Rick had nowhere to run, maidens surrounded the large open space in every direction. The Vampire's minions stood at the very edges, hooded figures holding torches. His eyes flickered at Kiara. The Succubus glared daggers at the Vampire, but she could not move. Because the moment she so much as twitched, every other maiden would be upon her. It was a cold war threatening to turn hot at the first spark.
Rick was on his own.
Eva, or rather, the hunger that had taken over her, charged.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, every detail of the world sharpened to a razor edge. The hot summer breeze, the coarse dirt under his feet, the starry night sky, the flickering lights. Rick's breaths deafened the world, his body screamed for him to move, to run.
Fighting with his wrists tied together would be awkward. No one would come to save him. The crowd was more worried about what the two powerhouses would do. His fate, as far as they were concerned, was sealed. He was merely a prop in the game.
Eva had covered half the distance, a dead sprint full of stumbling steps. The world narrowed down to her. Nothing else mattered. Unblinking red eyes looked at him. Tears ran down her cheeks, mouth frothed like an animal with rabies. He pushed the pity and anger out of the way.
The instant she was within range, Rick stepped forward and swung with both his fists. It was wide, telegraphed, and cumbersome, carrying every bit of force he could put into it. Eva either was too lost to notice or didn't care. His fists connected with her face. It was like punching a sack of cement. Eva weighed too little to counteract the inertia.
She fell, and he quickly stepped away.
Rick's knuckles throbbed. He grit his teeth, thinking fast. He wrapped the excess rope around his knuckles. There was barely any time. Eva got back up the moment she'd regained her balance. She charged, unharmed, unphased.
His mind rushed through what he knew for certain about the Fledgling.
One, she was the weakest fighter in the team, second to Dia, but only because Dia had training and experience. Otherwise, Eva’s raw strength could beat out the Rapha’s. Two, he outclassed her in mass, reach, and apparently, mental lucidity. Still, it meant that even without using her powers; she held the advantage in every other category by a hefty margin.
An idle thought reminded him of the Earl, of his "priceless" musket, and how one of the lowly maidens had stopped the bullet with her bare hands.
> "The only way to fight a maiden is with another maiden."
Rick grit his teeth, sensing a flare-out of hunger through the bond right as Eva leapt at him. Arms outstretched, mouth open, she aimed for the throat. Rick barely had the time to step to the side and hammer her out of the way with his clenched fists. She shrieked, falling face first to the dirt, and he put some distance to prepare for the next attack.
“Eva!” He called out. “Wake up!”
With every uttered word, he reached out through the bond, trying to grab a hold of her hunger, to pull it out of her. The sensation was far different to when he grasped pain. Pain was sharp, it had a shape, and a point from where it radiated. The hunger within Eva was like a fire that burned through every cell in her body.
It was like digging into sand, go deep enough and the walls would cave in.
This was going to take a while.
“RAH!”
Another flare of hunger and another leap. This one had been less of a stumble, more certain. Anger was mixing with the hunger, even as despair streaked in tears. Rick smacked her out of the way, but this time, she didn't fall. Eva swiped viciously at him, sharp black nails lashing out. The attack didn't find flesh, but it rent the hemp rope on his arms like it was hot butter.
“You need to wake up!”
It was hard to speak, his throat constricted with an impossible thirst. Anger burned in his gut, frustration made his bones ache. The hunger sank its claws into his stomach like nails. It was becoming harder to think, and he'd barely avoided the next attack. But he could only pull further on the hunger and pray it would be enough to snap her out of it.
Something felt increasingly off. Her next attack was less of a lunge, lashing out at him and giving little room for any actual retaliation. Rick could only backpedal and duck out of the way. But the more the fight went on, the more coordinated she was becoming. Until he tried to deflect her claws, and the Fledglings fingers found purchase around his rope-covered wrists.
Her hold tightened.
It was with a creaking that pain shot up his arm. Rick grit his teeth and yanked, pulling his whole body, throwing her off. Eva weighed practically nothing. The maiden got knocked over, but she didn't let go. Her grip was an iron shackle, and inertia took the wheel as her falling weight destabilized him.
