The firelight drew them like moths. Faint at first, flickering between branches, it swayed and pulsed as though carried by unseen hands.
Emily's heart pounded, each step forward fueled less by courage than by a terrible pull. The need to see what lay ahead, even if she dreaded the answer.
"Wait," Elena hissed, grabbing Dylan's arm. "Think. What if it's them?"
Dylan jerked his arm free. His jaw was set, his eyes wild. "Who the hell else would be out here? If it's people, maybe they can help us. If it's… whatever took Louis, then we're already dead standing here."
Kimberly whimpered, clutching Elena's sleeve. "I don't want to go closer. I can't—"
"We don't have a choice," Dylan cut her off. He glanced at Emily then, his voice lowering. "Stay behind me."
Emily nodded weakly, though the pit in her stomach grew heavier. The firelight seemed closer now, brighter, spilling across the forest floor until shadows danced at their feet.
They crept forward, the trees thinning until they reached the edge of another clearing.
What they saw froze them all in place.
Huts, dozens of them built from wood, stone, and hides, circling a central pyre of fire. Tall stakes lined the perimeter, each sharpened to a lethal point. And on some of those stakes…
Emily clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a cry.
Human bodies, dried and lifeless, their faces twisted in eternal screams.
Kimberly collapsed to her knees, shaking violently. "No… no, no… Let's get out of here, guys..."
Elena pulled her back, but her own eyes were wide, fixed on the grisly display.
Figures moved between the huts. They were not men. Their movements were too fluid, too sharp, like predators pacing in cages too small. The firelight revealed glimpses of pale skin, elongated limbs, and eyes that caught the light like shards of red glass.
Dylan staggered backward, nearly tripping over a root. "This… this isn't real."
But it was. Emily knew it was. The carvings, the blood-soaked soil, Louis's scream, all of it had led to this.
The village of monsters. The Bloodscream Clan.
One of them turned suddenly, sniffing the air. Emily's chest seized as the creature's head lifted, nostrils flaring, its eyes narrowing toward the trees where they hid.
Elena's grip tightened painfully around Emily's wrist. "We need to go," she mouthed.
But before they could move, the sound split the air. A scream, not theirs, but Kimberly's.
She bolted from the tree line, her terror exploding into motion as she sprinted straight into the clearing, her sobs echoing across the village.
"Kim!" Emily choked out, trying to lunge forward, but Dylan shoved her back.
Figures turned. Dozens of them. The village seemed to awaken all at once, the red eyes glowing brighter, the air trembling with growls too deep for human throats.
Kimberly stumbled, falling to her knees before the pyre. She scrambled to her feet, her voice ragged. "Please! Please, help me!"
For a moment, there was silence. Then, one of them stepped forward.
Tall, broad-shouldered, his skin pale as marble, his hair black as the void between stars. His eyes glowed faintly, studying Kimberly like a lion regarding a wounded gazelle.
The rest of the clan parted as he moved. Authority radiated from him, the kind that could only belong to someone born of power.
Kimberly staggered toward him, her voice breaking. "Please, I'll do anything—"
The figure moved faster than Emily's eyes could follow. One moment, he stood before Kimberly, the next, he was behind her, his hand gripping her throat, lifting her off the ground like a doll. Kimberly's scream choked into silence.
Emily's stomach lurched as she saw his fangs long, gleaming in the firelight.
"Stop, please..." she mouthed, though no sound left her throat.
His gaze swept the trees then, sharp and deliberate. For one terrible second, Emily swore those glowing eyes met hers across the distance. Her body turned cold, her knees nearly giving out.
Then, with casual ease, he sank his fangs into Kimberly's neck.
She screamed high, raw, and desperate, tore through the night, before it cut short, replaced by a gurgle. Blood ran down her skin, dripping onto the ground like spilled wine.
The clan howled, their cries echoing across the forest, primal and triumphant.
Emily clutched Elena's arm, her chest convulsing with silent sobs. She wanted to close her eyes, to look away, but she couldn't.
She was watching Kimberly die, and she knew, they were next.