“John!” Katie felt Natasha scream. The guards hurriedly grabbed John and carried him away. Natasha ran towards them, out of the kitchen but they had already gone.
Katie felt a nail pierce the side of her neck. She turned around and saw Sabrina coming after her. Katie ran up the stairs towards her bedroom. Before she was halfway up a long nail pierced through her stomach. Katie felt Natasha’s eyes widen and the air leave her body while she crumpled against the wall, the shock and intensity of the pain leaving her immobile. But she wasn’t dead just yet. She still felt life inside her.
Natasha couldn’t breathe, though she did not give up. Katie forced herself to stand and dragged herself up a few steps. Pools of blood stained the walls and dark wooden stairs. Sabrina sent another sword-like nail towards her, but Natasha gave in and collapsed back onto the stairs, leaving the nail flying over her head and out of sight.
She tried to inhale a deep breath but only succeeded in coughing up blood. Her body was quickly giving up entirely. But necessity kept her alive. Katie could feel her mother’s power keeping her alive.
“Get up,” said Sabrina. Two swords penetrated her wrists, and she was pulled upwards, suspended in the air, almost as if she were being crucified. Her head hung low.
Natasha lifted her head slightly, only enough to see Sabrina’s feet. Natasha screamed as loud as she could. Naturally, no sound came out, though that wasn’t what she was intending to do. Black smoke whipped around her and engulfed Sabrina. The nails disintegrated into dust and Katie fell to the floor.
She could hear Sabrina choking, unable to breathe with the lack of oxygen affecting her lungs. Natasha smiled; Katie could feel the blood run down her teeth and could taste it in her mouth.
“Bitch!” shouted Sabrina and lashed out several sharp nails, though none were more than half an inch long. A few hit Natasha, but Katie could barely feel the pain from them. The cloud of black smoke faded away. Sabrina’s face was pale, with the faintest tint of blue.
“I’m done here,” Sabrina said through her teeth. She pulled out two feet long nails from her fingers and flung them towards Natasha. They stuck through her armpits and carried Katie up the stairs.
“I bet that hurts,” said Sabrina with relish. “Now it’s time for you to die.” Katie could feel that her mother was as good as dead. She was unable to move, unable to feel the pain of the swords that still pierced through her body. For a moment she was still, suspended in front of the doorway to her parent’s room.
Katie could barely see the rapier-like nail shoot at her and stab through her chest. She couldn’t feel the sensation of flying in the air and landing on the bed. Natasha Dimes was already dead.
Katie felt as though she were thrown out of the body and was watching the scene below from an exterior view, like she was now watching the movie, instead of being part of it. She looked at her mother, her eyes unmoving without a trace of life.
Sabrina walked in and stared down at her. She smirked. Blood and sweat matted her hair upon her face. She pulled the long nail from Natasha’s chest and walked out of the room.
Katie felt tears in her eyes.
“Listen,” her mother said. Katie gasped and looked to her right. Her mother was standing there, though she looked blurry and faded.
“I’m listening,” Katie said.
“I don’t have much time before Pluton takes me,” Natasha said.
“What do you mean?” Katie asked but only got a quick, pleading response for her to be quiet.
“Listen carefully,” Natasha said when Katie was silent. “Nayara is planning to use and ancient, dark magic during the day called ‘The Duo’. She will use my power and energy, along with your father’s, to destroy this world and build it anew from its ashes.”
Katie stared at her mom.
“She mustn’t be allowed to do that. There is so much more at stake than just the lives we live now if she were to succeed. You must stop her.”
“How?” Katie asked. She looked at her mother, eyes wide. Part of her didn’t want her mother to go. Somehow Katie knew that this would be the last time she saw her mom.
“First thing’s first; stop her from awakening Oscurilina. But if that fails you have to stop her from rebirthing the power.”
“The power?” Katie asked, confused.
“Oscurilina’s,” Natasha answered. “Because when the Duo begins, she will be unstoppable.”
“What’s the Duo?”
“When all three moons of Narque can be seen, as well as the comet Koran,” Natasha answered. “The power comes from the third moon and the comet.”
“When does that happen?” Katie asked.
“I do not know,” Natasha answered. She looked worried, and as if she were rushing. “Also know that Nayara can’t do anything if she doesn’t possess one of our necklaces.”
“So I should keep yours safe,” Katie said.
“Don’t worry about mine,” her mother said. “It will disappear along with me. But they have your father’s, and that’s why she’s keeping him alive. Retrieve it.”
Katie nodded. Her mother was fading quickly. She tried holding her hand but her own just went through it, as if it were smoke.
“Katie,” Natasha said, her voice weak and barely audible. “You are on a ship called the Pillars of Dusk. Trust no one. And get off it as fast as possible.”
Katie nodded, tears running down her face. She closed her eyes shut for a moment. When
