Chapter 7: Blood Moon Rising
356 Words
The Blood Moon rose earlier than anyone expected.
Its crimson light bathed Blackwood in an eerie glow.
Every vampire in the forest froze.
The ancient prophecy had begun.
The crimson-eyed vampire emerged from the shadows, no longer hiding.
"I've waited one hundred and thirty-seven years for this night."
His laughter echoed through the trees.
"Kill the prince," he commanded.
From every direction, rouge vampires surrounded Devin and Nina.
Devin stepped in front of her.
"You have to run."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Nina-"
"No."
She grabbed his hand.
"We face this together."
The Blood Moon Mark burned against her skin.
A brilliant silver light erupted between them.
Every vampire staggered backward.
Even the crimson-eyed leader looked afraid.
"What have you done?" he whispered.
An ancient voice echoed through the forest, though no one could see who spoke.
"The Blood Moon has chosen."
The ground split open.
A forgotten crypt began to rise from beneath Blackwood.
Carved into the stone doors were two names.
Prince Devin Ashford.
Catrina Hawthorne.
Neither of them had ever seen the crypt before.
Yet somehow...
It had been waiting for them.
The massive stone doors groaned open as though they hadn't moved in a thousand years.
A cold wind rushed past Nina and Devin, carrying whispers in a language neither of them understood.
One by one, the rogue vampires backed away.
Even the crimson-eyed vampire lowered his head.
"What is this place?" Nina whispered.
Devin stared at the carvings along the walls.
"I've searched for this crypt for over a century."
"You knew it existed?"
"It was supposed to me a legend."
Inside stood two stone coffins, side by side. One was engraved with a silver wolf beneath a full moon. The other bore a crimson rose entwined with a crescent moon—the same symbol burned onto Nina's skin.
At the center of the chamber rested an ancient crystal, glowing with pale silver light.
The moment Nina stepped toward it, the crystal awakened.
A woman's voice echoed through the crypt.
"Welcome home... Catrina."
"Nina," she whispered, "only my family calls me Catrina."
The voice answered gently.
"You have always been Catrina."
- Writer
