The shadows of the trenches had become deeper, like an ink that clung fiercely to every surface it touched, uncaring for the blazing forest overhead. Any maiden that fell into the bottomless darkness would not be able to see beyond their own arm’s reach. And though many wished to remain above ground, the Sabertooth’s slaughter pushed them to scramble for cover.
Eva was not bothered by this darkness. Sensing a knight running for her life, limping and trying to drag herself up the muddy walls, Eva felt invigorated. Her fear was palpable, a euphoric scent that clung to the vampire’s throat and watered her mouth.
The maiden’s handhold gave out, and it was then that Eva struck. Her blade thrust forward and through the gap in the armpit. The maiden’s scream came out as a tenuous gasp when Eva's power pushed through the injury like a poison. The momentary shock and paralysis were everything the vampire needed to lunge, biting into her throat, sucking on the energy therein to replenish herself.
Death was merely the mercy that followed.
High on violence and the intoxicating rush of power, Eva stalked the darkness in search of her next target. Their group, with Monica at the helm, sought out the most capable of the enemy army and handled them as one would an assembly line. Each individual in the line would deliver debilitating strikes, slowly wearing down their target and moving on to the next one, with Eva finishing the job. It had been the solution to tackle her two largest weaknesses: the lack of experience and the fact that she became stronger the more blood and energy she consumed.
It was a drop in the bucket; there were too many enemies for them to reliably win against. Every time the Darkton forces began to organize, Eva and the others would scramble to a different area, or they’d overwhelm the meager force before it could coalesce. It was a mad dash to keep their enemies blind and in a panic.
There were plans to potentially start a ritual if the enemy continued fighting, but something shifted. It started with the scent of blood becoming thicker, then screams from the more westward areas of the trenches. At first, she had thought Rick had sent reinforcements, or maybe they had shifted towards attacking the invaders before they could regroup.
Then, she felt it.
Every splatter of blood within the trenches that had been tainted by her power began to soundlessly scream. A moment later, several waves of blood-energy pulsed through the air, heavy like a deluge, coating the flames of the burning forest in deep red. The shadows wavered, and Eva felt something rush into her through the very darkness.
It was as if a dozen eyes had settled upon her, surrounding her on all sides.
“Come to us.” The words were heavy, whispered from a dozen places all at once, a pull of blood and ecstasy that tugged at her heart. “Come and we will give you power like you’ve never imagined.”
Realization and horror struck all at once, and Eva recoiled. “VAMPIRES!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “ABORT!”
The whispering voices recoiled. "She is no fledgling! She has ascended! How!? HOW!?"
Eva shuddered just as Eli took her and bolted into the shadows. They jumped, over and over, trailing straight through the trenches eastward and away from the blood-energy. Every meter gained cleared Eva's thoughts a bit more, until the connection to the strange, overflowing power had become incredibly tenuous.
"They know where I am!" she said as she looked at Eli.
"Then all the more reason to get you away from there," she answered, panting from the strain of so many continuous jumps in a row. "You're not the only one who's raised an alarm; we're pulling back to reassess."
Nodding, Eva couldn’t help but feel a chill running down her spine as the volume of screams rose. It was impossible to tell how many enemies had just shown up, but the blood-energy in the air could only mean they’d already set up a mass ritual, maybe even several of them.
Eva cringed but followed; this was a potential catastrophe of the highest order.
If the vampires were attacking...
"We need to warn the others," she said, following Eli’s lead as their forces began to regroup on the eastern front of the trenches. "If this is allowed to spiral out, then..."
Monica emerged from the shadows, snatching Eva’s hand. "Rick is in trouble."
Before she could even question what that meant, the Sabertooth had pulled them into the darkness, rushing out in what could only be a desperate sprint. Twice she managed to catch glimpses of Darkton soldiers, then they were out of the trenches and in the open, and Monica had taken to a dead sprint.
"What do you mean, 'Rick's in trouble'?" Eva demanded, feeling more like a ragdoll being dragged along for the ride.
Protect Sinco.
