Chapter 73: The Creed's Fire
The estate had never felt so full. The hybrids camped outside didn’t speak, didn’t move much, but their presence pressed in from every direction. Every window I looked out of, I saw their shadows in the fog. Every breath I took reminded me that hundreds of eyes were waiting for me to make one choice.
But the decision wasn’t mine to make yet—because the Hollow Creed made theirs first.
\---
It started just before dawn. A sound. Not the low hum of the hybrids shifting in the fog, but a sharper rhythm. Tires. Engines. The growl of armored vehicles cutting through the silence.
Aidan was the first to sense it. He was already in the hallway when I stepped out of my room, blades strapped across my back.
“They’re here,” he said.
“Gregory?” I asked.
He shook his head. His voice was tight, low. “No. Worse.”
\---
By the time I reached the war room, Ethan already had the cameras pulled up. The screens flickered with grainy footage, but the images were clear enough: three black trucks rolling across the tree line, their headlights cutting through the fog like knives. Dozens of men spilled out, dressed in black tactical gear with silver insignias sewn onto their sleeves—an ash symbol inside a circle.
Callum swore under his breath. “The Hollow Creed.”
Elena pushed away from the table. “Great. Just what we needed. Religious zealots with automatic weapons.”
Ethan adjusted the feed, zooming in on their weapons. “Not just automatic. Modified. Look—silver rounds, UV scopes, reinforced plating. These guys didn’t just come to hunt. They came to burn.”
“And they’re not here for the hybrids,” I said quietly. “They’re here for me.”
\---
The first shots rang out seconds later.
Not at us.
At the hybrids.
Fog burst into chaos as the front line of kneeling hybrids scattered, some diving for cover, others standing tall, their eyes blazing gold. The Creed fired in controlled bursts, their movements sharp and practiced. No hesitation. No warning.
Elena slammed her hand on the table. “They’re slaughtering them.”
“Should we help?” Ethan asked, his voice cracking. “Because I’m about five seconds away from hacking their comms and blasting elevator music until their ears bleed.”
“Stay focused,” Callum snapped. He turned to me. “Roxanne. This is your call.”
My chest tightened. I looked at the screens again. Hybrids collapsing in the snow. Others shielding one another. And beyond them—the Creed, moving forward like an unstoppable tide.
If I stayed inside, the hybrids died. If I went out, I risked all of us.
But there wasn’t really a choice, was there?
\---
“I’m going,” I said.
Aidan’s jaw clenched. “Not without me.”
Elena sighed, grabbing her crossbow. “I guess I’ll come too. Someone has to keep you idiots alive.”
“Wait—what about me?” Ethan asked, already stuffing cables and a tablet into his backpack.
“You’re staying,” Callum said firmly.
Ethan scowled. “Excuse me? I’m literally the only reason we even knew they were coming!”
“And you’ll be the reason we don’t lose the estate while they’re here,” Callum shot back. “You hold the line inside.”
Ethan muttered something about underappreciated geniuses, but didn’t argue further.
\---
We stepped into the courtyard. The fog swallowed us instantly, damp and heavy, muffling the screams and gunfire. I could smell the tang of blood before I saw it.
A hybrid staggered into view, clutching his arm. His eyes locked on me, wide and desperate. “They won’t stop,” he rasped. “They said they came for the Harbinger.”
Another burst of gunfire cracked through the air, and he dropped to the ground.
I looked up—and saw them.
The Hollow Creed.
They moved with terrifying precision, advancing through the hybrids as if they were nothing more than shadows. Their leader, a tall man with close-cropped hair and a scar across his jaw, raised his hand. The gunfire stopped instantly.
And then he spoke.
“Roxanne Devlin!” His voice carried through the fog like a blade. “Daughter of blood, child of shadow—you will come to us, or we will burn everything you claim to protect.”
\---
My pulse hammered. “What do you want from me?” I shouted back.
He smiled. Even from this distance, I could see it. “We want the truth. The truth buried in your veins. The truth your ancestors tried to hide. You are not a savior, girl. You are the storm that ends this world. And we will not let it rise.”
Aidan stepped closer to me, his hand brushing mine. His voice was low, steady. “Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to break you.”
But part of me knew the man believed every word.
And worse—part of me feared he wasn’t wrong.
\---
The hybrids stirred, their eyes glowing brighter, their growls rumbling through the fog. Some of them looked at me, waiting. For what—I didn’t know. My command? My strength? My denial?
The Creed leader lifted his weapon. “Choose, Harbinger. Stand with them and die. Or surrender, and we make it quick.”
\---
Before I could answer, Elena raised her crossbow and muttered, “God, I hate speeches,” and fired.
The bolt whistled through the fog and struck the man’s shoulder. He staggered back with a roar, his soldiers breaking formation instantly, weapons lifting again.
And just like that—the war began.