The morning light seeped weakly through the thick curtains, casting a muted glow over Lily's room. She sat at the edge of her bed, staring at the red mark on her wrist. The faint pulsing beneath her skin was like a heartbeat of fire, constant and impossible to ignore.
Last night's whispered warning echoed in her mind. "Beware the hunters."
Hunters. The word tasted bitter and heavy. Who were they? What did they want?
Downstairs, she could hear the clacking of keys. Mia was already at work, determined to find answers.
Taking a deep breath, Lily got up and made her way down to the kitchen, where Mia was surrounded by open books and her laptop.
"We need to know everything," Mia said without looking up. "There's more about hunters than I expected. They're real, and they're dangerous. People who hunt demons, spirits, and anyone connected to the dark world."
Lily sank into a chair. "Why me? Why is this happening?"
Mia looked at her, eyes sharp and serious. "Because of Azrael. If he's a demon prince, then you're caught in something much bigger than you imagined. They want to stop him and that means stopping you, too."
Her body suddenly turned ice cold as she fell to her feet, the air suddenly chilled. Her ears ringed with a very loud frequency and she screamed in pain and began to cry. The mark on her wrist flared brighter, burning like fresh embers. "Why? Why me? I'm so tired"
"Oh my lily please don't cry, please be fine my love, I'll be with you through every single step of the way" Mia said as she ran to hug Lily
The laptop flickered. The lights in the room dimmed for a moment.
Outside the window, a shadow moved, swift and silent.
Lily froze, heart hammering.
"We have to be careful," Mia whispered. "They're watching."
Suddenly, a knock echoed through the house slow and deliberate.
Neither of them moved at first.
Knock.
Knock.
Lily's hands trembled as she crept to the door and looked through the peephole.
A man stood there. Tall, cloaked in dark clothes, his face mostly hidden beneath a hood. His eyes were cold, unreadable, but they held a strange intensity.
Without opening the door, Lily reached out and took the folded piece of paper he pressed against it. The man disappeared down the street before she could react.
Back inside, Lily unfolded the note with shaking hands.
"Trust no one. Not even those closest to you."
The message sent a cold wave through her.
"Who would want to hurt me?" Lily whispered.
Mia bit her lip, brows furrowed. "There are forces at play that you don't know yet. Even people who seem friendly might have secrets."
Lily felt her world tilt on its axis.
Just then, her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:
"The hunters are near. Stay hidden."
Fear gripped her.
"Maybe we should leave," Lily said quickly. "Go somewhere safe."
Mia nodded. "I know a place. But first, we need more information."
They spent the afternoon digging deeper into ancient texts and obscure websites, searching for anything related to the mark, the demon prince, and the hunters.
Lily's mind raced with questions.
What exactly was the mark? Why was Azrael so determined to claim her? And who were these hunters so determined to tear them apart?
The hours passed quickly, shadows lengthening outside.
As dusk fell, Lily's phone rang.
No caller ID.
She hesitated, then answered.
A low, distorted voice whispered: "You're running out of time."
The line went dead.
Lily sat back, heart pounding.
The danger wasn't just close, it was already here.
The line went dead, leaving a heavy silence that pressed down on Lily's chest. She stared at her phone as if it might suddenly ring again, but the screen remained blank.
Mia placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is serious. They want to scare you."
Lily nodded, but inside she felt more than fear, she felt a creeping desperation. How long could she hide? How long before the hunters found her?
That night, sleep was a stranger. Shadows seemed to crawl along the walls, twisting and shifting just beyond her vision. Every creak of the house made her flinch.
At one point, a soft tapping at the window made her sit up in bed, heart pounding. She looked outside, but the street was empty and still.
Was it real, or just her mind playing tricks?
The next morning, Lily woke to find a small black box on her windowsill. She stared at it, hesitant to open, but curiosity won.
Inside was a delicate silver necklace with a small pendant shaped like a crescent moon entwined with a thorny vine.
Attached was a note in elegant script:
"This will protect you for now."
Mia gasped softly. "That's a ward. A protective charm. Whoever sent this is watching out for you."
But who? Azrael? The hunters? Or someone else?
Lily fastened the necklace around her neck, feeling a strange warmth spread from the pendant through her skin.
Despite the comfort it brought, the mystery deepened.
Later that day, they visited Madame Zara again. The old woman greeted them with a knowing smile.
"You carry a heavy burden, child."
Lily showed her the mark and the necklace.
Madame Zara's eyes narrowed. "The mark binds you to Azrael, but the necklace is a shield against the hunters. They are relentless, and they will not stop until they have claimed what they seek. They are vampire rogues. Very dangerous but can be defeated by wiseness"
Lily swallowed hard. "What do they seek?"
"Your soul," Madame Zara said simply.
The words hung in the air like a dark cloud.
Leaving the shop, Lily felt the weight of her destiny more heavily than ever.
She glanced at Mia, who squeezed her hand.
"We face this together," Mia promised.
As night fell once more, Lily's thoughts were a whirlwind of fear and determination.
She was caught between world one of darkness and power, and one of danger and betrayal.
And no matter what happened next, she knew one thing for certain: she would fight to keep her soul.