Elsewhere: Aesir

First Fight!!

It's been a little over a year since I've seen Cameron. The whole time was spent training harder, getting faster, stronger, and smarter. I didn't know when he'd come for me. I also knew he wouldn't announce it.

When he left the city his family went with him. Negotiations for the marriage were rejected by the king and they just disappeared. I only told Jess and her father about his promise to kill me.
(His name's Joel by the way but everyone calls him Your Majesty...just to be clear)

As I step outside to enjoy my off day I get a strange feeling. A feeling I haven't had in over a year. As a shifter-wolf and a witch, I'm connected to nature more than I would be just being one or the other. So much so that I can sense the subtle differences in it.

I feel the air change from a small breeze to still, rigid and humid. I feel like someone is watching me from the shadows. I know he's back...I can feel it.

Alpha vampires and their sires can be in sunlight. Has something to do with the pureness of their blood...they also have a special way to reproduce but I've never been too curious about that one.

I visit the street vendors a lot like I'm doing today. Since they were there for me when I first arrived here until I joined the Guard and moved into the Guard Quarters (a portion of the city where the Armed Guard lives, it's surprisingly really nice housing) I try to help them whenever they need it. They're my family here.

As I'm heading over there to see if they need help with anything, I see a little boy get snatched from in front of a vendor's stand. It happens faster than the child could scream, and I smell a hint of blood. Vampires. I don't hesitate and take off after them. The child boy the vampire kidnap is a human, meaning the vampire scent won't be lost from another magical one.

I know this is a trap, but I've been training my hardest for over a year. I'm ready for it. Cameron's family may have left Aesir, but not all of the vampires did. A year ago I may not have been able to keep up but now I'm faster than most vampires just by pouring a little magic energy into my already enhanced muscles. No spell required.

I find him outside the city gates, and hear trumpets right after I cross it. The Guard wouldn't be too far behind me. I am the vice-captain of Jess's guard now, so my pursuit of a suspicious figure probably caused a commotion.

As I approach the center of the field outside the city the child is let go. About 30 vampires materialize from what I assume is camouflage magic. Cameron is leading them.

"Today is the day is the day you die hybrid shit." He says nonchalantly.

I eye the vampires, they all seem determined and cocky. "Nah, not today. It's too soon, but if I'm ever ready you'll be the first to know." I nod with a half smile.

" Oh, did you think this was going to be a fight? No...but potentially a massacre. Don't you hear them too?"

My ears twitch. I hear the guards approaching they'll be here in a minute...but I hear a great deal more footsteps than I should. Is it...the citizens. I lock eyes with him.

"So here's how this is going to go. Either you surrender and I kill you. Or my coven will pick the citizens of Aesir off until you surrender under the heartache of others dying for your sake."

"Or..." I take a couple steps back. "I'll kill your coven and we fight it out fairly. Or you don't go after bystanders and we do this right."

"You know the difference between you and I?" He asks then smiles. I'm fine with killing. He flings his hand out and his vampires take off.

There are two types of magic. The first type is nature magic, which is exacting your will to change the shape or behavior of nature or an outside force. The second type is often referred to as true magic. And is powered by a magic tank of sorts that everyone is born with, it's just a matter of activating your circuits and training to expand it. It's the same magic I used to increase my speed earlier.

I have to take 30 vampires before they can get to innocent people and kill them. I take a short breath and feel the magic flowing in my body, directing it to my legs. This time I will use a spell to go faster than before.

"Sonico." I whisper as the energy tightens.

I take off speeding towards the vampires, but they're still a little faster. Luckily my shift is triggered by adrenaline. I can feel it happening, my eyes change from dark brown (almost black) to glow bright yellow.

My nails grow into razor sharp claws about 4 inches long and my canine teeth grow longer by 3 inches. Now for the tricky part. Remember shifter-wolves can't do the half-change like werewolves can. But I'm at a disadvantage here if I'm all on fours. A big part of my training was finding a way to overcome this.

I found that by using magic before I complete the change, I can stop it halfway by controlling both my blood flow and heart rate, while holding my body back from shifting more with force magic.

With this method, I get ALMOST all of the enhanced strength and speed of my full transformation but on two legs.

I've got control of my heart rate and blood flow as I wrap an invisible magical field tightly around myself to keep my body from further changing.

I have the speed I need now, so I push faster until my profile is just a blur. My perception speeds up so I can process everything going this fast. Arrogance would be their downfall.

I come across the first vampire, tear his throat out, spin him and rip out his spine in one motion. I fold said spine around the second vampire's throat and decapitate him with the vertebrae. I tear out the heart of the third one.

I've never killed anyone before, but I can't stop to think about it. I can't stop for one second.

I tear the legs off of the fourth and keep one after I crush his throat.

I pivot and side sprint faster and swing the foot as hard as I can at the fifth one's head and abandon the leg.

He buckles but I know he isn't dead, so I stick my claws in the space right under his chin where his tongue would be and use my momentum to take him with me.

With my free hand, I slit his throat and tear his head off...this is taking too long.

I need to change tactics, I reach for the wind around me and put magic into it. I hold my hand like there's a cylinder in it and form a sword made of wind. I push for more speed and tear threw five more with the sword.

That's ten.

I extend the blade with more wind and impale four more at the same time.

Fourteen.

I stomp one foot and imagine a mini springboard of wind in front of me and stomp it with my other foot, launching myself in the opposite direction.

In the process, another vampire loses his head by my sword. I cut another down the middle and another at the waist.

That's seventeen.

I form a spear from the wind with my other hand and pierce the eighteenth, launch it into the nineteenth, and stab the 20th in the heart. 10 more.

I push for all the speed I can muster while holding back my transformation and rush toward the citizens and guards and then stop. As I turn to face the last 10 vampires and they stop too.

"I must say I'm impressed." Cameron starts.

"Killing 20 vampires, in one minute. You've certainly gotten stronger, but are you in a position to stop the last 10 and fend off attacks directed at yourself...from me?"

"I'm not sure." I reply.

"Luckily that won't be an issue." I say as I reach forward. It probably looks like my hand is on an invisible wall in front of me.

I close my eyes directing my attention to hearing and feeling. I need to hear and feel the wind and its presence around everything. I need to direct it...but the wind wants to be free.

It's more like a suggestion...a call to action. But it listens nonetheless.

"It's just you and me now." I say opening my eyes with a smile. My hand closes into a tight fist and I growl as only a wolf could.

As I do, the oxygen that the last vampires take in to breathe quickly expands in their bodies to the point that the remaining 10 vampires explode.