Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
A few minutes prior. . .
They’re perfectly synchronized. Fighting in patterns and forms all together even though none of them are working together. Thorne, his father, the demigod, Professor Asier, Callahan’s father all spread out on the field wielding weapons I’d love to have in my hands.
Even the Dean is practiced and in time with them.
Darian and his father hanging back constructing the shields and keeping everyone up here safe from the flying attacks.
The fourth and fifth years taking over to organize people with the help of the council of the school before taking places around the terrace and helping with shields and their own offensive magic flying.
My aura is still roaming as my eyes are drawn to Asher. Jullia glances at me with a worried expression, but when she sees me she straightens and nods her head. Not backing down or hiding. But Asher still draws my attention with his different earth aura.
His is not cloying.
But his is also faded with crackling and soothing and guarding.
Leaving Ms. Elaycia and Nana, I go towards him and wipe my thumb through my bloody palm. My blood wrapping around my wrists since I had rolled my sleeves up and holding as I wait.
His nostrils flare as he looks at me and startles when I wipe my thumb across his forehead. His green eyes widen with alarm and he opens his mouth but I have no time for questions.
“Make a runic shield,” I demand. Which gains many eyes and Caleb who’s next to us looks at me and then to the blood smeared on Asher’s forehead with understanding.
Asher shakes his head. “Mine won’t do any – “
I let that fourth door crack open and it makes Asher choke as his green eyes begin glowing. My aura floods the entirety of the terrace as recognition pricks in the back of my mind. People around begin murmuring as I slowly turn my head back to the battle.
A whip of blood is soaring through the air and that cloying earth dips into copper.
A golden light begins glowing to the side of me as I suck in a deep breath and scream for them on the field. Stepping onto the stone between the two teeth of the saw-tooth looking wall I thunder my voice through. For some reason I look directly at Professor Asier when I say it.
“THEY HAVE WITCHES!”
And then that line of blood spreads to a web of death sailing straight for the celestials.
The rebels they had been fighting winking out of existence and reappearing behind the witches.
They had been the ones to run past first, but they had stopped at some point and let the rest of the first line of rebels pass.
A distraction to keep the celestials in place until they were able to use that web of blood like a blade.
I catch movement and icy blue eyes glance at me with resignation.
In a fraction of a moment I twist those first two keys within me to crack those doors open and release my control of my blood while a bolt of red lightning comes for me.
I keep my head up and don’t blink this time so I know exactly when. . .
It almost feels like a glitch and then time hesitates right as that web of blood is only a couple feet above my head.
Clever, clever devil. Hiding the witches aura within your own.
He should have tried harder to kill me when he first faced me. I bet he could have too after the Professor halted my magic. But not this time.
A golden shield drawn from runes appears over the school solidly protecting them from the rebel attacks. I can feel the energy being used from my blood that I had marked Asher with. The third magic vampyr can have.
We did not technically blood bond, but there is a blood oath connecting us and that is as good as it’ll get. Though I do not give him my magic, I give him the strength of my aura. Allowing him to create the expansive shield that he just did.
And I create my own.
The blood covering my hands and forearms moving to their own whips and curving around me and this space. Faster than the normal eye could ever see, they expand and blood webs that should have killed us shatter against my shield.
Turning, I see the celestials. Professor Asier’s face faulters when he processes it’s me out here. Standing further past Thorne and the demigod who also have their eyes on me and their mouths open.
The rest of the celestials. . . I think most of them had expressions of acceptance. Mr. Kyros did when he glanced back at me. This was a death blow they knew there was no way to block. The blood too close and too powerful – it would have sliced through any of their shields.
That’s what fate is.
I face the witches again and take a step forward as I throw my arms out and around.
Pulling my blood and wrapping their whip-like shape around in a circular form around me.
The ends of the whips dancing as I take another step, and then I spin – collecting all my whips in my hand – and throw them out in an arc towards those witches.
