Episode Five | The Woman At The Door | The Occult’s Bride | Chosen Against My Will | Short Mystery Story 

The woman’s eyes darted left and right as though unseen figures pursued her. Her hair was tangled, her skin pale as moonlight, and her voice cracked with desperation:

“Please… let me in. They know I came to you. They’ll kill me if you leave me out here.”

Every instinct in me screamed to slam the door shut. But something else—compassion, or perhaps the Spirit—urged me to listen.

I whispered a Psalm beneath my breath, steadying my shaking hands:

> “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me on high from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from the bloodthirsty men.” (Psalm 59:1–2)

I opened the door wider. “Come quickly.”

She stumbled inside, collapsing onto the floor. Her chest heaved as if she had been running for miles.

“Water,” she rasped. “Please…”

I fetched her a cup, my hands trembling so badly I nearly spilled it. She drank greedily, then lifted her face to mine.

Her eyes—dark, haunted, but piercing—locked onto me.

“You’re the one,” she whispered. “The bride.”

A Messenger or a Trap?

I froze. “What do you know about me?”

Her lips trembled. “I was one of them. I wore their cloak. I spoke their vows. But I escaped… barely. They marked me for death, but I heard… I heard whispers that the Bride of Flame had been chosen. And now… here you are.”

My stomach twisted. “Why did you come to me?”

“Because I know what they want.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a frantic hiss. “It’s not just you. It’s not just your child. It’s the covenant itself. They believe if they bind you in fire, they will unlock the ancient gates. The very foundations of creation will shift.”

Her words chilled me to the bone. I remembered the stranger’s warning: “The covenant they speak of is ancient, older than their order.”

The Woman’s Warning

She grabbed my hands suddenly, her grip ice-cold. “Listen to me. They will try again, and next time… they will not come in cloaks. They will come as light. They will come as truth. And if you believe them—”

Her voice broke. She began to weep, shaking uncontrollably. “If you believe them, you’ll lose everything.”

I whispered the words of Yeshua, as much for myself as for her:

> “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

Her sobbing quieted. She looked up, and for a fleeting moment, relief softened her face—as though the verse itself brought her peace.

The Mark Revealed

But then her sleeve slipped back.

My breath caught.

On her arm, burned into her flesh, was a symbol—an eye surrounded by flames. It pulsed faintly, alive, as though it still carried power.

I recoiled instinctively. “What is that?”

Her face twisted in anguish. “The mark of the covenant. I was branded when I took the vows. They say once you bear it, you belong to them forever.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “But I don’t want to belong to them anymore. I want freedom.”

I pressed a hand over my mouth, fighting dread. Could she be trusted? Or was she a spy, sent to draw me deeper into the snare?

The Unseen Presence

Suddenly, the candles flickered violently. A shadow stretched across the wall—long, twisted, monstrous.

The woman screamed, clutching her marked arm. “They found me!”

Her body convulsed as though invisible chains wrapped around her, pulling tight. She cried out in agony.

I shouted into the air, desperate:

> “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!” (Zechariah 3:2)

The shadow recoiled with a hiss, retreating into the corners of the room. But the woman collapsed, trembling violently.

She looked up at me with wild, desperate eyes. “It’s not me they want tonight… it’s you.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper that chilled me deeper than any scream:

“They’re already inside.”

The walls groaned. The floor beneath me shook.

And from the darkness of the hallway behind me, footsteps began to echo—slow, steady, deliberate.

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🔥 End of Episode Five: The Woman at the Door

Episode Six | The Footsteps in the Dark, where the intruders inside are revealed, and we learn whether the woman is truly an ally—or part of their deception?