In the evening, when the moon was hidden behind heavy clouds, Jeremy came across Julie by the old wall near the school. She was standing there, just waiting. But her gaze was different. No longer fearful. She was ready.
— We need to talk — she said before he could say anything.
He fell silent and only nodded.
— Jeremy... for several nights I've been having dreams. I see you in them. But not just you. I see something... bigger. Something dark and ancient. And myself, as part of it all.
The boy froze. He couldn't pretend it didn't affect him.
— I knew you felt something. But I didn't know it was this much — he replied softly.
— I'm not like you. I don't have powers. But something pulls me toward you. And it's not a simple attraction. It's... as if we're intertwined. By something that happened before we even met.
Jeremy stepped closer.
— Julie... I'm not who you think I am. And if what you feel is real — it could destroy you.
— I'm not afraid — she interrupted him. — Because if I'm going to be part of this world, I want to know. Everything. Even if it tears me apart.
Jeremy looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded.
— In that case... come. It's time for you to see what I'm just now discovering. Together.
And they headed toward the monastery. For the first time — not apart.
*
The evening was strangely quiet, as if the whole town was holding its breath.
Julie was walking home alone from the library, where she had spent hours searching through old chronicles and local legends. Her mind was a mess — her dream, the conversation with Jeremy, and above all, the strange force that had been awakening inside her without control lately.
As she turned into a side street, she felt something watching her. She froze. The air thickened.
From the shadows emerged a figure — tall, slender, with unnaturally long fingers and eyes glowing with dark violet.
— Julie... — a voice she only knew from dreams hissed.
The girl instinctively stepped back.
— Who are you?
The being did not answer. Instead, it reached out its hand, touching the air between them. A wave of energy surged through Julie, as if something inside her reacted. She shuddered.
— There is more flowing in you... — the shadow said. — Blood that should not belong to humans.
Julie clenched her teeth. Despite the fear, she took a step forward.
— Leave me alone. I don't know who you are, but you will not manipulate me.
The shadow laughed, long and drawn-out.
— On the contrary, Julie. You summon us when you sleep. Your dreams open the gates. You don't know what you are capable of yet. But soon... you will find out. And then everyone, even your beloved Jeremy, will fear you.
And it vanished as if it had never existed.
Julie was left alone, her heart pounding wildly. She knew now there was no turning back. What she had felt for so long had finally been confirmed.
She returned home and looked into the mirror.
Something in her eyes had changed.
*
Julie sat on the floor in her room, her back against the cold wall. Only the faint glow of the night lamp lit the room, but the light did not soothe her nerves. She still saw those eyes. The being's voice echoed in her head.
"There is more flowing in you..."
Her heart pounded in her chest, but her mind was alert. Every detail from the last few days took on new meaning — dreams where she floated above the ground, where she saw Jeremy fighting something she didn't understand. Dreams where she herself was burning.
She approached the mirror. This time, she looked into her own eyes without fear.
And she saw it. Brief sparks of light — like embers beneath the surface of her iris. She gasped sharply.
— What is happening to me? — she whispered, as if the mirror might answer.
But deep inside, she already felt it. Something was awakening. She was no longer an ordinary girl, and Jeremy was not just a boy with a secret. They were part of a bigger plan. And although Rosalie tried to control it, Julie... Julie had something she hadn't anticipated.
She grabbed her notebook. She began writing — not out of compulsion, but out of need. Furthermore, she wrote about the dream. About the light. About Jeremy. About what she felt when he looked at her for the first time, as if he already knew every breath she took.
And then — she drew a symbol. She didn't know where she knew it from. Her hand just moved on its own. The sign looked like a combination of fire and wings.
And then the room shook.
Books fell from the shelves. The window slammed open with a bang, although it was closed. The notebook flared with a bright light and then went dark.
Julie stepped back, stunned. But not scared.
— You know something too, don't you, Julie? — a whisper sounded from nowhere.
She turned sharply. No one was there.
But now she knew one thing: she had to find Jeremy. And tell him everything.
Because time was running out.
*
Jeremy stood leaning against an old, rusting fence near the disused train station. The shadow cast by the moon sliced his silhouette like a blade. He knew she would come. He felt her, as if something inside him trembled at her approach.
Julie approached slowly, cautiously, as if afraid that one more step would shatter what still connected them. Or maybe... what they were only beginning to be aware of.
— You knew I'd come here — she said, standing before him. Her voice was calm, but a storm brewed in her eyes.
— I saw you in a dream — he replied. — You were burning... but you didn't scream. And you didn't look afraid.
— And you were with me. You're always with me.
For a moment, neither spoke. In the background came a long creak — as if the doors of the old building moved, though there was no wind. The world around them dimmed, as if reality began to warp.
— Something connects us, Jeremy. Something more than dreams... — Julie raised her hand and showed him the notebook, where the symbol she had drawn was visible. The same one he saw hours earlier in one of Alison's visions in her diary.
Jeremy looked at the sign and took a step back.
— Where did... ?
— I don't know. I just... felt like I had to draw it. And then everything started happening.
The ground beneath their feet trembled. The air thickened, and from the darkness emerged a figure — tall, black silhouette, faceless, shadowless. Rosalie? No. Something else. Something that had been lurking on the other side for a long time. Waiting only for them to open the gate.
Julie screamed, but Jeremy shielded her with his body. A spark appeared in his eyes — dark fire, a heritage now fully awakened.
— You won't touch her — he said quietly.
The figure hissed, as if it knew him from within. As if it knew his fear. But it did not move. Could not. Jeremy was a barrier. And in that one moment — for Julie, the entire universe.
— What was that...? — she asked, trembling.
— This is just the beginning. And if we want to survive, we have to do it together. You and me.
Julie looked at him and nodded. Slowly. But firmly.
Because it was then, between what was human and what was hellish — that an alliance was born.