Rick's gaze turned red. Anger, hunger, frustration, despair. The emotions from the bond were burying him. He stiffened, breathing air, his whole body burning. The next moment he realized she was on top of him, red eyes glowing, the maiden lunged mouth first to rip his throat out. He barely had the time to use his right arm to protect himself.
Eva bit around the hemp rope, and then bit into it, yanking her head back, tearing it to pieces.
There was no blood, only a sudden surprise. The maiden gagged and coughed, spitting out bits of rope. It bought him the time he needed to kick her off of him and get back to his feet. His mind was spinning, and every bit of the hunger that he pulled out of her was gnawing at him like a ravenous beast with a mind of its own.
Rick's eyes danced on Eva's throat, his mouth salivated.
Her red eyes had a glint of intelligence within them, a slim thread of cognition. Not enough for her to snap out of her state, but plenty to make her that much more dangerous.
“Eva!” he shouted.
She didn't expect him to charge. The surprise was enough for him to knock her down. It bought Rick time, time to reach and pull more of her hunger. There wasn't enough time to consider alternatives. It was becoming harder to think, to do anything but move and attack. Her pale skin was marred only by specks of dirt, not a scratch on her, not even a bruise.
Rick could see the outline of a vein right on her shoulder. His body was feeling lighter.
He missed the timing of his next parry, he tripped.
Eva didn't miss her opportunity. She lunged, and the only thing he could use to stop her was his arm. The rope stopped her, but this time she'd gotten good leverage on him. She bit down. His bones let out a sickening crunch. The pain snapped Rick's mind from the fugue and he screamed.
His mind lashed out the only way it could. By plunging deeper into the hunger. His eyes watered, throat constrained, breathing became a wheezing struggle for survival, fire spread over his body. Anger and hunger mixed into a singular voice that cried within his mind like a bell. A desperate plea for anything to quench the thirst. Rick's body seized, and he lunged at her.
For the first time since the fight began, she reacted with something different: fear. The maiden pounced away from him like a scared cat, escaping his reach. Rick followed. The pale skin was mouth-watering, his eyes were heavy, his body burning from the inside. He was light like a feather.
It was like a weight that was pressing into his skull. Thoughts swam against a tidal-wave of molasses. Was this how she'd felt these past few nights? And there was still so much of it left within her. He could sense it, the light of cognition slowly fighting its way to the surface. Her eyes ever so slightly becoming more focused.
"Wake up." Rick coughed. His throat felt like sandpaper.
His eyes were wild, growing unfocused. The world and everything around him was becoming less and less important. But the fear in Eva's eyes, the hesitation... looking at it sent jolts through him. Rick stepped forward, and she stepped back. She looked so delicious, creamy skin, silky smooth.
Rationally, he was aware nothing he did would solve this feeling within him. These emotions weren't his own. He was stealing them from Eva, robbing her of some of the weight. But that didn't stop his mouth from watering, or the feeling of how much he loomed over the short maiden. Even as alarms rung inside his mind over how dangerous that notion was.
That he was still a human. And she was not.
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But if she regained her senses, then she could stop him. Stop this. Rick took another step, drinking in the apprehension. The world was narrow, barely the immediate area between him and Eva. Everything else was blurred. His mouth was full of cotton, Rick swallowed air, his throat rasped with every breath.
"Wake up."
Eva inhaled sharply. A moment, a split second of the beginning of clarity.
Then her eyes snapped to his limp arm. At the droplets of blood. The hunger twisted and shifted within them both, the bond allowing the feeling to flood into Rick. They turned into long hot nails sinking into their skulls, searing away reason and thoughts. They both let out a scream at the same time. Eva jumped with supernatural strength, Rick charged. He had longer reach, his hand met her face before she could grab at him.
The pain went ignored, drowned in the thirst.
She recoiled, wheeling, preparing to regain her balance. Rick chased, blood-soaked fists flailing against her face. The Fledgling shuddered, savoring the blood, the hunger leaving room for ecstatic anticipation and anger. She flared her fangs in an angry hiss.
