CHAPTER 121: SO MANY... BATS!

"Don’t worry, none of them will take a single bite from you," Atia comforted her with a wicked grin as he slashed through a vampire that leapt for them mid shift from a bat.

Nova shuddered.

"If you get bitten... legend says you might turn into one of them, you know..." Aiyana added, glancing at Nova with a smirk. "Better make sure it doesn’t happen."

What? Her heart dropped. Wasn’t it bad enough that they were bats and wanted to drink her blood? Now they could possibly turn her into one of those things?! She shuddered again, imagining herself as the one creature that could possibly cause hives on her skin because of pure fear and disgust.

"To your right."

"My right?" Nova frowned at Aiyana’s muttered words. "As in... MY right?!" She spun around with a gasp and swiped First Mark automatically, and with a bit of luck, sliced through a vampira’s throat.

The woman stared at her, looking just as shocked as Nova was with the bloodied blade. She’d been training with Yoa and Aiyana to defend herself, but she did not feel at all ready, especially battle-ready!

And a battle it looked like it was turning into! The three to four vampiras that had ventured into this part of the cave tripled in size, and grew bigger, expanding until a swarm of vampiras was crawling upside down along the ceiling from the other end of the cave.

"We can’t fight that many... They’re too strong."

"They haven’t drunk in ages..." Aiyana countered. "They’re not strong,"

"There are too many, Yana

." Atia’s voice hardened, his golden-green eyes steeling momentarily as he repeated himself.

Nova watched as silent messages seemed to pass back and forth between the pair through their eyes. A disagreement that Atia won.

"Fine." Aiyana huffed and followed his gaze to Nova. "Nova, you lead the way. I get the sense that as our Electa, you can direct us better." She nudged Nova forward in the direction of multiple tunnels.

Sweat gathered at the back of her neck and beneath her arms, the crushing weight of their survival now falling squarely on her shoulders. But as worry formed between her brows, golden specks of stardust or heck, it could be fairy dust, shimmered ahead, trailing into a tunnel to the left.

"Which way?" Atia’s voice was tinged with a bit of panic, his body tensing as he prepared to fight the swarm of ungodly creatures.

Nova glanced at the swarm almost above their heads. She didn’t have time to second-guess!

"This way!" Nova shouted and ran ahead, keeping First Mark raised.

Two vampiras, ahead of the others, dropped at the speed of light, landing in front of the tunnel. Nova skidded to a stop, her breath hitching. First Mark raised, but she was too slow. Atia and Aiyana had already leapt in front and swiftly beheaded them. Nova’s eyes widened, her breath whooshing out at the violent display.

"Go!" Aiyana pushed her forward.

Nova pushed on, not looking back as the sounds of the creatures crawling along the walls, almost scuttling behind them like something out of a horror movie. "Can you see this?" She asked, her breath coming out ragged from fear, not from the lack of endurance—no, not after Aiyana had whooped her ass into gear almost every day, stating she needed to be stronger to stand by Yoa’s side.

Nova agreed wholeheartedly. She might have complained a few times because that woman was an animal—actually, quite literally—yet that didn’t stop her. She’d felt her body getting stronger. It was nowhere near the same as the others, but it was a start.

"See what?" Atia asked from far behind her. He took the rear end, ensuring that if any vampiras caught up, they’d be greeted by his blades.

The pair behind her tried to look at what Nova could see. Unlike her, they could see everything perfectly well in the pitch black. "We don’t see anything," Aiyana added, though her brows furrowed as she realised Nova was running without stumbling... It was almost like she, too, could see like them...

Aiyana swiftly caught up to Nova, her strides long and brisk, taking four steps before she was in front of Nova, and peered at her eyes. "Woah," she breathed after seeing Nova’s eyes had gone a golden-red.

They were exactly like Yoa’s. The gold shimmered brightly, the red bleeding into it. "Can you see right now?" Aiyana asked, running easily by her side again, ignoring the growing threat crawling like damned bugs, catching up above them. "You figured out how to access his power?"

Nova’s lips fell open slightly. "No..." she muttered, trailing off, her eyes focused on the golden dust that hovered in the air, leading the way.

After the others stated they couldn’t see it, Nova assumed it was Tayun’s way of showing her the way. Yet now, Aiyana was speaking as if she’d figured out how to use Yoa’s powers.

"Some... force is showing me the way," she added.

Aiyana’s brows shot up, and a grin slowly tugged at her lips. "You know... You come in handy in dire situations like this."

"Yana!"

Before Nova could answer, or embrace the small warmth flooding her chest from Aiyana’s compliment, she feline leapt up the same time four vampiras fell from the ceiling. Her spear swiped out and spun, with rapid jabs, she ’poked holes’ into her opponents before their fangs got anywhere near them.

Nova’s knuckles whitened, her grip on First Mark tightening as she veered left into another tunnel. This one was colder and growing narrower.

"Are you sure..." Atia’s voice trailed off as the sound of fighting broke out behind her.

"Do you need help?" Nova asked, though her eyes were dead set ahead still, her focus on the shimmering stardust.

"Don’t you dare!" Atia called back. "Keep moving! Our best shot is to get out of here!"

"Don’t worry," Aiyana grinned after lunging in a deadly attack, spearing another vampire through the throat that leapt out at them. "I’ll leave a few when we’re nearly out. See how far you’ve come."

"I’d rather we survive this-"

"We will," Aiyana patted her shoulder. "Have faith in yourself. And if not... then don’t you dare insult me and Yohuali by believing you are not ready," she growled.

Nova nodded and led them through the tunnels. The occasional vampira got past Aiyana and Atia when they were distracted and in the middle of their own fights. But Aiyana’s words had remained with her. Nova had struck with more confidence, ignoring the blood and the fear of these creatures that were definitely five times faster than her.

At first, she thought it had been luck, but each move had been trained into her muscle memory, adapted to different situations. The vampiras were quick, but a lot of them, especially the younger ones that had been attacking her, were just as inexperienced, or possibly worse, in fighting. They fell injured or possibly dead after a quick stab or slice from First Mark.

By the time the trio made it to an entrance to the cave, they collapsed just outside of it in relief, uncaring about the forked lightning or the rain streaming down on them because behind them, a swarm of vampiras pounded at an invisible wall, their rage flashing brightly in those crimson eyes.

One day, they seemed to silently glare at them.