Chapter 22: Petru’s Command and the Risky Counterattack

Spoiler Notice: This page reveals major plot points from Chapter 22 of Dark Memory. Read on only after you have finished the chapter.

Chapter Summary

Safia wakes to a changed Petru—cold, calculating, and fully the ruthless knight the moon sent to destroy monsters. He issues an absolute decree: no bargains, no sacrifices; the war hinges on her survival, not his. He then explains Benedek’s risky plan. The ancient Carpathian has divided pieces of himself into Gwafa, Izem, and Usem, creating real, breathing fighters who multiply their numbers. If any replica falls, both the original and Benedek will be critically weakened unless the fragment is retrieved before death.

The family gathers at the farmhouse for what feels like a final goodbye. Safia’s father reinforces the only possible outcome: victory. As the first assault erupts, Zdan’s aunt Raashidah, programmed by the enemy, approaches the gate demanding entry. Puppets drag themselves toward her. When they begin tearing her apart, Zdan shoots his aunt to spare her a worse death. Safia wields her crystal sword and sacred water to burn the demonic vines and crows sent by Lilith, making it appear the defenders believe the main attack is at the farm.

Petru then calls Safia to the true battlefield, a narrow valley where he deliberately allowed a flaw in the safeguards to draw Lilith’s army into an ambush. Shifting into a little owl and cloaked by the Carpathians, she discovers four Valk generals—Bos, Shock, Rupert, and Grog—each commanding a pack of hellhounds. Their orders: release the hounds after the defenders are weakened. Using her deep connection to animals, Safia carefully invades the minds of the pack-leading hellhounds one by one, wresting control from the demons without detection. She learns that Lilith is blind to the battlefield, relying on Rupert’s eyes, and that the hellhounds are programmed to target her bloodline. Once she has complete command of the beasts, she reports to Petru: It is done.