the dream still fresh in his mind. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, but the sense of dread lingered.

Then he noticed someone standing in the shadows.

“Elijah?” Lucas growled, his shadows rising defensively.

Elijah stepped into the dim light of the campfire, his amber eyes glowing faintly. He looked as shaken as Lucas felt, his flames flickering uneasily.

“You saw it too, didn’t you?” Elijah asked, his voice low.

Lucas frowned. “Saw what?”

“The wolf,” Elijah said, his jaw tightening. “The one being corrupted. I saw it in my dream.”

Lucas’s heart skipped a beat. “You had the same dream?”

Elijah nodded, his expression grim. “Every detail. The forest, the wolf, the figure with the dark magic. It was like I was there.”

Lucas’s mind raced. Shared dreams weren’t normal, even for wolves with magic. This was something else, something deeper. He felt a chill run down his spine as he realized what it meant.

“Our connection,” he said slowly. “It’s getting stronger.”

Elijah’s flames flared, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it.”

“Neither do I,” Lucas admitted, his shadows curling tighter around him. “But we can’t ignore it. That dream… it felt like a warning.”

Elijah sighed, running a hand through his copper hair. “So what do we do? Follow the clues from a dream? That’s insane.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Lucas shot back, his voice sharp. “The creature’s out there, and it’s not going to stop. If that dream is telling us something, we need to listen.”

Elijah glared at him, but there was no real heat in it. He looked tired, more tired than Lucas had ever seen him. “Fine. We’ll investigate. But if this turns out to be some kind of trap, I’m blaming you.”

Lucas snorted, but he couldn’t help the small flicker of relief he felt. At least they were on the same page, even if neither of them liked it.

They set out at first light, the forest still shrouded in mist. Nova and Kael followed behind, their expressions wary. Neither had been happy about the plan, but they hadn’t argued. They knew as well as Lucas and Elijah did that they were running out of options.

The dream had given them a clear image of the forest, and Lucas led the way, his shadows scouting the path ahead. The trees grew thicker as they went, their branches twisting together to form a canopy that blocked out the sun. The air was heavy with the scent of decay, just like in the dream.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Kael muttered, his gray eyes scanning the shadows.

“You’re not the only one,” Nova said, her black eyes narrowing. “It feels… wrong.”

Lucas didn’t respond. He could feel it too—the wrongness, the corruption. It was faint, but it was there, like a whisper in the back of his mind. He glanced at Elijah, who was walking beside him, his flames flickering uneasily.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” Lucas asked quietly.

Elijah nodded, his jaw tight. “Yeah. It’s like the forest is… sick.”

Lucas didn’t have a response to that. He just kept walking, his shadows curling tighter around him. The further they went, the stronger the feeling grew. It was like the forest itself was alive, and it was watching them.

Then they found it.

The clearing was exactly as it had been in the dream, the trees twisted and gnarled, their branches clawing at the sky. In the center of the clearing was a circle of stones, their surfaces covered in strange runes. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the ground was soft beneath their feet.

“This is it,” Lucas said, his voice low. “This is where it happened.”

Elijah stepped forward, his flames flaring as he examined the runes. “These are ancient. Older than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Nova knelt beside the stones, her white hair catching the dim light. “They’re not just runes. They’re a binding spell. Someone used dark magic here, and it’s still active.”

Lucas felt a chill run down his spine. “The wolf from the dream… it was bound here. That’s how it became the creature.”

Elijah’s flames flickered, his expression grim. “So someone’s creating these things. But who? And why?”

Lucas didn’t have an answer. He just stared at the stones, his mind racing. The dream had been a warning, but it had also been a clue. Whoever was behind this, they were powerful, and they were dangerous.

“We need to find out who did this,” Lucas said finally, his voice firm. “Before they create more of those things.”

Elijah nodded, his amber eyes burning with determination. “Agreed. But we’re going to need more than just the two of us.”

Lucas glanced at him, surprised. “You’re suggesting we work together?”

Elijah’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But we don’t have a choice. If we’re going to stop this, we need to combine our strengths.”

Lucas hesitated, but he knew Elijah was right. They didn’t have a choice. The creature was just the beginning, and if they didn’t stop whoever was behind it, the entire realm could be at risk.

“Fine,” Lucas said finally, his shadows curling tighter around him. “We’ll work together. But don’t think this changes anything between us.”

Elijah’s flames flared, but he didn’t argue. “Same goes for you, Blackwood.”