Chapter 78
Elizabeth
Something is wrong.
I know it the second I walk into the foyer and see Vanessa standing there looking like she’s seen death itself.
Her skin is pale.
Her breathing uneven.
And her eyes—
God.
Her eyes keep darting toward the shadows like she expects something to crawl out of them.
Damon notices it too.
I can tell by the way his posture changes instantly, every muscle in his body tightening beneath the black sweater stretched across his shoulders.
“What happened?” I ask quickly, rushing down the staircase.
Vanessa turns toward me so fast I almost flinch.
“The spell,” she says breathlessly. “Something went wrong with the spell.”
Cold dread settles in my stomach.
Behind her, Adam quietly shuts the mansion doors.
Locks them.
The sound echoes through the foyer louder than it should.
Chloe steps out from the sitting room carrying a bag of chips, looking confused.
“Why does everyone look like they’re about to die?”
Vanessa looks at her.
Then at me.
Then at Damon.
“The shadows followed me.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even Chloe stops chewing.
Damon’s expression turns dangerously still.
“What shadows?” I ask carefully.
Vanessa swallows hard.
“The dark magic kind.”
“Very descriptive,” Chloe mutters nervously.
Vanessa runs a shaky hand through her hair.
“At my grandmother’s house they came out of nowhere. They were attached to the spell—attached to me.” Her voice drops lower. “And my grandmother thinks because we were all part of the ritual…”
“They can attach to us too,” Damon finishes coldly.
Vanessa nods.
Fear twists hard in my chest.
I glance toward the darker corners of the mansion instinctively.
Nothing’s there.
Still…
The air suddenly feels heavier.
Like the house itself is listening.
Damon starts moving immediately.
“Adam,” he says sharply, “seal the east wing.”
Adam nods once and disappears down the corridor without argument.
Chloe blinks rapidly.
“Wait, hold on. Seal it from what exactly?”
Damon ignores the question, his attention fully on Vanessa now.
“You were followed here?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see them enter the grounds?”
“No, but—”
A loud crash echoes somewhere upstairs.
Everyone freezes.
My heart jumps into my throat.
Another bang follows.
Closer this time.
Chloe slowly lowers the chip bag.
“…Please tell me that’s just old mansion noises.”
No one answers her.
Which is answer enough.
Damon’s eyes flash silver.
Predatory.
Dangerous.
He turns toward the staircase slowly.
Then the lights flicker.
Once.
Twice.
And go out completely.
Darkness swallows the mansion.
Chloe curses immediately.
“Oh hell no.”
A low growl rumbles somewhere in the dark.
Not human.
Not vampire.
Something else.
Something wrong.
My pulse skyrockets.
Vanessa grabs my wrist hard.
“They’re here.”
The emergency lamps lining the hallway suddenly flicker on dimly, bathing the mansion in weak golden light.
Enough to see.
Not enough to feel safe.
A shadow moves at the end of the corridor upstairs.
Fast.
Too fast.
I suck in a sharp breath.
“Damon…”
“I see it.”
His voice comes out calm.
Too calm.
Which somehow makes this worse.
Another shadow appears.
Then another.
Long figures twisting unnaturally against the walls like living smoke.
Chloe backs up immediately.
“Nope. Absolutely not. I reject this entire situation.”
One of the shadows suddenly darts across the ceiling.
Fast as lightning.
I gasp.
Vanessa’s grip on me tightens painfully.
“They’re stronger,” she whispers. “They weren’t this strong before.”
Damon steps in front of us slightly.
Protective.
Instinctive.
His eyes remain fixed on the darkness ahead.
“Stay behind me.”
My stomach twists strangely at the command.
Not because I dislike it.
Because part of me immediately wants to obey.
Which is deeply annoying.
A cold laugh suddenly echoes through the hallway.
Soft.
Distorted.
Inhuman.
The shadows begin crawling down the staircase walls like black liquid.
Chloe grabs my arm now too.
“Elizabeth,” she whispers, “tell me you’re seeing this.”
“I’m seeing it.”
“I hate it.”
One of the shadow creatures finally steps fully into view at the bottom of the stairs.
Tall.
Twisted.
Silver hollow eyes staring directly at Vanessa.
