Chapter 20 Part 1: Hollow Ridge
Rain's POV
My head pounded like someone had smashed a rock against it. The first thing I saw when my eyes flickered open was darkness.
A chilling, breath-holding type of darkness, but not completely black.
Something faint glowed overhead, little cracks in stone letting in weak moonlight. Everything smelled damp, moldy and cold.
Dead leaves crunched under my back when I tried to move.
Where… am I?
My heart raced as memories slammed back. The mansion, Noah bleeding, Lia screaming and someone dragging me.
“Hello?” my voice cracked. “Is anyone there?!”
I tried to stand but something yanked painfully.
Ropes.
I jerked upright, breath shaking as I looked around. Tall, dried trees and they had grown crooked from the stone floor.
Jagged rocks curved into high arches, like the ribs of a giant monster swallowing me whole.
Stone walls stretched deep into the darkness, covered in symbols of twisted shapes, animals with too many limbs, swirls, claws, fangs, eyes. All scribbled in something that didn’t look like paint.
Blood maybe
I swallowed hard.
“Is… anyone here?”
No answer, just the drip… drip… drip of water somewhere deeper in the cavern.
I tried to stand only to fall due to the thick ropes tied around my wrists and ankles.
Panic exploded in my chest.
“Help! Somebody help me!” My voice echoed, bouncing mockingly.
But then, I heard footsteps. More than one pair getting closer.
I dragged myself behind one of the twisted trees, throat tight. I pressed a hand over my mouth and prayed that whoever it was couldn’t hear my heartbeat.
Two figures entered through a narrow crack in the wall; a passageway.
One wore a long silver robe, the hem stained with mud, a brown scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face. The other looked normal, jeans, boots like someone you’d see walking on a street.
They didn’t see me and I didn't see their faces.
“She must remain untouched,” the robed man hissed.
“The ritual requires a virgin sacrifice. The Baemon lineage can resurrect the seal when her blood activates the stone.”
My breath snagged in my throat.
The man in normal clothes stepped forward, eyes darting around the cave. “But she’s gone. She was tied right here!”
“What?” Silver robe rushed toward the spot where I had woken. “You fool! We cannot lose her! The Shadow Moon rises in hours!”
“I—I don’t understand. She couldn’t have gotten far.”
Silver Robe shoved him. “I'll search outside.” he snapped, storming out through the crack. The remaining man scanned the shadows.
He moved closer, closer… to the very tree I hid behind.
My pulse pondered so loud I was sure he could hear it.
Then he stepped into the light and my breath left me.
“Ryan?” I whispered.
His head snapped toward me.
My step brother.
The Alpha King’s lost son.
His eyes widened. “Rain!” He rushed to me and pulled me into a shaky embrace. I melted into it, crying into his shoulder, overwhelmed with relief.
“Moon goddess, I thought...” He cupped my face gently.
“I thought they, I thought you...” I choked out.
“You’re safe. I’m here now,” he murmured, hastily cutting the ropes around my wrists and ankles.
“How are you here?” I whispered, trying to process.
“It’s a long story,” he muttered quickly while untying the ropes around my wrists. “They kidnapped me too. I escaped… found you by luck.”
“Luck?” I winced as the rope loosened.
“Yes. But we can’t stay.” He helped untie my ankles. “We have to go quietly.”
I hesitated, heart twisting. Something felt… off. He didn’t look the same. His eyes were darker than I remembered. His breathing, too fast. His voice was nervous.
“Where is Rosee? Where are the kids? Is everyone okay?”
“Who is Rosee?" he cut in sharply. “Questions later, let's get out of here"
He pulled my hand and we crept toward the tunnel. I followed, breath uneven, though something cold tugged at the back of my mind.
Why is he here? How did he escape? How did he know where to look?
But he was Ryan. My stepbrother. My blood.
My bare feet stumbled on rocks and dead branches as we hastily walked.
Halfway through the passage… a sudden dizziness hit my skull and my vision blurred.
“Ryan...wait.” My legs trembled.
“What’s wrong?” he turned, panic flickering.
The cave vanished from my sight.
A vision exploded inside my head like lightning.
I saw a giant stone standing in the middle of a forest. Red powder drawn in a circle around it, symbols dripping like blood.
