71__A dark and dead soul

Kamilla watched with wide eyes as her blood dripped to the floor, her hand wrapped firmly around the blade of the dagger, inches from Rena’s chest.

“Kamilla!” Viktor hurried forward, but came to a sharp halt halfway to her.

Kamilla knew why. The searing pain of her cut hand was overwhelming but even through that pain she could feel it. She could feel the dagger’s magic work.
It was a feeling that reminded her of waves drawing away from the shore and slipping back into the ocean, leaving the sand bare and uncovered. She could Viktor withdrawing from her. Out of her.

With tear-filled eyes, Kamilla slowly looked at Viktor over her shoulder and he stared back at her, his face frozen by shock at what he was feeling within him.

“Oh, no,” murmured Rogan as he let go off the handle of the dagger and straightened. He put his hands dramatically to his cheeks. “I broke the wrong bond! Uhm... oops.”

Rena slowly shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks. “What have you done? Rogan, w-what have you done?”

Rogan’s dark chuckle was a distant sound to Kamilla as her entire mind focused on Viktor’s face, focused on his eyes. It felt like her body was trembling from within. She felt empty.
Rena gently pried Kamilla’s hand off the dagger and tossed the diabolical tool across the room. “Kamilla,” she called, looking her hand over. “Kamilla, are you okay? Why did you do that, Kamilla? C-can you hear me?”

“Viktor...” Kamilla whispered, staring at him through her tears. She stopped, the words caught in her throat when she saw it.

Cold and deadly, it seemed to surround Viktor, filling his aura, his eyes. It seemed to seep out from his soul. It was darkness unlike any Kamilla had ever seen before.
Viktor’s pupil was a black abyss, his iris a bright glowing green as he stared down at her from under his dark hair. His face was expressionless, showing nothing of what he was feeling. Kamilla was terrified.

Rogan clenched his jaw. “Putting on a show before I kill you, Viktor? Childish.”

Rena was trembling from head to toe as she shook her head. “Ursula... I must get Ursula...” Scrambling up, she darted around them and ran for the exit.

Kamilla was frozen to her spot on the floor, staring at what Viktor was turning into. His face seemed to darken, shadows making his cheeks more hollow and his eyes more deep set.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Rogan roared and stalked out to catch Rena.

Kamilla slowly swallowed her fear. This was Viktor. *Her* Viktor. She couldn’t be afraid of him.

“V-Viktor?” she called. “Rena... we have to help Rena.” Kamilla pointed a shaky finger at the exit. “Rogan’s g-going to kill her.” He gave her not even the faintest reaction. Kamilla’s heart sank. “Viktor?”

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. So this was it. What she’d first hoped for and then what she’d grown to be afraid of. Their bond breaking. Every single thing she’d felt within her that came from Viktor... it was all gone. The power he shared with her, the strength... he’d taken it all back. Every ounce of love and desire he’d felt for her... it was gone. And just like Kamilla had feared... hers was still there.
But the fact was that when it came to her, Viktor would no longer feel the bond. She could never again be called the Vampire King’s soulmate.

A scream tore through the air and Kamilla’s teary gaze whipped toward the exit.
“Rena...” Rogan that bastard. Kamilla felt her teeth tightly clench. Rogan did this. That sadistic creep broke hers and Viktor’s bond and still he was trying to hurt Rena!
With a harsh curse, Kamilla pushed up off the floor and cradling her injured hand, stalked out after them. She would turn him into mincemeat!

Reaching the front door, Kamilla burst out of the home and stared at the sight before her.

The moon was high in the sky, full and white, casting her light upon every single surface so that it was crystal clear.
On the brightly lit flat mountain rock that stretched about fifty feet in front of the house, Kamilla saw Rogan down on a knee, his hand wrapped firmly around Rena’s throat.

“Why betray me, Rena,” he groaned out as he strangled her. “After all I did for you?! You would’ve been dead if I hadn’t put you in this younger body! I gave you life and I can take it back!”
Kamilla was frozen for a second, watching in horror as Rena’s face grew more and more strained, her eyes filled with tears.

