章節 19: Chapter 19: Blood and magic
Ethan's P.O.V
The air around me hummed with dark energy, the atmosphere thick with the scent of burning incense and ancient magic. Emily, her parents, and the other witches were meticulously arranging the ritual space, their hands steady as they prepared for something far worse than I could comprehend. They moved with purpose, their robes swirling around them like shadows in the flickering torchlight.
I was still immobilized, unable to move, my body stiff as if trapped in some invisible cage. Every attempt to summon power, to break free, was futile. They had me. And it didn't seem like there was anyone who could help.
I took a shallow breath, glancing toward Ava. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear. She was still bound, but at least she wasn't the one being thrown on an altar for sacrificial purposes. Alright I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't sound insensitive but come on, if anyone else were to be in my shoes they would sound a lot more hostile.
"Emily," I called, my voice rough. "You don't have to do this. You don't know what you're playing with. This thing you're doing is more dangerous than you know."
She turned, her lips curling into a cold smile. "Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing, Ethan." Her eyes glinted with the fire of conviction, but there was something darker beneath the surface. "This is bigger than any of us. This is destiny. I've been hiding all my life. I think it's time for a change. Let someone else hide from me."
I fought against my restraints, but the more I struggled, the more immobile I felt. They had trapped me in a way that no ordinary spell could explain.
"You're wasting your breath," Emily's dad called, his voice filled with smug amusement. "There's no stopping this now."
Hate to admit it but he's right. I'm doomed. I was told I was special, that my blood was special but so far, the only thing I've noticed that's special about me is the fact that I'm the best guinea pig for a murderous ritual. This wasn't my definition of being special but here we are...
The witches around us murmured, their voices joining in a low chant as they circled the altar. They began to pull at the strands of magic in the air, weaving them together like an intricate tapestry.
Suddenly, they lunged forward, dragging me toward the altar with brutal efficiency. I felt the cold stone of the altar against my back, a sense of dread settling into my bones. Ava's desperate gaze locked with mine, her lips trembling, unable to do anything as they tied me down with heavy ropes of magic.
"No!" she screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the rising incantation.
I struggled, trying to break free, but the witches held me in place, their magic locking me down with every movement I made. Emily stepped forward, placing the Heartstone on the stone slab, its glow pulsing in rhythm with the chant that was growing louder.
It felt like the earth was shaking beneath us, the power building, crashing down like a tidal wave.
And then, suddenly, a sharp, unfamiliar presence filled the air, freezing the witches in their tracks.
"Looks like we're just in time," a voice called out. It was Seraphina's, and I knew in that moment—just as much as I knew the feeling of my own heart—that help had arrived.
I tried to look toward the entrance, and sure enough, Seraphina and... my parents? Wow, this is shocking. Dad is standing next to a witch and the witch is still alive. They stepped into the clearing, their eyes glowing in the dim light. Behind them, vampires moved like shadows, each one with a look of cold determination on their faces. Vampires that I've never seen before in my life were here, to save me, relatives of mine, I guess.
Emily's parents narrowed their eyes, recognizing the visitors instantly. "Vampires," Emily hissed, stepping back, her fingers still holding the Heartstone steady above the altar.
"This is none of your concern," Emily's mother sneered at Seraphina. "Stay out of this."
Seraphina's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "Your daughter here tricked me and used me to get to the guardian. It's actually my concern now."
"What can I say?" Emily retorted back. "The student has surpassed the master."
"Oh this is personal now."
Seraphina lunged for Emily and the other witches while the others behind her went with her to support her. The vampires and witches clashed with a deafening roar, magic crackling like thunder in the night. Seraphina charged first, her staff flickering with white-hot energy as she launched a barrage of spells. Each one struck like a bolt of lightning, slamming into the witches who scrambled to shield themselves.
Emily's mother swiped a hand through the air, sending a massive gust of wind at Seraphina, but Seraphina ducked and rolled, moving too fast for the spell to land.
Meanwhile, Ethan's father locked eyes with one of the vampires who had stepped forward. "You should've stayed out of this," he growled, and with a flash of speed, he knocked the vampire to the ground.
The other vampires fought back fiercely, but the witches were prepared for this. Or so they thought. Emily's father conjured a shield of black energy to block a vampire's attack, but a second vampire slipped behind him and tore through his defenses, sinking their fangs deep into his neck. The witch screeched in pain, collapsing to the ground.
One of the witches lunged at Seraphina, but she was met with a ferocious swipe of the staff, sending her flying through the air with a scream.
"I warned you," Seraphina muttered under her breath, eyes flashing as she spun on her heels, sending another wave of magic crashing into the remaining witches. "This is personal now."
In moments, the fight was over. The witches lay unconscious or barely moving on the ground, their magic flickering and failing.
"We can eat them, right?"
"What? No!" Seraphina said. "I thought you guys started using alternative means to survive. What's with the sudden interest in witch's blood?"
Seraphina's gaze snapped toward Emily, who had not stopped the incantation, her focus unwavering. With a scream of rage, Seraphina dashed forward, faster than any human could process, and tackled Emily to the ground.
The Heartstone's glow dimmed for a brief moment, but then, inexplicably, it lifted again, hovering above the altar, its light pulsating faster, as if refusing to die.
"No!" Seraphina shouted, struggling to keep Emily restrained.
Emily's lips twisted into a triumphant smirk. "Don't want to be the bearer of bad news, Seraphina," she gasped between breaths, her body wriggling beneath the pressure, "but there's absolutely nothing you can do. It's done. I win. The heartstone knows who summoned it. The moment it releases its power into me... well if I was you, I'd start running."
Seraphina froze. The Heartstone continued to pulse, its magic far beyond anything Seraphina had expected.
