The clock struck midnight, each chime echoing through the empty streets of Raven’s Hollow. The fog clung heavily to the ground, creeping around the ancient stones like a silent tide. Within the church at the heart of town, Pastor Elijah Longfellow knelt alone before the altar, whispering words in a language older than the land itself. He pressed his fingers to the worn edges of the stone, tracing symbols carved centuries ago by those who once stood as guardians of this town.By day, he was simply Pastor Elijah, a figure of warmth and guidance for his parishioners. But under the cloak of night, he became Saint Longinus, a protector bound by blood and tradition to shield the town from the malevolent forces that had haunted it for centuries. His grandfather had trained him for this role, a legacy passed down through countless generations of Saint Longinus, protectors sworn to guard Raven’s Hollow against the dark.He drew a breath and spoke the last words of the rite. An invisible barrie

The cool dusk light seeped through the thin lace curtains, casting patterns across the faded wallpaper and onto the rough-hewn wooden floors of Elijah’s modest apartment. The contrast between the serenity outside and the tense silence inside the room was striking. Lina paced in the kitchen, her heels clicking against the floor with an impatient rhythm. Elijah sat at the small dining table, watching her with an unreadable expression, feeling the storm building just beneath her calm exterior. He braced himself, knowing that nothing he said tonight would placate her simmering anger.“You’re quiet tonight,” Elijah finally said, forcing his voice to stay calm, though he could already sense where this conversation was headed.Lina stopped mid-stride, her back to him, shoulders squared. She looked down at her pristine, manicured nails, as if studying a speck of dust that had dared settle on her polished appearance. "Why wouldn’t I be?” she responded, voice as smooth as silk, but sharp enough

A soft knock echoed through Elijah’s study, rousing him from his reading. The night was thick and still, the air heavy with the scent of old leather and parchment as he pored over Matthias’s journal. He’d grown accustomed to the solitude of these quiet evenings, the comforting repetition of familiar lines, but something about the knock sent a chill down his spine.When the door opened, he saw Lina standing there, her face shadowed and unreadable in the dim light. She held a small stack of papers in her hand, her grip tight as if she were afraid they might slip away. Elijah’s heart tightened at the sight of her, hoping for a moment that she’d come to talk, to reach across the chasm that had grown between them. But her expression was cold, her gaze averted as she stepped inside.“Lina?” he asked, setting the journal aside. “Is everything all right?”She didn’t answer for a moment, her gaze drifting to the window as if gathering her thoughts, steeling herself. She turned slowly, extendin

The air was unnaturally still, pressing down like a weight over the Moreau estate, heavy and charged with an unspoken threat. Elijah stood on the front steps, staring into the darkness that stretched beyond the gravel drive, his senses sharpened, attuned to every shift in the air, every shadow that moved at the edge of his vision. The night had fallen fast and thick, a blanket of dark clouds blotting out the stars, casting the estate into a deep, oppressive blackness.He tightened his grip on his staff, his fingers cold against the worn wood. The wards, the protective spells he had spent years reinforcing, were gone. With a simple stroke of his pen on the divorce papers, he had severed the bond that shielded the Moreaus, leaving them exposed to the very things he had been sworn to keep at bay.A faint rustling sound caught his attention—a flash of movement just beyond the treeline. He narrowed his eyes, every nerve in his body on edge, feeling the familiar tension he had learned to li

The fog lingered over the Moreau estate like a thick, suffocating shroud, creeping over the gardens, casting everything into a shadowed haze. Elijah stood near the entrance, his staff held tightly in his hand, his gaze locked on the faint movement at the edge of the property. The Bloodseekers were out there, their dark forms slithering just beyond the lights, waiting for their chance to breach the estate, to sink their claws into the fear that hung so heavily in the air.He took a deep breath, feeling the bitter chill settle in his chest. The thought of protecting the Moreaus now, after everything that had happened, tasted sour. But there was a voice in the back of his mind—a familiar, steady voice that whispered with the cadence of Matthias, reminding him of the promise he’d made, not just to protect the family but to uphold a duty to the town itself. He couldn’t abandon that, no matter how much bitterness coiled in his heart.As he tightened his grip on the staff, a door creaked ope