My eyes stung as I tried not to squint and spun around, tossing the cut hand off me and scrambling away so I could stand up. Part of me was starting to accept that I'd made a mistake. A colossal mistake. I wasn't prepared for this—for four of them. But I shoved that thought aside as best as I could, ignoring my instincts, which urged me to use my magic. If I did that, I was done for.
The other weapons were right next to me now, and as the mindless creatures came at me, trying to grab, trip, or knock me down, I jumped and crouched, reaching for one of my weapons. They were close and personal now, as close as they'd ever get, so why waste time? Gunfire echoed in the empty space, and the bullet pierced a shoulder. Not good enough. Stepping back, I aimed more carefully and pulled the trigger as the bulky guy lunged at me, arms outstretched like he wanted a hug. The bullets hit his chest, but he didn't stop. When his arms wrapped around me, I cried out and squeezed the trigger one last time before I ran out of bullets. Luckily, my aim had been good because the steroid guy fell with a bullet hole under his chin.
No time to celebrate; I still had three more to deal with. I tossed the empty gun aside and focused on one of my swords, swinging it as if it were part of me. I spun, dropped to my knees, came back up, dodging hits more times than I could count. When I slashed the throat of the bald one and he collapsed, his strange eyes wide, I realized just how tired I was. My muscles screamed in protest. Training, clearly, was nothing like a real fight, but I was determined to see this through. Besides, I only had two left.
The creatures were angrier than I'd ever seen. I darted to the side, grabbed a fistful of hearts, slicing my palm in the process. I threw them without aim, no time to spare—they were already in front of me. They didn't move as fast as vampires but were quicker than ordinary people, making it hard to predict where their limbs would be. Dropping to my knees, I swiped my sword across their legs, but it didn't cut deep enough; they were still standing. One moved behind me while the other kept swinging punches. My only option now was to stay low. I'd practiced these moves, but as I said, the real thing was much tougher. Somehow, I managed to keep them at bay until I saw four figures in the distance.
The creatures made no sound, and I'd been too focused on survival to hear them coming. My first thought was the ECU. If it was them, I was in deeper trouble. But a closer look told me these weren't officers—right before a punch caught my face, sending me to the ground. I lost balance and fell, landing on my other gun. Swinging my arms around, it took me a moment to realize the creatures weren't advancing now that I was down. No, they were frozen in place, one by my feet and the other by my head, staring at the newcomers as if… as if they were food. But the newcomers looked so ordinary. Could they be like me?
No time to find out. "Run!" I shouted with all the strength I had, jumping back up with my gun in hand. I shot the creature at my feet, hitting the back of its head, and it fell face-first. But the one behind grabbed my hair and yanked me back with all its strength. A blink later, I found myself sprawled six feet away, barely able to breathe. My vision blurred as I watched it approach the newcomers. The girl screamed as two of them surged forward, stopping a couple of feet away and raising their arms. Wind began to whirl, stronger than anything nature could muster—for just a moment. My heart froze as I watched the air sizzle around the creature as it absorbed their energy, taking its time. I pulled the trigger until my finger went numb, aiming at its head. But no bullet reached it, blocked by the magic it was feeding on. I ran back for my other sword, intending to decapitate it now that its back was turned.
"Run!" I yelled at the newcomers again, but in the time it took me to grab my sword, the creature had immobilized all four of them. Damn, it was fast. I learned that firsthand when I swung both swords at its neck, only for it to lean forward. I missed by less than an inch, but a miss was a miss. The newcomers lay on the ground, trembling as it drained them and dodged me. A scream tore from my throat as thunder roared in my ears. When it finally turned to me—it was the one with wide-set eyes—I kept attacking, tearing into its torso until I'd made a mess of it. But it no longer attacked. It just looked at me, eyes wide and bloodshot as if in a trance, then turned and bolted for the stairs.
I could chase after it—that was the sensible thing to do. Run and get it while I had the chance. But the four strangers were still here, broken and barely breathing, and three other creatures were behind me. Here's another thing about these creatures: they didn't die. I'd shot them in the head and chest, yet they kept coming back. They took their time, but they healed, and as much as I wanted to go after the one who fled, I couldn't leave the others here. They'd be out of it for a whole day, and the creatures would revive and feed on their magic too.
I dropped to the ground, exhaled deeply, and let myself breathe. No point in being angry at myself now. No point in hasty decisions. For now, I had to get these people to safety and figure out how they found me—and how they existed. I'd always thought the creatures only preyed on me. They hunted me and my magic because I was the only one whose power suited their tastes. I'd watched them from afar, whenever I could track them, and I'd never seen them target other witches—or any kind of supernatural being. But these strangers had been drained like me, as if they had the same magic I did. That made me feel… I wasn't sure what it made me feel. Confused, definitely, but everything else would have to wait.
The first thing I did was walk over to the three creatures. They looked dead; I might've believed it if I hadn't seen them come back with my own eyes. I'd fought two of them the fourth time they ambushed me in the city. I'd cut the throat of one, stabbed the other in the forehead, and drove my sword into the head of another. I left them there, hidden, to see if anyone would find them. No one did. Instead, within an hour, they revived, pulled out my weapons, and tossed them aside. Their wounds closed, and they walked off like they hadn't even been in a fight. Like robots.
This time, I was extra careful, burying my magic deep inside to make sure it wouldn't slip out. With trembling hands, I reached out and touched the throat of the one I'd slashed. His skin felt normal. Cold, but normal. The blood around his neck had dried, meaning he was already healing. Checking his pockets crossed my mind, but I didn't dare spend too long near him. Instead, I lifted my sword and brought it down on his neck. On the third attempt, his head separated from his body. This was the one thing I hadn't tried before. Logic said that without a head, they wouldn't return. I did the same to the other two until I had three heads and three bodies before me.
Hope was strong that they were truly dead, but hope made you weak, so I wasn't betting on it. Buying myself at least some time, I turned to the four people unconscious on the ground and got to work.