CHAPTER FOUR — THE REVENANT
The thing crawling out of the locker didn't move like a person.
It dragged itself slowly, deliberately… as if it could smell fear.
And it smelled hers.
Raya staggered backward. "What do I do—?"
"Stay behind me," he said sharply.
The hallway lights flickered again, and for a split second, the Revenant's shape became clearer.
A twisted outline of a human.
Hollow eyes.
Shadow dripping from its bones.
Its voice seeped out, low and broken:
"Found… you…"
Raya's mark burned like fire.
She clutched her throat, gasping. "Make it stop—please—"
"It's reacting to you," he said. "Revenants feed on marked energy."
Her knees buckled. "Feed?"
"You're drawing it in."
The Revenant lunged.
The boy grabbed Raya's wrist—cold fingers, strong grip—and pulled her behind him with impossible speed.
His other hand lifted, and the shadows around them bent, as if obeying him.
Raya's eyes widened.
"You're controlling—"
The shadows slammed into the Revenant, hurling it backwards.
But only for a moment.
The creature rose again, screaming like metal scraping metal.
The boy hissed under his breath. "Damn it. It's stronger than I thought."
Raya blinked rapidly. "Then let's run!"
"We can't outrun a Revenant."
"Then what do we do?!"
The boy looked back at her.
Then at her glowing mark.
"Use your mark."
"What?! I don't—I don't know how!"
"You will."
"I CAN'T—"
The Revenant launched forward, and the boy made his decision in one breathless second.
He grabbed both sides of her face and forced her gaze to meet his.
"Raya," he whispered, voice fierce and trembling,
"Your mark wakes when you're terrified. So be terrified."
The creature shrieked.
Her mark exploded with light.
White. Red. Violent.
The Revenant shriveled instantly—like it was dissolving into ashes—and with a scream that cracked the air, it vanished.
Gone.
Silence swallowed the hallway.
Raya collapsed against the wall, shaking uncontrollably.
The boy watched her, eyes soft for the first time.
"You're stronger than you think."