The Zodiac

The Man With The Eclipse Mark

The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun, leaving the streets glistening beneath a blanket of gray clouds. Amara stood frozen at the window, her eyes fixed on the spot where the stranger had vanished.

"He... he was just there," she whispered.

Tobi looked from the empty street to her face. "Amara, there's no one outside."

"There was."

"I believe you," he said gently, though uncertainty lingered in his voice. "But people don't just disappear."

Amara glanced down at the necklace resting against her chest. The silver star, which had been warm only moments ago, was now cold. She picked up the black feather that had somehow found its way inside after the front door creaked open on its own.

It was unlike any feather she had ever seen. Instead of reflecting light, it seemed to absorb it.

As soon as her fingers touched it, a sharp pain shot through her hand.

A whisper echoed in her mind.

"The seal weakens..."

She dropped the feather instantly.

The whisper stopped.

Tobi stared at her. "What happened?"

"It... spoke to me."

He frowned. "A feather?"

"I know how that sounds."

Before either of them could say more, a loud knock shook the front door.

Three slow knocks.

Then silence.

Tobi swallowed hard. "Are you expecting someone?"

Amara shook her head.

The knock came again.

This time louder.

She approached the door cautiously, peering through the curtain.

A man in his late sixties stood outside, dressed in a dark blue suit. His silver hair was neatly combed, and he leaned on an elegant wooden cane carved with strange symbols.

Unlike the mysterious man from before, this stranger wore a calm smile.

"Miss Amara Okon?" he called.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Professor Elias Rowan."

The name meant nothing to her.

"I was a friend of your grandmother."

Amara hesitated.

"She told me that if anything ever happened to her, I should find you."

Tobi whispered, "Should we trust him?"

Amara remembered the letter.

"Trust no one who arrives without a constellation."

She looked more closely.

Pinned to the professor's lapel was a silver brooch shaped like a lion made of stars.

A constellation.

She slowly unlocked the door.

Professor Rowan stepped inside, his sharp blue eyes scanning every corner of the room before settling on the black feather lying on the floor.

His expression darkened.

"So..." he murmured.

"They've already found you."

"You know what this is?" Amara asked.

"I hoped you wouldn't have to."

He bent down, carefully lifting the feather with a white handkerchief instead of touching it directly.

"The Eclipse Order leaves these wherever they hunt."

"Hunt?" Tobi repeated.

Professor Rowan nodded.

"They've been searching for the Zodiac Bloodlines for centuries."

Amara's heart skipped a beat.

"My grandmother mentioned something about that."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I helped her hide you."

Silence filled the room.

Amara stared at him.

"What do you mean... hide me?"

The professor sighed.

"Your parents didn't disappear."

Her breath caught.

"They sacrificed themselves."

The words struck her like thunder.

"No."

"I'm sorry."

"No!"

"They gave their lives so the Eclipse Order wouldn't discover where you were."

Tears blurred Amara's vision.

"You're lying."

"I wish I were."

The professor reached into his leather satchel and removed an old photograph.

It showed a younger version of her grandmother standing beside two smiling people she recognized instantly from faded family pictures.

Her parents.

Standing beside them... was Professor Rowan.

On the back of the photograph were handwritten words.

Protect her until the stars awaken.

Signed by her grandmother.

Amara's knees weakened.

Everything she had believed about her family was crumbling.

Before anyone spoke again, the necklace around her neck flashed brilliantly.

A circle of silver light spread across the wooden floor.

Symbols appeared, glowing brighter by the second.

Professor Rowan's eyes widened.

"It's beginning."

"What is?"

"The awakening."

The room trembled.

Books flew from the shelves.

Windows rattled violently.

Outside, people continued walking as though nothing unusual was happening.

"They can't see it," the professor whispered.

"The protection spell is still working."

The glowing symbols spun faster.

One by one, twelve beams of light shot upward, forming the shapes of twelve constellations.

The lion.

The scales.

The twins.

The ram.

The crab.

The bull.

The archer.

The fish.

The water bearer.

The goat.

The scorpion.

And finally...

The maiden.

The Virgo constellation shone brighter than all the others.

The light descended toward Amara.

As it touched her forehead, another vision flooded her mind.

She stood inside an enormous circular chamber carved from white stone.

Twelve thrones surrounded a glowing crystal suspended in the air.

Only one throne remained occupied.

A woman dressed in silver armor.

She looked strangely familiar.

"You're late," the woman said with a gentle smile.

"Who are you?"

The woman stood.

"My name is Seraphine."

She stepped closer.

"I was the first Guardian of Virgo."

Amara's eyes widened.

"The necklace chose you because our blood still flows through your family."

"What is happening to me?"

"You are remembering."

"I don't want this!"

"No one ever does."

The crystal suddenly cracked.

A deep roar echoed through the chamber.

Seraphine looked toward the ceiling.

"They're breaking through."

The walls began to shake.

Dark shadows seeped through the cracks like smoke.

"They've found the Sanctuary."

She grabbed Amara's hands.

"You must find the other eleven heirs."

"Where?"

"They will awaken one by one."

"How will I know them?"

"You'll recognize the stars within them."

Everything dissolved into white light.

Amara gasped as she returned to the living room.

Professor Rowan was watching her carefully.

"You saw one of them, didn't you?"

She nodded slowly.

"The Guardian of Virgo."

The professor closed his eyes.

"So the legends were true."

Before he could say another word, every lightbulb in the house exploded at once.

The room fell into darkness.

A cold wind swept through the hallway.

Then came a voice.

Smooth.

Calm.

Dangerously close.

"You should have left while you had the chance... Professor."

A tall figure stepped from the shadows.

It was the man Amara had seen across the street.

Rainwater dripped from his black coat, though no rain was falling outside.

The black eclipse symbol on the back of his hand glowed faintly.

He smiled.

"My name is Lucien."

His silver eyes locked onto Amara.

"And I have come for what belongs to the Eclipse Order."

The necklace around Amara's neck flared with blinding light as the room filled with a rushing wind.

Professor Rowan stepped in front of her, gripping his carved cane tightly.

"Run," he said without taking his eyes off Lucien.

For the first time since her grandmother's funeral, Amara understood one terrifying truth.

The hunt had begun.