Page 21 of House of Horrors

“Yes.” The moment I answer, confirmation resonates throughout my body. The sudden burst of power leaves me gasping. “We’re gods,” I murmur in disbelief, before a grin stretches across my face. I laugh and look up at the ceiling that’s pulsating in celebration, rainbow trails dancing around the light fixtures. “We’re fucking gods, Daisy.”

The dark being hums its approval and pushes me towards Daisy. I take her hand, and our fingers entwine. Light ignites at our contact, and our souls merge.

“Do you feel it too?”

She nods, eyes blown wide with shock.

With me as your guide, you will rid Grimwood of the blights, and usher the town into a new era of greatness, the voice proclaims.

We fix our gaze on the next door, drawn by its throbbing crimson energy. The luminosity whispers a thousand voices, beckoning us.

We’re made for this. Our presence is fate.

This is it.

“This is it,” she echoes.

“We’ve been given a great power,” I say out loud.

“A great blessing,” Daisy whispers.

“We’ve been chosen.” Our voices merge into one.

Hand in hand, we walk toward the glowing door. Its convulses, fracturing into pieces, then returning to its original form.

Daisy grins. Her eyes mirror our dark deity, revealing our path to deliverance.

“Come on, Brother. It’s time.”

She opens the door and steps into the red void, disappearing completely.

A grin stretches too wide across my face as I ready myself to chase after Daisy.

It’s time to hunt and claim my stepsister as mine. And it’s time to save Grimwood.

Thirteen

Daisy

The deep voice resonates in my mind, spreading calm ripples of peace and comfort, like how I’d imagine a mother’s embrace. It’s a constant presence nestled deep within me, a guiding hand.

My sinful child. Finally, you are home. I’ve waited for you to return to your brother, and to me. I have special plans for you both. You must help save Grimwood, and your reward will be Jason.

All my life, my mom has told me I’m a mistake, but now I know that isn’t true. It’s becoming clear to me why she doesn’t love me. I never truly belonged to her. My true creator, this God, has been quietly waiting for the perfect moment to reveal itself. My destiny is to become a dark God. I’ve seen the monsters, the blights, and I know what we must destroy. My first duty will be to save Jason and Grimwood.

Emotion surges in my chest and bursts forth like a rushing waterfall. Tears of relief glide down my cheeks. I am cherished and chosen. Tension slips away and I gasp, my body humming with something almost holy. I throw my head back, laughter bubbling up as I spin, the room swirling into a kaleidoscope of color.

Worry sinks its teeth into me. Deep in my bones, I know I must listen to the voice and follow its orders. If I fail, my new God will forsake me. But I won’t let it down. I’ll prove to it that I can become everything it needs me to be.

I step into the next room with purpose, and the red light around the door follows me, staining my hands and arms the color of spilled wine. I pause on the threshold and let my eyes adjust.

The table is the first thing that I truly see. It stretches the length of the room like the spine of a monstrous beast. A knife is lodged in its back, with the wood grain rippling to form soft, rhythmic circles.

Skeletons sit around the table in grotesque civility. Some tilt slightly, their vertebrae crooked, as if boredom has stiffened them mid fidget. One still wears the remains of a velvet coat, its fabric eaten thin and hanging in tatters.

At the head of the table sits a seventh figure. It appears human, poised with its hands on either side of its plate, but suspicion curls along the side of my neck, a warning that I’m being deceived.

I take a step forward and the room warps around me, the floor dipping beneath my feet. Rot and sweetness mingle in the air. I wrap my hand around my throat, my flesh warm and pulsing.