Chapter 13
The cobblestones glistened under the thin burn of the lanterns, each flame too frail against the weight of dusk. Rebecca stayed between Star and Nathaniel, her breath shallow, her arms wrapped protectively across her belly.
Behind them, the shadows thickened, slipping along walls and across the street. They lunged close enough that Rebecca felt the sharp sting of cold graze her ankles. She stumbled, nearly falling, but Star caught her.
"Keep steady!" Star snapped, pendant glowing brightly as she pressed Rebecca forward.
A hiss rose from behind, low and mocking laugh. The nearest shadow shivered, gathering mass until its shape grew taller, shoulders broadening. Rebecca froze mid-step. In the flickering lamplight, a face began to take form angular, sharp, familiar.
"Alexander" Nathaniel's voice broke on the name.
The figure smiled, though the edges of his face rippled like smoke. "You remember me." Its voice was not entirely his, but close enough to curl dread deep into Rebecca's chest. "Did you think the Hollow can keep me from her?"
Rebecca's heart pounded as she stepped back, but Nathaniel's arm shot out, holding her steady. His voice was a growl. "It isn't him. It never is."
The shadow laughed, a hollow echo of Alexander's voice. Its eyes glowed pale, fixed on Rebecca's belly. "Do you think it will keep me from them?"
"Enough," Nathaniel snarled. He traced a mark in the air, and wind burst outward, shattering the false face. The form collapsed into smoke, screeching before darting back into the dark.
Rebecca's knees buckled. Star pulled her forward urgently. "They'll keep playing tricks, dear. Don't listen, don't look too long. The Hollow knows what cuts the deepest."
Rebecca clutched her stomach, tears burning her eyes as she forced her legs to move.
"That's how they feed," Nathaniel said grimly. "On fear On love On grief."
At last, the crooked sign of Millie's Antiques glowed at the end of the lane, its windows spilling gold into the night. The bell above the door rang sharply as Nathaniel pulled it open, pushing Rebecca inside just as another shadow lunged at her heels.
Inside, the warmth of the shop wrapped around them. Star slammed the door, pendant flaring bright. "They're bolder than I've ever seen," she whispered, chest heaving.
Rebecca stood trembling in the glow of the lamps, Alexander's smile still burning in her mind.
The air inside Millie's Antiques smelled of old wood, lavender, and polish, but it was tense, almost humming.
Rebecca blinked. Millie wasn't alone.
Behind the counter stood a tall man with silver hair, shoulders broad and posture rigid. His voice carried in sharp tones, though he lowered it the moment he saw them. "I told you, Millie, keeping it from her was only makes things worse"
"Thomas, hush," Millie snapped, her hands flat on the counter. Her eyes, sharp behind her spectacles, flicked toward the door where Rebecca still lingered. "Not another word."
But Rebecca had already stopped cold, her breath caught. The man turned toward her fully now, and the lamplight revealed features achingly familiar the same pale eyes she'd seen in the creased photograph, the same strong jaw softened only by time.
Millie's lips pressed tight, but Thomas spoke anyway, his voice rough with something between anger and grief. "Rebecca." He took a step toward her, his expression gentling as recognition settled and sadness set in. "You have eyes just like your grandmother." "It's like looking at her in person after forty years."
Rebecca gripped the strap of her bag, her throat tight. " Thomas?"
The room seemed to vibrate with the weight of the name. Star gave a sharp breath, and even Nathaniel stilled, his gaze flicking warily between Thomas and Millie as though old grievances had just stepped into the light.
Millie broke the silence with a sharp clatter as she set her teacup down. "Well," she said, her tone clipped. "I suppose the Hollow's not the only thing bold enough to come knocking tonight."
The shop was thick with tension Millie stiffened behind her counter, Thomas standing rigid as though rooted to the floor, Star holding her pendant close, and Nathaniel silent but watchful.
Rebecca's head spun with the weight of too many truths pressing in at once. Her grandmother, the shadows, now her uncle standing in front of her like a ghost made flesh. She opened her mouth to speak…
And then the room shifted.
