CHAPTER 14
The inside of the mansion was a confusing maze of dark shadows and sudden death.
Kawin ran through the dark halls, dodging fallen chandeliers and ripped velvet curtains.
The loud sounds of distant explosions and the clash of metal on marble echoed from the edges of the property.
Sparks flew across the shattered floor tiles like tiny, bright fireflies of war.
Tawan's voice, steady but increasingly strained, crackled through Kawin's earpiece like a lifeline, keeping him connected.
"New traps! Inthorn's put pressure plates in the main stairwell! Get to the upper floors-now!"
Kawin didn't hesitate. He leaped over a grand piano, its dark wood shining faintly under the flickering emergency lights, and raced up the service stairs two steps at a time.
His lungs burned. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest. But he didn't slow down.
He couldn't. There was only one reason he had come here-to get his brother out alive.
He rounded the final corner, his weapon raised-and there he was.
Noi.
Curled in the cramped hidden passage behind the heavy dresser, knees pulled up to his chest, his small body trembling.
His cheeks were streaked with tears. His eyes were wide, glassy, and empty, looking like they held nothing.
Bunbun was clutched tightly against his chest like a shield.
There were no signs of physical injury-but the deep emotional pain was clear in every fragile line of his posture, in every trembling breath.
"Noi," Kawin whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, unable to believe he had found him.
He dropped to his knees and reached out.
Noi flinched hard, shrinking even further back into the wall, his eyes unfocused, darting around nervously. He didn't speak. He didn't scream. He just sat there, silent, shaking, completely withdrawn.
Kawin's hands hovered for a moment before he gently gripped his brother's shoulders, trying to bring him back to reality. "Noi. Look at me. It's me, Kawin. You're safe. We have to go, now. He's coming back for you. They're all coming. Do you understand?"
Noi blinked. A flicker of recognition appeared in his eyes, a tiny spark. His lips parted, and a shallow breath escaped him. He gave a small, shaky nod, a sign that he understood.
That was all Kawin needed.
He pulled his brother out of the hidden space, clutching him close, holding him tightly.
There was no time to waste. Explosions shook the walls around them, casting long, ghostly shadows across the fancy corridors.
Dust fell like snow as the old structure of the mansion groaned under the attack, the sounds of distant battle echoing closer.
"This way!" Thirawat's voice rang out from the far end of the hall, immediately followed by the sharp sound of gunfire.
He provided cover, leaning heavily on one leg as blood soaked through the bandage on his thigh, clearly injured but still fighting.
Kawin shielded Noi with his own body as they ran, weaving through shattered mirrors and splintered furniture.
They jumped over broken beams, ducked under exposed pipes, and scrambled over piles of debris like animals being hunted, desperate to escape.
A sudden, powerful blast from outside shook the corridor-glass shattered above them as a large chandelier came crashing down.
Kawin twisted in mid-run, wrapping his body over Noi's to protect him from the raining glass shards.
The glass cut into his jacket, but he didn't stop, his only thought to keep Noi safe.
"Extraction point Alpha! Fifty seconds!" Tawan's voice now screamed urgently in his ear, the countdown relentless.
The hallway opened to the gardens-once perfect and symmetrical, now a chaotic battlefield.
Fire raged through some of the hedges, setting parts of the garden ablaze.
Smoke curled like ghostly fingers into the night sky.
The mansion stood behind them, its lights now flickering back on in parts, but untouched by the fires consuming the garden perimeter.
From the thick smoke, a matte-black van emerged-its engine growling, its back door open.
"Go! GO!" Tawan was already leaning out from the driver's side, his rifle aimed and firing short bursts into the approaching darkness, covering their escape.
Kawin shoved Noi into the vehicle, followed by Thirawat, who stumbled in, bleeding but alive, collapsing onto the seat.
Kawin slammed the door shut just as bullets sparked across the rear panel.
Tawan stomped on the gas pedal. The tires spun, spitting gravel and flame as they sped away from the immediate danger of the Thanawanich estate.
In the back seat, Noi slumped against Kawin's chest, still clutching Bunbun. His body trembled, silent sobs shaking his small frame, even without sound. Kawin held him tightly, his hand shaking as it gently ran through Noi's hair, a comforting gesture.
They had him. They had him back.
But one look into Noi's vacant eyes was enough to know-the real nightmare had only just begun.
_____
The estate stood.
