The Blood Binding

The Blood Binding
"Run!" Damien grabbed Viv's hand and pulled her through a secret door behind one of the bookshelves. The sounds of fighting got louder behind them.

"What's happening?" Viv gasped as they ran down a dark hallway.

"Lilith's forces are attacking earlier than I expected," Damien said. His eyes glowed red in the darkness. "They must know about you."

They reached the end of the hall where a small lift waited. Damien pushed Viv inside and jumped in after her. He pushed a button marked with a strange symbol, and the elevator began to drop fast.

"Where are we going?" Viv asked, trying to catch her breath.

"The old chapel beneath the house. We need to complete the blood binding now, before Lilith finds us." Damien's face was grim. "It's our only chance."

The elevator stopped with a jerk. When the doors opened, they were in a cave like room with stone walls. Candles burned all around, giving just enough light to see. At the center stood a round stone table with strange writing cut into it.

An old man with white hair waited there. He wore a long black robe with red symbols sewn into it. His eyes widened when he saw Viv.

"You found her," he whispered. "After all these centuries."

"Save the drama, Viktor," Damien said. "Lilith's forces are upstairs. We need to complete the ceremony now."

Viktor nodded and opened an old book. "Stand on opposite sides of the altar," he instructed.

Viv hesitated. "I don't know if I can—"

A loud boom shook the ceiling. Dust and small rocks fell around them.

"They're breaking through the upper defenses," Damien said. "We're out of time, Vivienne."

Viv thought about her grandmother, her friends. If she didn't do this, they'd be in danger. She stepped up to the stone table.

"Good," Viktor said. He began to speak in a language Viv didn't understand. The candles around them flickered, as if blown by a wind that wasn't there.

Viktor pulled out a silver knife with a curved blade. "Your hands, please."

Viv slowly held out her right hand. Damien did the same from across the table. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Viv saw something in his that looked like fear.

"This will hurt," Viktor warned. "But only for a moment."

He sliced Damien's palm first. Dark red blood welled up from the cut. Then he cut Viv's palm. She winced but didn't pull away.

"Now join hands," Viktor ordered.

Viv reached across the table. When her bleeding palm touched Damien's, she expected it to hurt. Instead, warmth spread up her arm. The room seemed to get brighter, the candles burning higher.

"Repeat after me," Viktor said to Damien. "I bind my blood to yours."

"I bind my blood to yours," Damien said, his eyes locked on Viv's.

"Now you," Viktor told Viv.

"I bind my blood to yours," she whispered.

A strange feeling washed over Viv, like electricity running through her body. The room began to spin. Images flashed in her mind—but they weren't her memories.

A young boy running through fields at night...
A woman with kind eyes tucking him into bed...
Soldiers breaking down a door...
Blood. So much blood...

"What's happening to me?" Viv gasped. She tried to pull her hand away, but Damien held tight.

"Don't let go," Viktor warned. "The bond is forming."

More images rushed through Viv's mind.

A beautiful woman with golden hair laughing...
The same woman lying still, her skin gray...
Damien crying over her body...
Years of loneliness. Centuries of pain...

"I can see your memories," Viv said, her voice shaking.

Damien's eyes widened. "And I can see yours."

A little girl sitting by a hospital bed...
An old woman telling stories about monsters and magic...
A teenager crying at a funeral...
A young woman determined to find the truth, no matter what...

The air around them began to glow with a soft blue light. It swirled between them, wrapping around their joined hands.

"This isn't right," Viktor muttered, flipping through his book. "The binding should cause the human to weaken, not..." He looked up, his face pale. "Not strengthen both of you."

The blue light grew brighter. Viv felt stronger, not weaker. Her senses sharpened. She could hear fighting above them more clearly, could smell the old stone around them.

"Viktor, what's happening?" Damien demanded. His skin had more color now, his eyes brighter than Viv had ever seen them.

"It's impossible," Viktor whispered. "Unless..."

Another boom shook the room, bigger than before. Pieces of the ceiling crashed down around them.

"Complete the binding!" Damien shouted.

Viktor snapped out of his shock. He placed his hands over their joined ones and spoke more words in the strange language. The blue light pulsed, then shot into both Viv and Damien.

"It is done," Viktor said. "You are bound by blood."

Viv pulled her hand away and looked at her palm. The cut was already healing, faster than any wound should.

"How do you feel?" Damien asked, looking at her with wonder.

"Strong," Viv said, surprised by the truth of it. "Like I could run for miles without stopping."

"This is not a normal binding," Viktor said, his voice low and worried. "This is something else entirely." He leaned closer to Damien and whispered, "The prophecy of twinned souls..."

"What prophecy?" Viv asked.

Viktor opened his mouth to answer, but a crash from above cut him off. The elevator doors burst open, and three figures with glowing red eyes jumped out.

"Find them!" a woman's voice called. "Bring the girl to me!"

"Lilith," Damien growled. He grabbed Viv's hand again. "This way!"

He pulled her toward a dark tunnel at the back of the room. Viktor moved to block the attackers, pulling out a strange weapon that glowed with the same blue light Viv had seen during the ceremony.

"Run!" Viktor shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

Damien dragged Viv into the tunnel. They ran through the darkness, Viv surprised that she could see almost as well as Damien could.

"Where does this lead?" she asked.

"Away from the house," Damien said. "To a safe place where Lilith can't find us."

They reached a fork in the tunnel. Damien hesitated, looking both ways.

"What's wrong?" Viv asked.

"I don't know which way is safe," he admitted. "I haven't used these tunnels in decades."

"Left," Viv said, without knowing why. "We need to go left."

Damien looked at her strangely. "How do you know?"

"I don't," Viv said. "I just... feel it."

A scream echoed through the tunnel behind them. Viktor's voice, cut off suddenly.

"We have to move," Damien said. He chose the left tunnel, still holding Viv's hand.

As they ran, Viv felt something new inside her, like a sixth sense awakening. She could feel Damien's presence beside her, could almost hear his thoughts.

We'll be safe soon, he seemed to be thinking. Just a little farther.

"I can hear you," Viv said out loud. "In my head."

Damien nearly stumbled. "That's not possible. The blood binding doesn't create a mental connection."

"What did Viktor mean about a prophecy? Twinned souls?"

"An old myth," Damien said, pulling her along faster. "Nothing more."

But Viv could feel he was lying. There was more to this bond, more to why her blood affected him so strongly.

They reached the end of the tunnel. A ladder led up to what looked like a metal door in the ceiling.

"Up you go," Damien said. "Hurry."

Viv climbed the ladder. When she pushed on the door, it opened easily. She climbed out into what looked like an old barn. Damien followed, closing the door behind them.

"Where are we?" Viv asked, looking around.

"About three miles from the main house," Damien said. "One of my emergency exits."

"What now?"

"Now we need to keep moving. Lilith won't stop hunting us." Damien walked to the barn door and peeked outside. "It's still dark. We should be safe until—"

He suddenly grabbed his chest, bending over in pain.

"Damien!" Viv rushed to his side. "What's wrong?"

When he looked up at her, his eyes were wild with fear. "Viktor is dead. I can feel it. And without him..."

"Without him what?" Viv asked, afraid of the answer.

"Without him to complete the second part of the ceremony," Damien whispered, "the blood binding will kill us both by sunrise."