Page 30 of Maison De Fous

I nod, not taking my eyes off the fire. “Yeah. This is it. Didn’t plan the fire though, and that shit is spreading fast. We need to get out of here, now.”

“It’s beautiful,” Giselle purrs, her voice barely a whisper as she watches the carnage. “Look at them. Look how deranged they all are. I want to watch them suffer and burn. It’s fucking perfect.”

Perfect? Maybe. But the fire... the smell of the burning flesh... it’s pulling me back, deeper into that memory. That night. The night I burned everything.

The flames ate through my home. Consumed every fucked up part of my life and left me scarred.

“Not tonight, Giselle,” I reply with a tone of authority. Giselle pouts, but as Bjorn pulls her in tighter against his chest, that familiar unhinged smile returns. “We need to get moving!” I shout, pulling Indie harder as the tent begins to collapse around us.

We push forward, shoving bodies out of the way with brute force, Giselle laughing like a madwoman at the sight of people burning alive as she skips along behind him. Johnny stays close to Indie and I, his eyes wide as he survey’s the frenzy unfolding around us in a protective and predatory way, but there’s still a flicker of excitement in there—a thrill.

“Fuckingbeautiful, isn’t it?” Giselle purrs, her voice laced with excitement as she watches people scramble for the exits. “Look at them running. Look how pretty they look when theysuffer.”

We burst through the exit just as the fabric collapses inward, flames roaring behind us, consuming the world inside.

We made it out. We survived.

I turn, pulling Indie into my chest, her body trembling against mine as the night air cools the heat of the fire. We watch as the tent burns, the flames rising higher and higher into thenight sky. The screams from inside are still echoing, and I can’t help the twisted grin that pulls at my lips.

I feel nothing but satisfaction. This is the chaos I wanted. This is the end that Fergus deserved and it’s fucking glorious.

But the fire… it still stirs something inside me. Something dark. And as I pull Indie close, her body trembling against mine, I can’t help but think of the heat… the burn that still haunts me.

But not tonight. Tonight, we survive. And tonight, we fuckingwin.

chapter fifteen

indie

Cathedral Ward - do not resurrect, Witchhouse 40k

The fire still rages, painting the night sky with plumes of black smoke that twist and curl, mingling with the stars above us. My skin tingles from the heat, and the smell of burning flesh lingers in the air like a macabre perfume, thick and intoxicating. I can still taste them both on my lips. Still feel the way Johnny and Lux touched me in that tent, their possessive hands along my skin, their bodies pressed up against mine.

It’s a night I’ll never forget.

Lux stands tall beside me, his presence grounding me in a way that no one else can. His fingers brush mine, and I instinctively lean into him, feeling the weight of his body and the quiet strength he always carries with him. He’s covered in blood, just like I am, but it feels natural, like we’re both wearing a part of this night—our night. His eyes scan the burning wreckage, his jaw tight, but I know that deep down, he’s satisfied. This is what he wanted. Chaos. Destruction. A warning that Fergus will never forget.

Bjorn, standing a few paces away, looks at us, a contemplative expression on his face. “So what’s next for all of us? What are we supposed to do now? Where will we go?”

Lux’s gaze shifts, scanning our little group. “For the winter, we’ll go our own ways. Lay low.” He gestures to the flames, their bright tongues licking at the night sky. “This will bring heat, more than usual. The best thing we can do is separate, keep our heads down while I work to rebuild.”

“Lay low?” Giselle asks, her brow furrowed. “What about all this? We can’t just let it fade away.”

Lux shakes his head. “No, we can’t. But we need time to regroup, to figure out our next move. When spring comes, we’ll meet back up, and we’ll be ready.”

“But what if someone comes looking for us?” Johnny interjects, his brow furrowing. “Fergus won’t just forget about this.”

“Let them look,” Lux replies, his tone sharp. “We’ll be ghosts. We’ll vanish into the night, and when we return, they won’t know what hit them.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bjorn says, his voice steady.

“This shit will come with heat, but it won’t last forever, ” Lux assures him. “Just stay hidden, do what you need to do, but don’t attract attention. We’ll be back together before you know it.”

Giselle bites her lip, glancing around at us. “And what if we can’t find each other?”

“Then we make it a point to,” Lux replies firmly. “We’ll have signals. Just like we always do. No one will get left behind.”

There’s a moment of silence as we absorb his words. It feels both final and freeing, like we’re standing on the precipice of something dark and thrilling.

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