Moonlight Ridge

41

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The vampires ran towards them like a sea of death. Although the portal to Athrea had allowed thousands to join their army, they were still outnumbered. With a loud cry, Theodre led their army to meet the vampires. Leo moved with the army but continued to scan around for Mal. She avoided colliding with them as she let them pass her. She turned and watched as all the shifters transformed to their animal counterparts and charged with the army. Leo took a moment to gather as much magic as she could. Then, sent it out to protect Samara and Brandon wherever they were.

The armies met with a clash in the middle. Leo continued to search for Mal as she observed giants running through the vampires and smashing them with huge clubs. The sounds of metal clanging together and screams filled the air. Leo turned and saw a vampire that had just killed a shifter, stand, and made eye contact with her. He smiled and licked the blood from his mouth. Leo's heart jumped in fear, but she had practiced enough for this moment. The vampire began to approach her. She drew on the magic around her and felt it hum inside her. The vampire hissed at her and lunged.

She had stopped him in mid-air and dealt with him quickly. Using her magic, she incinerated him and then tossed his body to the side with effort. He screamed and writhed on the floor as she moved past him quickly. She continued to search for Mal as she made her way through the chaos. Suddenly, she felt something moving fast towards her. She tried to prepare but was caught off guard when ice-cold hands grabbed her. She looked up into the eyes of a female vampire. The vampire looked at her with a malicious smile. Just as the vampire opened her mouth, an arrow went straight through her forehead. The vampire blinked once before letting go of her and falling.

Leo turned and saw Tsarra on top of a giant's shoulders quite far away. Tsarra gave her a brief smile before turning and continuing to rain down arrows on the vampires. Leo turned back and scanned her surroundings. She pulled her sword from its sheath and separated the female vampire's head from her body. She then resigned herself to making her way to Cassius and hoped that Mal was doing the same. She now searched for the father of vampires. Her eyes landed on a tall figure mere yards away, decimating anyone around him. With one swing of his sword, he would knock back or kill those surrounding him. The smell of death emanated from him. She created a shield around herself and pushed through those fighting. Several more vampires tried to grab her but bounced off her shield. They then were attacked by the shifters or elves. She pressed onward but was stopped by a group of vampires.

They surrounded her. She counted fifty, but perhaps there were more. They moved fast around her shield and would stab with their hands at it. Leo could feel that they were weakening the shield by constantly attacking it. She closed her eyes and tried to pull in more magic. She felt a negative pulse as she made an effort. She felt alarmed that she was struggling to pull more magic. Frustration bubbled up with panic close behind. She couldn't let them take her prisoner. She was hitting her limit on her magic withdraw because of the protection she was giving along with not having trained for a sufficient amount of time. She began to run as the vampires continued to attack her shield. She was almost to Cassius when her shield shattered. She flew forward with the force of magic. She turned in time to see the group of vampires approaching her. That was when she heard a loud roar of a tiger. With a swipe of his paw, he hand knocked them all down. Then he tore into one's throat as other shifters came to aid him. Mal approached her after dealing with the vampires. Blood that looked almost black dripped from his chin. Leo stood and turned to locate Cassius again. She could see he was much closer now. She turned back and used Mal's fur to get on his back.

"Take us to him." She said close to his ear.

Leo grabbed onto his fur hard as he jumped into the air and flew. Leo began a binding encantation as Mal pinned his wings to his side and dropped. They were approaching Cassius at a dizzying speed. Just as they were several feet above him, Leo sent her binding spell to him. Cassius' arms and legs were pinned to his body, and he struggled to move as the surrounding elves and Athreans gave Mal and Leo space. Mal hit into him with claws out. Leo used that moment to jump. Roots shot out of the ground and helped bring her to the ground safely. She turned to see Mal mauling Cassius. The vampire lay with his teeth bared as he growled and fought the spell binding him. Leo was going toward them when she felt a sharp pull on her magic. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she felt Samara's need for help. Immediately, she closed her eyes and began gathering as much magic as she could hold. Sweat covered her body, and she clenched her jaw in effort. She could feel herself shaking as magic poured into her. Then she pushed it all out towards Samara and Brandon.