With a loud cry, Kamilla dashed across to them and launched herself at Rogan, managing to throw him onto his back.
“Leave her alone, you jerk!” she groaned ramming her elbow into Rogan’s face.

His groan of pain sent equal amounts of fear and satisfaction through Kamilla, but she couldn’t analyze either for long because before she knew it, he was okay and shoving her away.
Kamilla landed against Rena and both scrambled back as far as they could from Rogan. Kamilla glanced desperately at the doorway as Rogan stood up. Where the hell was Viktor? What was he doing?

Rogan flexed his neck, tilting his head to the side so that they heard the joints crackle and pop in a shudderingly loud manner. Righting his head, he looked across at them from under his haggard blonde hair, chest rising and falling with harsh pants.
“A-are you okay?” Kamilla asked Rena.
Rena nodded, rubbing her neck. “And Viktor?”

Kamilla gulped as she stared up at Rogan when he started to slowly approach, not even having an answer for Rena’s question.
Rogan clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles in the process before reaching for them.

“Rogan!”

He froze and straightening, quickly turned around.

Ursula shrugged off her hood and hurried forward, her face glowing in the moonlight.

“What are you doing here?” Rogan questioned, his voice darker and heavier than before as more of his evil seeped out.

“What are you doing?!” Ursula cried. “What is this *mess* you’ve made?!”

“Leave!” Rogan roared.

Wrapping a hand around Rena’s arm, Kamilla began to slowly back away from him, crawling backwards on the ground while Rogan was focused on his aunt.
“Stop this immediately!” Ursula said. “This is *not* what your powers are for, Rogan! This is *not* what Donna would have wanted you to become...”

Closing his eyes so that the frightening swirl wasn’t visible, Rogan ran a hand haphazardly through his hair. “Leave, Ursula... I’m going to end this. So don’t interfere.” Turning away from her, he focused his gaze on Kamilla and Rena, making them freeze.

Ursula stepped forward. “Rogan, please. What Darrius did has *nothing* to do with Viktor! He’s your brother—”

Rogan spun around with a growl. “Don’t you *ever* do that! Don’t you ever try and use that angle on me, Ursula, or I *swear*...” Breathing harshly, he closed his eyes and released a breath. “I told you... to leave.”

Ursula opened her mouth to say something more, but stopped when she glanced at Kamilla. Kamilla looked at her with eyes that asked for help as much as they showed her desire to curse the whole of Cassius out. Staring at Kamilla, Ursula felt her heart clench in her chest.
She shook her head slowly. “Oh, dear...” she whispered, her face growing paler by the second. “Rogan... what have you done?” whispered Ursula.

Rogan looked at her with narrowed eyes. “That’s my business.”

Ursula held a hand to her chest, continuing to stare at Kamilla. “Rogan, you’ve broken their bond! What have you done, Rogan?!!” she cried, her voice sharp with fear and pain.

“I’ve weakened him!” Rogan yelled back. “Without his soulmate bound to him, he’s weaker! I’m going to kill her... then I’m going to kill Viktor. You can watch if you want to.”

Ursula shook her head and before Rogan could react, she clenched her teeth and threw a dark purple light at him.

Groaning in pain, Rogan clutched his chest and glared at her. “What the hell?! I told you to leave!”

“You idiot!” Ursula cried. “You’ve doomed us all! I told you, Viktor isn’t his father! Darrius was strengthened by his soulmate’s bond, but *not* Viktor!”
Rogan straightened with an annoyed look on his face. “What?”

Ursula shook her head. “Rogan... Viktor is not strengthened by his bond with Kamilla. He’s made more *human* by it.”
Kamilla’s own heart stopped. What on earth was Ursula talking about?

Rogan shook his head. “Bullshit.”

