The glowing bars of my cage were cool to the touch, so I sat and leaned back on them. I remembered Cornelius's advice to call the Queen. He must have meant the vampire one. I considered my options. Milena sided with the demon. I could only assume she'd attack Thirteen and the rest. Would she prevail against them? I wasn't sure. But she certainly had the advantage of surprise.

Getting the Queen here would be relatively easy. All I had to do was to reverse the cloaking spell and let her find me. I was sure she'd be more than happy to hunt me down. But then what? Obviously she wouldn't appreciate Anael's plan to enslave vampires. But would I dare to get her fighting Milena? She was my sister after all.

Judging by my legs going numb at least an hour have passed when I was ripped out of my thoughts by the sound of doors unlocking. I stood up when I saw Milena with Cornelius. My dad was leaning heavily on the vampire's arm. He was looking exhausted.

The leech brought Robert to my cage, that opened for long enough for him to throw in the second prisoner. I caught my father in my arms and gently helped him to sit down.

"I thought you could use some company," Milena smiled. "Besides all the action is going to move here anyway," she added with a smile.

"Where's the Huntress and Francesco?" I asked accusingly.

"They have an important role to play. I believe Anael is going to bring them shortly," my sister was oddly at ease with demon's plans. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you or your father. Though I might need your blood for my servants," she added, making my skin crawl.

"Sister, please. It's not too late. We can defeat the demon together. Get rid of the parasite for good," I pleaded, but she simply ignored me.

She turned to Adam's tank and recited an incantation. The light disappeared, releasing the man. Bewildered, he took in his surroundings, his eyes going wide when he saw the glowing cage. Fear and confusion showed on his face at the site of his wife in a company of a vampire.

"Long time no see, honey," the necromancer smiled cruelly.

"Milena, what is going on?" Adam's voice was shaky.

"Much have changed since we last spoke. Though I'm still mad about you cheating on me," there was a threat in her tone, that made the man shiver.

"I... I'm so sorry... It was a stupid mistake..." my sister's husband mumbled.

"Yes, it was stupid," Milena agreed coldly.

"Cornelius, take my husband with us. We need to... talk, but I don't want my brother to watch. He's really bothered by torture I think," she ordered, making Adam blanch.

"Milena stop, please. For goodness sake, come to your senses," I begged, as the vampire led out the terrified man. "You're a good person, you always wanted to help people, not hurt them. The demon is making you do those horrible things."

She just smiled and left without a word. I slumped down next to my father. Robert wrapped his arm around me. Milena was no longer herself and the demon was winning. Suddenly calling the vampire Queen didn't seem like such a bad idea.

With dad's help I managed to reverse the cloaking spell. I wondered how long it would take the Queen to come and find me. Would she be too late?

Through the cellar's wall I heard a muffled scream. I guessed it was Adam.

Time passed slowly and I was losing hope. Suddenly the basement's door was ripped open and the Queen herself appeared. She looked surprised when she noticed us in the glowing cage. She terrified me even now, when I hoped for her help.

"The demon wants to enslave all vampires," I blurted out, before the growing lump in my throat stopped me from saying anything. "Your sister is helping him," I added.

That caught her attention. She approached our prison and inspected us curiously.

"You got me here to tell me that out of the goodness of your heart?" she said mockingly.

"No. I was actually thinking we could help each other," I ventured.

"And what kind of help can you offer me?" the Queen asked disdainfully.

"Even you can't battle a demon, a master witch and a necromancer at the same time. Get us out of here and you'll have a wizard on your side. Plus, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even have known about the threat at all," I said defiantly.

"That necromancer you're talking about. Who is it?" the vampire asked.

"It's Milena. My sister. She got my power. I'm no longer a necromancer," I explained.

"I see..." the old leech said thoughtfully. "I guess we both have problematic siblings we wouldn't like to get killed. One more thing – you said I'd have a wizard on my side, but there are two of you?" she inquired.

"Your sister have locked my magic with a powerful seal," Robert spoke for the first time.

"What kind of seal?" she wanted to know.

"She branded me with her crest," my father answered reluctantly.

"Show me," the Queen was straightforward, earning a surprised look from us.

"Why?" I asked a bit angrily.

"Just do it," she barked.

I wanted to know more, but Robert took off his shirt with a sigh and turned his back towards the Queen. Between his shoulder blades there was a red burn scar in the shape of a crescent moon closed off with a diamond.

"Good. She branded you with our shared crest. I can't break the spell, but I could tone it down. You'd be able to wield at least a part of your magic for a few hours" The Queen's words made my heart leap. "Of course to do that I'd need to drink some of the royal blood," she added.

"You can drink from me. But first we need to get out of this cage. I can perform the spell but I don't have enough power. With your help, I would manage," I suggested.

"I think you need me much more than I need you," the Queen stated.

To be frank she was right.

"I'll help you if you swear, that after we deal with the demon, you will become my permanent blood donor," the vampire proposed.

I gulped.

"I'll be your blood donor," Robert cut in.

"No, I want him or we don't have a deal," the Queen pressed, seeing we didn't have much choice.

