My Wild Beast-Chapter 164: The Horde (5)

"These creepers just keep coming!" Atia shouted, barely heard over the shriek of the vampira he’d just impaled.

"There’s so many," Aiyana agreed through gritted teeth, spinning aside as claws slashed where her face had been. She stubbed the female vampira in the nose with her staff, breaking bone as dark ichor sprayed over her arm. Then with practised ease, she swung the staff, twirling it until the sharpened end she’d recently shaped pierced through her heart.

Her brows pinched together as she yanked her staff-spear back as winged shadows blotted out what little moonlight filtered through this part of the jungle.

Her breath halted, surprise tugging her brows up as she saw harpy eagles cutting through the clouds like streaks of silver, diving and raking their claws through vampiras swarming the treetops. This was undoubtedly a strange night, and one she witnessed Silver Feather helping not only their own flock but others on the island.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming," Aiyana murmured, then swatted Atia away when he actually pinched her cheek roughly. "Hey!"

Atia chuckled, then grunted as he pivoted the same time Aiyana did. His twin blades flashed in the dark as they moved like dancers born for war, while the ground beneath them had grown slick with blood and bodies.

Aiyana ducked and spun with Atia on instinct as they fought their opponents. With the eagles’ help, they battled through the horde of vampiras that seemed never-ending.

The problem wasn’t how many there were here, but the strength these leeches had already gained. Once they’d fed, their bodies looked almost human, except for the blood-red eyes, yet they were monstrous, with strength and speed nearly unstoppable. The pair barely managed to keep up, unlike when they’d fought the colony near Tayun’s heart, who were starving and ’weak’.

Aiyana lunged low while Atia vaulted over her back, his dagger slicing into a vampira’s skull as her spear pierced another’s chest. The creatures screamed as one, crumpling down at the same time.

For a heartbeat, their eyes met. The memory of their stolen kiss flickered between them, a moment never forgotten but had to remain in secrecy. It felt like another lifetime ago, drowned into the background of this battle.

But if one of them were to fall... to leave the other... Their chests ached at the shared thought, the wasted time of dancing between each other and what this bond, these feelings really meant...

Then Aiyana stiffened as something moved out of the corner of her eye. A chill fell over them as tiny, white, crystallised particles swept across the nearby leaves with the shadowy movement. The particles and sudden drop in temperature reminded the pair of the ice cave beneath their treehouse.

That wasn’t the only absurd thing to note.

"Atia..." She breathed, not quite sure what she was seeing. "Look..."

Pale figures, hooded in black, glided across the trees. Their ghostly forms flickered like candlelight, long hair floating around faces twisted in grief and fury.

"Cihuateteo..." Atia murmured, stepping closer to Aiyana as they faced them. "That’s just what we need right now..."

Aiyana frowned at the myth now creepily gliding towards them. Creatures that were meant to remain as ghost stories taught at bonfires to keep children from venturing this far into the woods. Yet, it wasn’t that shocking.

All myths came from somewhere, and Yoa was one of them, too.

"So they were real... Yoa...?" He must have fought with them.

She raised her spear, ready. How did one fight a spirit already dead? Atia braced himself beside her, blades gleaming in the low moonlight, their hearts racing to the new threat while the vampiras backed away from their brethren’s fallen bodies, circling the two Oncari warriors.

The Cihutateo drew closer. The ground hardened and grew slippery from the cold as sniffles and low cries of sorrow reached their ears. Aiyana clenched her spear tighter...

But they breezed past them, their sorrowful cries echoing along the trees. Aiyana gasped as one of them went through her, making her body ice cold like she’d fallen into an ice cave, her breath clouded out of her as the phantom cried.

Then all at once, the Cihuateto struck.

Their wails sliced through the night, chilling the air as they descended on the predators threatening a cowering mother and child. Three male vampiras had cornered her and pushed the child away, cackling as they’d started to share her blood between them.

The spectres screeched, making only the men clasp their ears, blood spurting from them as they crouched and cried out in pain. The mother ran to her child’s aid, holding them close, backing away, wide-eyed as she watched the wailing widows of the dead blasted light beams from their opened mouths, sizzling off skin.

The vampiras screeched, then burst into flames and fell into a pile of ash on the ground.

There was a moment of silence. All eyes were focused on the piles of ashes where the vampiras had been.

Atia’s breath caught. "They’re protecting them..."

Aiyana’s eyes widened. "No—avenging them."

The Cihuateteo moved along and were targeting all of the men in the vampira horde.

Atia and Aiyana stood only a second longer before turning back to their own fight, weapons ready, motivation renewed by the fury of the dead.

"Tayun won’t fall into the hands of the vampiras without a fight!" Aiyana shouted, boosting the morale of the Takaru warriors who were still alive.

As they fought, Aiyana watched as the Takaru were well defended by them, their warriors, the eagles and the ancients wailing while their magical beams of light burned the vampiras to death.

The spider monkeys weren’t anywhere near any of the caves the vampiras were flooding from. Although they were easy prey, they soon wouldn’t be targeted, especially with the support they had right now.

"We may be needed elsewhere," Aiyana said, pulling her spear free from a fallen body before looking to Atia.

He met her gaze, gave a single nod, and without another word, they broke into a run toward the Vohraki lands. Nobody stopped them along the way; they fought their own battles. As they passed, the mighty sounds of the waterfall rumbling in the distance made the jungle seem oddly quiet, if even for a little while.

The ground began to slope upwards, and the dense jungle started to spread wider as more caves rose in the distance. "There," Aiyana muttered, her eyes locked on the bats flying out of the cave and towards Vohraki lands.

Atia’s grip on his blades tightened. If there weren’t so many, he might have used his bow, but it would be pointless, and direct their attention on them.

"How do you want to play this-" Before he could finish strategising with Aiyana, a haunting whistle of a harpy eagle announced its arrival before its talons grabbed a vampira mid-leap behind Atia.

He stared, dumbstruck, stopping as he watched the beast fly higher, tearing the creature to pieces in the air. It was still odd to see them helping, especially for him and Aiyana, whom they’d hated for so long.

Still, his honour would not allow him to remain quiet. That creature had managed to sneak up on him or keep up with their pace without being heard or seen. If the eagle shifter hadn’t caught it, he might have been in a bit of trouble. Nothing too life-threatening, but it would have slowed them down.

"Thank you!" He shouted after the harpy eagle before blocking another attack by a sneaky vampira and lodging his blade into their throat. A scowl then fell over his features.

Lightning sliced through the skies, revealing a single figure airborne, his bat wings flapping idly, his legs covered in dark animal hides, a branch of thorns resting on long dark braids, shimmering under the moonlight.

"Remember," The vampira spoke barely above a whisper, yet all heard, all could hear the command, the authority in his tone that shook the forest like he was a god of thunder. "Take what is needed. Nothing more."