The growl was low, guttural, and inhuman, echoing through the impossibly tall, glowing trees of Elara. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drum against the sudden, chilling reality. My mundane life, with its annoying cats and leaky pipes, was gone. My birthday present was apparently a one-way ticket to a magical war zone. Just my luck.
From the deeper shadows of the luminous forest, two figures emerged. They were cloaked, their faces hidden beneath deep hoods, but their eyes… their eyes glowed with a malevolent, sickly Green light. Not the vibrant, life-giving green of a Vita-Weaver, but a cold, draining hue that seemed to suck the warmth from the air around them. The forest, which had moments ago hummed with ethereal song, now felt oppressive, the vibrant glow of the moss and leaves subtly dimming in their presence.
"They're faster than I anticipated," Violet murmured, her grip on my hand tightening, her sapphire eyes hardening, losing their gentle warmth. Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried an undeniable edge of steel. "Stay behind me, Cassandra. And whatever you do, do not speak."
Do not speak? My own voice was the problem! The very thing that had just turned my apartment into a disaster zone. My mind, still reeling, was a tangled knot of panic and morbid curiosity. These were the "others." The ones who sought to twist the Voice. And their eyes… they felt like the Essence-Siphon I'd read about in the synopsis. Great. My first five minutes in a magical realm, and I'm already facing off against literal green-eyed monsters.
The two cloaked figures moved with an unnerving, silent grace, their glowing green eyes fixed on us. The air around them crackled with a malevolent energy, and I could feel a faint, insidious drain on my own essence, a cold tendril trying to pry into my core. It was a subtle, terrifying sensation, like a leech trying to attach itself.
"Presence. Dissipate," Violet commanded, her voice calm and clear, yet resonating with an unseen power. Her sapphire eyes flared, and a shimmering wave of pure, cool energy rippled out from her, washing over the two figures.
The effect was immediate. The malevolent green glow in their eyes flickered, dimming for a split second. The draining sensation lessened, and the figures staggered, their silent advance momentarily halted. It wasn't a physical blow, but a mental one, a pure negation of their invasive presence.
"They are Essence-Drainers," Violet explained, her voice quick and low, never taking her eyes off them. "A twisted form of the Voice, used to siphon power and distort perception. They felt your awakening. They want your unique ability."
"My unique ability to accidentally blow things up?" I whispered, my voice tight. My own tattoo pulsed on my arm, a faint, angry violet. I felt utterly useless. My power was a wild, untamed beast, while Violet's was a perfectly honed weapon.
The two Drainers recovered quickly, their green eyes flaring brighter, a low, guttural hiss escaping from beneath their hoods. They lunged, not directly at us, but at the very ground around us. As they moved, the luminescent moss beneath their feet withered, turning black and brittle, and the glowing leaves on the nearby trees shriveled, their light fading. They were literally sucking the life out of the forest.
"Ground. Solidify!" Violet commanded, her voice ringing with authority. Her sapphire eyes blazed, and a wave of deep blue energy surged from her, slamming into the ground around us. The moss, which had been wilting, suddenly hardened, becoming like stone, forming a protective circle around our feet. The Drainers, caught off guard, stumbled, their feet skidding uselessly on the now-solidified earth. Elemental Manipulation. Again. Effortless.
"They're trying to drain the essence from the very land to fuel themselves," Violet explained, her voice strained now, the effort visible in the subtle tension around her mouth. "They draw from the world, and from living beings. Your raw power would be a feast for them."
One of the Drainers, a taller, leaner figure, let out a piercing, high-pitched shriek. The sound wasn't just loud; it felt like it was trying to burrow into my brain, rattling my teeth, making my vision swim. Interference/Distortion. It was a sonic attack, designed to disorient and overwhelm. I clapped my hands over my ears, but it was useless. The sound was inside my head.
"Silence!" Violet roared, her voice cutting through the shriek like a blade. Her sapphire eyes burned, and a wave of pure, resonant blue energy slammed into the shrieking Drainer. The sound instantly vanished, replaced by a painful ringing in my ears. The Drainer staggered back, clutching its head, its green eyes flickering wildly.