Chapter 18 — Shadows Beneath the Bell
The path into the hills grew narrow, hemmed in by twisted trees and wind-whipped grass. Isabelle clutched the map tighter, its edges softened by time and moisture. Maeve had stayed behind — to mislead any followers — but Isabelle had no illusions: she was not alone.
By nightfall, she reached the edge of a hamlet — Greybell. It was too small for maps, barely a smear of rooftops and broken fences. She knocked at a crooked door near the chapel ruins.
The old woman who opened it stared for too long.
"You shouldn't be here," she said flatly.
"I just need a place to rest."
"There's no rest here. Not for your kind."
Before Isabelle could ask, the door slammed shut.
She tried two more homes. Same result. Even the children stared with wide, unblinking eyes — as if they knew what she carried. The shard pulsed in her coat pocket like a heartbeat.
In the tavern, a lone man offered her a drink. His hands were too clean for a farmer.
"You came from the south road?" he asked casually.
She nodded.
"There's nothing for you beyond Greybell. The old path washed out decades ago."
"I'll manage."
He smiled too slowly. "It's not the path that'll get you. It's the watchers."
She left without touching the drink.
Outside, the wind shifted. She heard it — not in her ears, but deep behind her eyes. Elira. The name whispered on the wind. Something watched her from the chapel.
When she turned, it moved.
A figure, robed and faceless, stood just past the threshold of the ruins. And then another. And another.
Isabelle bolted. She didn't scream.
They followed in silence, their feet never touching the ground. A root caught her ankle — she hit the earth hard, her head grazing stone. Blood blurred her vision.
A hand grabbed her coat — warm, human.
It was a teenage girl. Her voice shook. "You don't know what you've brought here."
"I didn't mean—"
"They smell the shard. You broke the boundary. Now they won't stop."
"Who are they?"
The girl didn't answer. She only said, "There's an old trail — behind the bell tower. You need to reach the monastery before they catch you."
As the robed figures closed in, Isabelle ran again. This time, she didn't look back.