SECRETS OF EVERCREST (BOOK 2)

Chapter 14: The Dreaded Specter

Chapter 14: The Dreaded Specter

December 17, 2024, 10:00 PM

Peter stepped through the front door of the Bellweather house, weary from the long day at Evercrest University. As he set his bag down, he noticed his mother, Susan, hovering by the living room entrance, her expression tense and worried.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” Peter asked, his voice laced with concern as he took in her anxious demeanor.

Susan let out a shaky breath, her eyes searching his face as if looking for any sign that he might have encountered the same horror that Penelope did. “Peter, are you okay?” she asked, her voice thick with worry.

Peter furrowed his brows in confusion. “I’m fine…why wouldn’t I be?”

Susan hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the couch, gesturing for Peter to join her. Once he did, she began explaining the events that had unfolded earlier that night. She spoke slowly, detailing how Penelope had been attacked by a mysterious woman on her way home, how the woman had mentioned Lilith, and how the whole ordeal had left Penelope traumatized.

Peter listened in silence, his expression growing darker with each word. When Susan finished, he sat back, running a hand through his hair. “This is bad,” he muttered, more to himself than to his mother.

“I need you to be extra careful, Peter,” Susan said, her voice stern but laced with concern. “And I want you to stay with your sisters after school tomorrow. We can’t let anyone be alone right now.”

Peter nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “I will, Mom. Don’t worry.”

Meanwhile, upstairs, Sol, Max, and Jane were in Sol’s room, doing their best to comfort Penelope. She was still trembling, her eyes wide with fear as she sat huddled on Sol’s bed. Sol had been trying to reach into Penelope’s mind, searching for any trace of the attacker, but she had come up empty.

“It’s like she was just…a regular person. There was nothing special about her,” Sol said, frustration evident in her voice as she paced the room.

Max, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, spoke up, his tone thoughtful. “I think that’s exactly the point. Lilith’s smart—she wouldn’t make it easy for us to trace her moves. She probably sent someone who wouldn’t leave any obvious clues. But we know how dangerous Lilith is. Her plan didn’t work the first time, and now she’s angry. She’s unpredictable, and she’s going to come back at us harder than before.”

Jane, who had been sitting next to Penelope, nodded in agreement. “Max is right. Lilith isn’t just strong—she’s cunning. We can’t just rely on brute force to beat her. We need to outthink her, outsmart her.”

Penelope, who had been silent up until now, looked up at them, her voice dripping with sarcasm despite her fear. “Glad to know you’re all strategizing while I’m sitting here traumatized.”

Sol stopped pacing and gave her sister a sympathetic look. “Penelope, we’re not just strategizing. We’re trying to figure out how to keep all of us safe, including you.”

Before Penelope could respond, Susan appeared in the doorway, her expression weary. “Alright, enough for tonight. You all need to get some sleep—you’ve got classes tomorrow.”

The four siblings exchanged looks, knowing their mother was right. They needed rest if they were going to be prepared for whatever might come next. One by one, they headed to their respective rooms, but Sol remained awake long after the others had fallen asleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her mind racing with thoughts of Lilith and the dark power she was gathering. Sol knew that if they were going to survive, they needed to be ready for anything.