
The Shadow Code
The rain fell in sheets, turning the city into a blur of neon and shadow. Detective Mara Voss stood at the edge of the crime scene, her boots sinking into the puddles as she scanned the alley. The body lay…
Mara stepped off the creaking ferry, her boots sinking into the damp gravel of the harbor. The salt air stung her nose, sharp and familiar, like the scent of her father’s old coat. She hadn’t set foot in Ironclad Bay…
The air smelled of damp earth and pine resin as Mara stepped off the rusted bus, her boots crunching on gravel. The town of Blackmoor clung to the hills like a shadow, its crooked buildings leaning against the wind. She…
Clara stepped off the bus, her boots crunching on gravel as the wind tugged at her coat. The town of Black Hollow sat like a wound in the earth, its buildings hunched against the cold. She hadn’t set foot here…
The rain tapped the window like a stranger knocking for entry. Mara pulled her coat tighter, fingers brushing the cold glass. The town of Black Hollow had always felt like a place between worlds, its pines thick with secrets and…
The air in Emberfall smelled of smoke and iron, a scent Kaela had known since birth. Her fingers traced the grooves of the lantern she carried, its glass surface etched with runes that pulsed faintly in the dim light. The…
The rain fell in relentless sheets, turning the dirt path into a slick ribbon of mud. Lena Voss tightened her coat against the chill, her boots squelching with every step. The town of Black Hollow hadn’t changed in twenty years—except…
The air in Veyra stank of damp stone and old smoke, a thick miasma that clung to Kaela’s skin as she slipped through the labyrinth of narrow alleys. Her boots scraped against cracked cobblestones, each step echoing like a whispered…
The air in Elmhollow reeked of burnt pine and iron. Kael stood at the edge of the village square, his fingers curling around the hilt of his dagger as the sky above split open. A jagged tear, wider than a…
The air tasted of iron and ash as Kael tightened his grip on the rusted dagger. The forest around him pulsed, not with life, but with something older—something hungry. His boots crunched over brittle branches, each snap echoing like a…
The rain fell in sheets as Clara Voss stepped off the creaking bus, her boots sinking into the mud of Cedar Hollow’s main road. The town had not changed—a patchwork of sagging porches, rusted fences, and the acrid tang of…
The chipped ceramic of the mug warmed Leo’s hands, did little for the cold that settled deep in his bones. Rain lashed the window of the diner, mirroring the gray wash over everything he drew. He sketched, a gaunt figure…