Shadows of Bloodline

Chapter 4: The meeting

The address his father had written in the letter settled in his mind. Whoever turned into awaiting him might hold the secret to revealing the truth, but as Alex navigated Coldridge's twisting streets, a growing sense of dread tore at his heart.

The driver took him to the edge of town, down a narrow gravel road that ended at a small, weather-beaten cabin tucked away in the forest. There was no indication of life, and the windows were dark. Alex's heart raced as he got closer, despite his instincts telling him to show up and go.

But he couldn’t. No longer now.

He knocked on the door, once, two times.

Not anything.

Alex’s breath fogged in the bloodless nighttime air as he hesitated, wondering if this became a lure. But earlier than he might want to shrink back, the door creaked open, revealing a person standing inside the shadows. He was tall, with graying hair and sharp features, his eyes glinting in the dim light.

“You have to be Alex,” the person said, his voice tough. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Alex swallowed hard. “Who are you?”

The man stepped aside, gesturing for Alex to come inside.“My name’s Daniel. I knew your father, and I know why you’re right here.”

Reluctantly, Alex stepped over the threshold, into the darkish indoors of the cabin. The room smelled of antique wooden and dust, the partitions coated with books and papers scattered throughout the desk. A single lamp forged a weak glow over the litter.

Daniel sat down, motioning for Alex to do the equal. “Your father sent you because he couldn’t protect you anymore,” he stated, folding his palms on the desk. “There are things you don’t know about your own family. Things which have been stored hidden for generations.”

Alex’s pulse quickened. “What matters? What clearly came about to my mother? And my father?”

Daniel sighed, leaning again in his chair. “Your circle of relatives is cursed, Alex. For hundreds of years, the Caldwells were bound to something dark—something beyond our know-how. It’s no longer simply terrible good fortune. It’s plenty worse than that.”

Alex’s belly twisted. “Cursed? You assume me to believe that?”

Daniel nodded gravely. “I don’t assume you accept it as true, whatever. However, you have visible the sample, haven’t you? Your grandmother, your mother—each died in the identical way. Such a lot of others in your own family, all misplaced to the identical force. It’s no accident.”

“What form of curse?” Alex’s voice became strained, his thoughts reeling from the absurdity of it all. However, deep down, he knew there was reality to it. The pieces had been beginning to suit together.

“It’s an historic p.c.,” Daniel stated, his voice low. “Your superb-grandfather made a deal—one which tied your circle of relatives’s fate to some thing powerful, some thing malevolent. He thought he ought to manage it, but it became on him. when you consider that then, the Caldwells had been hunted, one after the other. The curse follows the bloodline.”

Alex’s heart pounded in his chest. “And my father? He knew all this?”

“He tried to fight it,” Daniel said. “He spent years attempting to break the curse, to guard your mom, to shield you. however it’s stronger than any of us. That’s why he wanted you to depart. He knew they might come for you next.”

Alex’s mind raced. “Who? Who’s coming for me?”

Daniel’s eyes darkened. “the ones who serve the curse. They’ve been looking you, looking forward to the proper time. Your father knew too much, and now they’ve silenced him. They received’t prevent till the bloodline is ended.”

a chilly The kick back crept down Alex’s spine. the whole thing his father had warned him about, the whole thing he had tried to protect Alex from—it became all actual. The curse. The deaths. The watchers inside the shadows.

“however why?” Alex demanded. “Why our own family? What did we do to deserve this?”

Daniel shook his head. “It’s no longer approximately what you did. It’s about the percent. Your splendid-grandfather made a address something past this global—something ancient and evil. In exchange for power, he promised the lives of his descendants. separately, the curse claims them. And now, it’s come for you.”

Alex stood, his thoughts spinning. It become an excessive amount of. Too fantastic. but on the identical time, it defined the whole thing. His mother’s loss of life. His father’s odd conduct. The eerie presence he had felt due to the fact that returning to Coldridge.

“What do I do?” Alex requested, his voice slightly above a whisper.

Daniel stood, putting a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “you have to go away, Alex. It’s the most effective manner to stay alive. however even then… they'll nonetheless locate you.”

“No.” Alex’s voice changed into company. “I’m not strolling Now, not until I recognize how to quit this.”

Daniel’s expression softened. “Your father said the identical element. And it was given him killed.”

Alex clenched his fists. “Then tell me how to break the curse.”

Daniel hesitated, then reached for an vintage leather-based-sure e-book on the desk. He flipped through the yellowed pages, preventing at a dwindling instance of a image—a circle with elaborate markings.

“This,” he stated, pointing to the image, “is the mark of the percent. It’s the important thing to breaking the curse. however it’s dangerous. You’ll ought to confront the pressure that haunts your family. And after you do, there’s no turning again.”

Alex stared on the symbol, a feeling of dread washing over him. something lay ahead, it wouldn’t be easy. but he had no choice. If he desired to live on—if he desired to break the curse once and for all—he needed to face the darkness head-on.