The night has come but Thirteen and Francesco were still in his room. I prayed silently that she wouldn't hurt him. When I came to the lounge my dad was already looking through some old books from aunt's library. I looked at the titles. For a necromancer hating demons she sure had a hefty collection of volumes about them.

Milena came soon afterwards, Cornelius trailing behind her. He looked devastated, his beautiful, blue eyes haunted. It was hard to imagine what the necromancer did to make a five hundred years old vampire this broken.

My sister seemed well rested and in good spirits. With a gleeful smile she announced that she'd go looking for Helena – the woman who got her involved with Anael's cult.

"I have a favor to ask from you," she addressed me, her voice sweet and pleading. "I might have gone a bit too far with punishing Cornelius..." she had the decency to sound guilty. "Would you let him drink from you? Just a few drops of royal blood could make wonders for him," she asked.

Seeing the vampire I couldn't say no to this request. I nodded and motioned to him to come and feed. He approached me cautiously when I held out my hand to him.

"No, not like that. Tomek sit down please," Milena said pulling me to an armchair.

"Kneel," she ordered Cornelius.

"He should remember his place, brother," she explained, making me feel awful.

"It's not necessary, Milena. You don't have to –" I tried speaking, but she cut me off.

"Nonsense. You saw what happens, when you don't control them," she said dismissively.

I sighed remembering Lily. Had I enslaved her, aunt would be still alive.

Cornelius was on his knees by my hand, waiting humbly. He bit me, when I invited him to drink.

"You can still turn me into human, my lord," I jumped, when I heard the voice in my head.

"What have you done, Cornelius?" Milena asked angrily.

I saw panic in the vampire's eyes.

"It's nothing. I just got a cramp," I tried to appease my sister.

The vamp looked at me gratefully. He was terrified on the necromancer.

"Please, go on," I said to Cornelius.

"Thank you my lord," the voice in my head sounded again, when the vampire started feeding. This time I was ready for it.

"Last time you didn't want to weaken you aunt. I understand that. But now... I beg you. Your sister, what she does to me..." the words stopped for a moment, replaced by pain and fear. "You are no longer a necromancer, so you can't enslave me, but I give you my word, that if you free me, I will serve you for the rest of my days."

I felt his heartbreaking despair.

"Enough Cornelius," Milena commanded and the vampire flinched.

His body was visibly restored, almost glowing. But his eyes were that of a hunted animal, begging me for help. I felt my stomach clench. Was I misjudging the situation again, just like with Lily? Was my compassion misplaced? Even if it was a mistake, I could not leave him like that.

"When we defeat the demon," I mouthed, making sure my sister didn't notice.

Cornelius gave me a barely perceptible nod, a flicker of hope appearing for a moment on his face.

Ignoring my worried questions Milena took her vampires and went out into the night.

"I need to follow her," I turned to Robert, getting ready to sneak after my sister. "I have a bad feeling..."

"They'll spot you at once like that. At least cast an invisibility spell on yourself. I'll show you how," my dad said wearily.

Fortunately the magic was simple and I still had enough time to catch up with my sister.

It felt surreal. She was walking surrounded by a dozen vampires, like a nightmare queen. I wondered where she was heading, when she stopped suddenly in a small square. She took off the bandages from her hand and used a small knife to open her wound. A few drops of her blood fell to the ground.

The shadows turned deeper, all sounds muffled and distant. A light mist rose from the ground. I shuddered when I realized she was peeking behind the veil. I could no longer see what she saw, but I heard her speak. She was inquiring the dead for Helena and the place of the cult.

After some time she must have gotten what she needed because everything returned to normal and she started walking again. She was heading for the center of the Old Town. I followed as silently as I could.

My eyes fixed on the group I was stalking I stumbled on a pile of rubble, making a small rock roll down from it. Cornelius turned and I'm sure he caught my scent. I froze. He said nothing, purposefully ignoring my presence.

Soon we reached an old, gothic church. Milena entered it with the vamps. Cornelius made sure the heavy, metal gate stayed open long enough for me to sneak in.

The church was desecrated, no longer a place for a Catholic mess. Numerous torches and candles lit the place with their warm, orange flames.

The altar was covered with a rich, crimson cloth decorated with gold embroideries depicting people writhing in pleasure. Numerous cloaked figures were roaming around the center of the church, all benches being removed and piled under the walls. No crucifixes or paintings were in sight.

Everyone turned to us when Milena and her escort entered. There was a murmur of surprise, but she didn't seem bothered by the attention. A figure emerged from sacristy and approached her before she could speak.

"Milena, I'm so glad you've found your way at last," the newcomer pushed down the hood revealing a nice woman's face framed with a blue bob.

She was smiling warmly, opening her arms for my sister. This had to be Helena. Milena frowned.

"Let's talk in private. I'm sure there's plenty for us to discuss," she coaxed, showing Milena the way.

We were going back to sacristy. My sister told the younger vampires to wait outside it, only taking Cornelius with her. Fortunately the vamp again took care of letting me in unnoticed.

There was only a single candle flickering on a small side table under the window. Apart from that there wasn't much furniture in here – two armchairs, a small bookcase and a coffee table. Helena sat and motioned for Milena to do the same. Cornelius stood respectfully in the corner of the room, near an old candelabra. I positioned myself beside the bookshelf, so as to see the faces of the two women.

"What did you do to the parasite? It was supposed to be a cure, not a disease," Milena spoke accusingly, getting right to the point.

"Actually it is a cure. If you remember your patients, they got better. No attacks, no brain damage. They got their power under control," Helena responded calmly.

"But it created a bunch of monsters destroying the world!" my sister exclaimed with indignation.

