Page 52 of Chaos Carnival

“What happened?” Lilith asked again, her voice sharp.

“She tried to show me the thread-weaving,” Maverick explained, finally managing to get me to sit in an armchair. “But something went wrong. The lines... attacked her. Wrapped around her throat and disappeared into her skin.”

I watched in fascination as his words took physical form, floating around his head like golden butterflies. “So pretty,” I murmured, trying to catch them.

“Shit,” Lilith snarled. “She tried to weave without protection circles, or proper grounding.”

Through the haze of colors, Oscar's dry voice cut through with crystal clarity: “Well my dear, it appears you've managed to achieve what I never could in life—simultaneously existing in multiple planes of consciousness while maintaining enough wit to still be absolutely ghastly at following instructions.”

The accuracy of his observation struck me as hilarious, and I doubled over laughing, watching as my giggles took physical form, floating up toward the ceiling like soap bubbles filled with starlight.

The butterflies turned to ash, falling in a gentle gray rain I could taste on my tongue—bitter and sweet at the same time.

Maverick's voice cut through, ominous and cold as winter steel, sparking something electric inside me. The playful spark that usually danced in his eyes had vanished, replaced by something ancient and lethal. “Did you tell her she needed those things?”

“I didn't think she'd be stupid enough to try it on her own!” Lilith snapped back.

“Hey,” I protested weakly, but I was distracted by the way the room had started spinning, colors bleeding into each other like wet paint. “Everything's melting...”

“Tess.” Lilith was suddenly in front of me, her hands gripping my face. “Focus. What did you see when the strands went in?”

“Everything,” I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks. They felt hot, like liquid fire. “Nothing. Both. Neither. The spaces in between...” My voice faded, watching as cracks appeared in the air itself, showing glimpses of something vast, harrowing, and beautiful.

“Make her stop talking,” Lilith ordered. “She's making it worse.”

Maverick's face appeared in my field of vision, blocking out the cracks in reality. “Sleep,” he commanded, his voice carrying that seraph resonance that made my bones vibrate.

The last thing I saw before oblivion took me was Lilith's face, those three versions of her merging into one as she muttered something that sounded like, “Well, this is quite curious.”

Then everything went black, and the threads that had been singing in my blood fell silent.

Chapter 23: Woven Madness

Maverick

Ieasedthebedroomdoor shut behind me and paced back to the living room. The image of Tess's too pale face echoed in my mind like an accusation. She'd finally fallen into what seemed like natural sleep, though she still mumbled about webs and umbra, her words carrying an edge of terror that made my shadows stir.

Lilith lounged on the couch, a glass of wine held like a weapon in her perfectly manicured hand as I entered. Her casual pose reminded me of a predator waiting to strike. The demon's presence made the darkness in the corners of the room deepen, as if they were trying to flee from her.

“I speak from experience.” Oscar's tone turned sharp. “I watched Oscar Wilde destroy himself chasing dangerous pleasures, convinced he could handle the consequences. I am what remains of him—a fraction of consciousness trapped in crystal, forced to witness history repeat itself through others' mistakes.”

His words settled like lead in my gut. I'd never heard Oscar speak about himself like that.

“And here I thought you were just a decorative paperweight with a smart mouth,” I muttered.

“Disappointment abounds,” Oscar replied. “I'm actually a rather expensive paperweight.”

“What do we do?” I asked Lilith, my voice carrying an underlying growl that made the air vibrate with suppressed violence.

She took a deliberate sip before answering. “There's not much to do. The strands have woven themselves into her very being. They're a part of her now.” Her dark eyes met mine, unflinching. “There are only three ways this ends.”

My shadows coiled restlessly around my feet. “Tell me.”

“She might master them, bend them to her will. That's the best outcome.” Lilith's fingers traced the rim of her glass. “Or they'll consume her entirely, claim her for their own. And if she's not strong enough for either...” She let the words hang.

The reality of what she was saying shattered me, and my control slipped, inky darkness seeping from my skin like warmth from ice. “She could die from this? And you didn't think to explain that to either of us?”

Lilith sat up straighter, her composure cracking marginally, revealing something softer underneath. “I did warn you both. I showed her the proper way, the safeguards needed. She chose to ignore them.” A tide of darkness passed over her face. “The threads are ancient arcana, Maverick. Having that knowledgeforced into a mortal mind...” She shook her head. “It's like trying to pour an ocean into a teacup.”

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