The lamps flickered, their light dimming though no wind stirred. The air grew colder, prickling along Rebecca's arms, and a scent drifted through the antiques lavender soap.
Millie's eyes widened, her hand flying to her chest. "No," she whispered. "Not here. Not now."
Rebecca turned, heart hammering, and there she was.
Tina Weatherman.
Not in flesh, but standing clear as day near the tall grandfather clock at the far end of the shop. Her figure shimmered faintly, light bending around her edges, but her face her eyes were exactly as Rebecca remembered. Warm, sorrowful, and unflinching.
"Rebecca." The voice was soft, echoing, yet it filled the room, every syllable wrapping tight around her name.
Rebecca's knees nearly gave way. "Tina?"
Star's pendant flared, but she didn't move she only wiped the tears from her eyes. Nathaniel straightened, his jaw tense, as though he had expected this but dreaded it all the same. Thomas, though, staggered back a step, his face crumpling in pain.
"You shouldn't be here," Millie hissed, though her voice trembled. "You left us to carry the weight, and now you come walking through my shop like you never did."
Tina's gaze slid to her, calm but stern. "I didn't leave. I was taken by the shadows. And now the Hollow is stirring again. You all feel it. You know what's coming." "You all know who is coming.?"
Rebecca's throat closed, tears burning. "Why me? Why now?"
Tina's eyes softened, fixed on her belly. "Because the circle must be made whole again. And you, Rebecca you are the beginning."
The grandfather clock ticked, its pendulum swinging heavy in the silence. Tina's form shimmered brighter, her presence undeniable. The shadows on the street beating on the glass. But it seemed they just wanted to be near us not in here with us.
After the fight at the diner they are very capable of coming in.
Rebecca's breath hitched, tears spilling hot down her cheeks. "Tina is it really you?"
Tina smiled softly. "Yes, Rebecca. It's me. You've carried the weight of questions too long. Tonight, you'll begin to see."
Star bowed her head to wipe the tears, her pendant steady in her palm. "We knew you'd return when the Hollow stirred. I prayed it wouldn't be through shadows."
Thomas's voice broke rough, bitterness laced in grief. "You left us. You left me, Tina. Do you know what it cost this family?"
Tina's gaze turned to him, sorrow etched in her features. "I didn't leave, Thomas. I was pulled into the Hollow bound when the circle faltered. Every moment I have whispered to Rebecca, I fought to reach you. You think I would choose absence?"
Millie slammed a teacup down, porcelain cracking. "All of us carried the price. Don't dress it in poetry now. The Hollow took you, yes, but it was our bargain that left the door open."
Nathaniel finally spoke, his voice low, steady. "And we've been patching that door ever since." He stepped forward, eyes flicking between Tina's shimmer and Rebecca. "But it won't hold forever. Not unless Rebecca takes her place."
Rebecca's stomach twisted. "My place? I don't even understand what that means."
Tina's glow softened, her gaze tender as she looked at Rebecca's belly. "It means you will not stand alone, not like I did. You will build your circle. Star. Nathaniel. Millie. Even Thomas, and Deanna if she chooses to lay down her anger. The Hollow feeds on fractures. But when the circle is whole a circle of nine it starves." "You will need the backing of every family bloodline."
Millie frowned hands shaking "Tina you know what you are asking?"
Tina glowed brighter almost insulted "Yes, it's time."
Rebecca holding her belly protectively, "Time for what?"
Tina glowing so bright everyone had to shield their eyes "Call the Elders it has to be tonight.
The clock struck once more, though no time was due. The shadows outside pressed tighter against the glass, writhing, hissing, as though they could sense Tina's strength.
Millie's face hardened. "If you're here, girl, then the Hollow is closer than it's been in years. We're running out of time."
Rebecca clutched her bag, the old family photograph inside burning against her side like a brand. "Then tell me what to do. Tell me how to fight."
Tina's form flickered, her voice slipping into a whisper. "First, you must here the story. then you have to make a decision that will alter your life."
With that, her light vanished as quick as it appeared, though the scent of lavender lingered, heavy and clinging, as though she refused to fully leave.