Chapter 77
Vanessa
The candles go out all at once.
Darkness crashes into the room so suddenly that my breath catches in my throat.
One second there’s flickering golden light.
The next—
Nothing.
Pitch black.
Cold air rushes through the room, sharp enough to sting my skin. The temperature drops so fast my arms break out in goosebumps instantly.
And then I hear it.
Whispering.
Soft.
Unclear.
Coming from everywhere at once.
My pulse explodes.
“Grams?” I whisper.
A flame suddenly sparks to life near the table as my grandmother relights one candle with a snap of her fingers. The tiny glow barely reaches the corners of the room, but it’s enough to see the tension in her face.
That terrifies me more than the darkness.
Because my grandmother never looks afraid.
Until now.
“Do not panic,” she says firmly.
Which, of course, immediately makes me panic.
Another whisper slides through the room.
Closer this time.
The shadows in the corners move.
Not naturally.
Not like normal darkness.
They shift.
Stretch.
Breathe.
I stumble backward instinctively.
“Oh my God—”
“Vanessa.” My grandmother’s voice sharpens. “Stay inside the circle.”
I freeze.
The protection circle.
Right.
I look down quickly at the symbols carved into the floor around me, glowing faintly beneath the candlelight.
Safe.
Hopefully.
The whispering grows louder.
More voices now.
Layered over each other.
Some angry.
Some laughing.
Some sounding almost… hungry.
A horrible chill crawls down my spine.
“What are they saying?” I whisper.
My grandmother’s expression darkens.
“You do not want to know.”
Not comforting.
At all.
The shadows along the walls twitch violently.
Then one of them peels away from the darkness completely.
My breath catches.
It’s tall.
Too tall.
Its body looks wrong somehow—long limbs made entirely of shifting black smoke. Hollow silver eyes blink open slowly from within the darkness where its face should be.
I stop breathing.
“That,” my grandmother says quietly, “is why dark magic is forbidden.”
The creature tilts its head toward me.
Watching.
Recognizing.
The symbol on my neck suddenly burns.
Pain slices through me so sharply I gasp.
The shadow reacts instantly.
Like it felt it too.
“Oh no,” my grandmother mutters.
The thing takes a step toward the circle.
The symbols on the floor flare bright blue.
The creature hisses violently, smoke curling from its body.
Okay.
Good.
Protection circle working.
Love that for us.
My grandmother raises both hands, chanting rapidly in an ancient language. Wind whips through the room, rattling shelves and shaking the walls.
The creature snarls.
And then—
More shadows begin moving.
My stomach drops.
Not one.
Three.
Maybe four.
Shapes begin forming in the darkness around the room, silver eyes blinking open one by one.
They found me.
All of them.
Fear crashes into my chest so hard I can barely think.
“Grams—”
“I know,” she snaps, still chanting.
The room shakes violently.
One of the candles explodes.
Glass sprays across the floor.
The creatures slam themselves against the invisible barrier surrounding the circle, snarling and clawing at the glowing symbols.
The mark on my neck burns hotter.
They want me.
A horrible realization settles into my chest.
They’re connected to me.
Feeding from me.
My grandmother suddenly thrusts her hands outward.
Power explodes through the room in a wave of blue light.
The shadows recoil violently, shrieking.
The windows burst open.
Wind tears through the house.
And then—
Silence.
The creatures vanish.
Just gone.
The room stills instantly.
Only my ragged breathing remains.
I stare at the empty corners in horror.
My grandmother lowers her hands slowly, breathing harder than before.
For the first time in my life…
She looks tired.
Not physically.
Spiritually.
Like whatever just happened took something out of her.
“That was not supposed to happen this quickly,” she says quietly.
My chest tightens.
“What does that mean?”
She looks at me gravely.
“It means the connection is stronger than I feared.”
The words settle like ice in my stomach.
I slowly step out of the circle, my legs shaky.
“So what now?” I ask.
Her expression hardens.
“We cut the connection before the shadows become strong enough to fully cross into this world.”
My pulse spikes.
“Fully cross?”
She nods once.
“Yes.”
Panic rises fast in my chest.
“You mean those things can become permanent?”
“If enough dark energy feeds them, yes.”
Absolutely not.
No.
I rub my arms anxiously.
“How do we stop it?”
My grandmother turns toward the shelf and grabs an old leather-bound book, flipping through the pages quickly.
“There may be a way,” she says.
“May?”
She shoots me a look.
“Dark magic rarely gives guarantees.”
Fair.
Not comforting.
But fair.
She stops on one page suddenly, her eyes narrowing.
Then she slowly looks up at me.
“You need the others.”
My brows pull together.
“Elizabeth and Chloe?”
“Yes.”
I blink.
“What do they have to do with this?”
Her expression grows thoughtful.
“The spell linked all three of you together,” she explains. “You were all present during the ritual. Your energies intertwined.”
A chill runs through me.
“And?”
“And if the shadows attached themselves to you…” she says slowly, “they may eventually reach for the others too.”
Fear punches the air from my lungs.
Elizabeth.
Chloe.
No.
Absolutely not.
I grab my bag immediately.
“I’m going to them.”
My grandmother nods firmly.
“You should not be alone tonight.”
Neither should they.
⸻
The drive through town feels wrong.
Too quiet.
Too dark.
Streetlights flicker as I pass beneath them. Shadows stretch strangely across the roads, making my stomach twist every few seconds.
I keep checking my rearview mirror.
Because every instinct in my body screams that something is following me.
At one red light, I glance toward the sidewalk—
And nearly scream.
A shadow figure stands beneath a streetlamp.
Tall.
Still.
Watching my car.
Silver eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
The light turns green instantly.
I slam my foot on the gas.
The tires screech as I speed away.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts.
Nope.
Nope nope nope.
Absolutely not.
By the time I reach the French Quarter, my hands are shaking on the steering wheel.
The Elvadores mansion looms ahead behind its massive iron gates, elegant and intimidating under the moonlight.
The gates open automatically before I even stop.
Of course they do.
I park quickly and rush toward the entrance, practically running up the stairs.
The front doors swing open before I can knock.
Adam stands there.
Perfect.
Annoying.
Intimidating.
His sharp eyes scan my face instantly.
And his expression changes.
“What happened?” he asks immediately.
No sarcastic comment.
No teasing.
Straight concern.
That alone tells me I look awful.
“I need Elizabeth,” I say breathlessly.
Adam’s gaze sharpens.
“Vanessa—”
“The shadows are real,” I interrupt. “And I think they’re coming for all of us.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Adam’s jaw tightens slightly.
Then a voice cuts through the hallway behind him.
Cold.
Smooth.
Dangerously calm.
“Well,” Damon says, stepping into view, “that sounds problematic.”
My stomach drops slightly at the sight of him.
Dark clothes.
Sharp eyes.
Controlled power radiating from every inch of him.
But tonight something feels different.
Because when his gaze lands on me—
The amusement disappears instantly.
He knows this is serious.
I swallow hard.
“There’s more,” I whisper.
Damon’s expression darkens.
And suddenly the mansion doesn’t feel safe anymore.
Because whatever followed me here…
Might already be inside.