Chapter 63: The sacrifice

As soon as the group of our allies came closer, I let down the invisible wall, and the two sides collided. I drew my two swords and killed every damn vampire that came my way. Alexander was preoccupied with his father as the two of them were dueling.

Guns, knives, swords, all kinds of weapons could be seen. The unsettling scent of fresh blood quickly filled the air.

I kept killing whoever attacked me, but at the same time, I watched over my loved ones. My mom and David seemed to be okay, both shooting down vampires. Ethan was fighting with a couple of other Keepers, while Papa Peter and Chris were surrounded by five vampires.

A sigh escaped my lips, and I made a quick spell freezing the vampires for a few seconds until I reached my grandfather. I decapitated two of them, pulled the heart out of the other while the two men killed the remaining two.

"Please, be careful," I pleaded with them, trying to catch up with my breath.

"We were just fine, Ophelia. Stop worrying so much…" Papa Peter chuckled.

He was obviously enjoying the fight, and for a moment, I wondered whether he had lost his mind.

The ground suddenly started to tremble, and I turned around to look at the massive branches of trees that appeared from the earth. Our witch friends were joining the fight, trapping and killing as many vampires as they could.

"Go find Lucas; Robert is up to something," Papa ordered me, and I nodded.

I ran away, my eyes scanning the field for either Lucas or Robert. I shouldn't be that concerned about my loved ones because my father had cast a protection spell on them. As long as Lucas was alive, none of my family members could be hurt.

With a few quick moves, I killed a few more vampires. The bloodthirsty creatures seemed untrained, and they were just attacking aimlessly.

My eyes landed on a figure lying on the ground where I had last seen Alex and Robert fighting. I ran as fast as I could, and all the blood drained my face when I saw Alex unconscious on the ground.

A series of curses left my lips as I searched his inner pocket for his flask. I opened the damn bottle and let a few drops fall on his lips. He couldn't be dead, most probably just unconscious. He licked his lips and opened one eye to look at me.

"You bloody bastard, you can't lie like this in the middle of a battle," I scolded him.

I looked up to observe our surroundings, only to notice seven vampires circling us, hissing and showing their fangs.

"And you can't come to my rescue, forgetting where you are," Alexander rolled his eyes at me.

I glared at him and stood up, drawing my swords once again. The vampires attacked, and Alex sat up, pulling his gun out.

"Watch out," I hear him calling.

Turning around, I felt something graze my arm, and then I saw a vampire's head rolling off.

A snarl made me look down at a black wolf, growling at the bloodthirsty creatures. Our newest addition helped me clear the group of vampires that came our way. A satisfied smirk plastered on my lips when I saw more werewolves fighting the vampires.

The large, black wolf transformed back into his human form, and I was now facing a tall man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked around his mid-forties and was standing completely naked in front of me.

"Alpha Blackwood. My apologies for coming late," the man said, extending his arm to me.

"I'm Ophelia, and I'm just happy that you could make it, Alpha," I replied, shaking his hand.

"You didn't free the hybrid yet, right?"

"No, we had some sort of a hiccup," I replied, looking at the raging battle around me.

"Go do your thing. We'll take care of the bloodsuckers," the Alpha said, cracking his hands.

"Sounds like a plan. Please, don't kill this one; he's with me," I said, tilting my head towards Alexander.

Alpha Blackwood smirked and nodded at me before he transformed back into his wolf form.

"I must find Lucas," I yelled at Alex and ran away.

I scanned the battlefield once again; my family members looked all good despite some small injuries. I could recognize some of our people lying on the ground, but I didn't have time to take care of them. Finally, I spotted the warlock near the natural arch and headed there without a second thought.

"Werewolves came to fight alongside us. I think it's time," I muttered, trying to muster all my courage for what was about to happen.

Lucas opened his eyes and looked at me. "Do you trust me, my darling daughter?" he asked tiredly.

"You know, I do, father," I whispered, giving him a small smile.

He nodded and pulled the dagger out of his pocket. "You must have this from now on," he explained, handing me the blade.

I nodded and took the dagger with trembling hands. I felt a shock run through my body, and my lips started chanting a spell I had never heard before. Lucas held my hand, channeling some of his power, and we walked together towards the end of the cliff. A blazing path of fire followed us, stopping anyone unwelcomed from reaching us and giving me more strength.

