Chapter 5
863words
The world plunged into absolute darkness as something cold enveloped her, her vision swimming with vertigo.
She crashed onto a soft surface.
Familiar ceiling. Her apartment.
"Urgh..."
Cathy rolled to the edge of her bed and retched violently.
"My apologies." Alaric stood nearby, looking uncomfortable. "I forgot humans react this way to shadow travel."
"Did you forget or never consider it?" Cathy raised her head weakly. "What the hell was that?"
"Shadow transmission," Alaric explained. "Our most efficient escape method."
"Next time..." Cathy wiped her mouth, "a little warning would be nice."
"I'll remember that."
Cathy sat up, fighting waves of nausea.
"So we just bailed?" she asked. "What about Seraphina and Claude..."
"Confrontation in public would create greater complications," Alaric said. "Besides..."
He hesitated.
"I owe you a proper explanation."
Cathy studied his face.
"About the contract?"
"Yes." Alaric inhaled deeply and moved to the window. "What Seraphina said was partially true. By accepting the money, you did enter into a certain... arrangement."
Cathy's heart plummeted.
"So I'm basically your slave now?"
"No, you're my partner." Alaric turned to face her. "What I told you was also true. I genuinely didn't anticipate that modern humans had grown too fragile to withstand even the simplest vampiric contract. I didn't want you suffering for my miscalculation, so I offered the blood exchange. I withheld this information because I feared you wouldn't believe my intentions."
Cathy nodded slowly. "So what's the difference between 'partner' and 'slave'?"
"Slaves have no choice," Alaric said gravely. "You do."
Cathy stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"The blood covenant creates a connection," Alaric explained. "But as I mentioned before, this connection is bidirectional. I sense your condition; you sense mine. I can provide energy through our bond, but you can also... sever it. Seraphina deliberately misled you on this point. You'll be weakened if you break our bond, but you won't die."
"Sever it?"
"Yes." Alaric nodded solemnly. "If you truly wish to dissolve our covenant, I can assist you. Keep the money—I won't reclaim it."
Cathy fell silent.
"Why?" she finally asked. "Why would you do that?"
"Because..." Alaric turned away, "I needed your help and thought payment was fair, but I never anticipated you couldn't withstand the energy transfer. I exchanged blood to save you, binding myself to you in the process. I didn't realize... this would make you feel trapped."
His voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"It's been 328 years since I last truly interacted with humans. I've forgotten how to... communicate properly."
Cathy studied his rigid back.
The usually imposing vampire now resembled a child caught in wrongdoing.
She surprised herself by laughing.
"You know what?" she said. "Right now, you seem almost human."
Alaric turned, genuine confusion in his eyes.
"Pardon?"
"I mean," Cathy stood and moved to face him, "before, you were just some supernatural benefactor, but now..."
She extended her hand. "Now you're my friend."
Alaric stared at her outstretched hand, momentarily frozen.
Then he clasped it firmly.
"So what is your decision?" he asked.
"I choose..." Cathy inhaled deeply, "to keep helping you—not because of our deal, but because I want to."
Something flickered behind Alaric's eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you're the first character I've written who's actually come to life," Cathy said with a smile. "And honestly, these three days have been more thrilling than the last three years combined."
She paused briefly.
"There's another reason."
"What's that?"
"I want to see," Cathy said, "if the hero I created can actually defeat the villain and get his happy ending."
Alaric rarely smiled, but his lips curved upward now.
"Then you may be disappointed," he said. "Vampire tales rarely end happily."
"Then I'll rewrite the rules," Cathy returned to her computer. "After all, I'm the author here."
As she sat down, she noticed a new email notification.
The sender: Claude.
Cathy opened it, her expression immediately darkening.
"11 PM tonight, St. Maria Hospital inpatient wing. Bring Alaric Ashford. I'll bring your mother. Don't come alone or contact authorities, or face consequences."
A photo was attached below.
The image showed Cathy's mother unconscious on a hospital bed.
"He... Alaric," Cathy's hands trembled violently, "did he kidnap my mother?"
Alaric moved beside her to view the screen.
"He's leveraging you," he said grimly, "using your greatest vulnerability."
"What do I do?" Cathy's voice cracked. "I can't abandon my mother..."
"We go," Alaric stated with calm resolve.
"But it's obviously a trap!"
"I know." Alaric met her gaze steadily. "But Cathy, you just said you wanted to see me achieve a happy ending."
He paused meaningfully.
"So trust me—trust the hero you created—to prevail."
Cathy stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.
Finally, she nodded.
"Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."
She wiped her eyes and opened her laptop.
"But before we go, I need to finish this outline." She took a steadying breath. "I need to document Seraphina's weaknesses, Claude's vulnerabilities, write about..."
"Write about our victory."
The rapid clicking of keys filled the apartment as twilight descended.
Outside the window, the moon's edge had begun to blush crimson.
