Chapter 1: The Blood Sky Warning
At Grimoire Academy, nightfall was not freedom. As the sun slipped below the horizon, prefects and wardens swept through the halls, ordering every student into their rooms. Lock the doors. Do not come out until sunrise. The rule was absolute, and punishment for breaking it was whispered to be severe.
Samantha, new to the school and still unsettled by its strange traditions, found the order absurd. But she didn’t dare argue. On her very first day she had noticed a faded carving etched into her doorframe: Beware the Blood Sky. The warning clung to her mind like a curse she couldn’t shake.
That evening, laughter with friends in the café kept her longer than it should have. Realizing the hour too late, panic jolted through her. She rushed into the corridor, her shoes echoing sharply against the stone floor—only to nearly collide with James.
“Careful!” he hissed, steadying her.
Relief eased her chest, but unease quickly returned. Every other door was locked, lanterns flickered low, and the hallway was eerily silent. They were the only two left outside.
James frowned. “We’re late… if the warden finds us—”
From the far end of the hall came a sound.
Tap… tap… tap…
They froze. James swallowed. “That must be a teacher, right?” he whispered.
Samantha shook her head, her face pale in the dim light. Rumors passed between students said footsteps echoed the halls after curfew—but no one ever saw who they belonged to. Some claimed it was wardens on patrol. Others swore it wasn’t human at all.
The taps grew quicker, sharper, as though whatever it was had broken into a run. Their pulses thundered in answer.
“They’ll catch us,” James muttered, panic edging his voice. “We’ll be thrown out—or worse.”
They spun, searching for a hiding spot. Every handle they grabbed rattled uselessly. Then, without warning, one door creaked open on its own.
The air turned frigid. Their breath fogged in the gloom as the door swung wider, exhaling a metallic tang that stung their noses. It slammed shut—though no hand had touched it. The tapping became pounding, shaking the floorboards.
Samantha clutched the silver locket at her throat, an heirloom passed down through generations—the only thing anchoring her against the terror pressing in.
Then it came. A guttural whisper, dragging her name through the cold. Saaamantha…
Her body stiffened. From the corner of her eye she caught movement—something lurching forward, horns jagged as roots, teeth glinting, eyes burning red with hunger.
“Run!” she gasped, seizing James’s hand.
“What’s happening?” he demanded, stumbling beside her as she pulled him toward the dormitory doors.
She didn’t answer, only tightened her grip. Behind them came a reflection in the glass panes—a monstrous silhouette: tall, horned, coal-black eyes, fangs bared in a grin far too wide for a human face.
The dorm door rattled under Samantha’s grip. Locked.
Panic clawed at their throats. They turned and bolted for the stairs. Leaves rustled though no windows were open, shadows brushing against them as if unseen hands reached to drag them down.
On the second floor, one door stood slightly ajar.
“Quick!” James hissed.
They hurled themselves through—
and froze.
The world had changed.
They now stood on the porch of a colossal house, its walls looming beneath a jungle sky bleeding black and crimson. The air lay heavy, metallic, thick with dread. All around them, dwellings drifted through the mist—some hovering on rail-less staircases that led to doors suspended in the air, some floating with no frames to anchor them.
Other doors jutted from twisted tree trunks, hovered atop pond surfaces, or stood alone in the earth as if ripped from reality itself. Lanterns glowed faintly, casting pale halos over slick vines and shadows that writhed like living things.
A chorus of distant screams and howls threaded through the trees, each one swallowed by an unnatural silence that pressed hard against their chests.
Samantha’s breath hitched. James grabbed her arm, his eyes wide and frantic. For a heartbeat, they could only stare, stunned by disbelief.
Then it came—the low growl. The same one they had fled.
It rumbled behind them, closer now. Their paralysis broke. They locked eyes—no words needed. Every nerve ablaze, they turned and sprinted toward the nearest door.
Each step pulled them deeper into a realm that should never have existed.
