The Necklace

Chapter 4

Eira's feet were cold and heavy, she tried but her feet wouldn't budge, as if she was glued to the spot. She couldn't shout for help, for her mouth sealed from the shock that had struck her. Only with her eyes did she behold the terror that formed before her.

The dark figure came towards her, the wind going wild; it was whistling like malevolent chants on its own. Eira's eyes swelled with tears, and her breath came out fast.

The figure came so close to her face and just stared at her.

It was adorned in a dark cloak, almost like shadows. Dark shadow-like smoke twisted and hovered like vines on its cloak, and in its hood was no face; it couldn't be seen, but its eyes glowed with otherworldly intensity, and its claws were sharp and rough as can be.

"Hear me, child," its formidable voice, cracking like the thunders, began to whisper. "You were able to see me in the mausoleum, what gift do you possess?"

Eira's eyes widened with terror, like two full moons in a dark sky, and her face was as pale as a ghost, with a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead.

Eira's mind raced, trying to comprehend the figure's words. What gift could she possibly possess that would allow her to see this...this thing? She tried to speak, but her voice was frozen in her throat.

The figure leaned in closer, its eyes burning with an intense curiosity. "You saw me, child, when no one else could. You saw beyond the veil."

Eira's thoughts flashed back to the mausoleum, to the feeling of being watched. She had seen the figure.

The figure's voice dropped to a whisper, its breath cold and rank. "Tell me, child, what do you know of the Shadowborn?"

Eira's eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape, but her feet remained rooted to the spot. She knew nothing of the Shadowborn, but she sensed that her life depended on her answer.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, extinguishing the lanterns and plunging the area into darkness. The figure vanished, leaving Eira shaken and alone. But as she stumbled backward, she felt a faint whisper in her mind... "We will meet again, child. Soon."

The knights with Thorne, the king and queen, rushed down when they felt the heavy wind that blew, meeting an awestriken Eira standing there, her eyes locked onto something they couldn't see.

The princess and her brothers also arrived at the scene, worried for Eira, who they acknowledged as a sibling.

"Eira?" Thorne approaches from behind.

"-Search the area," the king commanded the knights.

"Eira dear," Thorne hurried to hold her when he received no response from her. She fell into his arms, as if she was already lifeless, just waiting for a touch to fall, when he did. Thorne turned her head to meet his and comfort his granddaughter, but then he found something entirely traumatic.

Her eyes, once a bright, sparkling brown, were now completely black. The whites were gone, consumed by an inky darkness that seemed to suck in the light around her.

She remembered the figure's words: "We will meet again, child. Soon." And now, she realized that their encounter had changed her. The darkness had marked her, claimed her as its own.

Eira's vision began to blur as if her new black eyes were adjusting to a different spectrum of light. She saw shadows moving, twisting around her, like living tendrils. And in the distance, a faint whisper seemed to caress her ears: "Welcome, child... to the darkness."

"No!" Thorne exclaimed, stifling his cry as he pulled in sobs, the queen hurried to see what troubled Thorne but she was met with something that gave her a flight response, covering her mouth in shock, as she stumbled back onto the king's shoulders.