The magic pen

The Wrong Hands

Chapter 7

After Ethan told Lena the truth behind his success, how he got the pen and also his sudden disappearance of his best friend Daniel....

The message remained on the page.

The next chapter begins with her.

Neither Ethan nor Lena spoke.

The room felt colder than before.

Lena slowly backed away from the desk.

"Tell me you've seen this happen before."

Ethan swallowed.

"I wish I could."

He closed the notebook immediately, but the words stayed in his mind.

It wasn't a warning.

It was a promise.

For the next two days, Lena refused to leave Ethan alone.

"If whatever took Daniel is connected to that Pen," she said, "then you're not facing this by yourself."

Ethan wanted to argue.

Instead, he nodded.

Deep down, he was relieved she had stayed.

She was the only person who still believed him.

Daniel's disappearance had become national news.

Police had searched every street, every hospital, every abandoned building.

Nothing.

It was as though he had simply disappeared from the face of the earth.

One evening, Ethan received an envelope with no address.

Inside was a photograph.

His hands shook.

It was Daniel.

He was alive.

But he looked different.

His skin was pale.

His eyes were empty.

Behind him stood dozens of people dressed in long black robes.

Every one of them was smiling.

On the back of the photograph were six handwritten words.

Bring the Pen if you want him.

Lena looked up.

"It's a trap."

"I know," Ethan replied.

"But if Daniel is alive..."

"I have to go."

Lena sighed.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No."

"I'm not asking."

For the first time since all this began, Ethan smiled.

"You're stubborn."

"So I've been told."

The address led them to an abandoned printing factory on the edge of the city.

Its broken windows stared at them like empty eyes.

The building had been closed for decades.

Yet light glowed from inside.

The massive entrance door slowly creaked open before either of them touched it.

No one was there.

"That's not creepy at all," Lena whispered.

They stepped inside.

The smell of old ink filled the air.

The walls were covered in thousands of handwritten sentences.

Some were prayers.

Some were names.

Some simply repeated:

Everything written shall come to pass.

A loud clang echoed behind them.

The door slammed shut.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Candles suddenly burst into flame.

Figures emerged from the shadows.

One.

Five.

Ten.

Twenty.

All dressed in black robes.

All wearing blank white masks with painted smiles.

A voice echoed through the factory.

"You finally came."

A tall man stepped forward.

Unlike the others, he wore no mask.

His silver hair rested on his shoulders.

His dark eyes never left Ethan.

He smiled politely.

"My name is Malachi."

"I am the Keeper of the Children of Ink."

Lena instinctively stepped closer to Ethan.

"What do you want?"

Malachi looked at the wooden box Ethan carried.

"The Pen."

"It never belonged to you."

"It never belonged to Father Elias."

"It belongs to its true master."

Ethan tightened his grip.

"I'm not giving it to anyone."

Malachi laughed softly.

"I wasn't asking."

He clapped his hands.

Two cult members dragged someone into the room.

Bruised.

Weak.

Barely able to stand.

Daniel.

"Ethan..." Daniel whispered.

Relief flooded Ethan's face.

"Daniel!"

He rushed forward, but two cult members blocked his path.

Daniel lifted his head.

His eyes met Ethan's.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

His smile.

It wasn't natural.

It was too wide.

Too still.

Almost... painted onto his face.

Lena grabbed Ethan's arm.

"Don't."

"It's not him."

Before Ethan could react, Daniel spoke again.

Only this time...

The voice wasn't his.

It was deeper.

Older.

As though several people were speaking at once.

"The Pen has chosen its writer..."

"...and now..."

"...it will choose its king."

The candles went out.

The room fell into complete darkness.

Then, somewhere in the factory—

Someone uncapped a pen.

End of Chapter 7