A sickening crunch sounded.
First, the pinky finger bent at an unnatural angle and snapped like a dry twig.
Susie cried out but didn't let go of the stake. Then the ring finger, middle finger, index finger…
Each finger broke with a wet, horrible crack.
Blood sprayed onto the stake and onto Ethan's chest. The pain was so intense that Susie nearly lost consciousness, but she continued holding Ethan, pressing his head to her chest.
"Hold on…" she sobbed, rocking back and forth.
"Please, hold on… I'm here…"
Ethan weakly opened his eyes. His gaze was blurry, but he recognized her.
"Susie…" he exhaled almost soundlessly.
"Don't… you don't have to…"
"Be quiet," she sobbed, wiping his blood-soaked forehead.
"I've already done it… they're sealed… they won't get out…"
Her left hand now ended in terrible stumps. Blood flowed down her wrist and dripped onto Ethan's face. Susie was crying so hard that her tears mixed with the blood. She hugged him with all the strength she had left, pressing him to herself as if she could keep his life inside him through sheer love alone.
"Don't leave…" she whispered over and over.
"Don't leave me… please… I promised Grandma!"
Ethan looked at her. His eyes slowly closed. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his bloodied lips.
"Thank you…" he whispered so quietly she barely heard it.
Then his eyelids shut.
A tear rolled down her cheek, trembled on her chin, and fell directly into Ethan's slightly open mouth.
It sparkled in the dim light like a tiny silver drop of hope.
Susie froze, hugging him even tighter, and began to sob loudly like a child.
"Ethan…" she whimpered.
"Ethan, come back… please… come back, they need you!"
The noise of battle slowly quieted around them.
But for Susie, at that moment, only he existed, the heavily wounded, almost lifeless man she had just saved at the cost of a part of herself. Well… she tried to save him. He had died, and she had sealed the cursed weapon with her magic.
Gerard's forces were pressing them harder with every second.
Vampires advanced from all sides. Michael hacked with his cleaver, Elizabeth wove dark spells, and Rudy teleported across the hall, appearing behind Flash one moment and beside Gideon the next, delivering blows that cracked bones. The warehouse filled with screams, gunshots, and the smell of blood.
Flash could no longer be everywhere. Though his movements were still lightning-fast, they had grown slightly heavier. Gideon and Bruno, badly wounded, could barely stay on their feet. Susie, almost completely drained, knelt beside Ethan as her barrier flickered weaker and weaker.
"We won't hold…" Gideon gasped, pressing a hand to his bleeding shoulder.
"There's too many of them…"
Bruno roared, throwing back another vampire with a slash of his silver knife, but his movements were slowing too.
"Then we'll die on our feet," he growled through clenched teeth.
Gerard stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by his loyal followers. A triumphant smile slowly spread across his face. He could already taste victory.
And suddenly, the air at the far end of the warehouse trembled.
Anna stepped out of the shadows.
She appeared without any dramatic Luft effect, she simply walked out of the darkness like an ordinary person. But everyone immediately understood that something was wrong.
Her hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tears and soot, and her eyes were wild. She stepped shoulder to shoulder with Flash, not even looking at Gerard.
Flash turned his head and froze for a second.
"Anna…"
Gerard saw her too. His smile slowly slid from his face. His eyes widened, then filled with genuine, ice-cold fury.
"You…" he hissed. His voice was low, filled with hatred.
"That red-haired bitch… the traitor."
Anna didn't look away. She stood tall, though her hands trembled slightly.
"I'm not your puppet anymore, Gerard," she said quietly. "I'm tired."
Gerard took a step forward. His face twisted with rage.
"You dared… after everything I've done for you?! After I gave you power, authority, immortality?!"
He sharply raised his hand.
"To me! All of you!"
The air in the warehouse exploded.
From the shadows, from the walls, from the ceiling itself, figures began to appear. A thousand. A full thousand vampires in black expensive suits.
They materialized around the entire perimeter of the hall in neat rows like soldiers on parade. Their eyes burned red. They surrounded the battlefield in a dense ring, leaving no gaps.
Gerard turned to Anna. His smile returned, now he looked like a predator that had cornered a flock of helpless sheep.
"Let everyone see," he announced loudly so even the farthest ranks could hear.
"Let everyone remember what happens to those who betray me."
He extended his hand toward her, as if inviting her.
"Come to me, Anna. I will absorb you here and now. In front of everyone. So that no one ever dares to even think of betrayal again."
At that moment, Susie's last large tear fell. Anna stood motionless. Her face was pale, but she didn't retreat a single step.
Flash stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder.
"She's not going anywhere," he said coldly.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"Then you will all die with her," Gerard said icily, staring at them with his cold gaze.
The thousand vampires in black suits took a step forward in perfect unison. The sound of a thousand boots hitting concrete echoed like the charge of wild wolves.
Anna closed her eyes for a second, then opened them and looked straight at Gerard.
"Then let them watch," she said quietly.
"Let everyone see that what you're doing is wrong!"