CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 222 AMBUSHED 2 (BONUS)

They were too strong and agile for a fae. And they didn’t cast any magic, nor did they have wings.

But there was no time to think. I ducked behind a fallen log, clutching a stick like it would save me. The witch let out a shriek and vanished in a puff of black smoke, only to reappear behind Rhydian.

I shouted his name, and he spun just in time, blocking her clawed hand with his glowing arm.

It was a mess. A storm of movement and blood and heat.

The clash of bodies and magic roared through the woods.

Alaric slammed a rogue werewolf against a tree trunk, his forearm pressing down hard on its neck. Blood splattered across the bark.

Mr. Four Eyes moved with sharp, precise steps, ducking beneath a vampire’s swipe and jabbing his blade into its ribs. The creature shrieked and fell backward, but another took its place almost instantly.

I could barely breathe.

Rhydian held the witch back with wave after wave of blue light, but she laughed through all of it like the magic only tickled her. Her nails extended into black claws, and the tips of her fingers oozed with black energy. I didn’t know what it was, but it made my chest tighten.

"Damon!" I screamed as one of the vampires turned toward me.

I felt the life inside me flashing before my eyes, as the vampire advanced towards me.

I moved backward, and the vampire ran his tongue over his fangs. He crouched slightly, before blurring toward me.

Before it could reach me, Damon appeared in front of me. "Terrible mistake." He muttered.

His fist caught the vampire square in the chest, sending it crashing into a pile of moss-covered rocks. He ran towards the vampire, grabbed a stick, then he jumped midway holding the stick with both of his hands.

Before the vampire could dodge the attack, the stick pierced through his chest to his back.

"I would have ripped you to pieces... what a lucky fellow?" He whispered into the vampire’s ears.

Another rogue came from the side, and Damon grabbed it by the throat, twisting with a brutal, clean motion that sent the body crumpling to the ground.

He was terrifying and calm. Every move of his was calculated.

Just as I breathe out in relief, that’s when the witch turned to me.

She stepped away from Rhydian, in the blink of an eye, her form flickered like smoke in the air.

One second she was on the ground, the next she was ten feet from me, whispering something under her breath. Her fingers formed a strange rune mid-air, her lips curling into a grin.

Before I could react.

A sudden force locked around my body, it was tight, cold, and sharp like vines made of iron. My limbs snapped together and I fell onto my knees, completely frozen. My lungs squeezed like I had forgotten how to breathe.

"Aeris!" Rhydian shouted, but the witch threw him back with a burst of green light.

Damon turned toward me at once, his eyes locked on mine. He didn’t hesitate and charged towards me.

The others were still fighting behind him, Alaric yelled something I couldn’t make out, Mr. Four Eyes bleeding from a cut on his cheek but Damon didn’t even look away.

He stepped forward, right into the glowing ring the witch had cast around me.

"Fool." The witch screeched in laughter. "Accompany her in her death journey... I don’t mind the extra blood." She licked her lips.

"Damon... go... back." I fought for my life uttering those words.

His eyes fixated on me. "I’d rather die, than leave you." His gaze burned with promise and conviction.

Strangely it brought warmth into my suffocating chest.

As he continued walking through the spell, not a single spark touched his body. The magic rippled against his skin like wind brushing past stone. Even the vines curled back, avoiding him.

The witch’s head snapped toward him, her smile faltering. "How is this possible?" She screeched in anger.

Damon didn’t give her a chance to recover. His hand wrapped around my upper arm and pulled me up from the ground like I weighed nothing.

’It’s not like I really weighed something.’

The second I was out of the binding circle, the force around me vanished. I gasped, finally able to move again.

"You alright?" he muttered, his voice low and firm, his grip tightened around me.

I nodded quickly, my legs shaking. "I think so..."

Before I could finish, the witch screamed in fury. Her voice pierced through the battle, and all the remaining rogues stilled, like puppets waiting for orders.

She pointed at Damon. "You’re not what you pretend to be," she hissed. "You can’t hide it forever." She pointed her long nail at him. "I’ll be back."

Damon said nothing. He simply placed himself between me and her again.

"Fall back!" Rhydian’s voice rang out. "Now!"

Alaric threw a fist into the jaw of the last demon before grabbing Mr. Four Eyes by the shoulder. They both moved toward us.

Rhydian raised both arms and slammed them together, blue magic burst outward like a shield, pushing back the rogues long enough for all of us to regroup.

Damon didn’t let go of me. He guided me backward, step by step, his body angled to protect mine until we were clear of the mess.

The witch snarled once more before disappearing, leaving nothing but green smoke. The rest of the rogues slipped away behind her like fog retreating into the trees.

For a long moment, none of us spoke. Our breaths were heavy, our clothes stained with dirt and blood.

The path-lighter floated back into view, flickering weakly like it had nearly burned itself out.

I turned to Damon. "How did you walk through it?" I whispered. "That spell... why didn’t it harm you?"

’Because, I was just a minute away from arriving at the afterlife.’

His jaw tensed, but he didn’t answer.

Rhydian looked between us, then turned his gaze to the trees where the witch had vanished. "We need to keep moving."