Lila woke to the faint hum of the sanctuary, her body sore from yesterday's training and her mind heavy with half-remembered dreams of twisting shadows and glinting eyes. The bunk room was dim, the single bulb casting a soft glow over the sparse furnishings. Her shadows lingered in the corners, quiet but ever-present, like a pulse she couldn't ignore. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, the council's summons and Ethan's warnings circling her thoughts like vultures.
Maya's voice broke the silence, bright and urgent, from the main chamber. "Lila, you awake? Get out here—you need to see this!"
Lila pulled on her boots and jacket, the black envelope still tucked inside, its weight a constant reminder of the clock ticking down. She stepped into the main room, where Maya hunched over her monitors, her pink hair glowing under the screen's light. Ethan stood nearby, his arms crossed, his face grim. The other sanctuary members moved with tense purpose, their usual rhythm disrupted by a low buzz of unease.
"What's going on?" Lila asked, her voice rough from sleep. She joined Maya at the desk, where multiple screens displayed news feeds, security camera footage, and a map dotted with red markers.
Maya's fingers flew across her keyboard, pulling up a news report. "People are going missing," she said, her tone clipped. "Five in the last two days, all within a ten-mile radius of the city center. No bodies, no ransom demands, just… gone."
Lila's stomach tightened as she scanned the screen. The report showed photos of the missing—ordinary people, a mix of ages and backgrounds: a teacher, a delivery driver, a college student. The headline read, Mysterious Disappearances Baffle Authorities. "Why does this concern us?" she asked, though the prickling at the back of her neck told her she already knew.
Ethan answered, his voice low. "Because it's not random. Look at the footage." He nodded at Maya, who switched to a grainy security clip from a downtown street. A woman walked alone at night, her silhouette stark against the streetlights. Then, without warning, the shadows around her surged, swallowing her in a blink. The footage cut out, leaving only static.
Lila's breath caught. The shadows in the video moved like the assassins from the alley—hungry, deliberate, alive. Her own shadows stirred, rippling across the floor, and she clenched her fists to still them. "Those aren't normal shadows," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"No," Ethan said. "They're connected to you—or people like you. Shadowborn, or something close. The council's been quiet about it, but Maya's picked up chatter on their channels. They're calling it 'incidents,' but they know more than they're saying."
Maya spun her tablet toward Lila, displaying a decrypted message fragment: …contain the anomalies… linked to the Veil… Shadowborn activity confirmed… The words sent a chill down Lila's spine. "The Veil," she said, testing the name. "Who's that?"
Maya exchanged a glance with Ethan, her usual brightness dimming. "We don't know much," she admitted. "The Veil's a ghost in the system—mentioned in council records, but no clear identity. Some think they're a rogue Shadowborn, others say they're something else entirely. Whoever they are, they're tied to these disappearances. And the council's scared of them."
Lila's mind raced, piecing together fragments. The assassins, the council's summons, the man in the coat, and now this—a mysterious figure wielding shadows like a weapon. She thought of her own powers, the way they'd spiraled in the alley, nearly consuming her. Was the Veil like her, a Shadowborn pushed too far? Or something worse?
"We need to investigate," Lila said, surprising herself with the firmness in her voice. "If the Veil's using shadows like mine, I might be able to track them. Or stop them."
Ethan's eyes narrowed, assessing her. "You're not ready. Your control's shaky at best. If the Veil's as powerful as the chatter suggests, you'd be walking into a slaughter."
"I'm not sitting here while people vanish," Lila snapped, her shadows flaring briefly before she reined them in. "You said I'm part of this now. Let me help."
Maya raised an eyebrow, a spark of approval in her eyes. "She's got a point, Ethan. We're stretched thin, and Lila's powers could give us an edge. I can rig a portable sensor to track shadow activity. If we hit the sites where people disappeared, we might pick up a trail."
Ethan's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. "Fine," he said after a moment. "But you stick with me, Lila. No heroics. We're gathering intel, not picking a fight."
Lila nodded, her resolve hardening. She didn't trust herself, not fully, but the thought of sitting idle while shadows devoured innocent people was worse. The sanctuary was a refuge, but it wasn't enough. She needed answers—about the Veil, the council, and her own powers.
