Chapter 6
870words
"Ready?" Alaric asked quietly.
Cathy touched the laptop in her backpack and nodded.
"As I'll ever be."
She'd written frantically for five hours straight, mapping out every conceivable scenario.
Seraphina's vulnerabilities, Claude's behavioral patterns as she understood them.
And... the worst-case scenarios.
They entered the elevator and pressed the button for the sixth floor.
The elevator hummed as it ascended.
"If things go south," Alaric said abruptly, "you run."
"I won't abandon you," Cathy replied firmly.
"I'm deadly serious." Alaric fixed her with an intense gaze. "If I fall, take your mother and flee. Our covenant dissolves with my death—keep the money and build a new life."
"You won't lose." Cathy cut him off. "Because I've written you to win."
"Prophecies aren't guarantees."
"But you are."
The elevator doors slid open to reveal an eerily silent sixth-floor corridor.
Cathy led the way, counting room numbers.
601, 602, 603...
610.
She paused at the door, drew a deep breath, and pushed it open.
Inside, her mother lay on the hospital bed, pale but breathing steadily.
Claude stood by the window, a silver crucifix clutched in his hand.
"You came," he said flatly.
"How's my mother?" Cathy rushed to the bedside.
"Just sedated," Claude replied. "I gave her something mild. She'll remember nothing when she wakes."
Cathy checked her mother's breathing, and satisfied she was stable, turned to face Claude.
"Why did you do this?"
"To save you." Claude's voice hardened. "Cathy, you have no idea what you're dealing with. Vampires are monsters—they'll drain your life and discard you like trash."
"He hasn't," Cathy countered.
"That's just his mask." Claude's voice rose. "Eventually, he'll show his true nature!"
"How would you know?" Alaric stepped into the room. "How many vampires have you slain? Ten? Twenty?"
"Enough." Claude's voice turned glacial. "Enough to know your kind are all the same."
"Then you're mistaken." Alaric stepped forward. "Because there's one crucial difference between me and those you've destroyed."
"What's that?"
"I have her." Alaric glanced at Cathy. "I have a human who chooses to believe in me."
Claude faltered momentarily.
Suddenly, the window exploded inward.
A blonde woman vaulted through the shattered glass, landing with feline grace.
"What a touching declaration." Seraphina's smile was razor-sharp. "But cousin, playtime is over."
She clutched the silver box in her manicured hand.
"The blood moon has risen," she announced. "The ritual awaits."
Cathy felt the air around them drop several degrees.
"You..." she stammered. "How did you—"
"Because I knew my dear cousin would rush to protect his little prophet." Seraphina opened the box to reveal a blood-red scepter. "I simply needed to be patient."
She turned to Claude.
"And thank you, Mr. Hunter, for delivering them so conveniently."
Claude's expression darkened.
"You're one of them... you fed me information to manipulate me?"
"Naturally," Seraphina's smile widened. "I assumed a hunter of your reputation would have realized that."
She raised the scepter and began an ancient incantation.
The temperature plunged as crimson moonlight streamed through the shattered window.
Alaric lunged forward only to slam against an invisible barrier.
"Futile, cousin." Seraphina continued her chant. "While the blood moon shines, the Crimson Scepter's power binds you completely."
Cathy watched Alaric struggle against the invisible force field, her mind racing desperately.
No, this couldn't be happening.
This wasn't the ending she'd written. In her outline, she'd specifically detailed...
She suddenly remembered writing about the Crimson Scepter's weakness—the ritual required an uninterrupted incantation, and if broken midway...
She locked eyes with Alaric, who was already staring at her.
Understanding passed between them instantly.
Cathy drew a deep breath and shouted: "Alaric! Break her concentration!"
Alaric hesitated for just a heartbeat, then comprehension dawned.
He brandished his family crest and hurled himself toward Seraphina.
Seraphina laughed coldly, flicked the scepter, and Alaric was flung backward.
But that momentary distraction had broken her rhythm.
The scepter's glow faltered, and hairline fractures appeared in the barrier.
"Damn you!" Seraphina snarled.
Alaric seized his chance—shadows erupted from his form, shattering the weakened barrier.
They collided violently, plunging the room into chaotic battle.
Cathy crouched protectively over her mother, yanking out her laptop.
"I need to write—need to transform my outline into reality to help him."
She opened her document, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Seraphina's critical weakness is her over-reliance on the scepter. When separated from it, her power diminishes by half..."
As she completed this sentence, vertigo struck her.
Blood streamed from her nose.
"Watch the laptop!" she shouted, ducking a tendril of shadow.
"Could you type faster?" Alaric shouted back.
"Rush jobs cost extra!"
Cathy gritted her teeth, writing frantically while avoiding the supernatural combat.
"The scepter's vulnerability lies in its core crystal. If the gem shatters..."
Her vision blurred, her body swaying dangerously.
"Cathy!" Alaric's voice thundered in her mind.
"I'm okay..." she mumbled. "I can still..."
She managed a few more keystrokes.
"If the gem breaks, the scepter's power will rebound against its wielder..."
As she typed the final word, darkness claimed her.
Her last vision was of Alaric lunging toward Seraphina, his fist connecting with the scepter's gleaming gem.
Then, oblivion.
