Chapter 33-Her siblings

Chapter 33: 33-Her siblings

Maisa barely had time to steady her breathing after leaving the flower field. She had close to death, and were it not for Zolani who followed her, she wouldn’t have made it out alive.

The scent of crushed wildflowers still clung to her clothes while the sweetness of Zolani’s blood lingered on her tongue, easing the lingering pain left behind by the hunters’ artificial sunlight.

Light streaked through the forest canopy as the two vampires raced between towering trees with impossible speed, every stride carrying them farther from the hunters’ trap.

For someone who had only been a vampire for a handful of days, the sensation still felt unreal.

The wind roared in Maisa’s ears, the branches became blurred streaks of green, and the ground disappeared beneath her feet so quickly that it felt less like running and more like flying.

Beside her, Zolani kept perfect pace despite the worry clouding her crimson eyes. Maisa could tell that Zolani was slowing down for her. Her half-high ponytail whipped behind her like a crimson ribbon dancing through the darkness.

And every few moments, she glanced toward Maisa, making sure the younger vampire hadn’t fallen behind after the brutal burns she had suffered.

"We’re almost back," Zolani called over the rushing wind. "Just a little more distance, and we will be safe behind academy walls," she assured.

Maisa nodded. She wanted to believe it, that they had escaped far away from the hunters and anything that could harm them.

Then, her nose twitched as a familiar scent entered her nostrils. A scent she knew better than her own, and it made her entire body freeze over.

"How can they be here?"

The smell hit her like a hammer. The smell of leather, church incense, silver oil, and blessed herbs crashed her nose. Her heart lurched violentl, and her eyes widened with shock.

"Impossible!" She stumbled to a stop atop a moss-covered ridge overlooking another section of the forest.

Zolani immediately stopped beside her. "What is it?"

Maisa wasn’t listening. Her heightened vampire vision focused across the valley. Two distant figures moved through the moonlit woods with practised precision.

Even several hundred meters away, she recognized them instantly. Her older brother, Rayne, and her older sister, Rayleigh. Her breathing stopped.

"They’re here..."

Zolani frowned. "Who is here?"

"Bad news," she said, the words barely escaped her lips. "They’re hunters. Everheart hunters!"

The moment the name was uttered, Zolani panicked. Sadness crossed her eyes, and her body tensed up for her moment. After she recovered, hatred filled the place in her heart where sadness was in previous moments.

"Everyhearts!" She uttered through gritted teeth, her veins pulling so hard they nearly snapped. "I’m not strong enough yet when I do become strong. I’ll erase that entire family from the earth!" She swore.

Maisa felt like she had been struck by thunder. Her first true anything in life hated her family and wanted them all dead.

’Will that threat apply to me too if she finds out that I am an Everheart?’ She thought. Her heart tightened in her chest.

Before she could ask Zolani why she hates the Everhearts, even though the reason could be obvious, Zolani grabbed her by the hand and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. They needed to get away from the Everhearts so they could live to fight another day.

Far behind of them, the two Everheart siblings paused simultaneously. Years of hunting had sharpened their instincts beyond those of ordinary humans.

The older brother slowly crouched, fingers brushing the damp earth. "The wind changed. Something just ran past us."

His sister narrowed her eyes. "I felt it too," she added, her killing instructions sharpening.

The forest had whispered of what they hadn’t caught sight of. Something fast had passed nearby. It was unnatural and moving at a speed of lightning.

She calmly reached over her shoulder. Her fingers wrapped around the polished bow strapped across her back. Without wasting a second, she drew it.

The string stretched until it sang. Light reflected across the silver engravings carved into the blessed wood. She closed one eye, listening to the sound of the wind, to locate where it was moving at unremarkable speed. She couldn’t see the vampires, but she could hear them.

Her father’s teachings echoed in her mind. "When you can’t see a vampire... listen to the wind. The wind never lies, and the secrets it hides are everything to a hunter."

She released her finger, and the arrow exploded forward. Unlike an ordinary arrow, hers were ignited with runes along its shaft. White light erupted around it.

The enchanted weapon accelerated unnaturally, slicing through the air faster than any human eye could follow. Its magic existed for one purpose, to match vampire speed.

Up ahead, Maisa felt it, and every instinct inside her screamed. "Dodge!"

She twisted to get away, but it was too late. The arrow was already there and ready to strike her down. Before it could strike, a crimson blur stepped between them.

"No!" She screamed, unable to bear Zolani taking a hit for her.

Zolani shoved Maisa aside. The enchanted arrow punched through her chest with a sickening sound.

CRACK!

The force lifted her completely off her feet. "Aaahhh!" She cried as pain tore through her scream.

The silver-tipped arrow emerged from her back, glowing with holy runes that immediately began burning her vampire flesh.

Blood splattered across the moonlit grass. Her crimson uniform darkened almost instantly.

Maisa caught her before she hit the ground. "Zolani!"

The mixedblood gasped violently. Her knees buckled, and her breathing became ragged. In front of her was Maisa, but in her eyes, she saw herself holding her younger sister’s corpse after an Everheart hunt on vampire shelter where her sister volunteered.

"I-I’m..." she tried to say but she couldn’t finish. Her heart was content, though. She was able to save Maisa. Something she was never able to do for her sister, Zoe.

She had no idea. The person she saved, twice in one night, was the one who drove the blessed stake through her sister’s heart.

The blessed arrow continued eating away at the wound. Smoke curled from the torn flesh.

Maisa stared at it in horror. "No... no, no..."

That was exactly how her family hunted. She knew every weapon, every strategy, and every formation by heart as she had trained with them. She just never thought that she’d see the day when she’d be standing on the opposite side of those arrows.

And now, those same techniques had nearly killed her and were eating away at the person protecting her.

Behind them, voices echoed faintly through the forest. "They’re moving!" Rayleigh said. "I shot one. So, let’s hurry up and find an opportunity to kill them both."

"Don’t lose them!" Rayne shouted. "Let’s end this soon. We need to get back on the search for Maisa. Father won’t let us go if we don’t find his youngest."

Maisa’s blood turned cold. "They’re still following us..." She quickly snapped the shaft of the arrow, leaving the enchanted tip lodged inside Zolani’s body. "I’m sorry... Zo, bear with it. I’ll get you to the academy. There should be someone there capable of saving you."