And then, as the road curved and the last remnants of the town were behind me, I saw it—a silhouette in the distance, looming against the dark sky like an ancient, crumbling monument. The asylum. Its stone walls were coated in grime, its windows like hollow eyes, staring out into the nothingness.
A chill ran through me, deeper than the cold wind around me, a feeling that the past was about to catch up with me. That this was where everything would change.
31
ASHTON
Istood at the edge of the asylum, my motorcycle still running, the engine’s growl dying down into an ominous hum as I cut the ignition. The air was thick and still, suffocating, as though the world around me had held its breath. The trees that had once surrounded the path, now withered and gnarled, seemed to pull back, retreating from the sprawling stone structure ahead. It loomed against the pitch-black sky, a hulking shadow in the night, its towering silhouette resembling a decaying fortress that had long since forgotten the meaning of warmth or safety.
The asylum was a grotesque relic of the past, its stone walls jagged and cracked, the mortar between the bricks eroded by time and neglect. Where there were windows, they were dark, like hollow eyes staring out at the world with an unsettling emptiness, each one reflecting nothing but the coldness that seeped from the heart of the building. Some panes were shattered, jagged glass shards still hanging like teeth from the broken frames, while others were obscured by a grime so thick it seemed to swallowthe light.
My breath came out in visible clouds, each exhale colder than the last, my boots crunching on the dead leaves beneath my feet as I moved closer. The smell hit me first—a musty, sour stench of mildew and decay, mixed with the iron tang of rust that seemed to cling to the air itself. It was the kind of place that had soaked in sorrow and madness until it became a part of the very stone. My fingers twitched at my sides, the weight of this place pressing against me, pushing me into the space between dread and desperation.
Every step I took felt like it took me deeper into a nightmare, each crack in the stone beneath my feet sending a shiver up my spine. I didn’t scare easily—I’d lived through too many dark things, things far worse than this—but this building… this place made my skin crawl, like there were eyes watching me from the corners of my mind. I could almost feel the history of it, the twisted echoes of the lives it had consumed over the years. The chill in the air wasn’t just from the wind—it was from something far colder, something that had soaked into the very walls, the very ground I stood on.
The wind picked up suddenly, howling through the trees, sending a chill through my bones. The tall gates of the asylum groaned in protest as they swayed on their rusted hinges, as though unwilling to let anyone inside. My hand hesitated as I reached for the handle to the door, and then the unmistakable sound of footsteps cut through the silence. It was a dragging sound, like someone—or something—was walking slowly, laboriously, but with purpose.
A rustling followed, distant at first, like the shuffle of leaves, but then sharper, more pronounced, almost as if something, or someone, was watching me. My pulse spiked, every muscle tense, but I held myself still, every instinct on high alert. My gaze darted to the shadows stretching from thecorners of the building, my heart pounding faster now as the sounds grew nearer, louder.
Suddenly, out of the shadows, a figure appeared, breaking the line of the trees just beyond the gate. It was a single silhouette, tall, but unmistakable. Lilith.
Her laugh, a hollow, almost musical sound, drifted to me before she even spoke. Her voice was full of madness, an eerie, soft madness that rang in his ears like a warning bell.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the man of the hour.” Lilith’s words slithered through the air, filled with a twisted sense of glee. She moved toward me like a predator, her smile wide, manic, eyes glittering with a dangerous curiosity.
Behind her, I could see them—the circus psychopaths. A twisted entourage of characters, all draped in the remains of costumes that had seen better days, faces painted in grotesque, macabre expressions. Some were hunched, others grinning wildly, and some seemed to shuffle closer to me with an eerie, jerky movement, as if the mere sight of them was enough to unsettle the surrounding air.
Lilith, though, was the focal point of their attention. She was the one who reveled in the chaos, the one who controlled the game. Her eyes, dark as the night, locked onto mine with a strange kind of glee.
“You didn’t think you’d come here without me, did you?” she asked, tilting her head with a curious, almost innocent smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Her voice was soft but carried a weight to it, like she could almost taste my confusion, my desperation.
I stood frozen, my thoughts a whirlwind of uncertainty. My jaw clenched, but I didn’t move, didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. All I knew was that Lilith had followed me here, and there was something in the way her eyes burned that unsettled me more than the asylum itself. Shewas playing a game—my game, but with rules of her own making.
“I know you’ve been looking for answers, Ash,” she purred, her steps drawing closer, and with each one, the cold in the air seemed to grow sharper, more biting. “But the question is—what are you really searching for? Is it her? Or is it something darker… something you can never escape?”
I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to focus through the fog of confusion swirling in my mind.
Lilith simply smiled, her lips curling like the edge of a blade.
The wind howled around us again, the rustling of dead leaves intensifying, and for a moment, the shadows that surrounded the asylum seemed to stretch further, as if they were closing in on me, suffocating the air.
My heart pounded harder, the fear of what might be waiting for me in this place drowning out all other thoughts. And yet, despite my burning desire to find Dove, to fix the damage, to make it right, there was something primal within me—something far darker—that screamed for me to turn away from this hellhole.
But Lilith’s voice was like a whisper in my ear, her every word drawing me deeper into this twisted labyrinth of madness. I didn’t know what to believe anymore, but I knew one thing: no matter what, this night would change everything.
I stood there, fists clenched at my sides, my breath coming in quick, uneven gasps. The air around me felt too thick, almost suffocating, and Lilith’s maddening presence only made it worse. My thoughts were a war zone, spinning out of control. I couldn’t afford to have her with me. Not now. Not here.
I stared at her, my mind racing with a thousand reasonswhy she couldn’t come in. “This is no place for you, Lilith,” I growled, trying to keep the tremor of uncertainty from my voice. “You’re not welcome in there. Stay out here.”
Her lips curled into a smile that made my skin crawl. “Oh, but I think I’m the one who gets to decide where I go, darling,” she purred, every word laced with dark amusement. She took a step closer, and the space between us felt charged, dangerous. “You need me. You can’t go in there alone.”
I shook my head, fighting the surge of panic rising in my chest. “I don’t need you. And I don’t want you here.” My voice was sharp, but inside, I felt like I was about to snap in two. My eyes narrowed, and I looked over my shoulder at the looming shadow of the asylum, as if the building itself was watching me. “This is between me and whatever the hell’s inside. I’m not dragging you into this.”
Lilith let out a dark laugh, the sound chilling the surrounding air. “Oh, Ash. You think you can handle this on your own? Do you even know what’s waiting for you in there?” Her eyes gleamed with something dark, something I couldn’t quite place, but it sent a chill running down my spine. “You need someone who’s unafraid—who’s willing to dive into the madness with you. Don’t think you can keep me out now.”
I clenched my jaw. The words were sinking in, despite myself. The walls were closing in around me, the asylum growing more oppressive with every breath. If I let her in, if I allowed her to follow me, there would be no turning back. But… could I really do this alone?
“Lilith…” I started, my voice faltering slightly. “I’m warning you.”
