Chapter 84 Secrets in the Library
POV: Luna
After the incident with the sigils, I can't sleep.
Every time I close my eyes, I hear that voice.
"When you fail, I'll be waiting."
The certainty in those words haunts me.
Like failure is inevitable. Like I'm destined to fall into whatever trap is being set.
So instead of sleeping, I head to the library.
It's well past midnight. The building should be locked. But Lyric gave me her access codes for emergencies.
And this feels like an emergency.
I need to understand what's happening. Need to find some clue about who's calling me and why.
The library is empty and eerily quiet.
Moonlight streams through the high windows, casting long shadows between the stacks.
I head straight for the restricted section.
If there are answers anywhere, they're here.
I'm searching through Eclipse texts when I hear footsteps.
I freeze, ready to hide.
But it's just Sienna.
"I thought I might find you here," she says softly. "Couldn't sleep either?"
"How did you know I'd be in the library?"
"Because that's what I would do. Research the problem until I understand it." She joins me at the table. "What are you looking for?"
"Anything that explains why someone would be targeting me specifically. Why they'd use sigils to call me. What they might want."
"Then let me help. I'm better at this than you anyway."
She's not wrong. Sienna has a gift for finding hidden information.
She pulls books I wouldn't have thought to check. Cross-references texts I didn't know existed. Pieces together fragments from different sources.
After an hour, she makes a sound of discovery.
"Here. This is interesting."
She shows me a passage in an ancient text. The language is archaic, but readable.
"The Eclipse mark is more than a symbol of the goddess's favor. It is a key. A conduit. A bridge between mortal flesh and divine power. Those who understand its true nature can use it to locate, track, and even influence the marked one."
"Someone is using my mark to track me?" I ask.
"Not just track. Influence. That voice you heard through the sigils? That's not just communication. That's someone trying to establish a connection. To get inside your head."
A chill runs through me.
"How do I stop it?"
"I don't know. But there's more." She turns pages carefully. "Here. A prophecy I haven't seen before."
She reads aloud.
"When shadow rises and calls the marked, the Eclipse must choose between two paths. The path of light, where duty chains and goddess commands. Or the path of shadow, where power waits unchained but corrupted. Her choice will determine not just her fate, but the fate of all marked after."
"That sounds ominous."
"It gets worse. Listen to this part." She continues reading. "The shadow caller will offer everything the Eclipse desires. Power without limit. Freedom without consequence. Love without loss. But these gifts come with a price. For shadow magic feeds on what makes us human. Our compassion. Our connection. Our capacity to love. Trade enough of yourself for power, and you'll wake one day to find nothing human remains."
I sit back, processing this.
"So whoever is calling me through those sigils isn't just trying to kill me. They're trying to corrupt me. Turn me into something else."
"Something darker. Something that serves them instead of the goddess." Sienna closes the book carefully. "Luna, this is serious. This isn't just about surviving a trial or defeating an enemy. This is about who you become. What you choose."
"The prophecy said I'd face a choice. Light or shadow."
"And based on what we're reading, someone is working very hard to make sure you choose shadow."
We continue researching. Looking for any information about shadow callers. About Eclipse corruption. About how previous marked ones resisted this kind of manipulation.
That's when Sienna finds it.
A hidden text. Literally hidden. Tucked behind another book. Like someone wanted it found but not easily.
"This is your grandmother's journal," she says, her voice filled with awe. "Elara Eclipse. Her personal accounts."
She opens it carefully.
The handwriting is elegant but rushed. Like she was writing quickly, urgently.
Sienna reads passages aloud.
"Day 127: The shadow caller grows stronger. I can hear him even when I'm awake now. Promising me things. Showing me visions of power. Of what I could become if I just accepted his offer. It's getting harder to resist."
"Day 143: Professor Thorne says I should tell the Headmaster. But what would I say? That I'm being tempted by dark magic? That part of me wants what the shadow caller offers? They'd lock me up. Call me corrupted. Maybe they'd be right."
"Day 156: I've learned something important. The mark isn't just a connection to the goddess. It's a two-way door. The shadow caller can reach me through it. But I can reach back. I can sense who he is. What he wants. And I'm starting to understand why he chose me."
"Day 201: I know who the shadow caller is. Or was. He's ancient. Powerful. And he was once marked himself. An Eclipse who chose shadow. Who traded his humanity for power. And now he wants to create more like him. An army of corrupted Eclipse wolves. I'm just the first he's tried to turn in this generation."
Sienna stops reading, her face pale.
"Your grandmother knew. She figured out who was calling her. But the journal doesn't say his name."
"Keep reading. Maybe she writes it later."
But the next entry is different.
"Day 203: He knows I figured it out. He's angry. Desperate. Tonight he sent rogues to the Academy. They killed two students before faculty stopped them. This is my fault. My investigation drew his attention. Made him act rashly. I have to stop this. Even if it costs me everything."
And then there are no more entries.
Because that was the week my grandmother died.
