Chapter 6 - A Mother’s Fury
Julian hesitated for a fraction of a second. Greed flickered across his pale, lifeless face. That split second was all I needed.
I didn't reach for my neck. I plunged my hand into my purse, ripped out my heavy, metal-cased water bottle, and lunged forward with everything I had.
I brought the steel bottle down with full force right across Julian's face.
CRACK.
The sound of his nose breaking echoed through the ruined room. Julian gasped, stumbling back, dropping the copper pendulum.
The moment the pendulum hit the floor, Chloe took a massive, shuddering breath. "AIR!" she choked out, her chest heaving wildly.
"Sarah! The box!" Mark groaned from the floor, pointing a trembling hand.
Julian snarled like a wild animal, his blind eyes rolling as blood poured down his chin. He reached for the dropped box on the floor.
"Get away from her!" I screamed.
I didn't just hit him again—I threw my entire body weight onto him. We slammed onto the cold linoleum floor. Julian was surprisingly strong, his fingers gnarled like oak roots, grabbing my throat. His fingernails dug into my flesh, cutting off my air.
"You foolish woman!" he hissed into my face, his breath reeking of rot. "I will snap her neck right now!"
He reached out his free hand, his fingers clawing across the floor, inches away from the copper box.
I couldn't breathe. Black spots danced before my eyes. My fingers fumbled around the floor, looking for anything. My hand brushed against the sharp, shattered glass from the broken door.
I gripped a jagged shard of heavy window glass, ignoring the sharp pain as it sliced into my palm. I raised my arm and slammed the glass down into Julian's wrist.
He shrieked in agony—a high-pitched, inhuman sound—and released my throat.
I scrambled away, coughing violently, and grabbed the wooden box off the floor.
"No! Don't touch it!" Julian screamed, clutching his bleeding wrist, crawling toward me like a spider. "If you break it incorrectly, the thread will contract instantly! It will decapitate her!"
I held the box in my hands. It was heavy, cold, and hummed with a terrifying vibration. On top of the box was a small dial, encircled by ancient latin inscriptions and dark symbols.
I looked over at Chloe. Dr. Vane was beside her now, checking her pulse. "The line!" Dr. Vane shouted. "It's glowing! It's reacting to the box!"
The black line under Chloe's chin was pulsing rapidly, dark indigo light shining through her skin. Chloe whimpered, holding her neck.
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"How do I open it?!" I screamed at Julian, holding the heavy glass shard over the box. "TELL ME HOW TO RELEASE HER OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL SMASH IT TO PIECES!"
"You can't!" Julian laughed maniacally, blood dripping from his nose. "It requires a life sacrifice to undo! A mother's love isn't enough, Sarah! It never is!"
