Tethered by Shadows, Chapter 6

The Shadow

Chapter Six: The Shadow

The air in Elara’s apartment grew heavier as the days slipped into weeks, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. Even in the bright wash of morning, shadows seemed thicker, darker. The three men stayed close, tension pulling them taut like bowstrings.

Elara barely slept. When she did, the dreams grew sharper, the whispering voice bolder. Sometimes it spoke her name like a promise, sometimes like a threat. Once, it hissed, They all die for you. Again. And again.

That morning, she sat curled on the couch with a mug of tea gone cold in her hands. Adrian scribbled furiously at the table, his handwriting jagged, black ink blotted like spilled blood. Jason paced the living room, his form sparking faintly when his frustration peaked. Simon watched her from the window, arms folded, gaze fixed on the gray clouds gathering.

Something was coming.

“El,” Simon said without turning. “Do you feel it?”

She nodded. The weight in the air pressed against her chest like a hand. “It’s stronger.”

Jason let out a sharp laugh. “Stronger? Try suffocating. It’s like being back in that last moment, every second. The pull is worse.”

Adrian lifted his head. His eyes were hollow. “It’s close. Closer than ever.”

The words barely left his mouth when the lights flickered. The room went dark.

Elara’s heart stuttered. “Not again.”

The air dropped to ice, her breath a white plume in the sudden cold. The shadows in the corners stretched, writhing like living things. Jason froze mid-step. Simon moved instantly to Elara’s side, his voice low but steady.

“Stay behind us.”

The walls groaned. From the far end of the hall, something oozed forward, not a figure, not quite, but a density of darkness, thicker than shadow, blacker than absence. It pulsed, tendrils writhing, filling the hall with an oily hunger.

The whisper came again, layered and guttural. Mine.

Elara staggered back, her mug shattering on the floor. Jason darted forward, his form glowing faintly as though fueled by rage.

“Over my dead…” He cut himself off, jaw clenched. “Over my deader body.”

He lunged at the shadow. For a heartbeat, the light in him cut through the dark, scattering it into flailing wisps. But then the mass surged back, swallowing him whole. Jason cried out, his body sparking violently, the glow in him stuttering.

“Jason!” Elara screamed.

Simon grabbed her arm. She almost felt it, a phantom warmth. “Don’t move.” His form brightened, radiating a fierce, steady glow. He stepped forward, light spilling out of him like sunlight through glass. The shadow hissed, retreating just enough for Jason to stumble free, flickering but intact.

Adrian dropped his pen and rose, his calm breaking. He whispered something in a language Elara didn’t recognize, and for a moment his voice seemed to weave with the hum of the air. The ink on the table bled across the paper, forming strange sigils. The shadow recoiled, shrieking in tones that split Elara’s skull.

Then everything snapped, lights blazed back on, the shadows slamming back into their corners like rats fleeing fire. Silence roared in the aftermath.

Elara fell to her knees, shaking. Jason flickered wildly, his edges jagged, like static on a dying screen. Simon was pale, his glow dimming but steady. Adrian clutched the table, sweat dripping down his temples, his ink-stained hands trembling.

“What the hell was that?” Elara whispered.

“The shadow,” Simon said, voice grim. “The thing I’ve felt since the day I died.”

Jason swore under his breath. “It almost ate me.”

Adrian sank back into his chair, staring at the ruined pages. The sigils still smoked faintly, their shapes unnatural. “It’s not just a shadow. It’s alive. And it wants you, Elara.”

Her skin crawled. “Why? Why me?”

No one spoke for a long moment. Then Simon crouched in front of her, his face close, serious. “Maybe Adrian’s right. Maybe you were born with something. A gift. A curse. Whatever it is, this thing is drawn to it and to you.”

Jason slammed a fist into the wall, his glow sparking angrily. “So what? We’re just supposed to keep throwing ourselves at it until we burn out?”

Adrian’s voice was quiet. “We don’t have a choice. We’re bound.”

Elara wrapped her arms around herself, fighting the sob clawing up her throat. “I can’t keep watching you all die for me. I won’t.”

Simon touched her cheek, or tried to. His hand passed through, leaving only a faint shiver of warmth. “We already died, El. That’s the point. This isn’t about us anymore. It’s about you.”

But the words didn’t soothe her. They cut deeper. If love had tethered them here, then wasn’t it her fault they couldn’t rest? Her fault they were trapped between light and darkness?

The silence stretched until Adrian spoke again, his voice low, certain.

“This was only a test. A taste. The shadow wanted to see us. To see you.” His ink-stained fingers tightened into fists. “Next time, it won’t just come through the hall. It will come for you.”

Elara met his gaze, her heart hammering. “Then we find a way to stop it.”

Simon’s jaw tightened. Jason muttered something that sounded like agreement. Adrian only looked down at his ruined papers, his expression unreadable.

But Elara knew this was no longer about waiting or hoping the shadow would go away.

It had seen her.

And it would not stop until it had her.