Chapter 66 The Council's Warning

Chapter 66 The Council's Warning
Erick's POV

Erick softly said, "Just a dream," but the Eclipse Bond immediately revealed his words were a lie. In the pre-dawn dark, Deborah's silver eyes met his, and the tremor in her hands confirmed his suspicion. What she had seen in her nightmare was real, or soon would be.

He pulled her closer, feeling her fast heartbeat against his chest. Their bond revealed not just fear, but a deep, troubling exhaustion, as if something vital had been drained from her. 

The fight with the void had taken a greater toll than they had understood.

"The seed," Deborah whispered, her voice hoarse. "In the dream, it was growing. Spreading. And the cracks in the sky weren't healing, Erick. They were multiplying."

Erick's jaw tightened. He had noticed the cracks himself, jagged scars in the sky that had not faded even after they sealed the breach. He had believed they would close with time, that the world simply needed to heal. 

But now, with Deborah trembling in his arms and dawn painting the sky red, he was uncertain.

An hour later, the summons arrived.

Elder Thorne's messenger arrived, his young face showing urgency. "The Council requires your immediate presence," he said, avoiding Erick's gaze. "Both of you. They say it's... critical."

Deborah was already moving, dressing despite the exhaustion that slowed her movements. Erick watched her closely, noticing how she steadied herself against the dresser, how her aura, usually a bright silver-white, flickered like a candle.

"You should rest," he said, knowing she would not listen.

"The Council does not summon us at dawn for minor issues." She turned to him, and he saw the Alpha in her eyes despite her weakness. "Whatever this is, we face it together."

The Eclipse Bond hummed between them, and Erick felt his resolve strengthen. Together. Always together.

The Council chamber felt different in the early morning light. Shadows gathered in corners that should have been lit, and the air felt heavy, pressing on Erick's chest. 

The seven Council members sat in their tall chairs, their faces serious. Elder Thorne looked like he had aged ten years overnight.

"Alpha Parker. Erick Olsen." Thorne's voice lacked its usual warmth. "Thank you for coming so quickly. Please, sit."

Deborah remained standing. "What has happened?"

Elder Thorne exchanged glances with the other Council members. Elder Miriam, her silver hair braided with moonstone beads, spoke first. "We have been reviewing the ancient records. All night, we searched through texts not opened in centuries." She paused, her hands trembling slightly as she placed them flat on the table. 

"What we found... troubles us deeply."

"The void breach we sealed," Elder Thorne continued, "was not the first. Nor, we fear, will it be the last."

Erick felt Deborah stiffen beside him. Through their bond, he sensed her alarm, which she quickly suppressed. He reached for her hand, and she took it immediately.

"Explain," Deborah said.

Elder Miriam opened a large book, its pages yellowed with age. "Three thousand years ago, during the reign of Alpha Mordecai the Wise, an event known as the Second Darkness occurred. 

The records are incomplete, but they speak of a time when the barriers between worlds became thin. Breaches opened across the land, and creatures of void and shadow came through."

"How did they stop it?" Erick asked, leaning forward.

"They did not." Elder Thorne's words were stark. "Not completely. Alpha Mordecai and his mate, a hybrid like yourself, Erick, managed to seal the largest breaches. 

But the records show that smaller rifts remained, dormant but never truly closed. They called them 'sleeping wounds in the fabric of reality.'"

Deborah's grip on Erick's hand tightened. "And you think what we faced was one of these wounds waking up?"

"We think," Elder Miriam said carefully, "that your battle may have awakened others."

The silence that followed was heavy. Erick felt his heart beating hard against his ribs. 

Through the Eclipse Bond, he felt Deborah's aura flicker again, dimming for a moment before she made it steady. 

The effort this took her worried him more than the Council's news.

"How many?" Deborah asked. "How many breaches are we talking about?"

Elder Thorne stood, moving to a map on the far wall. Red marks covered the parchment. 

"According to the old records, there were seventeen major breaches during the Second Darkness. 

Mordecai sealed twelve completely. The remaining five..." He tapped the map. "Were contained but never fully closed."

"And the seed we planted?" Erick's voice was steady despite his growing fear. "What does that have to do with this?"

"The Seed of Eclipse," Elder Miriam said, "was Mordecai's creation. A living seal, meant to grow and strengthen the barriers between worlds. 

But it needs great power to maintain itself. Power drawn from..." She looked at Deborah. "From the Alpha who planted it."

Erick understood. That's why Deborah's aura was weakening. The seed was using her strength, her life force, to grow and seal the breach. 

And if more breaches were opening...

"How long?" Erick asked. "How long before it drains her completely?"

"We don't know," Elder Thorne admitted. "The records are unclear. But Mordecai's mate survived the planting. 

The seed eventually became self-sustaining, drawing power from the earth itself rather than its creator."

"Eventually," Deborah repeated, her voice sounding empty. "How long is eventually?"

No one answered.

Erick pulled Deborah closer, feeling her body tremble. Through their bond, he sent strength to her, willing his own energy to help hers. 

She leaned into him, and he felt her gratitude.

"There's more," Elder Thorne said quietly. "The cracks in the sky they're not healing because they're not injuries. 

They're warnings. Signs that the barriers are weakening at many points at once."

"Then we find the other breaches," Deborah said, standing straighter despite her tiredness. "We seal them before they fully open."

"With what power?" Elder Miriam asked gently. "Child, you can barely stand. The seed is already drawing from you. If you try to plant another."

"Then I'll die." Deborah's voice was flat and direct. "But if I don't, how many others will die when those breaches open?"

"No." Erick's voice was sharp in the chamber. "There has to be another way."

"The Eclipse Bond," Elder Thorne said slowly, as if the idea was just forming. "Mordecai's mate was a hybrid, like you, Erick. Their bond allowed them to share the burden. Perhaps..."

A loud noise, like thunder, shook the air.

The Council chamber shook, and dust fell from the old rafters. Through the high windows, Erick saw the sky split open a new crack, wider and darker than the others, spreading across the heavens. 

And this one was near. Too near.

"Ravenswood," Elder Miriam whispered, her face pale. "It's opening over Ravenswood."

Deborah was already moving toward the door, Erick right behind her. 

Through their bond, he felt her resolve, her fear, and beneath it all, the steady drain of the seed taking her life force.

As they rushed out of the Council building into the blood-red dawn, Erick looked up at the spreading darkness above Ravenswood. 

He felt the weight of difficult choices.

The Second Darkness was waking.

And they were running out of time.