Ethan felt the cold penetrate every cell of his body. The pain was unbearable, as if thousands of needles were piercing his skin and bones at the same time.
But he didn't retreat.
"No…" Ethan hissed through clenched teeth.
"You won't take me!"
He plunged the black stake straight into the center of the whirlwind. The wood sank into the very core of Hale's essence, and the stake began to drink greedily. The mist screamed, hundreds of voices that Hale had once absorbed now tore free in agony.
"No! No! This power is mine!" Hale roared, trying to break away.
Ethan stood motionless, gripping the stake with both hands. The black lines on his neck and shoulder flared brighter, but the wisteria in his blood still held them back. He felt Hale's essence resisting, trying to pull him inside.
"You… made a mistake…" Ethan exhaled through the pain.
"This power was never yours."
He twisted the stake sharply. The dark whirlwind contracted with a deafening crack. The air around them trembled as if reality itself was tearing apart. The whirlwind shrank into a dense black orb, then crashed violently onto the concrete floor.
A loud, wet pop echoed.
Where the whirlwind had been, only a charred, blackened silhouette of a man remained, all that was left of Richard Hale. A thin, lifeless gray smoke rose slowly from it before dissipating into the air.
Ethan stood in the middle of the warehouse, breathing heavily. Blood mixed with black veins flowed from the wounds on his shoulder and side. His face was pale, but his eyes burned with a living, human fire. The stake in his hand still glowed faintly and slowly began to calm down.
Susie was the first to run to him.
"Ethan!" she cried, her voice trembling with fear and relief.
"You're… you're alive!"
She quickly raised a barrier around him, her hands glowing with blue light. The wisteria in Ethan's blood continued to work weakly. The black lines under his skin pulsed but did not spread further.
The moment Hale's body crumbled into gray ash on the cold concrete, Ethan was already turning. Rage boiled in his chest, mixed with the remnants of the shadow power he had just ripped from his enemy.
The stake in his hand pulsed hot, almost alive.
The leftover shadow power he had taken from Hale still churned in his veins. He leaped onto the wall as if it were horizontal. His fingers dug into the brick, his legs pushed off. The shadows obediently wrapped around him, helping him soar. He shot up the building's facade like a dark whirlwind, crashed through the broken window on the first floor, shattering the remaining glass with his shoulder, and rushed to help Flash.
Susie stopped, horrified, watching the shadowy entity.
Just moments ago Richard Hale had stood there. The battle had reached its peak.
The floor was littered with broken crates and black ash from the vampires already destroyed. Flash moved like a shadow, faster than any human had the right to move. His revolver, loaded with silver bullets mixed with wisteria, sang its deadly song. Every shot found its mark.
"You thought you could hide behind Hale?!" Flash shouted, dodging Gerard's strike and answering with an instant shot to the enemy's shoulder.
Gerard de Mille stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by the remnants of his guards. His suit was torn, black blood glistened on his face.
"You're too cocky, Flash," Gerard growled.
"Did you really think that killing a few of my dogs would let you touch the master?"
He swung his hand sharply. The shadows around him thickened, forming long black blades. One of them pierced the air and nearly sliced Gideon in half. Gideon managed to roll away, but the blade still caught his side. Blood poured out.
"Shit…" Gideon gasped, pressing a hand to the wound.
Bruno roared and charged forward, swinging his silver knife. He crashed into two of Gerard's vampires, cutting one almost in half.
"Hold on, Gideon!" he shouted.
Susie stood by the wall. Her hands were shaking. She had been trying to reach Ethan and Flash for several minutes while maintaining the barrier to protect the whole group. The blue glow around her was weakening. Sweat glistened on her forehead, and a thin stream of blood trickled from her nose.
"I… I can't anymore…" she whispered. "Just a little longer… and I'll collapse…"
Gerard laughed.
"Look at yourselves. Pathetic little humans. Do you really think you can defeat me?"
He took a step back. His hands rose upward. The shadow around him swirled into a vortex, and from it, a figure slowly began to emerge.
Everyone froze.
First came the silhouette of a woman. Tall, slender, with long chestnut hair. Then, a rounded belly. She was pregnant. A strange, almost blissful smile was frozen on her face. Her eyes were empty, yet inside them burned a terrible hunger.
It was Maria.
Or whatever was left of her.
Ethan wanted to attack the woman but stopped first. His eyes widened in genuine shock.
"Maria…" he breathed.
"This… is impossible. Why? I thought you were dead…"
Gerard smiled wider.
"Dead? Oh no. She was never truly dead. I preserved her. Made her… better."
"Now she is part of 'Prime-Blood'. She absorbs vampires their power, their souls and gives them to me."
Maria, or the entity that had once been her, slowly turned her head. Her gaze stopped on Ethan. Her lips moved.
"Ethan…" she whispered in a voice that sounded like both her own and a thousand others.
"You came… to become mine?"
Bruno stepped back, his face turning pale.
"Guys… what the fuck? How the hell are we supposed to deal with this shit?"