Vlad speared through the air.
She had no time to block.
The flat of his hand cracked against her jaw and sent her spinning away like a ragdoll. Despite his anger, he didn't want to kill her.
Unless he had to.
The slap didn't break anything. He hadn't reinforced his hand to do so.
But it shocked Callie to her core. The Bride squirreled away, leaping into the air and hovering above the small clearing.
She licked her lips.
Her mind was screaming at her to flee.
But Helena was still writhing on the ground, trying to get her senses together.
She couldn't just abandon her sister!
Rubbing at her jaw, she scowled at the terrible man who'd dared to slap her. "You don't know what you've done! When the countess hears about this, she will come."
"Let her come. I have words to speak to that useless witch!"
Callie gasped. "Disrespectful! I can't hold back!"
She dove at him, screeching like a banshee, her clawed fingers reaching for him in a blur. She was like a comet. A comet of talon and fang.
As she closed the distance, shadows burst from her flesh and surrounded her with dark energy. Whips of black lashed ahead of her, aiming to cut and slash into his body.
To her shock, he ignored them.
And snatched both her wrists.
As the tendrils of shadow scored red lines over his chest and legs, he pulled her close.
So close that their noses almost touched.
The intimacy made her hold her breath.
Was he going to kiss her?
He wouldn't dare!
Suddenly pain smashed into her forehead and she let out a shocked yelp as she was once more sent spinning away.
What had he done?
She hadn't seen it!
She crashed to a halt against a tree and moaned. Lifting a hand to her head, she couldn't believe it.
He'd headbutted her!
How could he be that fast?
"Impossible," she groaned. "This is crazy."
Vlad shook his head at her. "Pathetic," he growled. "Is this what the Brides have been reduced to? I had expected to be polite. But not any longer. It seems even the Brides need to be fixed."
As he spoke, he reached out and snapped a thick branch from a nearby tree.
Hefting it in his hands, he gave it a light swing and started walking towards her.
Did he mean to beat her with it?
She opened her mouth wide in surprise. What kind of rascal was this?
"Vlad!" Mina gasped. "You can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"She's a lady!"
"A lady?" He raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Silly girl. This is no lady. This is a useless piece of trash that dares to call itself a Bride."
"I am a Bride!" Callie scowled, using the tree to pull herself to her feet. She wobbled unsteadily. "And you took me by surprise! That's all. It was a cowardly sneak attack! Yes, that's what it was. I won't fall for it again, though. I will rip you to pieces!"
He nodded at her words and gripped the stick tighter.
Then glanced once to a dark shadowy corner of the clearing. "Watch carefully," he called to the shadows. "Do not miss anything."
"Yes, Brother!" A voice called back.
The other male, Callie thought with another scowl.
How dare they treat this like a show!
"I'll teach you to underestimate me, you bothersome flea!"
Shadows rushed from under her feet and swallowed her whole, leaving no sign of her presence.
Lucy sprang towards Mina, and the two women looked this way and that as they tried to find any sign of where Callie had disappeared to.
Callie, shrouded in darkness, cackled loudly. Her voice was carried by the shadows, too, so it sounded like it was coming from all around them. There was no way they would find her.
This was her trick. Her special trick.
Even the countess had been impressed by it.
"Let's see you fight something you can't even see," she cooed to Vlad.
And pounced.
Her dress fluttered.
She reached for his throat.
He didn't catch her wrist this time.
Instead, he smashed the stick down across her knuckles before whipping it up into her hip. Flung aside like she was nothing, Callie hissed furiously and sprang at him again like an angry cat.
"Luck!" She shrieked. "Curse your stupid luck!"
The stick smashed across her forearms and then cracked into her ribs.
Again, she was thrown away.
Vlad pointed the stick at her. "Do you see the trick?"
"I think so," Bally called from the shadows. "I'm not sure I can do that, though."
"Practice hard," Vlad said, showing his fangs. "If you can't do it when I've finished with her, I will start with you."
"Yes, Brother!"
He took a step towards Callie, who scampered back in horror.
What was this man? He was insane!
And too strong for her.
"Helena!" She threw herself towards her sister and started shaking her. "You have to wake up, Helena! We need to leave now!"