“It’s true!” said Ursula. “Being bound to Viktor makes Kamilla stronger, more powerful. And being bound to Kamilla is what makes Viktor more compassionate... more understanding, more human! They’re each other’s half! In other words... you’ve broken what restrains his darkest power... what hides away the devil in him. You’ve unleashed his monster.”

Kamilla had turned to ice. She sat frozen on the ground, staring up at Ursula.

Rogan ran his tongue across the inside of his cheek and then gave a sardonic grin. “That so, aunt? Well, good. Then, maybe, if he’s strong enough, he could kill me and free me from this hell I’ve been living. Either way, *I* fucking win.” Turning his head, he looked at Kamilla. “But I’m definitely taking his most precious away from him before I die.”
Kamilla had not a second to react before he’d reached her and wrapped a hand firmly around her throat, staring into her eyes with his black, swirling ones.

“Rogan!” screamed Ursula, running over to wrap both hands around his arm and attempt to pull him away.
Rogan was resilient, his dark gaze focus on Kamilla’s tearing eyes while he strangled her. Flinging his arm back, he tossed Ursula halfway across the flat rock.

“Ursula!” cried Rena, rushing over to the unconscious woman.
Cradling Ursula’s bleeding head, Rena screamed at Rogan. “Stop! Rogan, please!”

Kamilla stared up at him, through a vision blurred by tears, unable to do anything to fight him.
“Rogan!!” Rena screamed again, her voice made jagged by the tears clogging her throat.

“I’m desperate to die,” Rogan murmured to Kamilla. “But not before you do...”

Her fingers were clawing at his hands, all her strength and power having been taken with the broken bond, but Kamilla didn’t give up until she could no longer fight. She felt the strength leave her, her body weakening.
Rena ran over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders trying to drag him away but a mere flick of his arm had her flung away like a rag.
Kamilla let her eyes close.
When it felt like she was about to give up the ghost, Rogan’s hand suddenly wrenched away from her throat and Kamilla dragged in a lungful of breath, clutching at her chest.

She crawled slowly away as she dragged in deep breaths of air. She would’ve died. Kamilla held her neck. She’d nearly just died right now. She would have died and her mom would have never known why.

Trembling from head to toe, Kamilla fearfully looked back and froze when, across the flat mountain top, she saw Viktor.

With his eyes still glowing that unreal green, his face still shadowed, he was holding Rogan down with a single hand across his neck, his sharp nails making the sides of Rogan’s neck bleed.
Kamilla’s hand rose to cover her mouth as she stared wide-eyed.

It didn’t even look like Viktor. Kamilla felt her mouth go dry as she watched the merciless violence.

Hissing threateningly, Viktor bared a pair of fangs that were longer and thicker than what they’d been before. Swiping a sharp-nailed hand across Rogan’s chest, Viktor sliced two thick cuts across his chest, unfazed by the blood that splattered up across his own face.
Kamilla gasped in fright and shook her head. This wasn’t Viktor. This wasn’t *her* Viktor.
His hand grew tighter around Rogan’s neck and they stared at each other.

Kamilla was horrified to see a tight smile spread across Viktor’s face, and even further horrified to see Rogan’s mouth curve in a similar one.
“M-monster...” groaned Rogan. “I... knew it—”

Kamilla shook her head. No. Viktor was not a monster! He was *not*! She bit her lip, watching Rogan turn grey. Oh, God! If she let him kill Rogan, Viktor would truly turn into the monster that Rogan said he was.
With her heart in her throat, Kamilla scrambled up and ran across to them. Her arms went around Viktor’s shoulders.

“Viktor! Let him go!” she pleaded. “Don’t do this, Viktor, please, it’s not who you are!”

A dark growl erupted out of him and before Kamilla knew what was happening, Viktor flung back his arms, throwing her off of him.

Kamilla felt a force unlike any other throw her and with no balance whatsoever, she went staggering back. Viktor turned, looking at her with fangs angrily bared even as Kamilla flailed her arms wildly about.

He watched even as she screamed his name and with a cold heart, he watched even as her feet slipped off the edge of the mountain and she went plunging off the cliff.