LOGINShare
CHAPTER 33: When the door doesn't open
Last Updated:
2025-12-18 05:13:07
Latest chapter
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 38: The shape of a mob
Hallowpine doesn’t sleep that night.It pretends to.Lights turn off behind curtains. Doors lock softly. But the air stays awake—tight, listening, waiting for someone else to make the first mistake.I sit on the edge of my bed, fully dressed, boots on. I haven’t taken them off since the bakery. Since the basement. Since the crowd outside my house decided I was a problem they could politely discuss.Lucien stands by the window, watching the street like it might blink first.Ruby paces. Gideon murmurs wards under his breath. Milo sits cross-legged on the floor, quietly folding paper stars and lining them up in a careful row.None of us are relaxed.“They’re organizing,” Milo says suddenly.Ruby stops pacing. “How do you know?”“They stopped whispering,” he replies without looking up. “Fear’s louder when it agrees with itself.”Lucien exhales slowly. “He’s right. Shadows are clustering.”That sends a chill through me. “Where?”“Everywhere,” Lucien says. “But mostly the square.”I stand.
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 37: The first knife is always human
The basement smells like damp cardboard and old paint.No monsters.No tears in the veil.Just a raccoon that knocked over a shelf and scared two teenagers half to death.I almost laughed.Almost.Because when we step back outside, the street feels wrong again—too quiet, too watchful. Like Winterthorne learned something new about me and is deciding what to do with it.Lucien walks close, silent. Ruby stayed behind with Milo. Gideon went to reinforce wards near the square.I should feel relieved.Instead, my skin prickles.“You feel it too?” I ask softly.Lucien nods. “Eyes.”We turn the corner.A small crowd waits near my house.Not panicked.Organized.My stomach drops.They’re holding lanterns. Phones. Not weapons—yet. They stand in a loose semicircle, murmuring among themselves. When they see me, the murmurs stop.Someone steps forward.Mrs. Halbrook.My chest tightens. “What’s going on?”She folds her hands. “We just want to talk.”Lucien shifts subtly. “Now isn’t—”“This concerns E
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 36: What belief costs
Applause is louder than screaming.I would’ve preferred the screaming.Because applause means they’re deciding what I am.The clapping fades slowly, awkwardly, like people realize too late they don’t know the rules for this moment. Someone laughs nervously. Someone else whispers a prayer. Phones come out. A child points at me and asks if I’m magic.I feel suddenly, painfully exposed.Lucien keeps one arm around my shoulders—not shielding me, just anchoring me. “Breathe,” he murmurs. “Don’t absorb it.”“I don’t know how not to,” I whisper.Ruby pushes forward, voice sharp and bright. “Alright, show’s over! Everyone inside. Nothing to see except existential terror—move along!”A few people obey. Others hesitate.A man steps forward. Middle-aged. Shaking. I recognize him—Mr. Dalloway, the hardware store owner.“You saved us,” he says hoarsely.The silver under my skin stirs.“I stopped something,” I say carefully. “That’s all.”He shakes his head. “No. You protected us.”The word lands h
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 35: The first thing through
It opens in the bakery.Of course it does.Hallowpine's oldest building. Warmest place in town. Somewhere safe,somewhere people gather when they don’t want to be alone with their thoughts.I feel it tear before anyone screams.The silver under my skin flares sharp, hot enough to steal my breath. I grab Lucien’s arm just as a sound rolls across the square,glass shattering, wood splitting, something wet and wrong forcing its way into a space that isn’t meant to hold it.Milo goes rigid. “There.”Smoke pours from the bakery door—not smoke exactly, but shadow folded so tightly it looks solid. The cheerful bell over the door rings once.Then again.Ruby swears. “Tell me that’s not alive.”“It is,” Gideon says hoarsely. “And it’s hungry.”People scatter, panic finally breaking the fragile spell of curiosity. Someone screams my name. Someone else shouts monster—and I don’t know if they mean what’s coming or what’s already here.The door bursts outward.Something crawls into the street.It’s w
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 34: When a town starts staring back
Hallowpine wakes up wrong.I feel it before I see it,the way the silence outside the church isn’t peaceful anymore. It’s alert. Like the town is holding its breath, waiting to see if I’ll blink first.Lucien walks beside me as we step out into the gray dawn. His shoulder brushes mine—not accidental, not possessive. Just grounding.The snow is gone.Not melted.Gone.Bare pavement stretches down the street, wet and dark, steaming faintly as if winter itself was peeled back in a hurry. Christmas decorations still hang from lampposts, blinking cheerfully against a world that feels scraped raw.Ruby squints. “Well. That’s subtle.”Gideon’s voice is tight. “The Devourer passing through thinned the veil. Reality is… correcting.”I flex my fingers. The silver warmth beneath my skin hums softly, like it’s listening to the town too.Milo tugs my sleeve. “They’re awake.”“I know,” I murmur.People are already outside.Too many for this hour.Mrs. Halbrook stands on her porch clutching her robe, s
Christmas in ashes CHAPTER 33: When the door doesn't open
The lights go out first.Not flicker.Not dim.Just,gone.Every candle. Every bulb. Every fragile illusion of warmth hallowpine ever pretended to have.Darkness crashes down like a held breath finally released.Ruby swears. Gideon whispers a prayer that sounds older than language. Lucien’s shadow stretches, alive now, coiling protectively around us.I don’t move.Because the silver under my skin is screaming.Not pain.Recognition.“Don’t,” I whisper.Lucien leans close. “Don’t what?”“Don’t run,” I say. “That’s what it wants.”The air inside the church compresses.Not cold like the Frostbound King.Not sharp like Noelle.This feels heavy. Wet. Like standing too close to deep water that doesn’t reflect your face properly.Milo clutches my sleeve. “It didn’t come through the door.”The altar cracks.A sound like stone grinding against bone echoes through the nave.Ruby’s voice trembles. “Please tell me churches aren’t supposed to do that.”The floor splits.Not violently;slowly, deliberately
You may also like
Sacrificed to the Dragon Prince
VictoryAnne Vice29.5K viewsThe Dragon King's Chosen Bride
AT_Imagination37.5K viewsThe Blue Jeweled Eye Archmage
aristheia21.9K viewsMated to The Dark Lord
Cassandra Davy20.8K viewsWhite Wolf: Blood Moon Rising”
Styna F.150 viewsOutFoxed: LITTLE FOX SHIFTER IN A BIG BAD WOLF'S WORLD
L.Diva4.5K viewsEclipsed Hearts: The Chronicle of Shadows and Stars
Sarah Richard418 viewsRaising My Enemy's Disciple
Sam Velasquez855 views