Behind her, Vlad approached steadily. "Do you have any more tricks to show? Or is that the most you can do? So far, it is disappointing."
"Damn you!" Callie's eyes burned with anger and humiliation. "Who are you?"
"I am just a fledgling," he said, clearly mocking her.
There was no way he was just a fledgling.
"Liar," she growled, still shaking Helena. "Please wake up. I need you."
"Callie…" Helena murmured.
"That's it! Wake up. Quickly, Hel! Do the thing! You have to do it!" She looked over her shoulder, her terror making her tremble. "Do it now!"
"Ungh…" Helena moaned, but lifted her hand and pressed it against Callie's cheek.
Callie felt triumph spark inside her heart as darkness crept from Helena's hand and slid smoothly over her body like a second skin.
Which it was.
The shadows coiled around Callie and she immediately felt safe.
Shadow armour.
No blade could penetrate it.
No hammer could shatter it.
Safe.
She was-
"Did you watch that?"
"Yes, Brother!"
"And did you get the trick?"
"I… I think so?"
"Have you mastered the other trick?"
"Not yet! The flow is not simple!"
"Quickly," Vlad sighed. "Then you will master the other before we get to the tower."
"Yes, Brother!"
"What nonsense are you speaking?" Callie demanded, rising from her crouch. She balled her fingers into fists. "Thanks to my sister's skill, there is nothing you can do to me now! I will finally rip you into small pieces! But I will pull out your fangs and wear them in my ears, you mean bastard!"
He beckoned her forward. "Come. Try it."
"C-Callie…" Helena slumped. "C-careful…"
"I've got this," Callie said, wiping some blood from her brow. The cut above her head from where she'd been headbutted was still flowing. She lightly redirected her blood energy so the wound would heal. She felt it working as she dropped into a stance. "I will take you seriously now. And give you my best attacks."
Vlad shrugged. "With your little power, will I notice?"
"Beast!" She felt her cheeks redden. "I am not the strongest. But I am not the littlest! I will show you what I can do!"
She dashed forward, her dress streaking behind her as she left a shockwave of air in her wake. She'd always felt her speed was her greatest strength.
Even the countess had said so.
If she could push herself to her limit, there was a chance she-
Smash!
Vlad barely moved. But the stick hit her elbow with a solid crack that made her tumble at his feet. It shouldn't have hurt.
The shadow armour weaving around her body should have absorbed all its power, but she could feel it.
The throbbing pain in the joint.
She blinked up at him. "How?"
He lifted the stick like a sword. Red flame suddenly danced up the edge. "It is not for a dead one to know."
Looking into his eyes, she knew he meant it.
The killing intent from him washed over her like the burning light from the hot sun.
"Is this what it's like to see death?" She asked, wonderingly.
"Stop!" Another voice rang commandingly across the clearing. "If you move, you will die."
Callie slumped in relief, her heart beating again as she recognised the voice.
Helena moaned and rolled onto her side, desperately trying to lift herself from the ground.
"So," Vlad said, smiling cruelly. "You finally come down off the mountain."
A young Bride, red-haired and with sharp features, glared at him as she drifted down from the sky like an evil angel without wings.
Lucy and Mina both stared in awe.
"I cannot forgive you for hurting my sisters," the Bride said calmly. "But I will not kill you if you put down your weapon and face me."
Vlad gently lowered the stick and let it pat Callie on the shoulder.
She could feel the wild blood energy as it melted the dark energy covering her skin. Flinching, she shrank away from him as he said; "Do not move. If you do, I will ash you. Understand?"
"Yes," she said automatically. Then blinked. Why was she agreeing with him now?
Surely he was about to be humiliated?
"Lyra," Helena croaked, crawling towards her. "Lyra… Run… Tell… Countess…"
"Run?" Lyra frowned. Then returned her glare to Vlad. "From a fledgling? I thought you were wanting to be my rival, Helena. A pity. I had hoped you would be my rival. Instead, you are beaten by a mortal girl. And you, Callie. You couldn't even cut him once!"
"But-"
"Enough," Vlad said. His gaze flicked to Bally. "Watch closely. There will be more to learn."
Bally groaned. "Yes, Brother."
Vlad tensed.
But, to his shock, it was Lyra who moved first.