The two words jostled them, carried through the bond like a wave, two words that came with a lot more than their intended meaning. It was like a gut punch; Eva’s heart dropped as she instantly understood.
They had taken Rick.
It was a realization that was plastered all over Monica’s suddenly very still features, her clenched jaw, and furrowed brow. And the blood-curdling snarl that followed. "Throag."
Eva flinched, remembering her time under Throag's "care" after the monster and the vampire had kidnapped her. The memories were not pleasant ones. "Are you...?"
"Can't alone," Monica stared down at her bloodied claws, hands shaking but not from fear. "Wait for others." It was a statement full of steeled bitterness.
Eva felt a pang of jealousy at the Sabertooth's self-control; a part of herself was desperately trying to make a run for it, even though she knew it would be suicidal. A few months ago, she would have blamed the bond for such feelings, but she now knew she’d feel the same way even if the bond weren’t there.
"Then we regroup," she declared, earning a nod from Monica.
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In the time it took them to join back up with the tribe, the tribe had moved towards the flying knights. At first, Eva wasn’t sure what was going on, but seeing that a fight didn’t break out, it was clear something else was happening.
During this time, the fight back at the trenches had intensified. The faux-forest had practically burned down completely, black-red smoke clogging up the air and rising like a miasma. Eva could not see exactly what was going on, but she did spot a stream of cloaked figures moving on from the west.
There were hundreds of them.
As the flying knights took to the air, one figure approached Eva’s group. It was clad in spiky black armor, carried aloft by foreboding wings made of bone. But it wasn’t until she got closer that Eva realized who it was.
“Dia?”
The changes had been drastic. Not just the wings, but the Rapha’s hair had also turned ashen gray, her features had sharpened, and, most drastically, her eyes were different. The pink eyes carried a cold wrath to them that seemed to glare at everything at the same time.
“We will kill the Vampires,” Dia said as soon as she landed. “Monica, stay still.”
The feline took half a step back before meeting Dia’s gaze. “Monica go get Rick back. Bring the tribe,” she said.
“No.”
The two maidens glared at each other.
“Wait.” Eva quickly stepped in. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“No means no,” Dia stated flatly. “Rick’s order is to protect Sinco. We will gather our forces to go save him after that.”
The shared glare intensified.
The coldness intensified.
“He could be dead by then,” Eva declared, moving to stand next to Monica. “We can’t stall this.”
“It’s not stalling if it’s suicide to jump in prematurely,” Dia snapped back, stepping closer. “Now give me your hand for a moment.”
It had happened so quickly Eva nearly missed it. One moment Dia stood opposite them, the next she’d stepped closer, snatching Monica’s hand. The feline’s tail came in half a second later, a bloodied blade coming to a halt inches away from Dia’s throat. Yet, the healer didn’t even flinch, gripping Monica’s wrist tightly.
A minute, then two, then three.
“Other hand,” Dia demanded as soon as she’d let go of the first one.
Monica quietly obliged, but neither of them stepped back.
“Better?” The healer asked as soon as she’d let go of the second wrist. The fact that her tone was dead-set on a growl had not helped lower the tension any.
Monica held her claws up, watching them. The trembling in the hand Dia had touched had lessened visibly. “A bit.”
“Good,” The healer stepped back, crossing her arms. Without missing a beat, she turned to Eva, ignoring the snarl Monica let out. “Do you know anything about this attack?”
The Vampire stammered for a moment. “I-I know they seem to be coming after me, they tried to set up a connection. It’s also clear they set up blood rituals, so the more maidens they kill, the more it will be empowered.”
“Then moving-”
Dia was cut off as Monica thrust forward, knocking her to the ground, one claw pinning her against the soil, the other looming over her head. “Finish healing.”
“No,” She hadn’t blinked, her face impassive and cold. “After the Vampires are dead, I will finish patching you up. No sooner.”
Eva blanched, catching on. Dia had effectively shown that her new powers could let her cure Monica of her crippling injury and then used that as a bargaining chip to put her in line. And by the looks on Monica’s face, the feline had caught on just as quickly. “You can’t be serious. If-”
“She will run off on her own; we cannot afford this,” The healer answered coldly.
