Chapter 14:The Stranger at the Gate
256 Words
By midnight, the castle courtyard was filled with guards.
A figure stood outside the gates.
A young woman.
Human.
At least, she appeared human.
She carried an old leather bag and held something tightly in her hands.
Nina approached carefully.
"Who are you?"
The stranger looked at her with frightened eyes.
"My name is Clara Vale."
She extended the object.
The moment Nina saw it, her blood ran cold.
A silver locket.
The same one Lucien had shown to Devin during their final battle.
Devin stepped forward.
"Where did you get that?"
Clara looked at him.
"From a woman named Evelyn Hawthorne."
The entire courtyard went silent.
Nina's face paled.
"That's impossible."
Clara shook her head.
"I thought so too."
"Until she found me."
Inside the castle library, Clara opened the locket.
A hidden compartment released a tiny piece of parchment.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Evelyn.
Nina read the message aloud:
"Devin, If you are reading this, then you survived. I prayed you would."
Devin closed his eyes.
His hands trembled.
"But the vampire you fought was never the beginning of the darkness."
"Lucien was only a servant."
A cold silence filled the room.
Nina continued.
"Long before the first vampire walked beneath the moon, there existed another being. A creature born from hatred, hunger, and endless life."
"It created vampires as a cure, not a gift."
"Its name is Malachai."
The candles flickered.
Devin whispered the name.
"No."
Nina looked at him.
"You know him?"
His expression was haunted.
"I thought he was a myth."
- Writer
