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He threw both hands forward and more ice raced to put out the dancing flames, but this time the lead witch was ready for him. A bright-green incandescent wall went up between her and the encroaching cold. Chen’s ice slammed into it and crawled up it, coating the barrier in green crystals. A second later, the ice shattered, flying out from the center of camp like frozen daggers.
His clan mates darted from their hiding places, arrows and knives slicing through the air as they cut down the witches. Something red slithered through the grasses and shot up at the lead witch’s feet. She screamed as it wrapped around her, binding her arms to her sides. Moon. It had to be the blood witch.
Chen didn’t hesitate. Using the opening Moon created, Chen sent out another frozen wind as he launched himself from his hiding spot. This time, the ice reached the flames, putting them out in an angry hiss. The frost swallowed up the cauldron, coating it in white as it climbed to whatever concoction they’d made.
Hissing and cracking echoed through the valley over the shouts and screams. White smoke surged up in a giant cloud from the mouth of the cauldron, rushing through the treetops before folding over to cover the valley in a misty fog.
It slashed visibility in half. Shouts of anger became screams of fear and panic as the vampires used the fog to cloak their movements. Chen pulled his sword from its sheath on his back and closed in. He dispatched three witches, their hands and lips moving as they attempted to cast spells to protect or attack. He didn’t know how they were planning to hurt him, and he didn’t care.
But the progress they made was short-lived.
A sudden white light pierced the darkness, forcing Chen to shield his eyes with his left hand.
The shadowy figures all stopped moving, their heads twisted toward the light. It started as a sharp, slender strip, as if someone had used a sharp blade to slice through the black night. It was no wider than a thread and stretched eight meters high, suspended in the air.
In a deafening whoosh, the thread expanded not to the size of a normal door, but it was as if the side of an entire building had sent out a blinding white light.
Chen’s feet retreated three steps, trying to put as much space between himself and the opening. His fist tightened around his blade, knuckles aching. He tried to swallow, but his mouth had grown dry. For the first time since becoming a vampire, a chill seeped into his bones.
Shadows appeared within the light. Some of them had human figures, while others danced in the air with nearly see-through wings. Some crawled or scampered along the ground barely more than a meter tall.
At the forefront of the crowd were two creatures. One was tall and broad shouldered with what seemed to be a crown on its head. The one beside it was shorter and willowy in shape while also wearing a crown. The king and queen of the fae.
As they stepped through, all the witches turned to the opening and fell to their knees, their heads bowed. The royal duo filled Chen with equal parts awe and fear. Shining white and silver armor covered the king. His long, pale-blond hair fell like a silken waterfall down his back while a pair of pointed ears poked out. The creature’s skin was flawless white, as if carved from ice and snow. Even his lips were a bloodless white, while piercing blue eyes passed over everything before them.
At his side, the queen was equally impressive, but where he was pallid and white, her skin tone was dark as shadow. Her hair fell in luxurious black waves. Emerald-green eyes sparkled above round cheekbones. She also wore silver armor, but she dripped with elegant white robes as well, creating a disconcerting appearance of being both a warrior and fragile blossom.
“King Ash. Queen Belladonna. I—”
The witch leader never had the chance to finish what she was saying. The king’s movements were so fast, little more than a blur as he swung his arm out, silver sword gripped in his fist. A heartbeat later, the witch’s head spun off her shoulders and bounced across the ground. Blood shot like a fountain from her body as she collapsed dead in the dirt.
“Kill everything that moves,” King Ash commanded with a sneer.
A great roar went up and the shadowy army that was almost lost to the shining light of the doorway surged into the human realm. Some had weapons raised, but there were plenty fighting with nothing more than claws and teeth.
Chen cried out in response, running forward, slashing through anything and anyone who was not of his own clan. His gaze locked on this King Ash. To cut down the king meant to take back some of the peace stolen when their brother disappeared. Kill the king, and the fae armies would be crippled.
