Beneath the Shattered Sky

Chapter 18: Whispers in the Dark

The apartment felt suffocating, as if the shadows themselves were alive and breathing. The faint hum that had begun earlier hadn’t stopped. It was low and rhythmic, a sound that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. 

Maya tightened her grip on the summoning notes, her pulse racing. Dante sat beside her, his posture tense but his face calm. 

“We need to call Aiden,” she said, her voice trembling. 

Dante hesitated, his jaw tightening. “Are you sure? He’s… not exactly in the best place right now.” 

“He knows more about this than we do,” she insisted. “If there’s any chance of stopping whatever’s happening, we need his help.” 

Reluctantly, Dante nodded and pulled out his phone. 

---

Aiden arrived half an hour later, looking even more haggard than before. His hoodie was soaked from the rain, and his hands trembled slightly as he entered. 

“What’s so urgent?” he asked, his voice hoarse. 

Maya handed him the notes, watching his expression shift from confusion to alarm. 

“Where did you find this?” he demanded, his voice sharp. 

“It was in your father’s files,” Maya replied. “We think it’s a summoning spell.” 

Aiden paced the room, his fingers raking through his damp hair. “This isn’t just a summoning spell. It’s a tether. Whoever wrote this wasn’t just trying to summon the entity—they were trying to anchor it here permanently.” 

Dante frowned. “But the rift is gone. How can it be anchored to this world?” 

“It’s not gone,” Aiden said bitterly. “It’s just weakened. And if someone completes this spell, it’ll come back stronger than ever.” 

Maya swallowed hard. “Who would do this? And why?” 

Aiden stopped pacing, his expression grim. “I don’t know. But we need to find out before it’s too late.” 

---

That night, Maya couldn’t sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the hum from earlier now echoing faintly in her mind. Her dreams, when they came, were filled with whispers and fleeting images of shadowy figures. 

One dream stood out. 

She was standing in her apartment, but it was empty and cold. The walls were cracked, and the windows were shattered. A voice called her name, soft and melodic, pulling her toward the door. 

When she opened it, she was no longer in her building. She stood in the underground chamber where the rift had been. The mirrors from her earlier dream lined the walls again, but this time, they showed scenes from her life—her rooftop moments with Aiden, her playful banter with Dante, and the horrific battle with the entity. 

In one mirror, she saw herself holding a book—a book that glowed with a faint, eerie light. The moment she touched it, the mirrors shattered, and the hum grew deafening. 

Maya jolted awake, gasping for air. 

---

The next morning, she gathered Dante and Aiden to tell them about the dream. 

“It felt so real,” she said, pacing nervously in the living room. “The mirrors, the book… I think it’s important.” 

Aiden leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed. “Dreams like that aren’t just dreams. The entity might be trying to communicate with you.” 

“Communicate? Or manipulate?” Dante asked, his voice laced with suspicion. 

Maya shook her head. “I don’t know. But I think we need to go back to the underground chamber.” 

---

The idea of returning to the place where everything had begun didn’t sit well with any of them, but they knew it was their only option. 

Armed with flashlights and Aiden’s hastily sketched notes, the trio made their way to the unfinished building. The storm from earlier had left the ground muddy, and the structure loomed above them like a sleeping giant. 

Inside, the air was thick and stale, and every step echoed ominously. They descended the hidden stairs, the hum growing louder with each level they passed. 

When they reached the chamber, it was exactly as Maya had seen in her dream. The walls were lined with mirrors, and in the center of the room was a pedestal holding a glowing book. 

Dante tightened his grip on the flashlight. “This feels like a trap.” 

“It probably is,” Aiden muttered, stepping cautiously into the room. 

Maya hesitated, her gaze locked on the book. “We have to take it. If it’s part of the summoning spell, we can’t leave it here.” 

As she moved toward the pedestal, the hum intensified, and the mirrors began to ripple like water. Shadows emerged from them, their forms twisting and writhing. 

“Maya, watch out!” Dante shouted, pulling her back as a shadow lunged at her. 

Aiden pulled a small vial from his pocket, tossing its contents at the nearest shadow. The creature shrieked and dissolved into smoke. “Salt water,” he explained. “It disrupts them, but it won’t hold them off for long.” 

Maya grabbed the book, its surface cold and vibrating under her fingers. The shadows closed in, their forms becoming more solid. 

“We need to get out of here!” Dante yelled. 

With the book in hand, they ran, the shadows chasing them up the stairs. The hum grew deafening, and the building itself seemed to groan under the weight of the entity’s anger. 

As they burst into the open air, the shadows stopped, retreating back into the building. The hum faded, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. 

---

Back at Maya’s apartment, the three of them stared at the book, its glow pulsating faintly. 

“This thing is dangerous,” Aiden said, his voice grim. “We can’t keep it here.” 

“But we can’t destroy it either,” Maya countered. “Not until we figure out how it’s connected to the entity.” 

Dante placed a hand on her shoulder. “Then we figure it out. Together.” 

Maya nodded, though her hands still trembled. The entity wasn’t finished with them yet, and the worst was yet to come.