Chapter 118-Not backing down

Chapter 118: 118-Not backing down

’One wrong move and I’ll annihilate you!’ Maisa warned through a link that formed between her and the water vampire in that moment.

The water vampire stopped at the warning. She had been advancing along the lakeshore with the confidence of someone who believed the fight was already over.

Water coiled around her like living serpents, rising and falling with every movement of her hand. The surface of the lake churned behind her, responding to her power as naturally as a limb responding to thought.

But then she felt Maisa’s presence, from where she stood Maisa didn’t seem like any other vampire.

Around Maisa was a heavy power that made the air itself feel tense. The water vampire’s eyes narrowed as she came to a stop.

Maisa stood between her and Taratoya. One arm supported the unconscious girl against her side while her other hand remained raised.

She looked different, the uncertainty and hesitation that had followed her since leaving her aunt’s compound had vanished.

For once, Maisa wasn’t thinking about where she belonged. She wasn’t thinking about her mother or her mates, there was only the immediate danger in front of her.

The water vampire raised her chin. "Move, redblood. I don’t want to hurt you."

Maisa didn’t move. "I don’t think so. You might not want to hurt me but I won’t let you hurt her either."

The stranger’s eyes flicked toward Taratoya. "That girl is mine."

Maisa glanced down at the unconscious vampire in her arms and her eyes drifted back at her opponent.

"No. She isn’t yours and i won’t let you have her."

A wave rose behind the water vampire. It wasn’t a normal wave at all. It climbed several meters into the air, twisting into a massive column before bending toward Maisa.

The stranger’s expression hardened. "You have no idea what you’re interfering with."

Maisa’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t need to get the full picture to intervene. Taratoya was in trouble am asked her for help, and the reward she offered was Varitreya compensating her so how could she not intervene.

Helping Taratoya will give her a chance to see Varitreya and the others and find out what happened to them.

"Then explain it to me and maybe, I’ll step back and let you have your way."

"I don’t owe you an explanation."

"Then you don’t get her."

The water vampire’s lips curled. "You’re protecting a stranger?" She asked. "Do you even know what she’s capable of?"

Maisa looked down at Taratoya. She had no reason to care about her or their beef. She had only met her seconds ago but something about the situation felt wrong.

The water vampire wasn’t trying to capture her. She had been trying to kill her and Maisa had spent too much of her life watching people become helpless victims of hunters to stand aside now.

She slowly shifted Taratoya’s weight, making sure the unconscious vampire was secure.

"Walk away!" She mimicked Addessa’s scary tone to appear intimidating and Varitreya’s commanding presence to hype up her tone.

The water vampire laughed. "You’re a redblood and you dare to stand before me and demand i walk away from my mark. Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked, sounding more intimidating than Maisa.

Unlike Maisa whose attitude was borrowed, hers seemed to be inherited. It was in her blood.

Maisa’s expression changed. She recognized the contempt immediately and it terrified her a little bit.

"You smell like one. I hate the smell of redbloods."

Maisa’s fingers curled. She refused to be scared and back down. She decided to use the situationto train herself for when she encounters her mates again. Shell need to have a stronger backbone to get through whatever fate served her next.

Plus, her mysterious benefactor had warned her that new players were coming and advised her to grow strong. She couldn’t back down, not now, not ever. "I said walk away."

"And I said move!" The water vampire thrust her hand forward and the lake exploded.

A towering wall of water surged toward them. Maisa didn’t move. Her eyes flashed as she moved her fingers the way she’d trained and the ground beneath her feet cracked.

A ridge of earth erupted from the shoreline, rising between them like a shield. The wave slammed into it.

BOOM!

Water exploded in every direction. Maisa remained standing behind the earthen barrier. For the first time, the water vampire looked surprised.

Her eyes moved over the wall and then back to Maisa. "You..." she was stunned speechless.

Maisa lowered her hand. The earthen wall collapsed and reduced the tiny particles on the ground.

"You didn’t expect that, did you?" Maisa grew more confident.

The water vampire stared at her, she was unable to believe her eyes had seen what they saw. "Redbloods don’t have elemental magic. How did you..."

"Apparently this one does," Maisa straightened her back and standing tall. "And there’s a lot more where that came from. Do you want to find out?"

The stranger’s expression hardened. She raised both hands as her lips curved up into an amused smirk, "Why not?"

The lake answered. Water surged upward on either side of her, forming two enormous serpentine shapes that twisted through the air.

Maisa felt the elements around her respond. The earth beneath her, the water before her, the air moving through the trees and the fire waiting somewhere inside her blood.

Four different forces, different voices and she didn’t feel overwhelmed by them.

She felt every element, understood them as the mysterious manual flashed through her mind.

’Don’t force the elements. Give them direction.’

Maisa inhaled deeply. The air around her shifted. Leaves spiraled from the ground.

The water vampire noticed and panicked. "You shouldn’t be able to do that."

Maisa’s eyes remained fixed on her. "I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. I am getting tired of being told what i can or can not do."

The first water serpent struck, Maisa quockly lifted her hand and a blast of air tore across the lakeshore.

The serpent twisted sideways, missing her by inches. The second came immediately after and Maisa stepped backward.

The ground rose beneath her foot, launching her upward. She landed several meters away and Taratoya remained safely supported against her side.

The water vampire stared at her for a moment. Her eyes gleamed with interest and a spark of actual fun. She had met a vampire worthy of her time and she wasn’t going to back down either.

She attacked again and this time, the lake itself seemed to rise. An enormous wave surged toward Maisa, swallowing the shoreline.

Maisa looked at it. Her heart sank, dodging and missing a few harmless attacks was one thing but such an enormous wave... she had doubts. She looked down at Taratoya, she couldn’t dodge while carrying someone unconscious.

So she didn’t, instead, she thrust her free hand forward and forced the air to compress. Hard. The approaching wave suddenly slowed down. For one impossible moment, the water hung in midair.

Maisa’s eyes widened. "I did it," she breathed out in relief.

She could feel every drop, movement and current. The water wasn’t hers but she could influence it. All the nights she pulled training had paid off.

Maisa pulled her hand sideways. The wave changed direction following the movement of her hand and crashed harmlessly into the empty shore.

The water vampire stumbled. "What are you?"