Hours later, Lila and Maya crouched behind a dumpster in a deserted alley downtown, the third disappearance site on their list. The air was heavy with the stench of rotting food and motor oil, the streetlights casting long, wavering shadows across the cracked pavement. Ethan stood a few feet away, his weapon holstered but ready, his eyes scanning the darkness. Maya's portable sensor—a sleek device the size of a phone—hummed softly, its screen glowing with faint energy readings.
"Anything?" Lila whispered, her shadows coiled tightly around her, invisible to anyone but her. She'd practiced in the sanctuary, keeping them small and controlled, but the alley's natural shadows felt different—charged, like static before a storm.
Maya's eyes flicked to the sensor. "Low-level spikes, but nothing definitive. The shadow activity's residual, like an echo. Whatever happened here was fast."
Lila nodded, her gaze sweeping the alley. The walls were scarred with graffiti, the ground littered with broken glass. She closed her eyes, letting her senses stretch, feeling for the shadows the way Ethan had taught her. They were there, layered and restless, carrying a faint trace of something wrong—a hunger, a pull, like the assassins but colder, more deliberate.
"I feel it," she said, opening her eyes. "It's faint, but it's here. Like… a signature. Not mine, but similar."
Maya's fingers danced across the sensor, calibrating it. "Got it. I'm locking onto the frequency. If we can map this, we might pinpoint where the Veil's operating."
Ethan's voice was low, urgent. "Keep it quick. We're exposed out here."
Lila focused, guiding the shadows to reveal more. They resisted, sluggish and heavy, but she coaxed them, her mind straining. A faint shape formed in the air—a ripple, like heat rising from pavement, pointing toward the alley's far end. "There," she said, pointing. "It's stronger that way."
They moved cautiously, Ethan in the lead, Lila and Maya close behind. The alley opened into a small courtyard, surrounded by boarded-up buildings. The shadows here were denser, pooling like ink, and the sensor's hum grew louder, its screen flashing red.
"Jackpot," Maya muttered, but her voice held no triumph. She tapped the screen, pulling up a 3D map of shadow activity. "This is fresh. The Veil was here, maybe last night."
Lila's heart pounded as she scanned the courtyard. Her shadows twitched, reacting to the lingering energy. Then she saw it—a faint mark on the ground, etched into the concrete like a burn. It was a symbol, jagged and asymmetrical, like a fractured star. Her breath caught. She'd seen it before, in her childhood, in the margins of her mother's forbidden books. A sigil, tied to shadow magic, but darker, forbidden.
"Ethan," she said, her voice tight. "This isn't just a Shadowborn. This is… something else."
Before Ethan could respond, the shadows in the courtyard surged, a wave of darkness that swallowed the streetlights' glow. Lila's own shadows flared, instinctive, forming a barrier around her and Maya. Ethan drew his weapon, its blue glow cutting through the black, but the air grew heavy, oppressive, like a storm about to break.
"Get back!" Ethan shouted, but the shadows didn't attack. They pulsed, forming a fleeting shape in the air—a figure, cloaked and faceless, its presence cold and ancient. Lila's skin prickled, her shadows trembling as the figure's gaze seemed to lock onto her. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it dissolved, the shadows retreating, leaving the courtyard silent.
Lila's knees buckled, but she caught herself, her breath ragged. Maya clutched the sensor, its screen now dark, overloaded. Ethan lowered his weapon, his face pale but composed. "That was the Veil," he said, his voice grim. "And they know we're here."
Lila stared at the sigil on the ground, her mind racing. The Veil wasn't just a rogue Shadowborn—they were something more, something tied to the council's secrets, to the forbidden magic her family had guarded. The threat was closer than they'd thought, and Lila felt it in her bones: the Veil wasn't just hunting strangers. They were hunting her.
"We need to move," Ethan said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Back to the sanctuary. Now."
Lila nodded, her shadows coiling tightly around her, but her eyes lingered on the sigil. The council, the Veil, her own powers—they were pieces of a puzzle she didn't understand, but she was done running from it. Whatever the Veil was, whatever they wanted, she'd find them. And when she did, she'd be ready.