Page 57 of Presence

I stagger back, my mind reeling from her words. I almost cross the line of salt.

“But... but there must be a way to stop it,” Camilla protests, desperation creeping into her voice. “Does it say anything about that?”

Raven shakes her head slowly, eyes filled with sorrowful resignation. “Once you’ve been marked by the demon, there’s no turning back,” she says, her voice heavy with finality. “You become their source of sustenance, a vessel for their insatiable hunger. Nothing from the outside can change it. If you want it out, you have to do it yourself, Claire. Fight it. We can only make the fight easier for you.”

“Wait,” I say, panic bubbling up inside me. I can’t take this anymore. It’s spilling over me, suffocating me, making me laugh nervously. “Source of sustenance? Vessel for hunger? Isn’t this just a little too much?”

Echo’s good. Echo’s good. Echo’s good.

Another thud. Even louder. Even closer.

The oppressive air wraps around me, squeezing my chest tighter and tighter. I grip my own arms, trying to keep my crumbling thoughts together.

No way. He can’t be the presence. He couldn’t have been watching me all this time.

But he did. He said he did watch me.

“This isn’t too much,” Raven insists, her voice loud. “This is the reality of dealing with beings that manipulate dreams and desires. They blur the lines between bliss and horror, and you won’t see the danger until it’s too late.”

Something moves in the corner of my eye, creeping across the floor. Then, a sound—high-pitched.

“Oh God, Artemis!” the shop owner cries out, spinning to face the noise.

But Artemis isn’t right. Her fur bristles, pupils dilated to slits, and she crouches low as if ready to strike. She hisses at the darkness beyond the salt circle, ears flattened. A growl builds in her throat, then she bolts into the shadows of the shop.

Raven jumps back, her face showing pure fear.

“Stay close,” she orders, pulling us both closer to the circle.

Another thud rattles the walls, and the candles flicker and sway. The shadows lengthen unnaturally, crawling up the walls like spider legs. A gust of wind howls through the room, chilling my bones. Goosebumps prick my skin as a low, guttural growl echoes from somewhere just out of sight.

I know this sound. I heard it before when I was alone in my apartment, the presence chasing after me. It toyed with me then. It toys with me now.

Is this Echo? Could it really be him?

I’ve been its target for a long time. I knew the presence as my enemy, my oppressor. But now… the thought that it might be Echo behind the mask of shadows and darkness makes me feel like I don’t know it at all.

Like we’re strangers.

“We need to weather this!” Camilla shouts. “Push it away, Claire! The longer it doesn’t feed on you, the weaker it is.”

But if it really is Echo, then he fed on me every night for the past weeks. If it really is him, then no circle of salt will stop him because he’s already in me. I let him in. I let him in completely.

Suddenly, a sharp, cold wind sweeps through the room, extinguishing the candles in one swift motion. Darkness envelops us, the only light coming from the faint glow of the salt circle. The temperature drops, and my breath becomes visible in frantic, white clouds. My vision blurs slightly, and I sense shadows shifting just beyond my sight. I hear a voice in my mind.

They’re trying to take you from me, Claire. Don’t listen. You know what’s real.

“Echo?” I call out, ignoring Raven hissing behind me at his name. “Is that really you?”

A cold silence hangs in the air after I ask my question, and it feels like the whole room is holding its breath. My heart is pounding in my ears, and the darkness seems to swallow the faint light from the salt circle. Suddenly, I hear a smooth, low, completely feminine voice right behind me.

“You know it’s me, my Little Soul. You’ve always known.” I spin around, terror fueling my veins as I see Camilla’s face moving. It’s her voice, her muscles, her eyes staring at me, her head cocked to the side, a putrid smile painting her face.

That smile... It’s just like the one those creepy people had.

It twists unnaturally, pulling her lips back to reveal human teeth. Her eyes, familiar but hollow, bore into mine with a predatory intensity that sends icy fear down my spine. The shadows close in, and her voice echoes, shifting and deepening like something clawing out from the depths.

“E-Echo…? I don’t believe this…”

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