The creature raised its arm;
Claws poised to tear through Thalia;
Then...
Something cut through the mist.
Fast.
Low.
Spinning.
A dagger.
The creature reacted instantly.
Its hand snapped forward to intercept;
To stop it;
But the blade didn't slow.
It went through.
Straight through the palm.
A wet, tearing puncture split the creature's hand open as the dagger punched clean through, the force driving it out the other side in a spray of thick, black fluid.
Not blood;
Something heavier.
Darker.
It oozed and spilled down its wrist in slow, unnatural strands.
For the first time;
The creature reacted.
Its body jerked.
A sound ripped out from beneath the cloak;
Not a scream.
Not human.
A warped, layered shriek that vibrated through the mist like something breaking across multiple voices at once.
It staggered slightly.
Its claw twitched;
Momentarily disrupted.
And through that opening;
Leah came.
Out of the mist.
Mid-air.
Her body fully committed to the strike, eyes burning through blood and grief, her hand still extended from the throw.
She didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
The creature turned;
Too fast.
Even wounded.
Its leg snapped outward;
Impact...!
The kick slammed into Leah's midsection with brutal force.
Air exploded out of her lungs as her body folded around the strike.
She was thrown backward.
Hard.
Spinning slightly as the momentum ripped her away;
At the same time, the dagger tore free from the creature's palm, wrenched loose by the motion. More of that thick black blood followed, stretching briefly between blade and wound before snapping apart.
The creature shrieked again;
That same distorted, layered sound;
Now sharper.
Angrier.
Its hand hung slightly lower;
Damaged.
Dripping.
Leah hit the ground;
But not uncontrolled.
Not broken.
She absorbed it.
One knee slammed down first;
Left knee digging hard into the root-covered ground.
Her right leg extended outward behind her, stabilizing the impact.
Her body lowered into the motion;
Balanced.
Controlled.
Her hand snapped back;
Catching the dagger cleanly as it spun toward her.
She froze there for a second.
Perfectly still.
Breathing hard.
Blood covering her.
Henry's.
Hers.
Mixed.
Her head slowly lifted.
Eyes locked onto the creature.
Cold now.
Focused.
Grief burned away;
Leaving something sharper.
Something dangerous.
She tightened her grip on the dagger.
The creature moved first.
A blur.
A shift in the mist;
Then claws.
Thalia reacted.
An arrow snapped forward;
Too slow.
Crack.
It shattered mid-strike.
The creature was already past her.
Leah stepped in.
Dagger flashing upward;
Slash.
The blade cut across the creature's side.
This time;
It took.
A thin line opened along the cloak;
Black blood spilled out, thicker than before.
The creature recoiled;
Just slightly.
Then struck back.
Fast.
Three claws ripped toward Leah's face;
She ducked;
Felt the air split above her;
A few strands of her hair sliced free, drifting down.
She drove forward;
Stab.
The dagger plunged into its torso;
Not deep;
But enough.
The creature twitched;
Then slammed its elbow into her shoulder.
A dull crack.
Leah staggered sideways;
Pain shooting through her arm;
But she didn't fall.
Behind it;
Thalia moved.
Two arrows;
Thrown in rapid succession.
One;
Dodged.
The second;
Hit.
It struck the creature's upper back;
Embedded shallow;
Black blood spilled again.
The creature turned sharply;
Claws sweeping wide;
Slash.
Thalia tried to pull back;
Too late.
The claws raked across her chest;
Cloth tore;
Skin split;
A diagonal line of blood spread instantly across her body.
She gasped;
Stumbled;
But forced herself upright.
Another arrow in hand.
She threw;
Again... and Again....
Each one faster;
Each one fueled by rage;
The creature cut them down mid-air;
Fragments scattering around them like broken glass.
It lunged.
Closing the distance instantly.
A claw struck Thalia's arm;
Rip.
Another cut.
Deeper this time.
Blood ran down to her fingers.
She dropped one arrow;
Her grip slipping;
But she grabbed another;
Refusing to stop.
Leah came in again from the side;
Low;
Fast;
Dagger slicing across the creature's leg;
Cut.
Another line of black opened.
The creature reacted violently;
A backhand;
Impact.
Leah was thrown sideways;
She hit the ground, rolled;
Came back up;
Breathing hard;
Blood running down her forehead now.
