The cry was weak, but real.
It could no longer be mistaken for the wind or the crackling of old branches. It was a broken sound, broken by fear, a cry that clung to the air and refused to disappear. It came from ahead, ricocheting between the thick trunks of the forest, as if the forest itself were carrying it on.
Vlad stopped first and raised his fist.
Everyone froze.
— There, he whispered. Very close.
Dragoș shifted his weight to his front leg, instinctively. His sword was already raised, and the sign of the Moon pulsed more visibly than before, a cold, controlled light, like a promise of precise violence.
Sofia felt it too.
The heat in her chest responded immediately, not with haste, not with fear, but with certainty. It was as if the sign already knew where it needed to be, as if it had been called there long before they stepped foot in that forest.
— They're not just guards, she murmured. They're waiting for something.
Alexandra tilted her head slightly, her eyes scanning the shadows between the trees.
— Or someone.
— Or something we have, Vlad added, without looking back.
They advanced slowly, step by step, using the thick trunks as a shield. Neither spoke. The forest was getting thicker, older. The trees had cracked bark, and their roots stuck out of the ground like twisted limbs.
The air was heavy.
Too heavy.
Vlad led them to the edge of a small clearing, almost completely hidden by dense bushes and low branches. They didn't step out of the shadows. They just watched.
Vlad raised his fist again.
— Here.
The clearing was strange.
In the middle of it lay an old tree, fallen for years, perhaps centuries. Its roots were raised to the sky, twisted, like giant claws that had tried to cling to life.
The children were tied to them.
Three.
Two little girls and a boy, held together, with thick ropes brutally wrapped around their small hands and bodies. The rope was too tight, leaving red marks on their skin. Their faces were dirty with tears, dirt, and fear. Their large, wet eyes moved quickly, searching for help.
One of them was shaking so hard that the rope vibrated.
— There are only three… Dragoş whispered.
Sofia felt her stomach tighten.
— No, she said immediately. There are five.
At that moment, the air changed.
Not a sound.
Not a clear movement.
Just a pressure.
Two shadows had emerged from the trees behind the clearing, deeper into the forest. They were not approaching the bound children. They were not attacking.
They were waiting.
Each shadow held a child.
A small boy on one side, a little girl on the other, held by thin arms by a dense, black matter that moved slowly, like living smoke. The shadow did not touch them completely—it surrounded them, squeezed them, controlled them.
The children were conscious.
They were trembling.
One was crying in muffled sobs, his face pressed against the shadow that held him.
— Don't come any closer, one of the shadows said.
The voice did not come from a mouth.
It vibrated directly into the air, cold, oppressive, making the leaves tremble slightly.
— One step… and the child falls.
The other shadow gently tightened its form around the child it was holding. The little girl let out a short, sharp scream that cut through the air.
Sofia felt her blood freeze.
Dragoș took an instinctive step forward.
— No, Vlad whispered, without looking at him.
— What do you want? Vlad asked then, calmly, but with a dangerous tension in his voice.
The shadow slowly turned towards them.
— The medallion.
Sofia's gaze instinctively dropped to her chest.
— The girl's, the shadow continued.
The air seemed to tighten around her.
— No, Dragoș said, in a low but charged voice.
The Moon sign on his arm shone brighter, a cold, sharp light that made the shadows retreat a fraction of a step.
— Then… the child.
The shadow pulled one of the children closer to the edge of the clearing. Beyond the dense bushes, the ground dropped steeply into a deep, hidden ravine.
Alexandra tensed her whole body.
— Vlad… if we stay
— I know, he said shortly.
Sofia closed her eyes.
Not out of fear.
Out of concentration.
The heat in her chest didn't explode. It didn't spill out chaotically. It gathered. It settled. It settled, like a solid foundation.
The air around her began to vibrate softly.
— Vlad, she said slowly. I can hold them. Not for long. But I can.
Vlad looked at her for a split second. There was no doubt in his eyes.
— Dragoș.
— I'm ready.
— Alexandra, on the left. Me on the right. At her signal.
The shadow made a dry sound, almost a laugh.
— Choose, she said.
Sofia took a step forward, stepping out of the shadow.
— No, she said calmly. You're choosing wrong.
She raised her hand.
The air between her and the shadows suddenly tightened, like an invisible canvas pulled with force. The shadows flinched, surprised, their movements becoming slow, cumbersome.
— NOW! Vlad shouted.
Everything exploded into motion.
Dragoș soared like a storm. His sword cut through the air, and the sign of the Moon burst into a cold, clean light. The blow was precise, calculated. The shadow screamed, and the child was torn from her grasp.
Alexandra was already there. She caught him out of the air and rolled with him, shielding him with her own body.
The second shadow rushed towards Sofia, writhing in anger.
—No" she said firmly.
The heat in her chest poured out in a wide circle. The air tensed violently. The shadow was caught, compressed, as if in an invisible press.
Vlad jumped from one side and plunged the blade directly into the dark core.
The shadow disintegrated in a cloud of black smoke.
The child fell to the ground.
Sofia immediately knelt beside him.
—You're okay, she whispered.
The child shook his head, crying.
In the clearing, the remaining shadows tried to move.
—No! one shouted.
Too late.
Dragoș was already upon them. His sword was completely shining now, each stroke clean, without hesitation. Alexandra cut the children's ropes with quick movements.
—You are free! Run!
The children ran towards them, stumbling, crying.
The last shadow tried to retreat.
— No, Alexandra said coldly.
Her blade flew.
The shadow dissipated before it reached the trees.
Silence.
Their breathing.
The children's cries.
The forest, still.
Sofia lowered her hand slowly. Her heart was beating fast, but it was under control.
— Five, Vlad said, counting. That's it.
Sofia clenched her medallion in her palm.
— We did it.
Dragoş wiped his sword.
Vlad looked at the forest.
— Yes, but they won't stop.
The children were saved.
But the price of the shadow had been asked.
And it wouldn't be the last.