Krrrkkrrr…!!
A deafening crack of lightning illuminated the dark sky, casting an ethereal glow over the world for a fleeting moment before plunging it back into darkness.
The air was electric with anticipation as heavy raindrops began to fall, supported by strong, gusty winds that howled and whipped through the streets like a chorus of restless spirits.
Trees and objects swayed in the tempest's wake, their limbs trembling in fear. Thunderclaps rumbled and boomed, shaking the very foundations of the earth and vibrating through the buildings like a primal scream.
Amidst this maelstrom, a lone figure emerged, unfazed by the turmoil. Sonya walked through the storm with a calm determination, her eyes fixed on the house before her. She entered, slamming the door behind her, and was greeted by Leah, her loyal servant.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Leah asked, her voice laced with concern.
Sonya's expression was grim. "Leah, I need you to take my children to safety. The vampires are coming!"
Leah didn't need to be told twice, she need to get her mistress's children away from the fight or they could be used as hostages, which might hinder their victory in the fight.
Springing into action, her face was set in a determined mask. She knew the danger that the vampires posed, and she wouldn't let them harm her mistress's children.
While Leah scurried off to bring the children out of the room, Sonya brought out two small gemstones, appearing to be an artifact of some kind, from her pocket.
She placed both stones in her palm, and for a brief moment, a white glow of light illuminated from the gems before it grew dim again.
She tied a string around each stones, transforming them into pendants, and whispered to herself, "I have to protect my kids at all cost."
She turned around to find her two children coming out of the room with Leah. One was a male, the other was a female. The male was six years of age, while the female being the youngest was just three years old.
"Ken, Fen." Sonya called as she grabbed both children and gave them a hug. "I need you guys to be safe till I'm back."
"Where are you going mummy?" Ken, the male child asked.
Smiling, so as to assure the kid that all was great, she replied. "Somewhere, but I promise I'll be back soon."
She then proceeded into placing both pendants on their neck. "In whatever you do, make sure you don't lose this. It's the only way I can find you guys."
After kissing them both on their foreheads, she signalled for Leah who had instantly carried both children on either side of her arms. Her strong hands holding them tight and firm.
"I'll be leaving now, divinity be with you princess." Leah said.
Nodding her head, Sonya also replied. "Divinity be with you too."
As Leah took off to leave, Ken couldn't help but look back at his mother, tears forming on his eyes. Sonya on the other side was also crying, she had no idea when next she'll be seeing her children.
Once they were finally out of sight, she turned towards the door. She could feel the presence of some people,… some is an understatement, many people. And,… vampires to be precise.
She slowly walked towards the entrance, which upon opening the door, she was met with a number of thirty vampires all standing idly in the rain.
As the vampires closed in, their leader, Drax, sneered at Sonya, his voice dripping with malice.
"Well well well, who do we have here. If it's not for the soon-to-be queen of the celestials. Though I doubt that will be possible since that soon-to-be will become never-to-be." He chuckled sarcastically as he delivered his speech.
Placing her hands behind her back, Sonya looked unfazed. She stood tall with her eyes flashing with defiance, an air of confidence brimming from her. "Don't you think it's quite unfair? The whole lot of you against me alone? Come on!" She retorted with a smirk.
"I heard you're quite a tough nut to crack, I couldn't risk less since the execution of my goal depends on the completion of this mission." Drax stated, his voice booming sharp despite the disturbing sound of the wind.
Sonya's voice pierced through the stormy night, her words laced with defiance. "I guess you must be the vampire leader! Seeing how you've decided to come here yourself after sending numerous vampires to take me down, yet not a single one of them had been successful!"
She was trying to make her voice audible since she wasn't like the vampire Drax who had a special trait of projecting his voice louder. Due to the howling sound of the rain, she had to yell out so they could hear her voice.
Though, it was quite unnecessary since the vampires could hear even the slightest of the sound. Her yelling was in fact too noisy for them.
"I must admit, you're quite something!" Drax chuckled, his voice booming through the rain-soaked air. "If we hadn't been enemies perhaps I would have made you my queen. I guess that's why my brother had decided to forsake his original form and family just so he could be with you."
Sonya's eyes widened in shock as Drax revealed his true identity. "What do you mean? Peter is your brother?"
Drax's smile grew wider. "I'm Drax, your husband's elder brother and your only in-law. And guess what? I've brought your husband along with me."
As he spoke, a vampire emerged from the shadows, Peter struggling in his grasp. A knife glinted in the dim light, pressed against Peter's neck, and his mouth was sealed with a tape.
Sonya's heart raced with fear. "Peter..."
Meanwhile, Leah and the children had reached the top of a tower building where a magic circle had been drawn. It just needed a few adjustments since they needed to teleport out of the place.
While Leah was busy doing this, Ken had spotted a small opening where he peeked his head out, his eyes fixed on the scene below. He immediately noticed someone he hadn't seen for a long time.
"Daddy..." he whispered, before his voice trailed off in horror.
Drax's voice cut through the night, his words dripping with malice. "Surrender yourself to us, or I will kill everyone that matters to you, starting from your husband."
Sonya's fists clenched behind her back. "But he's your brother. You won't kill him."
Drax's expression turned cold. "Not anymore. He stopped being my brother when he gave up his vampiric form. He's no longer family, but a meal for us to consume."
Sonya knew she had to act fast. "Alright, I surrender. But promise you'll let him go."
Drax smiled, his hands shaping an X across his chest. "Cross my heart."
As Sonya surrendered, a vampire approached her, blue shiny handcuffs at the ready. The moment they touched her skin, a searing pain coursed through her veins, and she fell to her knees.
Gritting her teeth in pain, she screamed in terror, "Arrrghh! What did you do to me!" Her skin was already turning a shade of purple, with her powers waning.
Drax gloated, his eyes gleaming with triumph. "I heard sapphire is good in weakening celestials. I never expected it to be this effective."
"I just needed you to lower your guard a little bit, I never intended on fighting you since I have something to subdue you anyways. That cuff is forged from the pieces of sapphire we could find, turns out those stuffs are rare to find. I had to purchase them in a very expensive way."
"You must be wondering how I knew." Drax continued, his voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. "Thanks to your lovely sister, because of her desperate attempt to kill you, I got to learn about my enemy's weakness. You know, sometimes families can be the death of some people... just like I'll be the death of my little human brother here."
With a flick of his wrist, a red beam of energy shot towards Peter's heart.
"Nooooo!!" Sonya screamed, her voice echoing through the night.
Ken's shout followed, a desperate cry that pierced the darkness. "Daddy!!"
The outcome was sealed. Peter's fate was all but certain. With the attack from Drax, there was no way he could survive that. However, the little shout from Ken hadn't gone unheard by the vampire's super hearing ability. Besides, Ken hadn't even done justice to his shout, it was so loud that even Sonya could hear.
"Go get that kid, I want him alive at all cost."
'No, no, no. Ken. My children!' Sonya screamed within herself, but she was too weak to do anything. Her legs were already giving in, her eyes were growing dimmer as the weakening effect of the sapphire was dawning on her.
As the vampires closed in, Leah knew they had to escape. "Shit, we have to go!" she exclaimed, grabbing both Ken and Fen.
"What about mummy?" Ken cried.
"There's no time, we have to go. Mummy will find a way out." Leah claimed as she stepped in the middle of the magic circle.
Luckily, she was done drawing the circles, and the formation was already activated. It lit up, teleporting them out of the area.
As for Sonya, her fate remained uncertain, lost in the darkness, with her powers fading...
*****
Love this one? You can check up an even better one written by the same author; While everyone else is a god, I became a god slayer - Coming soon on webnovel.