They didn't stop.
Didn't think.
Just moved.
Thalia threw.
Leah cut.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The creature's body began to mark;
Thin black trails across its form;
But it didn't slow.
Didn't weaken.
It adapted.
Faster now.
Sharper.
It slipped between Thalia's attacks;
Closed in;
A sudden kick;
CRACK.
Its foot slammed into Thalia's abdomen.
All the air left her body instantly.
She was lifted off her feet;
Thrown backward;
Her body hit the ground hard;
Sliding across the roots.
She tried to rise;
Her arms trembled;
Failed.
Collapsed again.
Her breath came in broken gasps.
She couldn't stand.
Not anymore.
"Thalia—!"
Leah rushed forward;
Too late.
The creature was already moving.
It ignored Thalia.
Went for Leah.
A blur;
A step;
Then it was in front of her.
She swung;
Dagger aimed for its throat;
The creature caught her wrist mid-strike.
Stopped it completely.
Its grip;
Unmovable.
Leah struggled;
Twisted;
Tried to break free;
But the strength was overwhelming.
Its other hand rose slowly;
Almost calmly;
Then wrapped around her throat.
Tight.
Cold.
Unyielding.
Leah's body jerked as her feet lifted slightly off the ground.
Her breath cut off instantly.
She clawed at its arm;
Dagger still in hand;
Trying to stab....
But her strength was fading.
The creature pulled her closer.
Tilting its head.
Watching her.
Feeling it.
Her fear.
Her fading breath.
Leah's vision blurred;
Her grip weakened;
Her legs kicked once;
Twice;
Then slowed.
Behind them;
Thalia tried to move.
Her fingers dug into the ground;
Dragging herself forward;
But her body refused to rise.
"Leah…" she gasped weakly.
The creature tightened its grip.
Leah's body trembled;
Then stilled;
Just slightly;
Still fighting;
But fading.
And the mist closed tighter around them.
The creature leaned closer.
Its grip tightened around Leah's throat;
Not enough to kill her.
Enough to hold her there.
Helpless.
Its head tilted, as if listening to something inside her.
That voice again.
Layered.
Distorted.
Right against her face.
"…I can see your fears."
Leah's breath hitched.....
Or tried to.
Her fingers trembled against its wrist.
Then....
A glow.
Faint.
At first.
Right at her chest.
A soft, pulsing light beneath her skin.
It spread outward;
Through her veins;
Up her neck;
Across her face.
Her body stiffened.
Her eyes widened.
"No—" she tried to speak;
Nothing came out.
The glow intensified.
Then;
It moved.
Like something being pulled.
Dragged.
Thread by thread.
From inside her.
Thin strands of light began to slip out from her chest, her throat, even her eyes.....
Streaming forward;
Toward the creature.
It didn't touch the glow.
It absorbed it.
The moment the strands reached its body;
They sank into it.
Vanishing.
Consumed.
The creature shuddered;
Not in pain;
In satisfaction.
More light poured out of Leah now.
Faster.
Uncontrolled.
Her body trembled violently as if something essential was being ripped away piece by piece.
Her eyes;
Changed.
The color began to fade.
The sharp intensity in them dulled;
Brown overtaking the life that was there before.
Her pupils widened;
Then steadied.
Empty.
Distant.
Her grip on the dagger weakened.
Her arm fell slightly.
Her fingers barely holding on.
Inside;
She was falling.
Not physically;
Something deeper.
Leah felt it.
The pull.
Like her mind was slipping through a crack in reality;
Dragged somewhere colder.
Darker.
She couldn't feel her body properly anymore.
Couldn't feel the pain.
Couldn't feel the ground.
Only....That place.
Shapes formed around her.
Blurred at first.
Then clearer.
Silhouettes.
Tall.
Still.
Watching.
They stood in a space with no ground, no sky....
Just endless dark stretching in all directions.
One stepped closer.
Not walking;
Just appearing nearer.
Another behind it.
Then more.
Surrounding.
Closing in.
Leah tried to move;
She couldn't.
Tried to scream;
Nothing.
Only silence answered her.
The glow kept leaving her.
Feeding the thing outside.
Feeding the creature holding her.
And with every strand that vanished;
The silhouettes came closer.
Closer...Closer.