"She died trying to stop him," I whisper. "The shadow caller. He killed her."
"Or she died fighting him. The records aren't clear." Sienna carefully closes the journal. "But Luna, this is important. Your grandmother figured out who he was. That information is somewhere. We just have to find it."
"Or I could ask her."
"She's dead."
"But I've been to the otherworld. I've seen Miguel there. Maybe I can find my grandmother too. Ask her directly."
"The goddess warned you about visiting the otherworld. Said it required sacrifice."
"This is important enough. I need to know who I'm fighting. What he wants. How to stop him."
"Luna—"
A voice from the shadows interrupts.
"You are not ready, yet."
We both jump.
Someone is standing in the darkest corner of the restricted section. Watching us.
I can't see their face. Just a silhouette.
"Who's there?" I demand, my wolf surging forward.
"A friend. Or will be, eventually. But right now, you are not ready for the truth you seek."
"What truth?"
"Who the shadow caller is. What he wants from you. Why he chose you specifically." The figure moves slightly, but stays in shadow. "You're still thinking like prey. Like someone being hunted. Until you think like a hunter, you're not ready to face him."
"Then help me. Tell me what I need to know."
"Information without understanding is just noise. You must earn the knowledge you seek. Through your trials. Through your choices. Through your pain."
"That's cryptic nonsense," Sienna says sharply.
"Perhaps. But it's also true." The figure begins to fade. Actually fade. Becoming more transparent. "Continue your research, Luna Eclipse. Learn your history. Understand your power. But do not rush to face the shadow caller. Not yet. Not until you're ready to survive him."
"Wait!" I call out.
But they're gone.
Vanished completely. Like they were never there.
Sienna and I exchange looks.
"Was that real?" she asks.
"I think so. My mark reacted when they spoke."
"So we have a mysterious figure giving cryptic warnings. That's not helpful."
"No. But they're right about one thing. I'm not ready." I look at my grandmother's journal. "I need to understand more. About my family. About Eclipse power. About what I'm really capable of."
"We should tell the faculty about this."
"Tell them what? That someone who might have been a ghost gave us vague advice?"
"Fair point."
We debate for another hour. Should we tell Professor Cael? The Headmaster? Ryder?
Or should we keep investigating on our own?
"The problem is trust," I finally say. "My grandmother didn't trust faculty with her investigation. She kept her journal hidden. That suggests she thought someone at the Academy couldn't be trusted."
"Or she was being paranoid. Corruption can do that."
"Maybe. But what if she was right? What if someone here is working with the shadow caller?"
The possibility hangs heavy between us.
If someone at the Academy is compromised, telling faculty could put us in more danger.
But not telling them means investigating alone. Without resources or protection.
"We need a middle path," Sienna says. "We keep researching. But we also drop hints to the faculty. See how they react. Use their reactions to figure out who we can trust."
"That's actually smart."
"I have my moments."
We agree to keep tonight's discoveries between ourselves for now. And our friend group. Aria, Nova, Lyric. They need to know.
But no one else. Not until we understand more.
We're leaving the restricted section when my mark flares.
Hot and sudden.
I gasp and grab my wrist.
"Luna?" Sienna steadies me. "What's wrong?"
"My mark. It's reacting to something."
I look around the library. Trying to sense what triggered it.
And then I see him.
Standing at the entrance to the restricted section.
Cole.
Watching us with those intense eyes.
"Ladies," he says calmly. "It's well past curfew. You should be in your dorms."
"We were just researching," I say.
"In the restricted section. Without permission."
Sienna steps forward. "We had permission. From Professor Cael."
It's a lie. But Cole doesn't know that.
Or does he?
He studies us both carefully. Like he's trying to read whether we're telling the truth.
My mark continues to pulse. Reacting to his presence.
Just like it did the first time I saw him.
"I see," he finally says. "Then I apologize for interrupting. But it's late. And the library can be... dangerous after hours. Strange things have been known to happen here."
"What kind of strange things?" I ask.
"The kind that happen when young wolves delve too deep into knowledge they're not ready for." His eyes meet mine. "Be careful, Luna. Some secrets are kept hidden for good reason."
He turns and leaves.
And I'm left wondering.
Was that a warning? A threat? Or something else entirely?
"Your mark reacted to him," Sienna observes. "Strongly."
"I know."
"That means he has significant magical power. More than a normal teacher should have."
"Which means what? That he's the shadow caller? That he's working with them? Or that he's just naturally powerful?"
"I don't know. But we need to be careful around him."
We return to our dorms separately. Taking different routes to avoid suspicion.
But as I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, I can't stop thinking.
My grandmother knew who the shadow caller was. But she died before she could tell anyone.
Someone gave us cryptic warnings in the library.
Cole appeared at exactly the wrong moment.
And my mark keeps reacting to things I don't understand.
Pieces of a puzzle I can't quite solve.
But I will.
I have to.
Because something tells me that understanding who the shadow caller is might be the only way to survive what's coming.