Chapter 115: The Vampire’s History
Dmitri POV
The old sword sliced through the air, missing my head by inches. I rolled behind a broken stone pillar as the Void Lieutenant’s laughing echoed through the cave.
"Still playing with toys, old vampire?" it hissed. "Your maker would be ashamed."
My dead heart should have stayed still, but hearing Katarina’s name spoken by this thing made rage burn through my cold veins. I gripped my silver blade tighter, the one she had given me three hundred years ago.
"Don’t you dare speak her name," I snarled, jumping over the pillar to strike.
But the Lieutenant was gone, vanishing into dark like smoke. Around me, the other magical leaders fought desperately against the three creatures that had burst through the cave wall. Werewolves howled in pain. The dragon-woman spewed fire that barely singed their dark forms. Even the elf’s old magic seemed useless.
"Dmitri!" Luna’s words cut through the chaos. "The contracts! You have to help her finish the binding!"
I saw the young diplomat standing in the middle of the fighting, still trying to recite words from some old contract while everything fell apart around her. Brave little cat. She reminded me of Katarina in that moment - unwilling to give up even when hope seemed lost.
The second Lieutenant materialized beside Luna, claws reaching for her neck. Without thinking, I threw myself between them, my sword catching its wrist. Black blood splattered the cave floor.
"The Void Clause won’t save you," it spat. "We are already free."
"Free?" I laughed, though fear crept up my spine. "You’re still trapped in whatever prison held you for centuries."