Chapter Twenty Three

The village loomed ahead, shrouded in shadows and silence. The cold night air bit into my skin, but I barely felt it. Each step was deliberate, the wet sand whispering beneath my feet as I moved closer.

The inn stood in the distance, its half-burned frame a stark silhouette against the dark sky. The fire Jamie had started hadn’t finished the job, leaving behind jagged walls and exposed beams that clawed at the night. Part of it still stood, defiant.

I stopped in front of it, my chest tightening. This was where we had trusted, laughed, and planned. Now, it was nothing but a husk. Memories threatened to pull me under, Jaime’s quiet smile, Kim’s sharp wit, Trevor’s low grumbles. They were gone, and this place still stood.

My fists clenched. It wasn’t right.

As I stepped inside, the broken doorway creaked under the weight of my push. Shadows swallowed me, the faint light of the moon struggling to follow. The smell of burnt wood clung to the air, mixing with the lingering tang of grease from the kitchen.

The gas cylinder sat near the stove, its metal surface faintly glinting in the dark. My feet moved toward it without hesitation. My fingers brushed the cold metal, and I twisted the valve.

The hiss of escaping gas filled the silence, sharp and insistent. It crawled into the room, invisible but suffocating. My hand stayed steady as I tipped the cylinder on its side. It hit the floor with a hollow clang, the sound echoing in the empty space.

Gas hissed out, swirling around my ankles and spreading across the floor. I pulled the cylinder to the doorway and left it lying on its side. The sound grew louder, sharper, filling the silence with a steady urgency.

My eyes landed on a matchbox resting on the counter. I grabbed it, my fingers fumbling slightly as I held it tight.

Outside, the night air hit my face, sharp and biting. I looked down at the matchbox in my hand. It felt heavier than it should, like it knew what was coming. I slid it open and pulled out one match.

Striking it against the box, the flame flickered to life, small but strong. I stared at it for a second, watching it burn, before I let it drop.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the air ignited.

Flames roared through the kitchen, spilling out into the main room in a blinding rush of heat and light. The windows shattered, glass spraying outward in every direction. The force of the blast hit me like a blow, and I stumbled back, my feet slipping in the sand.

I hit the ground hard, pain jolting through my body as the impact rattled my bones. The night spun around me, blurred and chaotic. Heat washed over my face, the fire devouring everything in its path.

I sat up slowly, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. The inn was engulfed, flames clawing at its remaining structure. Smoke curled into the air, blotting out the stars.

My hands trembled as I pushed myself to my feet, staggering a few steps back. The heat pressed against me. The fire roared louder, the flames rising higher.

The wind shifted, carrying the acrid stench of burning wood and salt. My mind drifted to Jaime, Kim, and Trevor. I wondered if they could see this, wherever they were. If they knew I hadn’t let this place win.

I stared at the wreckage, the firelight flickering across the sand. My lungs burned with every breath, but I refused to move. This wasn’t just destruction, it was justice.

It was gone. All of it.

And it was beautiful.

A scream tore through the night.

“It’s burning! The inn is burning!”

Doors burst open. Villagers stumbled into the street, eyes wide, mouths gaping. Their confusion turned to horror as they saw the flames. More screams filled the air, tangled with the roar of the fire.

They turned, and they saw me.

I stood by the blaze, the firelight casting my shadow long and dark across the sand. My face was cold, my heart colder. I welcomed the heat licking at my skin, the chaos blooming before me. It felt right. It felt earned.

Tanya shoved her way through the crowd, her face pale and twisted with rage. Her eyes locked onto me, wild with accusation.

“What have you done, Pearl?” she screamed.

I smiled, a thin, brittle thing that cut through the smoke. “I set it all on fire.”

Her jaw clenched, her face contorting. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“No.” My voice was low, steady. “I’ve found it.”

More villagers gathered, their eyes flicking between me and the flames. They weren’t afraid of the fire. They were afraid of me.

“You’re worse than Rynar,” I said, the words scraping out of me like broken glass. “You sacrificed my parents. My friends. You fed them to the Abyss and pretended their graves were real. You smiled at me. You lied. You let me suffer.” My voice trembled with fury. “You let everything happen.”

Tanya’s eyes narrowed, her mouth a thin line. “I thought, if you’d see the graves, you’d feel some sense of closure and leave. But you didn’t. In the end we did what we had to do to survive.”

A laugh escaped me, hollow and bitter. “Survive? You call this survival? Sacrificing innocent lives, hiding behind your rituals and lies?” My fists trembled. “You’re worse than the monster you fear.”

Her face hardened. “You don’t understand the cost of keeping this village safe.”

“Don’t,” I hissed. “Don’t you dare talk to me about cost. I paid the cost. My parents. My friends. You threw us to the wolves and called it salvation.”

I took a step closer, my face inches from hers. “You’re the real monsters. And you’ll pay for what you’ve done.”

The rage inside me boiled over. I lunged at her.

We hit the ground, my fists flying, teeth bared. My knuckles struck her face, the impact jolting up my arm. She shrieked, her fingers clawing at my hair, yanking so hard my scalp burned. Blood smeared across her mouth as she screamed curses at me.

