Bonus Chapter B2
The Night of Fire
The village at the edge of the world. The day the hunger was born.
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Sofia – Morning.
Sofia woke to the smell of smoke.
Not the smoke of cooking fires—the smoke of burning. She sat up in bed, her small hands gripping the blanket, her heart pounding.
"Mama!"
Katerina was already at the window.
Her face was pale. Her hands were shaking.
"Stay here, Sofia. Don't move. Don't make a sound."
"What's happening?"
"The priests. They've come."
"What priests?"
"The ones from the stories. The ones who hurt people. The ones who carve."
"I'm scared."
"Good. Fear means you're alive."
Katerina kissed her forehead.
"I love you, little one. Remember that. No matter what happens. No matter what I become. I love you."
"Mama—"
"Stay here."
She left.
And Sofia hid under the bed.
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Katerina – The same morning.
The priests were on horseback.
Black horses, black saddles, black cloaks. Their faces were hidden behind iron masks. Their hands were covered in scars.
"Katerina, daughter of the midwife, mother of Sofia, wife of the dead."
"Who are you?"
"We are the Inquisition. We have come to cleanse this village of sin."
"There is no sin here. Only life. Only love. Only healing."
"Healing is sin. Healing is hunger. Healing is the work of the demon."
"There is no demon here."
"There is. And we have come to carve it out."
The first torch flew.
Then another.
Then another.
The huts caught fire. The fields caught fire. The people caught fire.
"Stop!" Katerina screamed.
"The hunger does not beg. The hunger takes."
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Sofia – The same time.
She heard the screaming.
Not just the grown-ups—the children. Her friends. The ones she had played with in the square, the ones who had shared their bread with her, the ones who had taught her to skip stones across the river.
"Mama," she whispered. "Mama, please come back."
The door burst open.
A priest stood in the doorway.
His mask was iron. His eyes were black. His hands were red.
"Sofia, daughter of the healer."
"Please—"
"Your mother has been chosen. She will become the hunter. She will find the goddess. She will destroy her. She will feed."
"I don't understand."
"You will. In time. When the hunger is carved. When the hunt is complete. When she has proven herself."
He grabbed her arm.
She screamed.
He dragged her into the fire.
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Katerina – The same time.
She saw them take Sofia.
"No—"
"She will be returned to you. When the hunger is carved. When the hunt is complete. When you have proven yourself."
"Please—"
"The hunger does not beg. The hunger takes."
They bound her hands.
They tied her to a post.
They brought out the knives.
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The carving – The same night.
The first cut was on her shoulder.
A symbol—a mouth, open and hungry.
Katerina screamed.
"The hunger does not scream. The hunger endures."
The second cut was on her breast.
A symbol—a tongue, extended and tasting.
She screamed again.
"The hunger does not feel. The hunger takes."
The third cut was on her stomach.
A symbol—a woman, thighs parted, wetness glistening.
She did not scream this time.
She had nothing left.
"Good," the priest said. "The hunger is waking. The hunger is growing. The hunger is becoming you."
They cut her thighs.
They cut her arms.
They cut her back.
They carved until her body was covered in symbols—holy words, ancient curses, the marks of the Inquisition.
"Now," the priest said, "you are ready. Ready to hunt. Ready to feed. Ready to destroy."
He cut the ropes.
She fell to the ground.
"Go. Find the goddess. Destroy her. And your daughter will be returned."
"Where is she?"
"Safe. For now. But she will not stay safe forever. The hunger does not wait. The hunger consumes."
Katerina stood.
Her body was on fire.
Her blood was on fire.
Her soul was on fire.
"I will find her," she said. "I will destroy her. And I will get my daughter back."
"Good. That's the hunger speaking. That's the hunger taken."
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Sofia – The same night.
She was in a cage.
Not a real cage—a room with bars on the windows, a lock on the door, a guard outside. She had been given bread and water. She had been given a blanket. She had not been given her mother.
"Mama," she whispered. "Mama, please come back."
The guard looked at her.
"She's not coming back. Not the way she was. She's something else now. Something hungry."
"I don't understand."
"You will. When you're older. When the hunger wakes in you. When you become what she made."
"I won't."
"You don't have a choice."
Sofia wept.
And somewhere, in the darkness, her mother walked away from the ashes of her village, the blood of her people, the memory of her daughter.
And the hunger grew.
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Katerina – The same night.
She walked for hours.
Her body was raw. Her hands were shaking. Her scars were bleeding.
"Sofia," she whispered. "Sofia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
The hunger stirred.
"Do not be sorry. Be hungry. Be angry. Be ready."
"I don't want this."
"You don't have a choice. The hunger is who you are now. The hunger is all you are."
"What if I fight it?"
"Then you die. And your daughter dies. And the village dies again. And nothing changes."
"What if I feed?"
"Then you live. And your daughter lives. And you find the goddess. And you destroy her. And you become free."
"Will I ever see Sofia again?"
"Yes. When the hunger is satisfied. When the hunt is complete. When you have proven yourself."
"I love her."
"The hunger does not love. The hunger takes. But you are not the hunger. Not yet. Not completely. You are still Katerina. The healer. The mother. The woman who loved."
"What if I forget?"
"Then I will remember. I am the hunger. I am the need. I am the thing that will never be satisfied. And I will keep you alive."
Katerina walked into the darkness.
The hunger walked with her.
And the woman she had been—the healer, the mother, the lover—faded into memory.
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Sofia – The same night.
She stopped crying.
There were no tears left.
"Mama," she said. "If you can hear me... I love you. I don't understand what's happening. But I love you. And I'm going to wait for you. Forever, if I have to."
The guard looked at her.
"She can't hear you. She's gone. She's not coming back."
"You're wrong."
"Am I?"
"Yes. Because she's my mother. And mothers always come back."
The guard said nothing.
Sofia closed her eyes.
And dreamed of a garden.
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End of Bonus Chapter B2