And as Emily's cold words rang out, a terrifying realization settled in—this ritual had already gone too far. It was far from over, and the true nightmare was just beginning.
章節 20: Chapter 20: Blood and Fangs
The air around me thickened with an overwhelming pressure, the remnants of the ritual's dark magic swirling like a violent storm. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I fought to comprehend what was unfolding before me. The Heartstone hovered above the altar, its unnatural glow pulsing with a hunger that felt almost alive, waiting for the final sacrifice.
I had been freed from the altar, but my limbs felt heavy, my thoughts tangled in the chaos of what was about to happen. Emily had already made her move.
Seraphina, still standing beside me, watched the scene unfold, her expression hardening with the weight of the moment.
"You need to sacrifice a life to make the Heartstone work," Seraphina said, her voice flat, but the finality in her words echoed like a death knell. "Now that Ethan's off the altar, you've got no one left to sacrifice, unless you're a fan of suicide."
Emily stood across from us, her arms raised to the sky, her body poised in a stance that radiated power. She seemed to relish every moment of this.
"Ethan's blood has already activated the Heartstone," Emily said, her voice smooth and cold, laced with amusement. "Now, any blood will complete the ritual."
Any blood? What could be going on in that crazy head of hers?
Before I could react, Emily spoke a dark incantation, and the air around us exploded into a whirlwind of raw magic. The ground shook as a violent gust of wind ripped through the clearing, sending us all sprawling backward. My body slammed into the cold stone floor, winded and stunned, as the magic around us pressed in, thick and unyielding. I tried to rise, but the oppressive force of the storm kept me pinned, as if the very air had turned against me.
I was struggling to move, but the wind felt like it was solidifying around me, holding me in place. I couldn't break free.
Emily didn't even look at me. Her gaze was fixed on my mother.
Without warning, Emily's hand snapped forward, and the wind obeyed her command, lifting my mother into the air. Her body dangled, suspended just a few inches from Emily's outstretched hand. She was utterly helpless.
I reached out, my fingers grasping at the air, but I was powerless to stop her.
"Please!" I shouted, the words bursting from my chest in desperation. "Take me instead! Just spare her, Emily! I'll do anything—just don't do this!"
But Emily's smile didn't falter. She looked at me with that same cold, calculating expression, her eyes glittering with malicious amusement. "I have to do what I have to do, Ethan," she replied, her voice as emotionless as her gaze. "This is how it has to be. Don't beat yourself up. There was nothing you could do. This was always going to happen."
I felt time slow down as the horror of what was about to happen sank in. I could do nothing. Nothing.
Then, everything went still—unnaturally still—as if the world itself was holding its breath. Emily raised her other hand, and in an instant, a stake made of pure, dark energy materialized. It shimmered with ominous power, the air around it crackling with malevolence.
She brought it close to my mother's chest, and I could only watch in agonizing silence as the stake plunged through her heart. The blood spread out in a horrifying spray, staining her clothing, staining the earth beneath her. My mother's eyes widened in shock, the light in them fading with the brutal finality of the blow.
"No!" I screamed, my voice torn and raw, the sound swallowed by the wind and the violence of the moment.
But there was nothing I could do.
Emily released the stake, letting it vanish into the air like a fading dream. My mother's body dropped to the ground, lifeless and cold. The wind stilled, leaving a dead silence in its wake.
"I'm sorry, Ethan," Emily said, her voice light as though she were speaking about something trivial. "But someone had to die." The words echoed in my mind, mocking me, stabbing deeper than any blade ever could.
My world shattered in that moment. She killed her. She killed my mother.
Every ounce of rage, grief, and helplessness that I'd been holding back exploded in a tidal wave of fury. The Heartstone's light flickered with the same malicious hunger that had consumed it from the start, and I could feel the darkness closing in, tightening its grip on everything I loved.
With a growl, I pushed against the magic, fighting against the wind that still threatened to pin me down. I rose to my feet, muscles trembling with the force of my rage.
"There's nothing stopping more than one person from dying tonight. I think there's still space for you in hell," I spat, my words thick with fury.
Without thinking, I lunged at her. I didn't care that the wind had been a barrier before. The magic no longer held me in place—I was unstoppable. I was going to make her pay.
Emily's smile faltered for a brief moment, her eyes flickering with something that might have been fear, might have been something worse. But it was too late. My hands were already around her throat, squeezing with all the rage and heartbreak I could muster.
"I'll make you pay for what you did," I growled, my grip tightening.
But before I could find any satisfaction in it, a crackling force hit me square in the chest, throwing me off her and slamming me into the ground with bone-jarring force.
I gasped for breath, disoriented, trying to focus. But Emily stood over me, her hands still glowing with magic, her face flushed with a mix of anger and amusement.
"You think you can defeat me?" she sneered, wiping the blood from her lips. "You think you can stop me? You're all fangs and claws. There's no difference between you and my pet cat. Better walk away before I send you to the same place I sent your mother."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to rise, my vision blurred with fury and disbelief. She had taken everything from me.
Seraphina stepped forward, her gaze flickering between us. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was sharp. "You've done enough, Ethan. We need to end this now—before it gets worse."
But Emily only laughed. It was the kind of laugh that sent a chill down my spine.
"Oh, it's already too late," she said, her voice low and taunting. "It's over. I've already won."
I felt the weight of her words like a shackle around my soul. This wasn't just a battle anymore. It was a war. And I was losing. If this was what losing felt like then I think I finally understand why no one ever want to feel like this.
And then there was a loud bang. The whirlwind that was throwing all of us all over the place suddenly stopped. The heartstone had finally been activated because of the sacrifice but it was no longer listening to Emily.
It was listening to me.
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