That night, the villa felt heavier than stone. Shadows clung to corners. The silence of the countryside pressed like a blanket too thick to breathe under.
Liz lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Rica sat curled on the sofa with her knees drawn to her chest. Amos tried to scroll his phone, but the signal was weak, his screen flickering. Gems sat near the window, watching the cypresses sway.
Ry finally slapped his hands together.
"Enough of this funereal vibe. We're young, we're in Italy, and we're sitting here like it's a morgue. Let's drink."
"You're kidding," Gems muttered. "After what we just saw?"
"That's exactly why," Ry countered. "Look, we either sit here drowning in fear, or we drown in wine. One of those options is a hell of a lot more fun."
Amos cheered weakly. "I second that."
Soon, bottles appeared on the table - wine, beer, even a little whiskey Ry had smuggled from duty free. They poured, they clinked glasses, they forced laughter until it almost sounded real.
---
2. The Night Unravels
Hours blurred with drink.
Liz giggled too loud at Amos' dumb jokes. Rica leaned heavily against Ry, cheeks flushed. Even Gems, though reluctant, sipped from her glass.
Marky stayed quieter, stealing glances at her again - not the way Ry's hand roamed Rica's back, not the way Amos half-played with Liz's hair, but simply watching Gems' focus, her quiet dignity.
Meanwhile, Au and Bob slipped to the balcony. The night air was cool, the cypress shadows long.
But Bob's attention wasn't on Au. His eyes lingered on the villa's iron gate, where a figure moved.
A woman.
Tall. Slender. Draped in deep indigo fabric that shimmered like water. Her skin warm bronze, her hair black and silken. Her eyes caught the moonlight, glinting almost unnaturally.
"Beautiful..." Bob whispered.
"Excuse me?" Au frowned.
But Bob was already stepping down the stairs.
---
The Woman
She introduced herself softly. Her accent was lilting, musical.
"My name is Anaya."
Her gaze seemed to pin Bob in place, sharp yet inviting. The others were too drunk or distracted to notice as Bob leaned closer, caught in her orbit.
They vanished into the night.
No one asked until hours later when Au, looking for him, found him returning - hair disheveled, shirt untucked, smelling faintly of sandalwood and smoke.
Her heart dropped.
"You didn't," she whispered.
Bob's face told her everything.
The wine in her veins turned to ice. She shoved him back, tears burning. "We came here together, Bob! You swore-"
He reached for her. "Au, listen, I-"
"No. Don't touch me."
Her voice cracked but held steel. "We're done."
---
4The Dark Secret
The next morning, Au's fury still burned. She sat apart from him at breakfast, eyes swollen, refusing to speak.
But Alessandro, who had left before dawn, returned pale and tense. He pulled Gems aside.
"That woman," he said. "Tall, dressed in indigo?"
Gems' chest tightened. "You... saw her?"
Alessandro's eyes darkened. "Locals call her La Signora Strada. The Lady of the Road. A spirit - some say a demon - who appears to travelers. She offers beauty, warmth, love... but those who lie with her..." His jaw clenched. "They do not live long."
Gems' blood ran cold.
Bob entered then, trying to force normalcy. His smile was brittle. "Morning. Don't worry, I'm still here, right?"
But Gems noticed his hands trembling. His skin already looked too pale.
And Au - though heartbroken, though betrayed - still whispered to Gems when no one was listening:
"He promised my family he'd look after me. I don't want him here. But I can't make him leave."
Gems glanced at Bob. He was staring out the window, where the Appian Way stretched into silence. His lips moved faintly, as if whispering to someone only he could see.
The road had claimed its first thread.
Chapter 8 - The Lady Joins the Walk
---
1. Morning Tension
The next day dawned with pale gray light, the kind that washed color out of everything. The villa buzzed with hangover headaches and awkward silences.
Gems sat at the long wooden table, nibbling bread, when the front gate creaked open.
Bob strolled in. Behind him, tall and luminous as moonlight in human skin, walked her.
Anaya.
Dressed in flowing white linen, hair loose, eyes shining. She smiled at the group as though she'd always been part of it.
"Good morning," she said softly. Her voice rippled like silk.
Au's chair scraped the floor as she stood, fury flaring. "You-"
Bob cut in, sharp. "She's coming with us."
"What?" Rica gasped.
"Don't be ridiculous," Au snapped. "This isn't a vacation, Bob. She's not part of our group."
"She is now," Bob said, jaw tight. "She knows the area, she speaks Italian, she can help." His hand brushed Anaya's wrist. "I trust her."
Au's eyes filled with tears. "You trust her? After one night?"
Anaya tilted her head, serene. "I don't want to cause trouble. If you'd rather I leave..."
Her eyes swept the table, catching each of them in turn. Even Liz, scowling, faltered under that gaze.
Only Alessandro did not look at her. His eyes fixed instead on the ground, lips moving in a silent prayer.
---
2. Back on the Road
They set out later than planned. The van hummed along cobblestone streets until the Appian Way stretched before them again. The cypresses swayed like black blades, the mausoleums loomed.
Alessandro's hands gripped the steering wheel too tight. When they stopped, he muttered to Gems in low Italian:
"She should not be here. She belongs to the road, not to us."
Gems' stomach knotted. "Then tell them."
He shook his head. "They will not believe until it is too late."
As the group began their walk, Gems noticed Anaya at the edge of her vision. She didn't step across the stones - she seemed to glide, as though the earth carried her forward.
Rica whispered to Ry, "She's beautiful... but doesn't she feel... strange to you?"
Ry smirked, though unease flickered in his eyes. "Strange or not, Bob's finally smiling. That's something."
---
37he Shadows Deepen
The further they walked, the quieter the world became. No birds. No wind. Only the crunch of their shoes on stone.
Liz lifted her camera and froze. "Uh... does anyone else see that?"
In the distance, shadows flickered - tall shapes crossing the road, like a line of soldiers marching. Helmets glinting faintly, spears upright.
But when she lowered her camera, the road was empty.
Amos snorted nervously. "Marching ghosts. Cool."
Nobody laughed.
Behind them, Anaya's soft voice floated: "The dead never leave this road. They wait for those who can hear them."
Gems turned sharply. "How do you know that?"
Anaya smiled faintly. "I listen."
---
Bob's Defiance
They stopped at a broken arch for water.
Au cornered Bob. "You don't even see it, do you? She isn't real. She's feeding on you, Bob. Look at yourself - you're pale, you're shaking-"
Bob pulled away, fury flashing. "You're just jealous. You dumped me, remember? Anaya cares about me."
"Cares?" Au's voice cracked. "She's going to destroy you."
Anaya appeared at his side like mist forming. She laid a delicate hand on Bob's chest. "Don't listen to anger, Robert. The road brought me here to walk with you."
Her words slid like honey, but Gems felt her skin crawl.
Marky leaned closer to Gems, whispering: "She's wrong. Every instinct in me says she's wrong."
Gems nodded slowly. "We watch her. We don't let her out of our sight."
---
The Omen at Sunset
By the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, the road glowed gold. Long shadows stretched like black rivers over the stones.
They reached another tomb, larger than the rest. Alessandro tried to steer them past quickly, but Anaya stopped.
"This is where they used to crucify thieves and rebels," she said softly. Her eyes glistened with something between joy and hunger. "Blood soaks these stones deeper than you can imagine."
The air thickened. Rica shivered violently. Liz clutched Amos' hand.
And then they all heard it - a low moan, as though a hundred throats whispered from the earth at once.
"Ad mortem... ad mortem..."
To death.
The group froze, eyes wide.
Only Anaya smiled.