"Well, it's because it was misused. I think you have Adam to thank for it, no?" the blue haired woman teased.

What did Milena's husband have to do with the worm?

"That bastard would fuck anyone, except for me," the necromancer barked angrily. "You should have warned me at least about the risk."

"And tell you what? Watch your husband so that he doesn't cheat on you with your patient?" Helena retorted.

"No! Rather something along the lines, 'don't let the parasite spread or you'll have a zombie apocalypse'," my sister snorted.

"They're not exactly zombies, you know. The first wave was infected because they are sluts, like Adam," Helena argued. "Besides, this apocalypse has its good sides. It may be a way to make the world a better place in the end," the cultist persuaded and I almost gasped at her audacity.

"That's just preposterous! What are you even talking about?" Milena was losing patience.

"Don't you see? With the purely human control gone, there finally is the place for magic. Your patients, they evolved. They see and understand much more than they could ever imagine. The existence of vampires and werewolves became common knowledge. You can be an esteemed necromancer instead of an outcast, crazy cat lady," Helena was getting excited.

I saw my sister's eyes flicker with interest.

"Think about all the possibilities. You're a scientist, you know the worth of knowledge. All this time we were experimenting, looking for the ways to create perfect supernaturals, removing their inborn limitations. Day walking vampires. Werewolves immune to silver," the acolyte was almost ecstatic at this point.

I thought about Lily and Ilona. Were they the results of the experiments she mentioned? This would make sense, seeing as they were truly exceptional.

"Bullshit. What will you do with those super monsters? They'll eat us alive," Milena snorted.

"No. We have a plan –" My sister didn't let her finish the sentence.

"Who is this 'we' you keep talking about? I only see a bunch of crazy people in fancy cloaks," Milena spurted. "Where's your mighty Anael? Waiting for another fucking ritual to show himself to his humble servants?"

"Would you rather speak to him yourself?" Helena asked unexpectedly.

"Yes. If he's even real," the necromancer was skeptical.

"As you wish," the blue haired woman smiled.

Right before me her form flowed into another. In a blink of an eye, in her place there was a handsome, Asian looking man. Even his clothes changed to a well-tailored black suit. I gasped, making too much noise.

Cornelius knocked over the candelabra, covering for my carelessness. Milena turned to him abruptly with an angry frown.

"Forgive me, my lady," he apologized humbly, picking up the candelabra. Milena extended her hand towards him and the vampire doubled down in pain. She returned to the conversation, ignoring the suffering servant.

Somehow she was completely unfazed by the transformation.

"OK, so what is this brilliant plan of yours?" she questioned, calmly examining the demon.

"You. You are my brilliant plan," the man smiled roguishly.

"Could you be more specific?" my sister was her scientist self.

"Of course. You are the most powerful necromancer that ever walked the earth," Anael ignored sarcastic look on Milena's face. "You will control an army of powerful, day walking vampires. As for the werewolves I already made arrangements with witches' Cabal. They have a natural ability to reign the shifters. Plus Regina promised me to provide your vampires with royal blood," demon's words made my heart stop.

"With this kind of power we can rule the world and make it safe for everyone. Humanity will evolve, attaining its full potential. We'll combine science with magic, there will be no longer an illness that could not be cured," Anael recounted fervently.

I saw my sister's eyes light up with zeal, but she was still holding up.

"I've only just now become a necromancer. If it wasn't for my brother I would still be a leech myself. Not really looking like you were planning for that," she voiced her doubts.

"On the contrary, everything that happened was necessary for my plan to work. Had I interfered you wouldn't become the powerful necromancer you are now. I can prove to you, that I had you in mind all along," he said, standing up gracefully. "Please follow me and I will show you."

We left the church and went to the vicarage. Despite the risk Cornelius was helping me all the way. In the old building we went down into a cellar. It was illuminated by a violet light emitting from a human sized, clear container, that was floating in the middle of the room. Inside it I could discern a body of a man.

"Adam? I thought he was infected. Is he alive?" Milena asked looking carefully at the figure in the tank.

"Yes, I kept him for you. I thought you would enjoy... a chance to clear out your differences," Anael smiled.

"But the parasite in him?" Milena inquired.

"He is clean. I cut the flow of my energy to it and it died before Adam could be irreversibly damaged," the demon explained. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes. I think we should get to work as soon as possible," my sister's words terrified me.

I couldn't just stand like that any longer. I dropped my invisibility spell.

"Milena, you can't be doing this! He wants to enslave everyone. This is not some savior, but a tyrant!" I exclaimed, walking up to Milena.

She was surprised, but only for a moment.

"Calm yourself, Tomek. You've already seen what the supernaturals can do, if they're not under control. We'll just make it safe for the humans to grow," Milena said soothingly.

She was blind to the threat the demon was posing to everyone.

"He's using you, don't you see?" I tried to persuade her, but in vain.

"Cornelius, hold him," she ordered the vampire, pointing at me.

Before I could do anything the bloodsucker grabbed me by the arms and twisted my hands to my back. I groaned in pain. As he held me, I heard his thoughts in my head, "Call the Queen."

"I'm sorry Tomek, but I can't let you ruin this," Milena said apologetically.

"Would you be kind enough to keep him for me for a short while? Not like Adam though, let him stay conscious. It won't be long, I just need to take care of something first," the necromancer addressed Anael.

"Of course. I'll wait. You know where to find me," he bowed reverently. "I'll bring the day walking vampire to you," he added with a charming smile.

Milena nodded.

Iwas thrown into a glowing cage that appeared next to Adam's tank and everyoneleft. Shit.