Chapter 45: No more

“Damien!” Lyra shouted as the dust cleared.

No answer.

The house was a mess, walls cracked, furniture broken, the smell of smoke thick in the air. The floor where Damien had stood was nothing but burnt wood and black ash.

“Damien!” Jack yelled again, his voice shaking. He ran to the center of the room and kicked at the ash. “He was right here! He was.”

Lyra grabbed his arm. “Jack, stop! He’s gone.”

Jack turned to her, eyes wide and wet. “We can’t just say that. We can’t"

“We need to get Maya,” Lyra said firmly, even though her voice trembled. “Now.”

They ran through the streets, their shoes splashing in puddles left from the rain. The wind howled like a cry following them.

Neither of them spoke for a while. The only sound was their fast footsteps and heavy breathing.

Jack finally said, “Do you think he’s dead?”

Lyra shook her head. “No. I’d feel it if he was.”

Jack frowned. “What does that even mean?”

Lyra sighed. “I don’t know… but when someone like Damien disappears, death doesn’t feel final. It feels… quiet. This—” she waved her hand at the sky, at the cold wind — “this feels loud.”

Jack didn’t argue. He just nodded and kept running.

When they reached Maya’s house, the door was already open. The lights flickered like the place was breathing.

“Maya?” Lyra called out.

“I’m here,” Maya’s voice came from the back room. She stepped out, her face pale, eyes tired. “What happened?”

Lyra and Jack both started talking at once about Cole, the ritual, the red energy, and how Damien disappeared.

Maya listened quietly, her eyes narrowing. When they finished, she leaned against the table and whispered, “This shouldn’t be possible.”

Jack frowned. “What shouldn’t?”

Maya looked up. “If Damien’s wolf came back during a blood ritual, it means something else came with it.”

Lyra crossed her arms. “Something like what?”

Maya hesitated, her lips pressing tight. “You said Cole was using revenant wolves, right?”

Jack nodded.

“Then there’s a chance,” Maya said slowly, “that Damien didn’t just wake his wolf… he bonded with the revenant curse itself.”

Jack blinked. “So he’s both?”

“Half-wolf, half-revenant,” Maya said. “Something that shouldn’t exist.”

The room went quiet.

Lyra’s heart started to race. “But that means.”

“That means his blood is no longer pure,” Maya finished. “And if he loses control, he could destroy everything.”

Jack ran his hand through his hair, pacing. “Great. So Damien’s alive but could turn into a monster.”

Lyra glared at him. “He’s not a monster.”

Jack stopped pacing. “Lyra, you saw what happened in that house. We don’t even know what he is anymore.”

Lyra took a deep breath. “He’s Damien. That’s what he is. And we’re going to find him before whatever’s inside him takes over.”

Maya turned toward the window. The sky outside had turned dark, clouds swirling in strange shapes. “You might not have much time,” she said quietly.

Jack frowned. “Why?”

Maya pointed. “Because the mark of the revenant doesn’t wait. Once it bonds, it starts to feed.”

They packed fast, weapons, silver blades, and the old book they found in the library. Maya carried a small satchel filled with herbs and strange blue powder.

As they stepped outside, Lyra’s phone buzzed. She looked down.

Unknown number: You shouldn’t have left him alone.

Lyra’s blood ran cold.

Jack noticed her face. “What’s wrong?”

She showed him the message.

Before either could speak, the streetlights began to flicker. The air grew cold, and a faint growl echoed through the night, low and distant, but familiar.

“That’s him,” Lyra whispered.

Jack’s eyes widened. “How can you tell?”

She didn’t answer. She just started running toward the sound. Jack and Maya followed.

They reached the edge of the woods behind the old school. The air smelled of smoke and something metallic , blood.

“Damien?” Lyra called softly.

No answer. Only the rustle of trees.

They walked deeper until they found claw marks on the ground , deep, burning black into the dirt.

Maya crouched beside them. “Revenant burn,” she murmured. “He’s changing faster than I thought.”

Jack swallowed hard. “So what do we do?”

“We find him,” Lyra said, stepping forward. “And we bring him back before he forgets who he is.”

Suddenly, a shadow moved between the trees. Lyra stopped.

“Did you see that?” Jack whispered.

“Yes,” Maya said, pulling out a silver blade.

Jack raised his bat. “We’re surrounded.”

“Not we,” a voice said.

Lyra froze.

The voice came from behind them. Deep. Rough. But familiar.

She turned slowly. “Damien…”

He stepped out of the shadows, shirt torn, eyes glowing faintly silver mixed with dark red. His veins pulsed black beneath his skin.

“Damien,” Lyra said again, voice soft, “it’s us.”

He looked at her confused, almost scared. Then he blinked, and the red in his eyes flashed brighter.

“I… I don’t remember,” he whispered.

Lyra’s chest tightened. “You’re safe now, okay? You’re with us.”

But Maya shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with worry. She whispered, “He’s fighting it. The revenant curse is inside him.”

Jack stepped forward slowly. “Hey man, it’s me. It’s Jack. Remember the time we got caught skipping class?”

Damien frowned like he was trying to recall. Then his body tensed. “I can’t control it,” he muttered, clutching his chest. “It’s burning inside.”

“Let us help you,” Lyra pleaded. She reached for him.

He jerked back. “Don’t!”

His eyes flashed red again, and a wave of dark energy pulsed from his body, sending everyone flying backward.

Jack hit a tree with a groan. Maya rolled to the side, coughing. Lyra got up fast, ignoring the pain in her arm.

“Damien!” she shouted.

He stood in the middle of the clearing, breathing hard, hands trembling. Smoke rose from the ground around him.

“I didn’t ask for this,” he said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t want this power.”

“We know,” Lyra said, stepping closer. “But you’re not alone. You hear me? You’re not alone.”

He looked at her , just for a moment , and the red in his eyes dimmed.

Then his knees buckled. He fell forward, landing on his hands. The air around him went cold again.

Maya rushed to him, checking his pulse. “He’s fading,” she said.

Jack knelt beside her. “What do we do?”

Maya opened her bag, her hands shaking. “There’s one way. But it’s risky.”

Lyra’s heart raced. “What is it?”

“How?” Jack asked.

Maya’s eyes flickered toward the dark woods. “We’ll need a vessel… and it has to be willing.”

The three of them looked at each other.

The night fell silent except for Damien’s ragged breathing.

Lyra’s voice broke the silence. “Then I’ll do it.”

Jack’s head snapped up. “What? No. Lyra, that’s suicide.”

She didn’t look away. “If that’s what it takes to save him… I’ll do it.”

Maya opened her mouth to argue, but before she could talk, Damien’s body started to shake. His eyes shot open, this time, fully red.

He screamed, and a shockwave of energy blasted through the clearing, throwing everyone back again.

When Lyra looked up, Damien was gone.

Again.