But he knocked her to the ground, pinning her to the ground, hammering his fists against her face. Dimly he could sense her hands were flailing against his body, desperate to stop him. Pain that didn't register, only anger and frustration. He hammered her skull into the dirt, stunned into wildly waving her arms around. Each blow to her face kept her in a bewildered state. Rick didn't relent. Over and over, blow after blow after blow.
The only pain he could register was his own, from his side of the bond.
He'd barely done more than stain her face with his own lifeblood. If he'd hurt her, then her regeneration had already patched her back up. His world was turning red, he couldn't stop even if he wanted. He had to get... to get...
“Please.”
The word snapped at him like a whip. Rick froze, fists raised, breathing in pained gasps, chest stinging with every lungful of air. His shirt had been turned to ribbons, his chest drenched in his own blood. Beneath him, Eva was equally still, looking at him through wide, tearful eyes. She was a scared animal, arms raised, covering her face, trying to block his next blow.
There was a glimmer of light in her eyes.
He’d done it.
She was exposed, weak. All he had to do was bite, rip her throat out, consume. The pain gnawed at him, he knew what he needed to do to heal himself.
“Rick.”
Was he himself? So hungry. He had to think. The pain, the hunger, everything was blurring.
His focus was slipping.
“Rick!”
Just. One. Bite.
The world snapped, like a rubber band being stretched too far, and let go right before it broke. The whiplash of clarity struck him, and the world reeled. A migraine threatened to overcome him. His ears were ringing. “About time…” He sighed, blinking away tears, shoulders slumping, pain seeping into him like a sponge, sapping at his strength.
His throat eased, he could breathe, the hunger was leaving him.
Eva stiffened, eyes wide. "Don't let go!"
His mind processed the words, but he couldn’t summon the focus. Trying to reach through the bond was like trying to climb up a sheer icy cliff. The world was spinning, edges turning dark.
“I can feel it. No!” Eva grabbed his arms with the grip of a woman holding on for dear life. “I don't want to lose myself again!”
He stared into her ruby red eyes, every part of him taut like a pulled bow, his head ready to burst. “I…”
The feeling was gone. The bond snapped shut. Unintentional relief washed over Rick and dread followed it. In front of him Eva's fists clenched, her eyes wide, body stiffening like a statue. The Fledgling snarled, thrashed, nails digging into her palms. "Rick, I..." She whispered, nostrils flaring.
Her pupils shrank into pinpricks.
"I'm sorry."
Something hit him in the chest with enough power to drive the air out of him.
Rick was flying.
The world spun and when he realized Eva had hit him, and that his chest felt like it had caved in. He contacted the ground again. Everything spun out of control. Rick coughed and wheezed, fighting to regain his breath, trying to figure out what he could do, how he could get out of this.
The spot the Fledgling had been occupying exploded in a burst of dirt and rocks, and Rick rolled on instinct more than thought. The maiden fell on the place he'd been occupying. Eva snarled and lunged, her body wreathed in a red energy. He stumbled and fell, lungs fighting to fill out. He became a tripping hazard to the Fledgling as her claws ran through his thigh like a reaper’s scythe cutting wheat.
Her touch burned, his blood boiled.
His legs kicked the dirt, trying to get him to stand back up, the left one barely obeyed commands and the right one shook from the strain. The wound forced him to limp. The danger wasn't over, Eva scrambled to her feet, the tears still wet on her cheeks as she bared her fangs at him like a wild animal.
The only blood on her was his own.
Meanwhile, he was struggling to breathe, wheezing, ribs aching with every inhale, blood dripping from the dozens of cuts all over him.
The maiden lunged again, reaching for him with her claws, the glowing attack finding purchase on his right shoulder. There was no room to scream, not enough air to do anything more than swing with his good arm to shove her off. He stumbled half a step.
The Fledgling's focus broke from him and narrowed on her blood-covered fingers. The maiden inhaled the scent in lungfuls, licking them clean and shuddering. Face flushed, the pale maiden looked at him with that unstoppable thirst and hunger, eyes roaming him, trying to decide where she could get more to drink.
Some part of Rick registered that something was happening in the background, movement, screams, a fight? He barely managed a glance over at Kiara. The Succubus was being held down by four other maidens. She was screaming at him.
