MARKED IN THE MIDDLE

GRIMFALL IS A GRAVEYARD

We left just before sunrise, when the streets were still groggy and too tired to care who was slipping through their cracks. Lira clutched her jacket tight like it was armor, and I could tell from the way her eyes kept bouncing around that sleep hadn’t done her any favors.

“Where exactly are we going?” she asked, voice low like we were already being followed.

“Grimfall,” I said. “Old sector, near the border.”

She froze mid-step. “Grimfall? The place where people go missing?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

“And you’re taking me there... why?”

“Because that’s where Milo was last seen.”

Lira didn’t argue. She just kept walking, her lips tight like she was holding back a scream or a dozen questions. I didn’t blame her. Grimfall wasn’t just dangerous—it was cursed.

Once, it was a normal district like any other. Then the war hit. Territory battles, rogue wolves, witches with vendettas. Now it was a cracked-out maze of burnt-out buildings and blood-soaked ground. You didn’t go there unless you were hunting something... or someone.

We caught a ride on a cargo tram headed south. The driver didn’t ask questions, just flicked his eyes to my blade and grunted. Good man.

It was quiet for most of the ride. Lira kept twisting a strand of her hair, staring out the window like she could see her past waving back at her. I tried not to think about what we’d find.

The tram dropped us off three blocks from the edge of Grimfall. From here on out, it was walking only. The streets shifted too much for vehicles to risk it.

Barbed wire fences. Abandoned checkpoints. Rusted-out signs that said things like “No Entry Without Clearance” and “Turn Back Now”. Real friendly stuff.

“Charming,” Lira muttered.

“Wait till you see the welcome committee.”

She gave me a look. “You’re joking, right?”

I wasn’t.

We hadn’t gone three blocks in when we heard it—low growls, like something feral was pacing just behind the walls. I drew my blade, felt the hum of the silver thread through the hilt. Lira stiffened beside me.

Then came the sound of claws on metal.

“Don’t run,” I whispered.

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

Two shadows peeled off the alley up ahead. Rogues. Skinny, wired with nerves, eyes too wide to be sane. You could tell they used to be wolves, but the bond was gone. No pack. No anchor. Just hunger.

“Back off,” I said, blade raised.

One of them sniffed. “Tracker.”

“Yeah. And not in the mood.”

They didn’t care. One lunged.

I moved fast. Slashed low, clipped a tendon. He dropped with a howl, and I spun to face the second one—only to find Lira holding a broken pipe, standing over him with this wild look in her eyes.

Damn. Luna had claws.

We didn’t stick around. Grimfall didn’t let you win without consequences.

We ducked into an old church—half the roof caved in, but the bones of the place were strong. Milo’s last message pinged from here, and my gut said we were close.

Inside, it smelled like mildew and ash. I scanned the room, heart thudding.

Then I saw it.

A satchel. Torn. Bloodied.

Lira gasped. “That’s his.”

I knelt, brushing dirt off the flap. Inside, a notebook. Pages smeared with ink and blood. I flipped through.

“Milo was tracking something,” I murmured. “He wasn’t just hiding. He was looking for proof. About Kael. About the council.”

Lira leaned over my shoulder. “Is there anything... about me?”

I paused.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “He believed you. He wrote it here. Said if anything happened to him, he hoped someone like me would find you.”

Her eyes watered. Not a sob, just silent tears. She wiped them fast.

Then something creaked above us.

We turned.

From the shadows, something big stepped out. Taller than me. Drenched in shadow magic. Eyes burning red like embers.

A wraith.

Lira grabbed my arm. “What the hell is that?”

“A reminder that Grimfall hates visitors.”

I threw a hex charm. It fizzled—barely slowed the thing down. It rushed us.

We ran.

Out the back. Through twisted alleys and skeletal buildings. Lira kept up, which surprised me, but adrenaline is a hell of a motivator.

We ducked into a broken train car, panting, hearts racing.

“Is it gone?” she asked.

I listened.

For now.

I looked at her. “We need to get out of Grimfall. Now. But we’re not leaving empty-handed.”

I held up Milo’s notebook.

“This—this is how we burn Kael’s empire down.”