Inthorn stood on the marble balcony of his study, unmoving, as the sounds of battle raged around the edges of his property.
While fires burned in the gardens and explosions echoed, the main mansion itself, his true fortress, remained intact, a testament to its strong defenses.
The snarls of his attack hounds had fallen silent, called back.
Gunfire echoed from every corridor as his forces pushed back the invaders.
His home, built as an unbreakable fortress, had held.
A guard, his face streaked with soot and eyes wide with fear, burst into the room.
"They've broken through the south wall, Master! But our forces are pushing them back!"
Inthorn didn't turn to look. Instead, he spoke to Dae with cold finality.
"Initiate Phase Omega. Fall back to Sector Seven. Activate the self-destruct sequence for the data servers. Move the high-value assets. And tell the butler to take everything important-including the private files. All of them."
Dae gave a quick nod and disappeared without a word, already carrying out the complex orders.
Inthorn remained a moment longer, watching the distant fires in the gardens, the chaos slowly receding as his forces regained control.
The intense heat from the nearby explosions still reached him.
He did not blink. He did not show any sorrow for the destruction of his grounds.
Only one thought remained, pounding like war drums in his chest:
Noi.
The bunker beneath a remote warehouse was simple-bare concrete, steel, and silence. It had been built for war. And now, it was serving its purpose as a fallback command center.
Inthorn stood in the central command room, surrounded by flickering monitors and maps.
"Where is he?" he asked, his voice sharp as a blade, demanding an answer. "Where is my Noi?"
The head maid, bloody and trembling from the earlier chaos, bowed low, her voice full of fear.
"Master... I-I searched everywhere. His room... the passage... he's gone. We couldn't find him. He must have been taken during the initial attack."
Silence.
A beat. Then another.
Inthorn's eyes-already black-became like empty holes, devoid of light. His lips twitched into a smile. Not joy. Not madness. Something much colder, something terrifyingly empty.
He began to laugh.
It started low, then grew into something guttural, monstrous. His voice echoed through the steel walls like a terrible curse, filling the bunker with his chilling amusement.
Then he stopped. All at once. His teeth were bared. His breath was short, coming in sharp gasps.
"You think you can escape me, my Noi?" he whispered, the words a chilling promise. "Mine."
He stepped toward the tactical map. Pins, notes, blood-red marks were spread across Thanawanich safehouses, showing his vast reach. His hand moved slowly across the map, dragging a fingertip like a blade cutting through flesh, tracing a path of revenge.
"Pramote. Wimondevi. Sarut. Suthida. Thanaboon. Kannika," he recited, each name spoken with deep hatred, a list of those who had wronged him. "You took Mama. You dared to touch what's mine."
His voice was a solemn vow, deadly serious.
"I will find you all. And I will feed on your bones."
"It wasn't Thanawanich who took him. It was Kawin, his brother." Dae spoke.
_____
The safehouse was a modest apartment hidden in an old building on the eastern edge of the city. The curtains remained closed, keeping out the morning light. The lights stayed off, keeping them hidden.
Noi was curled on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, silent.
Still gripping Bunbun. Still trembling, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Thirawat sat at the table, patching his leg with gauze and tape, wincing from the pain.
He didn't speak. No one had the words to say, the events of the night too fresh and horrifying.
Kawin stood near the window, his jaw clenched, his eyes fixed on the door as if he expected it to be kicked open at any moment, ready for another fight. He felt the rush of adrenaline finally fading-his muscles felt heavy, his breath tight.
But it wasn't over.
Noi had escaped Inthorn's cage-but only just. And he wasn't unharmed. The terror was deeply ingrained in him, the kind that wouldn't be healed by time or comforting words. They had to keep moving.
Kawin moved to the coffee table and pulled out the files he had found-scattered, partially burned, mostly fragments. Just hints of the darkness. Rituals. Names. Birth records. Not enough for full answers-just enough to feel the chilling reality of what they were up against.
"They're not just criminals," Kawin muttered, half to himself, the realization dawning on him. "This is something older. Something rotten."
Thirawat looked up, his brow furrowed with concern. "And Noi?"
Kawin glanced at his brother-who stared blankly ahead, his eyes empty, lost in his own trauma.
"We got him out," Kawin said, his voice low, a mix of triumph and despair. "But he's not free. Not yet."
Because they all knew the truth:
Inthorn would come.
And the real war was only beginning.