My weapons soar through the air faster than that witch’s blood had. There’s no stopping or blocking that. And they slice straight through the blood witch who had tried to kill the celestials.
Their head rolls and I let more of my blood spill to gather again around myself as I pull those whips I had thrown back. I let my aura flood behind me as I check each of the celestials. Letting my presence be known as I run invisible finger-like sheets over them.
Only a few light injuries. Most of them seem fine enough and still with plenty of stamina.
That death damnation roars through us as I widen my stance and physically grab onto my whips. A black cloak with a metallic mask comes straight for me. His form imposing and in his hands are twin blades flickering with black flames.
So much power.
But my blood hums as he gets closer and I attack first with a solid strike from my whip. He blocks the blow easily and then he’s on me.
Magic soars past us from the remaining witches and rebels against the celestials. Trading metal for magic while I go against Kolasi. The Death Devil himself.
I am very much smaller than him, but my whips make up for it. His shadow blades coming down with such a force that the blow creates a crater below us. The cracks lining the earth look like lightning and that second door sings.
Nana was right. I’ve lost some strength from the months I hadn’t been training before. But I flood my blood still in my veins with more power. That and my magic will be enough.
His movements are swift as I block and trade my own blows with him.
Gliding through the air like he isn’t a six foot five muscle packing devil.
Trails of black and red being left behind with how fast we move.
My whips of blood circling us like our own sort of boarder blocking us from the rest of the fight.
But that is only these whips of blood circling.
The ones I had first created are extended further.
Slithering through the battles of magic and now metal helping the celestials against the rebels.
Blocking when needed and killing when I can.
Lightening the load because there are still witches with powerful magic working.
His shadow blades that look like they’re flickering like black flames come down and around and up at me.
He’s already nicked me a couple times, and I know if they had cut anyone else they’d already be dead.
I can feel it in his body language. The frustration after every time he cuts me and I stay standing.
He should have figure it out though, when he scented my blood.
Blue belladon counters shadow flame no matter the dosage.
And vise verses. Which is why when I land a deep cut through his upper arm and he barely flinches, I know his shadows creating his weapons were not just an element.
I twist away from a blow that creates another crater in the earth and whip my blood out like spider legs around me. His black cloak billows behind him revealing black pants tucked into black boots but nothing else.
“You fight,” he reverberates, “like you’ve had this new strength for longer than just the few months you’ve been turned.”
The shock strikes like ice up my spine but I don’t let my guard down because of it. I twitch my hand and release my coiled aura within my whips of blood to permeate the air.
Raw power thickening and I let it expand past us and remind everyone around I’m still here. I’m still a threat.
There’s a jolt in his stance and then his aura pulses.
“If not, then what are you?” What? “Why do you still burn in the sun if you’re not a vampire?”
This time I can’t hide the shock. And he takes his advantage, which isn’t really an advantage because I meet his shadow with my blood. But I can feel my body will start lagging soon. I don’t have the fury from before fueling me. I don’t have the emotion behind my magic.
Before, there wasn’t anything but mild curiosity that served my purpose for why I intervened. I wasn’t panicked or angry or scared. Slight discomfort, maybe, because I did not want Mr. Kyros to die after just meeting him. And. . .
I had looked at Professor Asier first. The fucking red devil who –
“What did you just say?”
His aura pulses again and he comes at me with his blades like he has before.
Sharp blades that don’t have any poisonous effect on me but have still cut me several times.
I am so lucky the clouds haven’t cleared because the cuts around my legs are more exposed with the fabric of my thigh highs pulling open more.
And my shirt is drenched in blood both from my magic usage and from more cuts.
I’d be so exposed right now, but there is coverage and now my sole purpose is to rip that fucking hood off his head.
Panting between breaths and avoiding death blows, I heave, “Say it again.”
He adds more force to his blows even though we’ve been going at this for a while. Even with my magic adding strength, Nana was right, I haven’t been properly training.
But now a bubbling of emotion trickles with that song in my blood.