Recognition flashes across its face.
Then hunger.
Vanessa stiffens.
“It wants me.”
The thing lunges.
Fast.
Faster than human eyes should track.
But Damon moves faster.
One second he’s beside me.
The next he’s in front of the creature, slamming it violently into the wall with enough force to crack stone.
The entire hallway shakes.
The creature screeches.
A horrible sound.
Like metal scraping against bone.
Damon’s eyes glow silver as he grips the shadow by the throat.
“What,” he says coldly, “exactly are you?”
The creature grins.
Its mouth stretches too wide.
Wrong.
Then its body dissolves instantly into smoke.
Vanishing from his grasp.
The lights flicker violently again.
And suddenly every shadow in the hallway begins moving at once.
“Oh my God,” Chloe breathes.
There are dozens now.
Watching from the walls.
The ceilings.
The corners.
My fear spikes so sharply I feel dizzy.
Vanessa’s grandmother was right.
They’re getting stronger.
Adam suddenly reappears at the end of the hallway carrying an old silver dagger covered in strange symbols.
“Move,” he orders.
Damon steps aside instantly.
Adam drives the dagger straight into one of the wall symbols carved into the mansion columns.
The symbol lights up bright blue.
Then another.
Then another.
Power surges through the mansion like electricity.
The shadows recoil instantly, hissing violently.
The house itself begins glowing faintly beneath the walls.
Protection magic.
Ancient magic.
Damon looks toward Adam sharply.
“You activated the warding?”
“We didn’t have much choice.”
The creatures begin screeching louder now, their forms flickering violently.
Vanessa stares around us in horror.
“They’re trapped.”
“No,” Damon says darkly.
His eyes scan the room carefully.
“They’re trying to get to something.”
A horrible chill slides down my spine.
“Me,” Vanessa whispers.
But Damon slowly turns toward me instead.
“No,” he says quietly.
Every instinct in my body freezes.
Because the way he’s looking at me now—
He knows something.
Something I don’t.
The shadows suddenly stop moving.
Completely.
Every single creature turns toward me at once.
My stomach drops.
Oh no.
One of them whispers.
Not aloud.
Inside my head.
Key.
Pain explodes behind my eyes instantly.
I gasp, stumbling backward.
“Elizabeth!” Chloe cries.
Another whisper follows.
Then another.
Open the door.
“No,” I whisper shakily.
The pressure in my head intensifies violently.
The symbol on my hand begins burning.
I cry out softly, gripping my wrist.
Damon is suddenly in front of me again.
His hands grip my shoulders firmly.
“Elizabeth. Look at me.”
The shadows begin moving closer.
Whispering louder now.
Open it. Open it. Open it.
My breathing becomes uneven.
The pain spreads through my body like fire.
Damon grips my face gently but firmly, forcing my eyes to his.
“Listen to me,” he says sharply. “You do not let them into your head.”
“I—I can’t—”
“Yes, you can.”
The intensity in his voice cuts through the panic slightly.
Around us, the mansion shakes violently.
Windows crack.
The shadows scream.
But Damon never looks away from me.
“Focus on my voice.”
My pulse pounds wildly.
The whispers keep clawing at my mind.
But Damon steps even closer.
And suddenly he’s all I can see.
Silver eyes.
Cold hands.
Steady breathing.
Dangerous calm.
“You are stronger than this,” he says quietly.
The words hit something deep inside me.
Something steady.
Something powerful.
The pain eases slightly.
Just enough for me to breathe again.
The shadows react instantly.
Angry.
The creatures shriek violently as if something is pulling them back.
The blue ward symbols along the mansion walls flare brighter.
And then—
Every shadow vanishes at once.
Gone.
Silence crashes through the hallway.
The mansion stills completely.
My knees nearly give out from exhaustion.
Damon catches me before I hit the floor.
One arm wrapping tightly around my waist.
Holding me against him.
His chest rises steadily beneath mine.
Solid.
Warm.
Safe.
For a second neither of us speaks.
Then quietly—
Too quietly—
Damon says:
“They weren’t after Vanessa.”
Fear curls coldly in my stomach.
Because I already know what he’s going to say next.
His silver eyes lock onto mine.
“They came for you.”