Page 4 of Vampire Solstice
Fen moves closer to the Mythos, his every movement cautious. “It’s growing,” he says grimly. “Feeding. But on what?”
Ace rushes in, his red hair tousled and his face streaked with soot. He stops short at the sight of the Mythos, his jaw tightening. “What in the name of—”
“No time for commentary,” Kayla snaps, her dagger still drawn. “What do you see?”
Ace approaches the edge of the rot, kneeling to examine the cracks spreading across the stone floor. “It’s pulling energy from the room,” he mutters. “From everything around it. Look at the decay—it’s not random. It’s following a pattern, drawing power back to the tree.”
“From us?” I ask, a cold dread settling in my stomach.
Ace nods grimly. “And whatever it’s doing, it’s getting stronger.”
I take a step closer, ignoring the sharp chill that radiates from the Mythos. Its glow intensifies, and I feel it now—a pull, faint but insistent, like an unseen hand tugging at the edges of my soul.
Fen grabs my arm, stopping me. “Don’t get too close,” he warns, his voice low and steady. “Whatever this is, it’s tied to us. The witch said the curse was for us, Ari. This isn’t random.”
“But what does it want?” I ask, my frustration boiling over. “We need Kal. He’d know what to do.”
“Kal’s halfway across the realm chasing down that lead on the ruins,” Kayla says sharply. “We can’t wait for him to stroll back with a book. We have to deal with this now.”
Ace straightens, his expression unusually grim. “This isn’t just a tree,” he says. “It’s doing something. Look.”
He points to the base of the Mythos, where the glow has gathered into a swirling mass of light and shadow. The airaround it ripples like heat rising from stone, but the room is growing colder by the second.
“What’s happening?” Kayla asks, her voice tight with tension.
The glow expands, the swirling energy picking up speed. The pull grows stronger, dragging at my clothes, my hair, my very being. Yami takes flight from my shoulder, chirping in alarm as he circles above me.
“It’s opening something,” Ace says, backing away.
“What?” Kayla snaps. “Opening what?”
“I don’t know!” Ace shouts, his frustration as raw as mine.
The Mythos groans again, the sound deep and resonant, reverberating through my chest. The roots dig deeper into the floor, and the spreading decay reaches the walls, cracking the stone with ominous precision.
“Sunset,” Fen murmurs, his gaze shifting to the high windows of the throne room.
I follow his line of sight. The last rays of sunlight stretch across the room, their golden glow stark against the cold blue light of the Mythos. The shadows deepen as the sun dips below the horizon, and with it, the energy in the room shifts.
The pull intensifies, dragging me forward. Fen’s arm wraps around my waist, holding me back as the swirling vortex at the base of the Mythos grows larger, brighter. The cold seeps into my bones, stealing the breath from my lungs.
“Ari!” Kayla’s voice cuts through the chaos. “What do we do?”
I shake my head, my mind racing. “We have to stop it!”
“Brilliant plan,” Ace snaps. “Got any details on how?”
Before I can respond, the vortex surges, and the pull becomes irresistible. My feet skid across the floor as I’m dragged toward the Mythos. Fen’s grip tightens, but even his strength isn’t enough to fight the force.
“Fen!” I cry out, panic clawing at my throat.
“I won’t let go,” he says fiercely, his other hand gripping his sword as if he can cut through the magic itself.
The light from the Mythos is blinding. The roar of its energy drowns out every other sound.
“Ari!” Kayla’s voice is distant now, lost in the chaos.
The last thing I see is Kayla and Ace fighting against the pull, their faces pale with fear. Then the world tilts, and everything goes dark.