Page 70 of Echoes From the Void

“Mom knew.” Luna’s shadows curl protectively around Lyra, legal documents forgotten. “That’s why she pushed you so hard after Dad left. Why she made you swear that oath.”

Lucia’s charcoal moves frantically now, each stroke bleeding shadow essence onto paper. The images make my heart stop: Dad in various stages of corruption, his shadows twisting into something ancient and wrong. But it’s the last sketch that turns my blood to ice—five female figures, their shadows reaching toward a corrupted core.

“It’s not just about Dad anymore,” Lena realizes, her psychology training giving way to raw understanding. “The corruption’s calling to us. To our essence.”

As if responding to her words, Lyra stirs. The shadow-notes around her pulse with strange rhythms—Dad’s last composition distorted into something that makes my teeth ache. Her eyes flutter open, solid black.

“He waits in the void,” she whispers in that distant voice that reminds me too much of Mom’s prophecies. “Where shadow bleeds into corruption. Where essence turns to hunger.” Her hand reaches out, trailing void-touched darkness. “He’s not alone anymore.”

Liliana’s grip on my hand tightens. “The others like him... they’re calling too, aren’t they? That’s what Valerie’s really doing at Shadow Locke.”

Through our family bond, I feel the truth settle like lead: Dad wasn’t the first. The corruption had been waiting, watchingour bloodline. Waiting for the shadow gift to manifest in all five sisters.

“Mom’s last warning,” I say, remembering her final lesson. “About why some families have stronger connections to shadow essence. About why ours was different.”

Luna’s eyes narrow. “Different how?”

But Lyra answers, her voice still carrying echoes of prophecy: “Because Martinez shadows don’t just shape darkness. They shape the void itself.”

The words hit like a physical blow. Mom’s training sessions flash through my memory: learning to pull objects from shadow space, discovering how to shape darkness into solid forms, understanding why our family’s essence felt different from other shifters’.

“Shape the void.” My shadows coil with ancient recognition. Through pack bonds, I feel Frankie and Finn’s immediate attention—the twins understanding the implications before I can voice them. “That’s why Valerie came to Shadow Locke. She’s not just corrupting shadow essence. She’s trying to control the void itself.”

“Using Dad as a test subject,” Luna’s voice carries deadly calm, but her shadows writhe with rage. “Because our family can actually touch it. Actually change it.”

Lucia’s sketches blur together, showing a progression I hadn’t wanted to see: Dad’s corruption spreading like ink through water, changing not just his shadows but the void around him. “That’s why he came back, isn’t it? Not for us. For our essence.”

“He’s not the only one watching anymore.” Lyra’s voice still carries that prophetic edge, her shadow-notes forming patterns that remind me of Valerie’s experiments. “The void hungers for Martinez blood. For what we can do to it.”

My protective instincts surge, shadows expanding to cover my sisters. Through pack bonds, I feel Matteo and Bishop’s immediate response—their power reaching to reinforce mine. Even Dorian’s ancient essence stirs, recognizing a threat older than his curse.

“Leo.” Lena’s analytical tone barely masks her fear. “Mom’s training. It wasn’t just about control, was it? She was preparing you for this. For when they came for us.”

The truth settles like ice in my veins. “She knew. About Dad, about what was coming. She knew our shadow gifts would manifest together.” My voice catches. “She knew they’d try to use us to break the barriers between shadow and void.”

“Like they used Dad.” Liliana’s small voice carries generations of Martinez understanding. “But it didn’t work with just him, did it? They need all of us. A complete set.”

Lyra’s shadow-notes twist into a familiar pattern—Mom’s protection sigils, but different now. Evolved. “Five must stand,” she whispers, “where one light failed. But Mom didn’t fail, did she? She was buying time. Training you. Preparing us.”

“For what?” Luna demands, but her shadows already form defensive patterns Mom drilled into me years ago.

“To finish what she started.” The words come with absolute certainty. “To stop the corruption before it spreads through Shadow Locke. Before it reaches the void itself.” I meet each of their eyes. “To save Dad, or...”

“Or stop him,” Lucia finishes, her artist’s hands steady even as her shadows tremble. “That’s what Mom really meant about Martinez shadows protecting their own. Sometimes protection means...”

“Making the hard choice,” I finish, Mom’s final lesson crystallizing with brutal clarity.

Through our combined shadows, I feel the exact moment understanding hits them. Luna’s legal documents shredthemselves in a burst of dark energy. Lucia’s sketchbook bleeds void-touched essence onto the floor. Lena’s psychology texts flip to chapters about sacrifice and necessary evils. Liliana’s small shadows pulse with inherited power.

And Lyra... Lyra’s shadow-song shifts into Mom’s last lullaby, but corrupted now. Changed. A warning wrapped in melody:

“When shadow bleeds to void-touched night,

Five must stand with ancient might.

Father’s blood will call its own,

Unless Martinez shadows stand alone.”

---