The crypt stank of time and holy water. The artifact sat on a stone slab, and the dagger fit into a slot beside it like a key.
"Once you start, you can't stop," Adara warned. "The balance will take from you too. It always demands payment."
"What kind of payment?" Lena asked.
"No one knows until it's done," Adara said.
Arian cut his palm without hesitating and let blood drip onto the dagger. The artifact flared. The whole city felt it. Car alarms went off for six blocks. Dogs howled. Every vampire in a 10 mile radius dropped to their knees as the old hunger — the one that made them want to own the world — was chained again.
When the light died, Arian was older. Not in years, but in weight. Like he'd lived a second life in ten seconds.
Viktor's scream echoed from somewhere far away. Not dead. Just denied.
"It's done," Arian whispered. "The balance is sealed."