Chapter 4 — Shadows Unleashed
Kevin's breath caught as the third figure stepped forward from the gloom, closing the distance between them.
Unlike the others, his eyes weren't just human. Black veins snaked outward from the corners, and a crimson tint pulsed beneath his irises, like embers glowing beneath cracked glass.
"Kevin Asher Qayin," the man hissed, voice low and manic. His lips curled into a cruel grin as a chilling laugh slipped free — a laugh unhinged, wild.
"You really thought you could hide," he snarled. "After all the searching… all the blood spilled… you just had to settle here. In this pathetic little city."
Kevin's heart thundered. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."
The man shook his head, amusement darkening his gaze. "That's the worst part, isn't it? You don't even know where you come from."
A twisted smile flickered across his lips. "Maybe your mother never told you what you were meant to do. Or who you were meant to be."
Kevin took a shaky step back, panic blooming in his chest.
But before he could respond, the apartment door shattered inward with a violent crash.
Three figures stormed through the breach — two girls and a guy — faces hard and fierce, weapons drawn, eyes glowing faintly with unnatural light.
The other strangers snarled, baring sharp, fang-like teeth, eyes wild with hunger and rage.
Chaos exploded.
Fists collided with bone, bottles smashed, and the room filled with harsh grunts and snarls — the sounds of a battle older than Kevin's nightmares.
Frozen for a moment, Kevin's instincts screamed at him: Run.
He pushed past the snarling combatants, stumbling out the door and into the stairwell.
His lungs burned as he sprinted down the stairs two at a time, the shouts and crashes echoing behind him.
Bursting out onto the empty street, he skidded to a halt — and there she was.
The mysterious woman from the bar.
Her dark green trench coat fluttered in the night breeze. She smiled, calm and unreadable, as though she'd been waiting for him all along.
"Thought you'd lost me," she said softly.
Kevin swallowed hard, heart pounding faster than ever.
"Who… what are you?" he managed.