Page 55 of Presence

I take a deep breath, my mind racing as I try to piece together the chaos of the past few weeks into something coherent.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I say, barely able to think. “I was exhausted all the time. It was cold, and shadows… gods, the shadows. Then after Cam’s summoning, I met my guardian spirit in a dream, and I… I could sleep again. He was protecting me, but…”

“Wait, wait,” Camilla interrupts me. “Spirit guardian? What are you even…?”

“Oh no,” the shop owner says. “What did you just say? He was protecting you? You said a spirit guardian was protecting you in your dreams? This is important, Claire. Did you invite this spirit, or did it come to you on its own?”

I hesitate. How was it exactly? I don’t know. My memory… I have such a bad memory.

“He... he came to me after the summoning. He said he was there to protect me from the shadows, that he could keep them at bay. Camilla, you invited him in, right?”

“I just wanted to call in some protective force. I didn’t mean for it to start up a conversation with you or anything. I didn’t even specify what or who it should be. I think… the intention might have been open-ended enough for something else to step in,” Camilla interjects, her voice laced with worry.“God, could it be my fault?”

Raven curses under her breath.

“No, I don’t think so,” she says. “You just widened the door that was already open. If the presence wasn’t so strong, you might have been able to close it. Instead, it took the chance to pose as a guardian and reach out to Claire. It must be something strong.” She turns to me. “Listen, if this guardian appointed itself, it might not have been there to protect you at all. It could have been using you, feeding off your fears, or even strengthening the very shadows you were trying to escape.”

My heart sinks as the implications start to dawn on me. What are they even saying?

“What?” I ask, eyebrows drawing together.

It was a bad idea to come here. It was a bad idea. Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad, bad…

My stomach tightens so painfully that I roll my eyes from the agony. My whole body feels like it’s on fire.

“Is this why you started taking pills, Clarity?” Camilla asks, touching my shoulder. “Did it force you to do it?” She curses before I can reply. “Fuck, I knew something was off. You’d never do that. You’ve always said that taking sleeping pills was your unbreakable rule.”

My breathing quickens.

“What? No...” I whisper. “I took them because I wanted to. No one forced me.”

“Did you ever feel starving after waking up? More than ever?” Raven asks, her tone more panicked than before. My head spins. They’re bombarding me with questions. I can’t handle it. “Did you ever feel a pull in your belly when you talked to that thing that claimed to be your guardian?”

What is she implying? That Echo is the bad entity here? Impossible.

Echo, the being who shielded me from the terrifying shadows in my dreams, who brought me relief on sleepless nights, is the only one who helped me survive. They don’t understand how much he’s done for me.

Yet, against my will, the possibility that he could be manipulating me, feeding on my fears—it slithers into me, creating doubt that rattles me to my core.

No, don’t even think like this, Claire.

But what if…?

NO! Shut up. Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

“You don’t understand,” I mutter, shaking my head as my muscles scream in pain. “That’s not right. It’s the presence that’s the enemy. Not him.”

“Did it… Did he promise you something?“ Raven presses on, relentless. I hate this woman. I hate her. The more she talks, the more my stomach hurts. What is happening to me? “Did he hurt you in any way? Did he use you? Think.”

“No!” I shout, lifting my head to meet her eyes. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She just keeps asking questions she shouldn’t. Echo is good. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. My savior. “Stop asking things like that. He’s good. He saved me.”

My hands shake so violently that I lose control over them. I almost believe they’ll leap at Raven and start squeezing her neck. I want her quiet. I want her gone. But she meets my gaze, her expression unyielding.

“Claire, you need to know that malevolent entities often masquerade as something trustworthy. They thrive on fear and anxiety. They twist themselves into something appealing, something you crave.”

“No, it’s the shadows. They’re the enemy,” I repeat, my voice trembling. “He fought them off. He helped me.”

Camilla’s hand squeezes on my arm.

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