Chapter 53: The Ripple In The Dark
The mont her gaze t her reflection, her eyes widened, her lips parting as a single word slipped out, trembling. "F*ck."
Aliana froze where she stood as she stared at the clear reflection of the sa man she had seen monts ago across the courtyard. He stood not too far away, right behind her, a wicked grin stretched across his face.
She didn’t move her wide eyes away from him or make a sound as her trembling hands slowly reached out to turn off the tap.
The mont she did, the ghost’s mouth stretched wide open as a disturbing screech tore through the air, and it lunged at her.
By reflex, Aliana moved just in ti, stumbling away from the sink. She watched in horror as the force of the collision made the mirror burst into countless shards, flying everywhere. She raised her hands to shield her face, only for so of the shards to cut into her arms.
But she knew this was far from over.
Quickly lowering her hands, she noticed that the ghost was looking... pissed.
"F*ck!" she cursed again, running toward the door to grab the handle and pull it open. Just as she turned, she saw the ghost rushing at her from behind.
A scream tore from her lips, but she still managed to run out into the corridor.
Her feet were quick against the polished marble floor, only to halt abruptly at the horrifying sight before her. This ti, there was not just one, but dozens of them waiting right outside the restroom.
"Jesus..." she gasped, her voice unsteady as dread settled deep within her.
She knew exactly how horribly this could end if she failed to escape, and she had no intention of finding out.
So she did the only thing she could think of... run for her life!
Turning towards the clear path she had co from, she lifted the front of her gown and ran with all her might.
The sharp, frantic click of her heels and her uneven breathing echoed through the eerie stillness as the lilac tulle train of her dress trailed behind her.
On noticing more light, she took a quick turn towards the brighter section of the hotel. She couldn’t quite explain why she was drawn to the light, but in her panic, she could only cling to the simplest instinct and kept moving towards it.
Her feet began to burn, each step felt heavier than the last, but she forced herself forward, knowing stopping was not an option.
But just as she reached the brighter area, the lights around the entire property began to flicker violently, casting erratic shadows across the walls before dying out completely.
With her sight stolen by the sudden darkness, Aliana missed a step and crashed onto the floor. A pained groan slipped from her lips in pain.
As she scrambled to rise, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
A primal chill raced across her skin, as a silent alarm scread in her head... that they were right there, closing in.
Slowly, as she turned her head, her breath hitched in her throat as she saw them. A wall of hollowed eyes and distorted faces was looming over her like a shroud of nightmares.
Before she could bring herself to react, one of them leaned closer and hissed, "You need to co with us, princess..."
Just as its cold, translucent hand lashed out to seize her ankle, Aliana let out a desperate, guttural scream. "Stay away!!"
At her cry, her hands flew up in defence, and to everyone’s shock, an unseen force burst from her palms, sending the ghost gripping her ankle flying backwards before it crashed onto the ground.
A brief, stunned silence followed as both the entities and Aliana herself froze at the sudden turn of events.
But she didn’t have ti to think.
Seizing the mont of their confusion, she pushed off the ground. Her heart was hamring against her ribs as she bolted toward the only sanctuary left in this world that she thought could save her from this horror.
....
Inside an old yet magnificent mansion lay a desolate underground dungeon, overrun with thorny vines of red roses that glowed with an unnatural light, casting an eerie, almost suffocating aura across the space.
There was no source of light, no sign of life, only a hollow stillness that seed to swallow everything whole.
The heavy silence was broken only by harsh, uneven breathing and low, pained groans of a man bound in thick iron chains that rattled with every strained pull of his body.
He was drenched in sweat, his black shirt hanging open and clinging to his skin as his chest rose and fell with laboured breaths. While his body continued to tremble from the relentless tornt.
For hours now, he had remained on his knees, his hands bound and stretched apart, held in place as though even the slightest movent.
A fire burned within him, not one that could be doused or escaped, but one that consud him from within.
Darkness seeped out of his very being, thickening the air into sothing oppressive and suffocating, enough to choke any ordinary human who dared co near.
He squeezed his eyes shut as another flash of violent mories crashed into him.
Flashes of bloodshed, chaos, and the echo of agonised screams tearing through his mind, leaving him with no choice but to endure... to withstand it until the first light of dawn.
After all, this was no unfamiliar suffering, but a curse he was bound to face on the night of every full moon.
However, bound tightly in those chains and trapped within his own mind, Gavriel could feel nothing but the surge of bloodlust and anger rising within him.
He felt powerful enough to break free, to destroy everything in his path and bathe in their blood.
Yet even in this state, teetering on the edge of losing his sanity, he restrained himself, knowing the aftermath would be catastrophic.
The only thing keeping the beast within him on a leash was the scent of roses that continued to linger from the ones surrounding him.
How fortunate it was that no one was near him right now... because it would take re seconds for him to tear them apart.
The thought alone made his blood hum in dark delight, his shadows hissing as they whispered, "Do it... they are all worthless anyway."
"No..." Gavriel’s restrained voice cut through the darkness, his brows knitting together at how dangerously tempting it sounded.
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