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She planted her feet. Her grip tightened on her sword hilt as she waited to see what he would do next, and when he started gliding towards her again, she let starfire ignite down her blade. The being didn’t falter. He kept moving forward smoothly, purpose and hunger set on his sharp features.
A hunter who had caught its prey.
One of her panthers lunged for him. His gold sword swiped through it, her shadows dissipating into nothing. He hadn’t even paused, the movement like an afterthought as he continued towards her. Her remaining panther shifted in front of her with a deep growl, but he brushed it aside with his hand. She felt her shadows try to strike, to coil around him, but they dissipated too.
Definitely time to go for help.
But when she tried to Travel out, she found herself rooted to the spot. He lifted his sword, placing the tip of the blade beneath her chin and tilting her head up. She glared back at him, knocking his sword aside with her own. She felt the sting of the blade as it left a shallow slice along her throat.
His eyes went wide, flaring with white light, and he leaned forward, inhaling sharply.
“Blood of death,” he breathed, and gods. His voice. It was unearthly. Raspy and icy and a whisper that latched onto her bones. It was as entrancing as a Night Child but so much stronger.
Scarlett had had enough. She couldn’t move her feet, but she could move the rest of her body. The being was still leaning towards her, his tongue running along his lower lip, when she struck, plunging her sword deep into his gut.
Her starfire went out on contact, and her sword felt like it was pushing through…nothing. No flesh. No muscle or bone or insides. There was no resistance, as though the being really was nothing but wisps of faint white light.
She yanked her sword back, and the being straightened. His head cocked to the side. There wasn’t a wound. No entry point where she had shoved her sword into his stomach. In fact, the only solid thing about the being seemed to be his own gold sword.
He reached for her, and she couldn’t step back. His hand landed on the wound, his fingers flexing around her throat. Well, those felt solid enough. She swiped her sword up on instinct, but it drifted right through his arm. He leaned towards her once more, his nose brushing along her cheek.
“Not one of his here, but two,” he breathed.
And then it was hissing and lurching back from her, releasing her throat and his hold on her. She stumbled back, her feet released from whatever power had been holding them in place. She tightened her grasp on her sword, but the creature was looking around wildly and that was an arrow protruding from his neck.
He reached up, yanking the arrow free with another hiss. It drifted away, becoming the same wispy light that he was. Except for the arrowhead. That fell to the ground, and he backed away from it quickly.
Another arrow came from her right, sinking into the creature’s skull. His mouth fell open, a wail of rage ringing as white wisps poured out of it before the entire being faded into the dark.
“There are more.”
Scarlett whirled to find Kailia standing behind her, bow raised and an arrow nocked. Where the hell had she come from?
“Magic does not affect them,” she continued.
“No shit,” Scarlett snarled as the Avonleyan Queen came to her side. “Why does an arrow work and not a sword?”
“Not any arrow,” Kailia replied, pivoting sharply and releasing the string of her bow. She had another nocked before the wail sounded into the night to announce she’d hit her target. Scarlett spun, looking for the source of it, but found nothing.
“How many are there?”
“More than there should be,” Kailia murmured.
And then they appeared.
They floated out from the copse. Two dozen at least.
“What are they?” Scarlett gasped, watching as they all drew swords of gold.
“We do not know.” An arrow flew. Ashes swirled, and another appeared in her hand before she nocked it to the string. The beings were advancing, floating towards them, white eyes glowing specks in the night.
“How did you learn what could kill them?” Scarlett asked, feeling entirely useless as Kailia let another arrow fly.
“They got in my way,” she answered, releasing two arrows at once. Amber eyes darted to Scarlett for the briefest of moments before she added, “When I tried to kill Cethin.”
Scarlett forgot about the floating assailants for a moment. “You tried to kill Cethin?”
“Yes. Many times,” she answered simply. “Keep them busy until I can get to them, and don’t let their blades touch you.”
