Pain woke him.
A deep ache in his bones radiated from his chest outward. His head throbbed with each heartbeat. His ears rang with a high-pitched whine that wouldn't stop.
Adrian opened his eyes and saw grey clouds. Rain fell on his face, cold and persistent.
What happened? Where am I?
He tried to sit up. His arms shook but held. Everything hurt but nothing felt broken. His clothes were torn and covered in dust and debris.
He managed to push himself to his knees and looked around.
The house was gone. Not damaged or partially collapsed, but completely destroyed. Where his mother's bedroom should have been was a crater. Blackened stone and shattered wood scattered across the street. What remained of the structure leaned at dangerous angles.
No. No, no, no.
Adrian's breath came faster. I did this. Oh God, I destroyed it. The entire house.
He looked down at his hands. They were scraped and bloody but otherwise normal. No burns. No missing fingers. He should be dead. The explosion had been right beneath his feet.
How am I alive? That's impossible. I should be dead. I should be—
He tried to stand. His legs shook violently. Everything felt wrong, like his body didn't quite fit together the way it used to.
Move. I need to move. Get away from here.
He made it to his feet and stumbled to the edge of the crater. The street beyond was littered with debris. Broken glass. Splintered wood. A section of roof had landed three houses down.
This is bad. This is so bad. Everyone will know. They'll blame me. They'll—
Adrian looked back at the crater. The ritual circle. Where is it?
Nothing remained. No chalk symbols. No seven-pointed star. Just blackened stone and rubble. The explosion had obliterated everything.
The books. Mother's journals. All gone.
His chest tightened. Everything his mother had researched for six months. Everything she'd died for. Destroyed because he'd been stupid enough to read words he didn't understand.
What have I done?
He stumbled towards the street. He needed to get away before someone came. The neighbours must have heard the explosion. They'd come to investigate. They'd find him standing in the ruins.
A carriage turned the corner.
Adrian's heart stopped.
Not a normal carriage. It was too large and moved too smoothly. The horses pulling it were black and moved with unnatural silence. No sound of hoofbeats on cobblestone.
No. Please, no.
The carriage stopped in front of the ruined house. The door opened. A man stepped out.
He was tall, maybe forty years old, dressed in a long black coat and top hat. He carried a silver-topped cane. His face was sharp and calculating. His eyes swept over the destruction with practiced efficiency.
Then those eyes landed on Adrian.
The man smiled. It wasn't a friendly expression.
"Well. This is unexpected."
Run. I should run. But my legs won't move.
The man walked closer. His boots crunched on broken glass. He stopped a few feet away and looked Adrian up and down.
"You're the source. Interesting. I expected to find a body or several bodies. But you're standing. Barely, but standing."
He knows. He knows something happened here.
"Who are you?" Adrian's voice came out rough.
"My name is Caspian Vale. I'm a Warden with the Tenebris Vigil." The man tilted his head. "And you, boy, just triggered the largest supernatural energy surge we've detected in five years."
The Vigil. Oh God, it's the Vigil. Mother's journals. They were watching her. They killed Father. And now they're here.
Adrian's mind went blank with terror.
"I don't know what you're talking about." The words came out automatically. "There was a gas leak. An explosion."
Caspian laughed. It was a cold sound.
"A gas leak. How creative." He tapped his cane against the ground. "The energy signature says otherwise. Something powerful happened here."
He knows. He can tell. What do I say? What do I do?
Adrian said nothing. His mind raced in circles. Should I run? Can I run? My legs barely work. He'll catch me. They'll kill me.
Two more figures emerged from the carriage. Both wore similar black coats. Both moved with the same predatory grace.
Three of them. I can't fight three of them. I can't even stand properly.
"Check the site," Caspian said without looking at them. "See if anything survived."
The two figures moved towards the crater. One of them produced a device from his coat. Brass and glass with strange symbols etched along the sides. He held it over the rubble and frowned.
"Nothing, Warden. Whatever was here is completely destroyed."
Thank God. No evidence. They can't prove anything.