My voice became louder and louder, and when we reached the end, I extended my hand and cut it with the dagger, letting my blood run inside the sea. The earth beneath our feet vibrated, and for a moment, I thought it would collapse. However, it wasn't our cliff that sank into the sea but the stone arch.

An unsettling feeling formed inside me, but there was nothing I could do to reverse my actions.

Lucas faced me once again, encouraging me for what was coming, "Your instincts guided you up to this very moment, my darling daughter. Have faith in yourself. You're the chosen one, Ophelia; you're the only one capable of ending this madness."

I looked at his ocean blue eyes and saw the faith he had in me; all these people believed in me. I couldn't let them down, and I couldn't prove myself worthless to Moon Goddess. She had trusted me for a reason…

"Thank you, father," I muttered, and Lucas pulled me into his arms.

"I love you so much, my darling daughter. Always remember that," he whispered to me.

It seemed like a goodbye, but I didn't have time to ask. A desperate scream pierced the air, and my eyes fell immediately to the beach. A man with long, dark, curly hair and clothes that seemed to belong in a different era stood on the golden beach, draining all the blood from Donna's body. Robert King was next to him with a triumph smile plastered on his face.

"Come, we must go back," Lucas muttered, and before I had the chance to say anything, he transported us close to my grandfather and my mom.

"Marcus is freed. He's feeding to gain his powers, so we must act before he shapeshifts," Lucas informed them.

An otherworldly deafening growl made the ground shake, and we all turned around to see a black mountain full of scales flying above us.

"Okay, this was rather quick," Christopher murmured, staring at the mythical creature that flew in the sky.

Everyone had stopped to look at the dragon as he landed on the ground. The black-scaled creature was as tall as ten men together while a simple movement of his wings blew off the nearest supernaturals. The dragon's yellow eyes scanned the arena, and a primitive growl escaped his snout. The large beast opened his muzzle, firing a shot of flames.

I was quick to form a protective shield around my closest people. Lucas took over our protection as I created a ball of magic between my hands. I fired the blast towards the dragon, but it just bounced on his tick scales, not hurting him.

It was like my attack woke up everyone; the werewolves marched towards the black dragon, but they were like flies compared to the enormous beasts. The witches tried to stabilize him using their branches, and I shot a couple more hand blasts. In the meantime, I created a downpour to extinguish the fire the dragon had set.

Lucas, my mom, and Papa Peter protected me from the vampires that came our way as I prepared my attacks. Alexander was fighting further away, his clothes dripping with blood. Ethan and Chris were killing vampires having a few werewolves protecting them.

Everyone seemed distracted, and I tried to think of a way to kill a fucking dragon before he burnt us all alive.

The downfold began when Ethan got shot in the chest by non-other than Ivan himself…

This time, it was my scream that pierced the air as a sharp pain tore my heart into shreds. It was like my own heart had been pulled violently from my chest...

Like this wasn't enough, Ivan also snapped his neck, ending Ethan's life in front of my eyes. That fucking vampire had killed every single member of the Vitalis family…

Thankfully the werewolves quickly grabbed Chris and carried him back where the witches and warlocks were fighting from.

Hot tears ran down my face as sobs and cries escaped my lips. I tried to run to Ethan's side, but it was my grandpa's hands that stopped me.

"You can't do anything now, angel… He's gone," Papa Peter whispered soothingly at me, caressing my back. "Make his sacrifice count. Kill them all…"

My mind was foggy, my body a trembling mess, and my heart shattered. A single word kept playing inside my head like a broken needle, revenge…

I nodded and regained my composure, only to be thrown in the lowest circle of Hell.

"No!" My mom's cry made me turn to look back.

Lucas had a sword pierced into his chest. His body fell on the ground lifeless, as his face had a peaceful expression plastered on.

Immediately, I made a dome, secluding my loved ones from the havoc that was raging around us. I kneeled beside Lucas, taking his hand in mine.

"Lucas, stay with me. I can heal you, open your eyes, father…" I sobbed uncontrollably.

His ocean blue eyes opened slowly and bore into my sapphire blue ones. A few stray tears rolled down his cheeks, and a weak smile appeared on his lips.

"Stay strong, my darling daughter…" he whispered as a shaky breath left his lips.