Chapter 14: A Fractured Bond

The fire had burned down to embers by the time Damsel returned. Her footsteps were quiet, hesitant, as if the weight of her grief had physically slowed her. She stopped a few feet away from Wilson, her gaze fixed on the glowing coals.

"Did it talk to you?" she asked, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

Wilson stiffened but didn't look up. "What?"

"The book," she said, nodding toward the charred object in his lap. "Did it say something to you?"

Wilson hesitated, the memory of Adrian's ghostly apparition fresh in his mind. "No," he lied. "It's just a book."

Damsel's lips pressed into a thin line. "You're lying."

Wilson finally looked up at her, his exhaustion etched into every line of his face. "You don't understand what this thing is. It's dangerous. It messes with your head."

"And yet you're still holding onto it," she said bitterly, her eyes narrowing. "You've been staring at it all night, like it's more important than anything else."

Wilson stood, the book still clutched tightly in his hands. "This book is the only thing that can stop whatever this is from happening again. I'm not going to let Adrian's death be for nothing."

"Don't you dare say his name," Damsel snapped, stepping closer. "You don't get to act like you're some kind of hero. You left him to die, Wilson!"

Wilson's jaw tightened, but he didn't respond.

"You're so focused on this stupid book," she continued, her voice rising, "that you don't even see what's happening to you. You're letting it control you, just like the house did!"

"I'm trying to save us!" Wilson shouted, his voice echoing in the stillness of the night.

"Save us from what?" Damsel demanded. "The house is gone, Wilson! Adrian is gone! There's nothing left to fight!"

Wilson's grip on the book tightened until his knuckles turned white. "You think this is over just because the house collapsed? You didn't see what I saw. You didn't hear it."

Damsel's eyes widened slightly, fear flickering across her face. "Hear what?"

Wilson hesitated, his resolve wavering for a moment before he spoke. "Adrian. Or something pretending to be him. It's not over, Damsel. The house isn't gone-it's still here, in this book."

Damsel took a step back, shaking her head. "You're losing it. You're letting it get inside your head."

"Maybe I am," Wilson admitted, his voice quieter now. "But if I don't figure this out, more people will die. And I can't live with that."

Damsel stared at him, her expression a mix of anger and sorrow. "And what about me, Wilson? Do I even matter to you? Or am I just another person you'll sacrifice for your mission?"

Wilson opened his mouth to respond, but no words came.

Damsel turned away, her shoulders slumping. "I can't do this anymore. If you want to destroy yourself with that book, fine. But I'm done."

She walked away, disappearing into the shadows once again.

Wilson stood there, the book heavy in his hands. For the first time, he felt the full weight of what he had lost-and what he was at risk of losing again.