Back to Me

This time, she let it explode.

She pulled herself to her feet, vision tinted red, and charged straight for Alyssa with a roar.

The witch ducked beneath her arm, putting the rock between them like a defense. A vein pulsed visibly on her forehead, annoyed beyond measure.

She lifted her hands, raising scims from their slumber. They swirled around her like a moving cage, "Fine. Then I'll kill you fast enough."

Two scims shot past her head, deadly set on Hope's eyes. She dodged to the left, snatching the closest eel off the air and crushing it under her fist into a slimy mess. The other scim veered sharply back with blinding speed, joined by another two that replaced their fallen brother. Electricity crackled on her fingertips. Hope shot her hands out in either direction, scorching the eels in a purple lightning web. They writhed on the ground, smoking.

She didn't have time to take in a breath when another slew of black eels launched towards her. Hope fell backwards, ducking behind a tree.

Across from her, Alyssa waved her hands around in graceful circles, orchestrating her razor-sharp minions. Hope let out a growl of pain as she ripped a spasming scim out of her calf muscle and crushed it under her foot. Her wounds were starting to weigh on her. The hair on the back of her neck stood on point, a clear sign that her wolf was trying to take over and heal her injuries. She smothered a snarl. She'd have less control as a wolf-- more chances of getting killed for good.

Hope peeped around the trunk--

She froze still.

Six scims peek from the side of the tree. Their sharp, eyeless tips squiggled with glee. They hewed together like a single arrow...

Then they flew at Hope.

She raised her hands--

"Dissulta!"

Just as the scims hit her chest they burst into black goo, drenching her shirt and face in it. She sputtered out some of the bitter sludge that slipped into her mouth. She managed to kill a few scims, but how was she supposed to kill the rest?

"Stop making this harder on yourself," Crooned Alyssa, "The faster I kill you, the faster you can see precious Josette again."

Hope bared her teeth, feeling the edge of her fangs with her tongue, "You already lost, Chang."

Alyssa laughed at that. A genuine, chilling laugh.

"Must I remind you who has the Necromancer's blood?" Her eyes glinted with amusement. She rummaged through the inside of her coat.

Her grin fell.

She tapped her pockets with increasing alarm. Digging her hands through every fold and pouch, but every time her hand came out empty. Finally, she pulled out a single vial filled with blood, though it was missing its duplicate.

She glanced up to Hope, eyes wide like platters, "Where is it?!"

A smirk stretched Hope's busted lips. She couldn't help the chuckle that tumbled from her mouth.

In the blink of an eye, a scim stabbed through her leg. A clean, sharp slash that brought her to her knees. She leaned against the tree for support. It was becoming harder to breathe.

Alyssa stomped over and seized her jaw with iron fingers, forcing Hope to meet her eyes, "What did you do, miserable vermin?"

A part of Hope rejoiced in the panic overwhelming the witch. She curled her lips into a sneer she hadn't done in a long time, "Go to hell."