Blind Devotion

Chapter 26: Hailstorm

"Oh, my darling. You're awake. Are you-" Donna cried, kissing Violet with tears in her eyes. Her relief was short lived - a loud explosion similar to thunder shattered all the windows in the room they were hiding in, sending large pieces of glass flying all over the room.  Donna hunched over Violet, protecting her from the harsh onslaught of glass.

"What?" Violet whispered when the glass stopped, hugging Donna as close as she could get her to her body. Luckily, none of them was seriously hurt, with only a few cuts. Donna and Violet both looked over, hearing a soft whimper and a hitch in a breath, seeing Alcina hunched over Miranda cradled in her arms. Alcina was trying not to cry, softly shaking Miranda's limp body.

"Donna, she's dying." It sounded as if she was falling asleep, her voice soft and pained.

"Donna... please..." She sounded tired. Violet was the first to reach them, quickly pressing both her hands on Miranda's wounds. Donna was right behind her, grabbing a needle and thread from the stitcher's satchel on her hip.

"Good thing she's unconscious. This is going to be painful." Violet whispered as she put pressure on the wounds. The older witch's eyes closed as she concentrated, humming softly. A dull, white light emanated from the palms of her hands, immediately stopping the bleeding. Alcina watched as Donna's skilled hands swiftly sutured the wounds. The four of them paused, looking at each other with worry, when it got quiet. It was dead quiet, they didn't even hear Karl and Alistair outside anymore and the lightning was flashing, bit there was no thunder. Suddenly, massive hail stones fell from the sky, smashing through the roof. As if protected by some unknown force, the five of them wasn't hit by the hail, watching as it crashed down onto the floor around them.

"Donna, Violet, take care of Miranda. I need to help Karl and Alistair." Alcina gently shifted and laid Miranda down in Violet's lap.

"Please, Cina. Be careful." Donna hugged her, before turning back to Violet.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Alcina stood up and wiped the blood from her face. Her hair had fallen out of the pins, now hanging loose around her bare shoulders. Her cream white dress was stained with Miranda's blood. She marched out of the room, silent as the grave, keeping to the shadows. She allowed her true vampire nature to come out, not making a single sound as she moved. Standing in a dark hallway, photos of Miranda and her daughter and of her and her siblings laying on the floor in shattered frames. She frowned, standing still and listening carefully. She heard Karl and Alistair screaming profanities at the witches not too far away. But she heard a witch stalking through the hallway, probably looking for them, just around the corner ahead of her. The Zamfir follower didn't see it coming, not even screaming when Alcina sank her teeth into her neck, draining her of all her blood. She pulled away and licked her lips, dropping the body on the floor. She moved quickly and joined Karl and Alistair, in a stand off with at least 15 Zamfir followers, glaring back at them.

*Hold on, my love...

"She's almost here." She whispered to her twin and Karl. She nearly burst out laughing when hailstones hit and killed two of the witches. Alcina's eyes wandered over the remaining g witches, seeing two of them wearing a lieutenants attire. None of them dared to move a muscle.

"Why are they not attacking? " Karl whispered, wielding a huge makeshift hammer.

"Because they're waiting for her. They seem to fear her." Alistair grinned, looking up to the roof, hearing the hail hammer down loudly. As Alistair expected, the roof suddenly ripped off, exposing them to the heavy rain and severe lightning. Seraphine landed with a crash, standing in front of her family members, facing the Zamfir witches.  An unhinged, psychotic smile graced her features, her head tilted slightly to the left. They all carefully eyed her, especially Alcina, still under the influence of her vampiric nature. Seraphine's milky white eyes glistened as she maniacally glared at her enemies. She raked her fingers through her gray hair, folding her wings elegantly behind her as she stalked towards them. She took advantage of her succubus abilities, hypnotizing them one by one. She reached one and lifted her chin with her finger.