Chapter Seventy-Three

Two-legs-upright humans were in danger. She had been silent-waiting for enemies on top of the must-protect building. When green-skinned-tusk-toothed two-legs attacked, she activated her power, letting out a roar of challenge as she burst into the middle of the green-skinned two-legs. Lightning clawed at their skin as Noelle raked her claws over them.

She bit with her teeth, going for the throat before zipping away in a flash of light-blue lightning. She saw shade-of-her-heart Ambrose go after the bad-must-kill two-legs. Her heart throbbed in her chest as she felt anger gather in her -hearts-companion. Noelle growled again; he was so angry; it was an ocean!

Blood splattered against her whiskers, and she licked her tongue around it as she kept killing green-skins. There were so many, and the two-legged allies around her were falling back. A large-green-skin two-leg raised a massive stick-with-metal-at-end and bashed her.

Noelle dodged the blow, hissing as if lightning were a storm around her. She hounded large-enemy-must kill. Her teeth bit into the green-flesh, pink liquid spilling from the wound, eliciting a howl from the two-leg-foe.

More foes around her tried to hurt her, but she was too fast. She zipped around the area like a bolt of lightning gone wild, claws flashing, teeth gnashing. She killed so many!

Her heart slowed as a chill flowed into her mind like a winter wind. It came from partner-of-mind and soul, Ambrose. She had never felt this from him before; it was a numbness, all ice and frostbite. Noelle moved underneath a blow that would have hit her head and leaped forward, teeth biting into soft-green-flesh of the throat.

Her reward was the metallic, copper taste of blood, warm and hot on her tongue. She felt herself grow as her partner-Ambrose killed something powerful. Her lightning was a crackle and booming cloak that she settled over herself.

The big-green skin was doing something. The stick was glowing with burnished ember light, power gathering around his weapon. Noelle roared, paws flashing as she sent lightning toward the orc.

It collided with him, rumbling thunder echoing everywhere like the height of a storm.

The-green-large two-legs did not react. He brought the large-stick-with-metal came down like a comet from the blue sky, burnished gold power washing everything, wood cracking, trees bending, she was sent flying.

Her body met with a tree, something in her snapped. There was bright pain. Her soul-partner Ambrose shouted within her mind, she felt her body twist, she melted, elongated and became the cloak once more.

Her mind was heavy, the pain still felt.

Shade-of-her life Ambrose was throbbing with anger, and with horror as Noelle sent him images of what she had last seen.

Green-skinned-long-tooths hacking at the door to the building that held Jenny and the others within.

Noelle felt it when her hearts-partner shifted to the area. She watched with her mind as chains of black-ghost-fire attacked, trying to bite at the green-skins.

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Gold-light-chains flowed from the larger green-skin, blocking Ambrose-heart-companions power.

An axe of fire-dark slashed from the air, but was batted away by the large-stick-with-metal. The large-two-leg bounded forward with sudden speed, stick-weapon rocking forward.

Dark-fire erupted around them and the stick could not find purchase. Noelle felt Ambrose two-leg push his mana into the ground, but sudden weight settled over everything.

Noelle watched with her minds eye as spirit-partner Ambrose honed his mind into sharp claws of focus. Another force met the sudden weight, pushing back as he swept his fire-forged-fire-bright axe in an arch.

Tooth-long-stick-wielding enemy leaped backwards, avoiding the axe. The weight wanting to crush them like bugs vanished.

As it did, Ambrose ripped the earth-dirt from the ground beneath him, and he fell. At the same time, an egg-fire-forged-shaped wrapped around the two-legs.

Another weight settled on the area, this one from her partner-of-mind. The large two-leg grunted, and he tried to bring forth light-golden, but could not as Ambrose increased the pressure of the weight.

Her mind-body partner was staring, his gaze frost-ice-winters-bite. The green-to-black-skinned enemy tried to fight back, weight pushing against the weight that held him down. He grunted, his muscles rippled.

But it was not to be.

The two-legs-in-hole began to shudder.

Ambrose clenched a fist tight. The flame-bright-forged-egg tightened. The charred-black-two-leg screamed. His skin boiled-bubbled and sloshed off into the whole like melted-wax-stick. Bones underneath began to burn, smoke rising up from the hole. The scent of charred-to-burnt-meat filled the air.

Noelle began to grow bored with the pain-screams.

They soon ceased.

But silence had not descended on the area. More green-two legs flooded the area, beginning to attack her partner. The weight expanded, no longer a focused edge, but a wide net that trapped all. The pressure pressed the green-skinned enemies flat, their bodies unable to move under the pressure.

Noelle knew that this weight was of the spirit, she had tried paying attention during the training her partner two-legs had gone through. Ambrose two-legs began to kill, a fire-light axe slashing-burning-rending flesh.

She saw the notifications from the Unseen-Hunter, which her two-leg friend pushed aside as he killed. Her friend did not move in the awkward way many two-legs did. He was an elegant hunter, every move efficient, every attack lethal.

Green-two-legs bodies piled up. Other two-leg allies flooded in with not-alive-not-dead two-leg allies. The sounds of death, of wounded-dying-screams tortured the air.

But Noelle did not care, for they were prey. The huntress did not show mercy or anger to prey. She merely killed it. Or in this case, rested while her heart-friend did the killing.

It was not long after that when the battle ceased. Bodies lay everywhere, unmoving. Two-legs panted, eyes filled with wild light. The ocean was aflame, boats-burning-bright. Dark smoke rose into the air, lazy trails that showed the world what had happened.

The bored-gruff-ranger Dannill scratched at hair-on-his face.

But there was something in the air. A feint sound picked up by a few as Ambrose turned to the building meant to protect some of the other two-legs.

A little-female-two legs sobbing could be heard. The sound was of a broken-huntress who had lost something precious.

Pain of a different sort, a burning-fire pain of the beating-heart stalked through her partner two-legs mind. Noelle knew this pain her-soul-bonded partner felt. He had felt it before, back when his mind had gone to a far-not-here place. A place Noelle had to dig into with the claws-of-her thoughts.

She had pulled him back from that place, brought him back to the present. She wasn’t sure she could do so now. Ambrose walked, standing in front of the broken-shattered-door of the buildings entrance.

She tried to send waves of comfort-thoughts even though she wasn’t sure what was wrong.

Noelle knew then that something truly horrible had happened, knew it as she saw the grinning-charred-skeleton two-legs in the hole. Blood coated the splinters, sarrows-scent hung in the air.

Life-stalker-soul-hunter had been here. His claws had not been prevented, his wounds unseen, yet felt more than any other for they slashed more deeply than any others.

The battle had been won, Noelle knew. But it had not come cheaply.

A soul had been the price, and it had been paid.