LUNA

14: Witch vs Witch

"He's mine!"

I sidestep to dodge her sharp nails.

"He's my food!"

I glare at her. Still dodging her continuous attacks. Hindi ko alam kung anong problema ng Zarax na to—- no. Actually, I know. Wala akong sinabi at binagyan lamang siya ng masamang tingin habang iniilagan ko ang mga atake niya. Unexpectedly, she moves like a fox. Sharp and quick. If I were a normal black witch still trying to learn about defensing, I'd be a goner the moment she assaulted me in first try. But I've been training myself since I got here.

She can't land an attack that easily. Or rather, I wouldn't let her do that.

Nakatingin lang samin ang mga iba. Hindi rin alam kung anong gagawin. I can smell different emotions lingering and welling up from them. The metallic taint of amusement, intrigued, impassive and somber. It's kinda hard to pinpoint who feels what with my body still moving in all directions. Nag-halo halo na mga amoy nila pero fear isn't one of them.

Zarax snarled at me like a wild beast. Didn't even know that she could look like this despite her calm aura. "Malandi ka" she scowled. "I own his blood, wag kang mang-agaw ng tao!" She feels like the wind. A quick motion of her joints, and I raised an eyebrow when she was already in front of me in a blink of an eye— Umatras kaagad ako— and I barely dodged her long nails, giving me three cuts on the neck.

Some of the witches whistled teasingly when they saw the bloody lines.

A muscle in my jaw flickered. When she lunged for another attack, hindi na 'ko umilag pa. Tangina niya. I sidestep— grabbed her outstretched hand by the wrist— and elbowed her in the face so hard her head bobbed back from the impact.

Another sly whistle from the audience.

Hindi ko pa siya binitawan— without wasting a single second of my life— I immediately twisted her arm and pinned her down onto the cold ground of the dooms forest. Twigs, rocks, leaves, and dirt slammed the side of her face— making her yelp in annoyance.

"You fucking bitch" she roared under my hold. I clutched her other hand when she tried to reach for my face and pinned it down. My sharp nails digging deep into skin flesh. And she yelped again. "I'll fucking kill you"

Hindi ko sinasadyang ngumisi sa sinabi niya. "Not if I kill you first right?"

Witches tend to be very possessive when it comes to their foods and targets. Zarax made her mark on the prince without the prince knowing it. But it's not like the prince wanted to be marked anyway— Zarax was the ignorant one for trusting the prince's careless soul. She couldn't be that stupid to think that the crown prince who's rumored to be a wicked heir will want only her.

"Bitawan mo ko!" She squeals. Sinusubukang kumalas sa hawak ko.

Mas lalo kong diniin ang mga kuko ko sakanya. Clutching my grip around her wrists. Fresh blood came out.

"Well, nakay Sahar talaga taya ko una palang" rinig kong natatawang sabi ni Pandora sa harapan. Her laugh hides a sly meaning— telling me that she saw what I tried to do with the lake boy, Sage.

Tumawa si Nym sa narinig. "Marunong silang dalawa makipag-laban" I can hear and smell her coming closer. "But the one who loses her cool first will always end up losing"

Zarax stiffened beneath me, but regain herself back by baring her teeth. "Umalis ka na sa likod ko pokpok"

I scoff. Feeling my neck healing from the shallow cuts. "Pagkatapos pa nitong misyon natin, Novalee" Pang-aasar ko. "At least ako, bagohan pa. Ikaw, expert mo na"