Red ribbons tied to every tree branch around and a brown calabash filled with dark liquid, another calabash stuffed with animal intestines dripping with blood.
Then I saw Rosee. His hands clutching his skull, eyes glowing blood-red, face twisted in pain like he was fighting something inside him.
Ryan suddenly appeared and shoved a blade into Rosee’s back.
“Rain!” Ryan's hands shook me violently.
I gasped, stumbled back into reality, clutching my head and collapsing to my knees.
“What happened?” he knelt before me, eyes tense.
I stared at him, heart racing.
“…How do you know the path?” I breathed, voice trembling.
He froze, just a second too long.
“Because...because I heard them talking earlier. Rain, please just walk!”
“I… saw something.” My voice shook. “A ritual stone… Rosee getting hurt and you...”
“Stop.” His tone turned stale. “You’re weak. Your mind is confused. Those aren't visions, they are your fears”
“How do you know it was a vision?” I narrowed my eyes.
"No more questions,” he forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I just know we shouldn’t stand here or they’ll find us!”
"Who?"
"Just trust me."
Trust?
He tugged my hand again.
This time I resisted but he pulled harder.
Panic prickled in my chest. Every instinct screamed at me to RUN.
Still, I followed.
Until he abruptly stopped and his grip loosened.
My blood turned to ice.
Figures stepped out from everywhere, from shadowed corners, behind rocks, from the passage ahead. .
All wearing white robes with brown scarves.
Ryan stood in front of me, shielding me. “Stay behind me,” he growled.
For a moment, I believed he was protecting me.
I backed up, adrenaline burning my veins.
“No,” I whispered. “I’m not helpless.”
I yanked my hand free and tore off one glove. Fire cracking under my arm skin.
Ryan roared and shifted, bones cracking, gray fur ripping through his skin. He tore into them, snarling, blood flying with every bite.
One robed man grabbed me, his skin touched my bare hand…
WHOOMPH!
Fire burst from my palm, searing him alive.
He screamed, as his flesh incinerated, ash crumbling where his arm used to be.
Another attack which I ducked, brushing his sleeve.
His arm combusted, flames racing up his body until he crumbled into a pile of black bones.
They kept coming and every touch burned them to death.
Breathless, I spun in circles, dodging strikes, fire shaping in my fingertips against my will.
Then, a voice cut through everything:
“Enough.”
A slender hand lifted from the darkness.
A dark, cloudy smoke shot toward me, wrapping around my wrists. It hardened into a glowing silver chain. A steel like I’d never seen. Cold burned into my skin.
“NO!” I screamed, falling to my knees.
The metal wasn’t normal. It drained me.
The more I struggled, the weaker I became.
Blood splattered from my lips as pain ripped through my chest.
“Rain!” Ryan snarled, shifting back to human form, trying to reach me but he was slammed into the ground by three men.
From the shadows, the woman emerged, slow steps, graceful like she was floating.
She removed her cloak and her mask.
Her skin was pale porcelain. Her lips were blue, cracked, cold and her eyes were dark but mesmerizing.
She tilted her head, studying me. “This is the Baemon child?” she asked softly, almost curious. “The Redmoon’s cursed daughter?”
“So small… and yet powerless. I was expecting someone more challenging.”
Her voice was sweet like a lullaby. My bones shook with terror.
The robed men dragged me through the trees.
I screamed, kicked, fought but the chains sucked the strength right out of me.
And suddenly just like my vision.
The cave opened into an eerie grove.
A giant ancient stone in the center, covered in carvings. Red chalk lines formed a ritual circle around it. Pieces of crimson cloth fluttered in the dead trees above. A brown calabash sat near a white ceramic bowl filled with animal intestines and blood.
My stomach lurched.
They chained me upright against the stone, metal digging deep into my wrists.
I tried to summon fire but nothing happened.
The woman stepped close, her breath cold against my cheek.
“I am Sahra,” she whispered to my ears and smiled.
Her smile was innocent yet horrifying.
"I need your blood.” Her grin widened, revealing fangs.
Darkness nipped at the edges of my
vision. I tried to scream but only a weak breath escaped.
Rosee…
Help me.