Chapter 7
The acrid smell of smoke clawed at my throat, dragging me back from the brink. My lungs burned, demanding air. My eyes, still heavy, fluttered open. The room was dark, filled with a thick, choking haze. I was back. Not in the freezing mountains, not buried under snow, but in a familiar room. My room. But something was wrong. The air was heavy, hot, and the crackling sound of fire was terrifyingly close.
Panic seized me. I tried to move, but my body, still weak and broken, screamed in protest. I heard footsteps outside the door, frantic and familiar. Collin.
"Collin!" I croaked, my voice raw and desperate. "Help me! The door's locked!" I pounded weakly on the wood, a futile gesture.
"Kira?" His voice was muffled, laced with a strange mix of confusion and irritation. "What are you doing? I'm trying to find the key!"
Then, Haylee's voice, shrill and whiny. "Collin-woo! My head hurts! It's too hot! Let's just go! I'm scared!"
A chilling realization washed over me. He wasn't trying to find the key. He was pretending. He was debating. And Haylee, the manipulative little demon, was pushing him towards desertion.
"Go, Collin! Leave her!" she wailed, her voice growing distant. "She's probably setting fire to everything again, she's crazy!"
My heart plummeted. No. Not again. He wouldn't. But the footsteps faded. Faster and faster. My blood ran cold as I heard a car engine roar to life, then recede into the night. He was gone. He had left me. Again. To burn.
"COLLIN!" I screamed, a raw, tormented sound that tore from my throat. But there was no answer. Only the roar of the fire, drawing closer, consuming everything. The smoke was thick now, burning my eyes, filling my lungs. I stumbled towards the window, my body shaking uncontrollably. The glass was hot to the touch.
Through the smoke, I saw it. A flash of pink. Haylee, being carried by Collin, bundled into the back of an ambulance. She was coughing, dramatically, but otherwise perfectly fine. He had saved her. He had abandoned me. Again.
A bitter, hollow laugh escaped my lips. He really wasn't coming back. He had made his choice. Always her. Never me.
The fire was licking at the edges of the room now, the heat unbearable. There was only one way out. I looked down, three stories below. It was a long drop, but it was better than burning alive. Better than dying at their hands. With a desperate surge of adrenaline, I climbed onto the windowsill. I regret loving you, Collin Brewer. I regret every single second. I closed my eyes, and jumped.
The fall was a blur of air and terror. I hit the ground hard, a sickening crunch, then blessed darkness.
Three days later, I woke up. The world was a kaleidoscope of pain and dazzling white light. The familiar scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils. I was in a hospital. Again. My body was a mass of aches, a fresh canvas of bruises and bandages. My legs felt like they' d been run over by a truck, then patched back together with string.
A familiar, irritating voice broke through the haze. "Oh, look! She's awake! What a tough old bird, aren't you, Kira-boo? Thought you'd finally kicked the bucket, but you just keep coming back!"
Haylee. She stood over me, her face glowing with a malicious glee, a small smirk playing on her lips. She wasn't an angel of mercy. She was the ghost of my past.
I sighed, a long, weary exhalation. I didn't have the energy to rage, to scream. I just wanted her to disappear. I turned my head away, feigning sleep, hoping she would leave me alone.
But Haylee wasn't one to be ignored. She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper. "Oh, are you ignoring me? You poor thing. All alone, still so broken. Such a pity." Suddenly, her hand clamped down on my wrist, forcing my fingers around her throat. "Look, Collin! She's trying to attack me again! She's trying to strangle me!" she shrieked, her voice escalating to a terrified wail. "She's completely insane!"
The door burst open. Collin. His eyes, wild with fury, immediately fixed on my hand at Haylee' s throat. He didn' t hesitate. He lunged, tearing my hand away, pushing me back against the pillows. My head snapped back, the fresh sutures protesting with a searing pain. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and my vision swam.
"Kira!" he roared, his voice thick with disgust. "What is wrong with you? Why are you always so violent? Master Feng was right! You're sick! You're a danger to yourself and to Haylee!"
Master Feng. The charlatan. The man who had demanded my "heart's blood" and sent me to the snowy peaks. A cold dread seeped into my bones.
"She's a witch, Collin! A jealous, evil witch! " Haylee sobbed, clinging to Collin. "Master Feng said her malevolent spirit needs to be cleansed! He said she burns with envy!"
Just then, Master Feng himself glided into the room, his eyes, usually so benign, now held a strange, knowing glint. He looked at me, then at Collin, his face a mask of solemn disapproval. "Mr. Brewer, I warned you. Her spirit is deeply troubled. Her inability to find the Snow Lotus, the fire... these are all manifestations of her inner darkness." He turned to me, his gaze chilling. "You tried to burn the house down, didn't you? To harm the innocent new life?"
My mouth opened, but no words came out. My throat was raw, my mind reeling. Burn the house down? They were pinning that on me too?
Haylee, ever the opportunist, pointed a trembling finger at me. "She even tried to kill me, Master! She was choking me!"
Master Feng nodded sagely. "Her negative energies are powerful, Mr. Brewer. She needs true purification. A full spiritual cleansing. I know a temple, high in the mountains, a seven-day ritual. It will drain her malevolence."
Collin looked at me, his eyes cold and distant. "Do whatever you need to, Master Feng. Just... make sure she's no longer a threat." He turned to Haylee, sweeping her into his arms. "Come, my love. Let's get you away from this negativity." As he walked past me, he paused, his gaze meeting mine. There was no pity, no remorse, only a cold, hard resolve. He left, holding Haylee close, leaving me to the mercy of the "Master."
I watched Collin's retreating back, his silhouette blurring in the haze of my pain. A strange, serene calm settled over me. He had chosen. He had abandoned me to a fate worse than death. But he had also given me precisely what I needed. An exit. A chance to disappear. A chance to be reborn.
Seven days, Collin, I thought, my eyes closing, a new strength blooming in my heart. Seven days, and then I will be truly gone. And you will never see me coming.
