The Black Echo Novels & Stories

They didn’t hurt, they just *held*, sinking into her skin until moving felt impossible. A shape hovered above her. Broad. Heavy. No face she could make out, just the press of something male and ancient that filled the dark like smoke. It didn’t ask. It reached. Fingers, long, impossible, neither warm nor entirely solid pushed straight through her ribs. No tearing, no blood. Just deep, blooming pressure as they closed around the bright, frantic pulse inside her chest. The Echo. It flared hard against the grip, like it knew exactly whose hands these were.

A bottomless, hollow sorrow welled up inside me. Oh, Alexander. You look so pathetic, drowning in your own lies. That night, three years ago, as you were boarding your private jet with Oliver, I was chained in a damp, dark basement. Vivian's five rogues circled me. One of them was slowly, meticulously, carving the Luna tattoo from the back of my neck with a silver knife. "Heard the Luna loves her little pup," the lead rogue sneered, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. "Too bad. Can't even save herself, let alone her daughter."

He whispered to himself and he got up from the bed to go brush his teeth, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he didn't look so bad, neither did he look like he was sick but he knew there was a time bomb over his head and it might explode anytime soon, he felt it while he made love to Jordan, the adrenaline rush had made his heartbeat uneven and he had struggled to keep his breath. "You are dying," He said to his reflection but it just stared back at him, he realized the annoying voice in his head had been silent for days, maybe he took the bait and died first because it would have been nagging him right now if it was still alive "Bro, I am very much here, don't push your luck, I am n

Anthony was just dropping May off at work. "I'll be on time to pick you up, okay?" May smiled. "Sure, thank you and have a good day at work." She replied. Anthony was just leaving when a black car pulled up in front of the cafe and Mike stepped out of the car. A huge frown instantly appeared on Anthony's face, and he balled his fists in rage, the event of last night flashing through his mind, fueling his anger even more.

“Tell me, Emmet, do you think Callum will ever wake up?” "No, Eloise." I glanced at the man in the distance, painting my image on the canvas, and smiled as I spoke. “From now on, I don’t need to hear any more news about him. I’ve found my happiness again.”

The room fell silent. Project Echo. A name no one had heard before. --- At that exact moment... Several hundred kilometers away... A black SUV stopped outside an abandoned observatory hidden deep within a mountain range. The mysterious figure stepped out. Morning fog surrounded the old building. The iron gates slowly opened automatically. Inside... The facility looked untouched by time. Dust covered the halls. Broken equipment lay scattered across the floor. The figure walked directly to the basement. A retinal scanner activated. Identity Confirmed. Welcome Back, Director.

Reiven’s scream tore through the night like the explosion inside the warehouse. “ECHO—!” Echo hit the ground. Bishop smiled. And the world went silent.

"Don't ever enter my study again. You're not allowed to touch anything in my room again!" Back then, Liam had spoken to me with a dark expression on his face. Yet, when he turned to hold up the crystal ball, his eyes had been filled with infinite tenderness. He'd shoved me to the floor. When I looked up at him, I unintentionally caught sight of the inscription carved into the base of the crystal ball—"From: Vivi". I thought back to the rather platonic love that Liam and I had shared over the past six years. Liam would say he liked me very much every time, but he would only ever go as far as staring at my lips and holding my hand.

"Nasty piece of architecture." On the main screen, the clouds parted. Below us, the Northern Tundra was a white wasteland. Rising from the ice like a black, infected tooth was the prison. It was massive, walls of black iron, fifty feet high, topped with arcing Tesla coils. Searchlights swept the perimeter in a relentless, hypnotic rhythm. "Echo Squad, sound off," I ordered into the headset. "Echo One, green," came the Corporal’s voice. "Echo Two, green."

“She’s waking up.” The children gathered around, confused. Silent. The white-haired girl from before stepped forward. “Is she like us now?” I nodded. “She always was. She just didn’t know how to be.” Then in the Council’s highest chamber, the Elder turned away from the console. Another figure stepped into view, taller, draped in a black robe. A scar ran from his temple to his jaw. “Echo failed,” the Elder said. “She was never meant to win,” the figure replied. “Only to test the limits.”