“Rick is in danger!” Monica thrust harder, pushing Dia further into the dirt.
“Sinco is on fire.”
The statement made Eva flinch and look over in the direction of the city, only now noticing the various thin columns of black smoke off over the horizon. She cursed under her breath; the attack couldn’t have come at a worse time, clearly someone had timed things very carefully.
Dia remained unflinching, pinned, glaring up at Monica. “Rick ordered us to save the city. We will save the city. And I will drag you along if I have to.”
Monica was taking none of it, however, gnashing her fangs, snarling, claws pressing deeper into the damaged armor, uncaring. “Heal me,” She demanded. “Or I take tribe.”
“No, you won’t,” The healer declared coldly. “Did you forget? Rick organized things when we assaulted the Elf Grove. It was part of the deal to get them to bring him along, a caveat that if he ever was kidnapped, the tribe had to prioritize Sinco’s safety over his well-being.”
“DO IT!”
Eva stepped in, although not pulling Monica away, certain that doing so could spell her death. “Stop!” She very carefully touched the feline’s shoulder, trying to break her from the glaring contest with Dia. “She’s right. We can’t rescue Rick if we don’t save Sinco first.”
It took her several long seconds.
Monica snarled. “Promise.” It wasn’t a request but a command. “You will heal.”
“Promise,” Dia answered back.
There was a collective sigh of relief as Monica pulled away. The tension wasn’t gone, nor was the anger, but at least it didn’t look like someone was about to lose a limb. Eva eyed them for a moment longer before turning to the rising columns of smoke. The red flames had spread, and though the flying knights were now approaching from overhead, it was clear things weren’t looking good.
“What’s the plan?” Eva asked.
“The Darkton forces will fight the Vampires. We will provide assistance by focusing on those rituals,” Dia explained as she dusted herself off. “Monica and a small contingency from the tribe will take the Darkton Centaurs and hurry to Sinco. We suspect the ones attacking the city are a clan of Tigresses.”
“Eva?” Monica’s voice came coldly, a singular question in her eyes as she glanced down at her.
With some hesitation, Eva nodded. “Someone’s attacking Sinco. If they’re a large force, the city might as well be gone already. If not, then you’re our best bet.” They also couldn’t allow the Darktons to be the ones to save the city. Not only would that leave them effectively in control of the place until the tribe came back, but it would also undermine everything Rick had built.
Monica was also not an endurance fighter. She’d started showing the first signs of exhaustion, and seeing her interaction with Dia, it was best to keep the two apart for the time being. Winning this fight took priority, and the feline wasn’t exactly the most strategically minded of the group. There was also the fact that, against Vampires, keeping distance and engaging with fire (to counteract their regeneration somewhat) was preferable. Every cut, scrape, or puncture could potentially give them access to one’s blood, and at that point, it would be a losing battle.
Monica was not the best matchup in this situation. Her being in Sinco also made it far easier to keep her from running off to go save Rick.
“Ok.” The Sabertooth nodded firmly. “Save Sinco… then Rick.”
She vanished.
Eva’s lips pursed, knowing the feline wasn’t about to wait for the others, but also that she was smart enough to stay out of trouble. “What about me?” She asked, glancing at Dia.
“You’ll help me organize this,” she answered. “Maybe keep guard over the nobles. We can’t afford them breaking loose.”
“I… think I have a better idea,” Eva hesitated. “The Vampires cast something that keeps them all connected to one another, and I was a part of that while near the area. I think I’m one of the reasons they’re here.” Swallowing, she grimaced. “I think I could serve as bait.”
There was another idea, one she’d discussed with Rick months prior when looking into the factions south of the kingdom. The Vampires and the Tigress clans were well known to never have been in the best of standings, barely tolerating each other out of necessity than anything else. If the Vampires were here mainly because of Eva, then maybe… just maybe… she could leverage that.
But she could not bring it up, not while Dia was so clearly emotionally off-balance.
The ascension had clearly been a traumatic one, and Eva shuddered at the thought of what this new form could do.
She just hoped that it would be enough.