But Adrian's relief was short-lived. Caspian's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention back to Adrian.
"What's your name, boy?"
Should I lie? Can I lie? He'll find out anyway.
"Adrian Blackstar."
"Blackstar," Caspian repeated. "And what were you doing in this house when it exploded?"
He doesn't know about Mother. Doesn't know about the research.
"This was my house. My mother lived here. She died three days ago."
"And you were here doing what? Sorting her belongings?"
"Yes."
Caspian studied him for a long moment. Adrian fought to keep his face blank. His heart hammered against his ribs.
Don't show fear. Don't show anything.
"And then the house exploded. Just like that. While you happened to be inside."
"I must have knocked over a lamp. Or there was a gas leak. I don't remember clearly. Everything went white and then I woke up out here."
"A lamp." Caspian's smile was thin. "That caused an energy surge strong enough to wake every practitioner within ten miles. Remarkable lamp."
He doesn't believe me. Of course he doesn't believe me. But he can't prove it. He can't—
One of the other figures called out from the crater.
"Warden Vale. There's something you should see."
Adrian's stomach dropped.
Caspian walked to the edge and looked down. His expression changed slightly. He knelt and picked up something from the rubble. When he stood, he was holding a small piece of leather. Scorched and torn.
"This looks like a book binding. Was your mother a collector?"
Shit!
"She liked to read. I don't know what books she had."
"You don't know." Caspian pocketed the fragment. "And you don't remember what caused the explosion. And you just happened to survive something that should have killed you instantly."
He stepped closer. Close enough that Adrian could see the cold calculation in his eyes.
He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me right here in the street.
"Let me tell you what I think happened. I think you found something in this house. Something your mother was hiding. And you were stupid enough to try using it without understanding what you were doing."
Don't admit anything. Don't—
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Caspian reached into his coat and pulled out a small crystal. Clear glass with something dark swirling inside.
"Hold still."
Before Adrian could react, Caspian pressed the crystal against his forehead.
The world lurched. Adrian felt something pulling at him. Like fingers digging into his skull. Searching. Probing.
Ahh!
Get out. Get out of my head.
Then it stopped.
Caspian pulled the crystal away and stared at it. The dark swirls inside had grown thicker. More active.
"Impossible," he whispered.
"What?" Adrian managed. His voice shook.
"You're bound." Caspian looked at him with something close to shock. "You actually survived a binding."
Binding? What does that mean? What did the ritual do to me?
"I don't understand."
"No. You wouldn't." Caspian pocketed the crystal. "On your feet. You're coming with us."
"Where?"
"Vigil headquarters. You're officially in custody until we sort out what you are and what you've done."
This is it. They're taking me. I'll disappear. No one will know what happened to me.
Adrian didn't move. One of the other figures moved to his side. Hand on his arm. Not gentle but not rough either.
"Move."
Adrian was pulled to his feet and guided towards the dark carriage. His legs cooperated better now but his balance was still off.
I'm going to die. They're going to interrogate me and then kill me.
The carriage door opened. The interior was dark and lined with strange symbols similar to the ones that had been in the ritual circle.
They pushed him inside. He landed on a cushioned bench. The door slammed shut.
A moment later, Caspian climbed in and sat across from him. The scorched book fragment rested on his lap.
"Let's be clear about something, boy. You're alive because we want answers. The moment those answers stop being useful, you become a liability. Do you understand?"
Adrian nodded. His throat was too tight to speak.
He just threatened to kill me. He's going to kill me.
"Good." Caspian knocked on the roof of the carriage. "Take us back. Quickly."
The carriage lurched into motion. The horses moved fast. Too fast for normal animals.
Adrian looked out the window. The ruined house disappeared behind them. The street. The neighbourhood. Everything he'd known.
I destroyed my home. I'm being taken by the organisation that will kill me. And I have no idea what I've become.
Mother, what did you get me into?
The carriage rolled through the empty morning streets, taking him towards an unknown fate. Adrian pressed his forehead against the cold window glass and tried not to think about what came next.
He failed.