Page 41 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

“Angelo,” Enzo’s voice seemed to come from far away. “Stay awake.”

“If something happens to me, promise me you’ll save Serenity.” The words slurred as the crypt tilted and spun around me, stone walls bleeding into darkness. My head fell back and sounds became distant echoes, warped and meaningless. Pain blazed through every nerve until sweet oblivion claimed me...

My last thought drifted like a prayer into the darkness:Serenity, I love you.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Enzo

I slowly laidAngelo down on the cement floor, his body unnaturally rigid beneath my hands. His skin felt like marble, cold even for a vampire. My hands trembled as I brought my wrist to my mouth.

I ripped open my wrist, fangs tearing deeper than necessary in my desperation. “Angelo, drink.”

But his lips remained frozen, pale as death. I watched helplessly as drops of my blood slipped down into his mouth, each one a promise of healing that went unfulfilled. He remained cold as stone, his body a silent accusation of my failure to protect him.

“It’s not working.” I pressed my wrist harder against his lips, blood now spilling uselessly down his chin. “Why isn’t it working?” The panic in my voice echoed off the crypt walls.

Rose knelt beside us, her face grim as she studied Angelo’s still form. “The blades must be permeated with black magic,” she said softly, reaching out to touch his cheek. She pulled backquickly, as if burned. “Vampire blood won’t be enough to heal him. I fear that’s the same with Dimitri too.”

She got up and frantically started reading the book bindings, her fingers trailing across each spine with desperate urgency. “There has to be something in here to combat possession. My ancestors were powerful witches. They must have come across it before.”

I slowly stood, reluctantly leaving Angelo spread out on the floor. Each step away from him felt like a betrayal. The air in the crypt hung thick with centuries of decay, a musty blend of crumbling stone and ancient magic that caught in the back of my throat. Rows of leather-bound books lined the walls, their spines cracked and faded with age, while clay vases of various sizes perched on iron brackets between them, their surfaces etched with symbols I didn’t dare read too closely. Some of the symbols seemed to pulse faintly, as if responding to Rose’s growing desperation.

Strange markings covered the walls in spiraling patterns—some carved deep into the stone, others painted in substances that still seemed to gleam with a faint, otherworldly luminescence. Rose struck a match, touching it to a black candle. The flame cast dancing shadows across the walls, making the markings seem to shift and move like living things.

“Rose, damn it, can you find anything?” My voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling, more desperate than I’d meant it to sound. Angelo’s skin had taken on an ashen color I’d never seen on a vampire before.

She pulled a massive tome from one of the higher shelves, the movement sending a cascade of dust into the air. The book’s cover was bound in what looked like blackened leather, its edges reinforced with tarnished metal. Rose blew across its surface, and the dust scattered, revealing symbols that seemed to writhe in the candlelight.

“I think I have.” She approached the altar that dominated the center of the crypt, her shoulders squared even as her eyes darted nervously around the space.

The stone monolith rose from the floor like a dark island, its surface stained with the remnants of centuries of rituals. Deep channels had been carved into its surface, forming an intricate pattern that led to a central basin. As Rose placed the book on its surface, the metal corners scraped against the stone with a sound that made my teeth ache.

The candle flame flickered, and around us, the shadows seemed to deepen, as if the crypt itself was holding its breath.

The sounds of the battle echoed through the stone walls — shouts and the clash of steel, punctuated by inhuman screams that made my fangs ache. My muscles tensed with each crash from above, every instinct screaming to rush out and join in the fray, but I refused to leave Angelo. Not like this. Not when every second might mean the difference between saving him and losing him forever.

She glanced up at me. “This book is about possession and I found something. However, it’s two parts. We first need the blood of a possessed vampire. He or she can’t be dead. Then I have to add wolf’s bane, dragon’s blood, crushed obsidian from a sacred burial ground, and the essence of hallowed ground, which has to be collected during the witching hour. But that’s just for the base potion.”

She paused here, her finger tracing over the next lines in the book. “The second part is worse. We need blood directly from the demon itself, drawn while it’s manifested. And... black salt from the tomb of a consecrated priest, mixed with tears of the innocent.”

“How are we going to do that? We can’t see the fucking demons outside.” I slammed my fist against the wall, sending ajolt of pain up my arm. The frustration of being trapped down here while others fought above was maddening.

“According to this, there’s an amulet we can use, one that forces evil to come forth.” Rose’s finger traced the words on the ancient page, her voice growing stronger with each word.

“Is it here?”

“It has to be. It looks like a star, a star from heaven. That’s what the book calls it.” She held out her hand and moved along the crypt, her palm hovering inches from the shelves as if drawn by some invisible force. A jar rattled on a shelf, the sound sharp in the heavy silence. Rose and I glanced at each other, her eyes wide with recognition.

She slowly opened the lid, her hands trembling slightly. White light burst forth, pure and brilliant, lighting up the darkness. The warmth it radiated wasn’t just physical—it felt like hope itself had been bottled, waiting for this moment. I inhaled sharply as the light touched Angelo’s still form, making his skin shimmer for just a moment.

Rose pulled a smooth white rock that looked like it had a star engraved on it. The light pulsed gently against her palm, like a captive heartbeat. “Let’s see if this works.”

I stretched out my hand, already imagining using it against those bastards above. “Give it to me.”

She cocked her eyebrow, holding the amulet closer to her chest. “Are you a witch, Enzo?”

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