"Ok. Once we get rid of the parasite, I'll be yours," I agreed, doing my best not to think about the grim future.

My father's face went dark, but he stayed silent.

"Then it's all set. Let's get this demon," the leech said almost cheerfully.

The Queen and I caught one of the bars of the cage, our fingers intertwined. I whispered the spell Robert taught me. I felt the energy flow from me and the vampire straight into the prison's source of power. It took only a moment for the light to die down and we were free.

Without a warning the vampire embraced me and thrust her fangs into my neck. I gasped, instinctively trying to push her away and failing. She took a few sips and let me go, licking her lips.

"Truly exquisite," she said playfully.

The power radiating from her was breathtaking. She approached Robert and put her hand on his brand. The scar glowed for a moment with a red light, than paled.

"This should do it. Try it out," she said.

Hesitantly my father held out his palm and recited an incantation. A ball of blue flame appeared, making the wizard smile.

Just then the earth shook beneath us.

We emerged from the cellar just in time to see the church's tower crumble. There was a blindingly bright light emanating through the broken stained glass windows of the temple. Without thinking I ran inside.

The hell was breaking loose. For a long moment my mind couldn't make any sense of what I was seeing.

The first thing I noticed was a double ring of cultists impaled on twisted, crimson flowers. They were surrounding the altar, on which I saw naked, bloodied Francesco. I had no idea if he was alive. The demon was pinned to the wall with an enormous block of ice, that he was currently trying to melt with an orange flame emanating from his almost naked body. On his left there was Milena with her vamps and Lily. On his right was the Regina accompanied by Ilona.

They were all focused on a woman in a white gown, floating high above the altar and emanating the light we saw from the outside. She was turned away from us, her abundant, auburn hair flowing below her waist. She was protecting herself from Milena's darkness and witch's blue flame with a shield of twisting water.

Anael was almost free when we attacked his allies. The Queen rushed to Milena, but was intercepted by the vampires. She's already effortlessly cut down three younger leeches, when Lily and Cornelius stood in her way.

Guided by Robert I let out a wave of blue flames towards the witch and the werewolf. I felt my father's hatred towards Regina, it was almost tangible. She responded with a fan of rainbow sparkles dispersing my magic.

We were just in time with our aid, as Anael, finally liberated, was charging the woman in white with a barrage of ethereal daggers. She dodged them, summoning a gust of wind. In doing so she turned to us and I saw her face. I gasped when I realized it was Thirteen.

The light from the Huntress concentrated on Anael, making him scream. He called out for help. Than it happened all at once.

Lily and Ilona jumped at Thirteen, tearing at her with their claws. The woman faltered, her light dimming.

The Queen backhanded Cornelius throwing him out of the way and faced Milena directly. The necromancer looked her in the eyes and the vampire froze. My sister touched her cheek with one hand and extended the other towards Anael. She was channeling her energy to the demon.

Regina advanced on us, targeting Robert and knocking him unconscious. Without his guidance my spells were too weak to hurt the head of the Cabal. I was down on my knee, clumsily covering myself from her vicious attacks.

Anael was glowing with ominous, black aura, his power filling the church, pulsing and burning.

We were losing.

Aunt Cecylia appeared from nowhere, right beside Milena. She called out her name, but was ignored.

"Necromancer should never help a foul demon," she said with disdain. "It should be your brother wielding this power to destroy the filth."

She reached for my sister, but was stopped by the Dark Lady herself.

"Do not interfere," the guardian of the veil commanded.

"You are no longer fit to tell me what to do. You disgraced yourself when you allied with this abomination," aunt retorted.

"No man will be using the dark arts ever again. And I will take my prize," the Dark Lady hissed, moving up to me.

I froze. Milena woke up from her trance when the guardian's hand closed on the back of my neck. Cecylia was explaining something to her niece in a hurry. I saw my sister blanch, sudden realization dawning in her eyes. Aunt guided her hand in my direction.

The power flowed into me in a crashing wave, but instead of hurting me it nestled in the empty space that was waiting for it. I felt whole as I became a necromancer again.

The Dark Lady shrieked, but I pushed her away with ease, right into the line of Regina's attack. The blue flames engulfed her immediately.

The Queen, now free, moved to her sister, locking her in a steel embrace, preventing her from casting any more spells.

Thirteen was down, vainly trying to push away two raging monsters. I let the grey flame flow from my palms. It wasn't burning, but mixed with the Huntress' light, visibly giving her strength. Suddenly empowered, my savior thrust out both of her hands, striking Lily's and Ilona's chests. When she pulled them back, she was holding two beating hearts. She crashed them with a loud splash.

With her white robe drenched in crimson Thirteen looked like a nightmare incarnate. I approached her and held her bloodied hand, facing enraged Anael. His attacks could not reach us, no matter how fierce.

I felt our energies combine, darkness and light, death and life, finally complete. When we attacked, the demon stood no chance. With force unimaginable he was swept behind the veil, right back into his prison. I saw Cecylia sealing it for good. I knew all bonds with the parasite were cut and the worm would die out soon.

Mylegs buckled and I fell down to my knees. The exhaustion took over me andeverything went black.