“You think you can judge us?” she spat, eyes wild. “You think you’re righteous?”

“I think you’re vile!” I snarled. My fist drove into her cheekbone, her skin splitting under my knuckles.

Hands wrenched me back, rough and punishing. My feet scraped against the dirt as I was hauled upright.

Sebastian.

His face twisted with disgust. “You’ve gone too far, Pearl.”

He punched me, the force snapping my head back. Pain exploded through me, sharp and blinding. My knees buckled, and I hit the ground hard. Blood filled my mouth, hot and metallic.

A scream ripped from my throat, raw and jagged. The waves surged, echoing my fury. But Sebastian didn’t stop. He dragged me up by my shoulder, his fingers digging into my flesh. He punched me again, harder.

My body crumpled under the blow, my ribs screaming as I hit the ground. His boot crashed into my gut. My breath whooshed out in a painful rush, bile and blood rising in my throat.

He leaned down, his breath hot against my ear. “You brought this on yourself.”

Through the haze, my fingers curled around the knife Rynar had given me. The handle was solid, cold.

As Sebastian’s hand closed around my throat, I struck. The dagger plunged into his foot, cutting through leather and flesh.

His scream was a wild, ragged sound. He stumbled back, clutching his foot.

I didn’t hesitate. I pulled the knife free and drove it into his chest. The blade slid between his ribs, hot blood spilling over my hand.

His eyes widened, his mouth opening in a strangled gasp. He crumpled to his knees, his body jerking. He tried to pull the knife out, but his strength faded. His eyes rolled back, and he fell.

Tanya’s scream shattered the night, raw and broken.

I met her eyes, my breath heaving. “Now you know,” I rasped, “how it feels to lose someone you love.”

Her face twisted in agony, her eyes blazing with fury. “Hold her!”

Villagers grabbed me, hands clawing, dragging me to the ground. My knees hit the dirt hard, sending shocks of pain through my battered body. I couldn’t fight them off, my limbs too weak, my vision swimming. They forced my arms behind me, the rough grip biting into my skin.

Tanya stumbled forward, tears streaking her face, her hands shaking with rage and grief. Her eyes were red, wild with the kind of fury that eats a person from the inside out. She snatched a rifle from one of the villagers, her fingers clenching around the barrel so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“You’ll die for this,” she hissed. Her voice was a raw whisper, barely holding itself together.

I lifted my head, blood dripping from my mouth, my vision narrowing to just her face and the cold glint of the rifle. My body felt like it was shutting down, but my mind was clear. Sharp. I met her gaze, unblinking, my jaw clenched against the pain.

“No!” Amanda’s voice rang out, desperate and shrill. She shoved through the crowd, her eyes wide with horror. “Mom, stop!”

Amanda grabbed the rifle barrel, her hands trembling. They struggled, the weapon jerking wildly between them. The cold night air crackled with tension, each second stretching out, unbearably long.

A shot cracked the silence.

Amanda’s body went rigid. Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth opening in a silent gasp. Blood bloomed across her chest like a dark, spreading flower. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed, her lifeless form crumpling to the ground.

Time froze. The world seemed to hold its breath.

Tanya’s scream ripped through the night, a sound so full of anguish it made my bones ache. She dropped to her knees beside Amanda, her hands shaking as they hovered over her daughter’s still form.

“No, no, no,” Tanya sobbed, her voice breaking apart. “Amanda! Please!”

Her grief poured out in wrenching wails, her body rocking as if the force of her sorrow might shatter her. The villagers stood frozen, their faces pale, eyes wide with terror and disbelief.

I barely felt the hands gripping me now. Everything blurred at the edges. The cold, the pain, the blood, all of it faded into the background. My gaze fixed on Tanya, her sobs mixing with the distant crash of waves.

She turned to me, her face twisted, eyes blazing with a madness born of grief. She grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back until my neck screamed with pain. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her face inches from mine.

“I’ll finish you myself,” she snarled. “I don’t know how you survived the Abyss, but if he didn’t kill you, I will.”

I spat in her face, the blood mixing with my defiance. “Do it.”

Her eyes narrowed, the rifle shaking in her hands. The barrel pressed against my forehead, the cold metal biting into my skin.

“Goodbye, Pearl,” she said, her voice trembling.

The gunshot cracked the night open.

Pain burst through me. A hot, searing flash that quickly dulled into cold. My body crumpled, the ground rising up to meet me. Darkness wrapped around the edges of my vision, pulling me under. My breaths came in shallow, wet gasps, the taste of blood heavy in my mouth. My fingers twitched, numb and useless.

“Rynar…” The word slipped out, barely a whisper. My voice was gone, my strength fading fast.

The ground trembled beneath me. A low, rumbling growl rolled through the earth, rising into a roar. The scent of salt and decay filled my lungs. The waves grew louder, their crash swelling, echoing with fury.

Tanya’s face twisted into a cruel smile. “The Abyss is here for you, to end you.”

I laughed, a thin, broken sound that hurt. Blood bubbled in my throat. “Oh, he’s here for me,” I rasped. “But you’ll see, Tanya. You’ll see how he avenges me.”