Fractures of Eternity

Agony kept rushing through my body as I stabbed Jin’s hand, while the shock in his eyes as I did so urged me forward. Even though he had used the cursed dagger to make me a thrall, I didn’t want him to win this. A portal opened up behind us as he grabbed me by my hair, and I fell into it. The next moment, we found ourselves in a free fall through the dark sky of Night City, as nothing would stop me from digging this dagger through the man’s heart, not even the impending doom below.

“Stupid bitch, let me go!” Jin ordered.

His words caused my body to throb, as anguish was the only thing I could feel.

“Never! I keep my promises!” I snarled, not backing down.

However, before I could lose myself in the anger and pain, a voice snapped me from that frenzy.

“Vivian!” Thea yelled for me from above us, triggering my gaze to shift towards her for a moment.

The stupid Lycan girl had come for me. Her eye patch was also missing as she dove for us, while I couldn’t concentrate on her. The warlock yanked on my hair, turning my attention back onto him, as his eyes also radiated the same way I did, which meant the dagger’s curse was also affecting him, even though he was its current master. This meant he was the temporary ruler of this object, which could change at any moment.

Witchcraft users created these items by placing curses within lifeless objects and infusing them with magical essence. Most of the time, curses would end when the user died, but that didn’t apply to all cursed objects. In these cases, the warlock or witch who made it lived on within the object. As he let go of my hair, he clasped the knife I was holding, and I saw a ring I recognized, which was silver with an obsidian gem on it—a catalyst for his shadow magic.

My mother had made one, for my father had one too, which allowed him to open portals without having to say the incantation. Jin tried to pull the knife out, but I didn’t let him, by pressing my weight onto him. He groaned in pain as another portal opened below us, and Thea, luckily, grabbed onto his leg as we fell through this one, too. It seemed the dagger was affecting his magic, as it teleported us higher than before, leaving us closer to the barrier that made the night city dark.

This time, instead of trying to remove the blade, he gazed toward Thea, who was barely hanging onto him as it was, and without her powers, she would be floor décor if she lost her grip. When he raised his hand to her, a slight darkness emanated from it. Instinctively, I reached for the arm I had stabbed, yanking the dagger out, as the motion caused us to spin, ensuring the shadow beam hit the city below. At that moment, I could see that most of the town was engulfed in flames, with some areas turning orange and others purple.

We were too high up to hear the screams of everyone below when the spin Thea to lose her grip as her claws went right through the warlock’s leg. He screamed in pain as she fell into a free fall without us. Before I knew it, I reached for her, as I should have kept my eye on the warlock, but I couldn’t let her fall to her death, either. I clung to the warlock’s injured arm, reaching for her, as she managed to grab onto my arm, which held the dagger.

Her eyes widened as she saw Jin aiming at us again.

“Die! You fucking bitches!” He snarled, chanting up another laser-looking spell in his hand.

I couldn’t concentrate on his words when Thea used me to launch herself at the warlock. The motion again caused the attack to miss us. Though it hit her shoulder, prompting her to cry out as I yanked him towards me, triggering another portal to open, sending us to another free fall. At the same time, the young wolf clung to the warlock’s uninjured arm but was quickly shaken off when he slammed his elbow into her face. The blow caused her to drop separately from us again, as there was no way I could reach for her again and allow this warlock to live.

Damn it!

With a split second to think and act, I moved for his hand as he had been gazing at the Lycan rather than me. The only way to stop this was to make him fall to his death. In less than a second, his arm was in my grasp, prompting his gaze to dart towards me. His other hand was utterly useless thanks to the injury he had endured, allowing me full rein. His eyes widened when I took the blade to his finger containing the ring.

“Stop! You’re fucking crazy! We’ll die if you do that!” Jin screamed, struggling to do anything with his other hand.

He was right, we would fall to the ground and splatter, but he had pushed Thea too far away for me to save her, using him.

“Then die, worm!” I smirked, slicing his finger off.

At this moment, all that mattered to me was killing the warlock, as he screeched in pain. Of course, that was a feeling at the moment, as my gaze shifted towards the falling young girl beside us. The incantation to open a shadow portal was a long one, and without the catalyst, it also needed concentration—something he wouldn’t manage like this. Sadly, before I could even get off him to reach Thea, he gripped my rags, dragging me under him, and in less than a second, his bleeding hand was on my neck.

Another sharper throb ran through me. The rage in his eyes was comforting, yet I hoped to do a quick levitation spell before Thea and I hit the floor, since it was the best way to stay away from the rift’s influence, but it appeared this warlock wouldn’t allow it. However, what he wished wasn’t something I could let happen if it took two others with me, as well as the world itself.

“You’re time is up,” I mumbled, raising my hand to his face, triggering it to shimmer white as shock flashed through his face when he saw the hue, but before I could complete it, blood surrounded us.

Relief washed over me as every muscle in my body relaxed, knowing full well who had come for me. Tears swelled in my eyes as, a heartbeat later, I was in Loki’s arms, while Eli had caught Thea from below us. The concern in my vampire’s blueish purple eyes melted me, right where I was.

“Vivian!” He breathed, arms shaking as I couldn’t help but cry.

The way my name sounded in his voice was alluring, as he still wore the same suit from the dance, even though it had been hours since the event. However, his hair was as much of a mess as his clothes, alerting me that he had been searching for me this entire time.

“What took you so long?!” I cried, letting go of the dagger in my hands before reaching for his cheeks, only to be met with his lips.

Finally… I’m safe.

He licked my injured hand, healing the cut I had made earlier. Though he winced, not liking the taste of the warlock’s blood on me.