But his ringing ears deafened him to everything else. The only other sound he could hear being his own shuddering burbling breaths.
Right, he wasn’t in a great condition right now. There wasn't much he could do, too tired to try anything. Remaining on his feet was a struggle in of itself.
He was dying.
Something in the back of his mind rattled. Like someone trying to open a locked door. It nagged at him, demanding attention. Louder and stronger, until it rammed into him. The moment the wall fell, Rick realized what it was. The bond. Not Kiara, not Eva.
It was Monica and Dia. The sensation burst through, and with it came something else. A wave washed over him, lightening the load on his shoulders, eroding away the pain, filling the icy chill in his gut with fire and warmth. Rick shuddered, straightening himself as he looked at Eva, then past her. At the Orc, the Ghoul, the Vampire, locked in their own little fight even as Kiara's golden eyes focused on him.
Then back to Eva, the maiden preparing for her next attack.
Invisible hands held him on his feet, keeping him stable, filling him with...
> "Show our strength."
The thought whispered into his ear, Monica's voice, but not quite. It rung like a bell. Every bone within him vibrated to the sound.
It started at the tip of his toes, climbing up through his body like a tsunami, pooling into his chest like a storm and growing, growing with its song until it turned into a rumble he could not contain. Rick filled his lungs with air, straining to hold on, the sensation rushing up his throat, uncontained, impossible to stop.
He took a step forward and roared.
It was a singular loud shout, one that had every raw emotion and strength within him. The fear, the pain, the anger, everything. All of it, letting it out through his voice until he ran out of air and he could barely remain standing.
The crowd wasn't ignoring him anymore. A deathly silence had fallen into the gathering. Not a soul moved. Every pair of eyes was upon him.
Eva had fallen on her ass, eyes full of terror.
A second, louder roar responded to his own. Powerful enough to make the ground vibrate under his feet. Its familiarity a balm to the numbness that was spreading across his body. Monica. Something exploded at the edge of the camp. The trees had been blown out of the way, dozens of screaming bodies were pouring into the camp.
The spell broke, the crowd broke into a panic.
“RICK, RUN!”
Kiara’s voice pierced through the fog that was descending on his thoughts.
Atop the Succubus, the gigantic one-armed Orc had kept staring at Rick, her scarred face locked in a stunned expression right until Kiara threw her away in a blast of purple energy.
More screams broke out from the camp's edge. Pandemonium spread. Even Eva, in her deranged state, had recognized the danger and made a run for it, vanishing into the crowd. Just like that, the bloodied human was no one once more. It should've been the perfect chance to run, escape, vanish into safety.
His legs refused to take action.
He could not move.
Rick had to run.
But if he took a step, he knew, he'd fall. There was nothing left in him. The fact that he was still standing was a miracle on its own. Breathing was becoming a struggle, his arms were limp, one leg couldn't support any weight, and his mind was dimming. Remaining conscious was a fight.
Blood dripped down his shirt, his arms, his legs.
There was a lot of it.
The human registered movement. Something fast, something headed his way. Something screaming his name at a deafening volume. She jumped between shadows, a white blur that wove its way through the field like there weren't dozens of maidens trying to intercept her. A singular presence powerful enough to draw the Vampire's unerring attention.
The blood-sucker unleashed something that glowed.
Rick couldn’t hold on long enough to find out what would follow.
The world was tipping over.
And a pair of large white claws softly caught him before he could touch the ground. Their padded touch was yielding, warm, like being held by a cloud. She effortlessly lifted him like he weighed nothing at all.
“Hey.” He croaked, looking at Monica’s dazzling blue eyes.
The Sabertooth looked at him with a mix of pride and concern.
A funny little metal cap adorned her head between her fluffy ears.
Monica reached up with one claw to pluck off the round helmet, putting it on his own head and tapping it delicately.
“Rick safe.”
"What took you so long?" He weakly muttered.
She made a simple wave at where bodies were still pouring into the camp. "Bring help." The maiden gave him a large toothy grin. "Monica chief now."
"What?"