'Everybody it had taken away so far…'
The weight of those words echoed in Helena's heart, fueling her resolve.
Her grip tightened on the crackling black rod as she braced herself for the coming battle.
Beads of sweat formed on Helena's feral face, but she forced a grim smile.
"Damn, this is going to be troublesome," she muttered under her breath.
With a swift, fluid motion, Helena swung the rod in a series of arcing strikes, the edge cutting cleanly through the thick, stale air of the woods.
The black sparks dancing along the length of the weapon seemed to hum with barely contained power.
Helena shifted her weight, positioning the rod over her shoulder as she kept her keen brown eyes vigilantly scanning the trees.
A couple of seconds later, they began to emerge, slow and steady.
Humans just like them, armed with swords, spears, daggers, bows, some bare-knuckled.
