Chapter Eighteen: Best Laid Plans

~ Marie ~

Marie coughed into her hand as she tried to breathe without inhaling dirt. She scanned the area for some sign of Eric. Marie narrowed her eyes. Something was moving from the newly made hole. A figure emerged and walked towards her. Adrian dusted himself off as he kept looking back at the hole. He must have used the link to find them after he woke up. For a moment, Adrian's eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

Then it hit her.

Her eyes!

She quickly looked away before she changed her eyes back. A frown crossed her face as she heard him move closer. Marie risked a quick glance. He had taken up a defensive stance in front of her.

She wrote out a spell for a slightly better barrier on his back. Adrian twitched but didn’t move away. It wouldn’t last long since they were fighting a demon but it was better than nothing. Marie also wrote out the communication spell on his back and her hand. It should work the same even though she wrote it on two different spots.

[Anything I need to know?]

[Eric got a demon to grant him power. If you can stop him for a moment, I can use a spell to separate him from the demon.]

[He's coming.]

More debris was shoved out of the hole as Eric climbed out and adjusted his clothes. He walked towards them with a bounce in his step and a big smile on his face. Adrian waited until the other vampire was about halfway to them before launching himself at the vampire. Marie began to write the demon separation spell while keeping her eyes on the fight.

Adrian threw a punch followed by a kick but Eric stepped back out of reach. He tried attack after attack but the other vampire dodged it with ease. Marie focused on speeding up her writing. She needed to be done as soon as possible. If Adrian managed to stop Eric, it wouldn’t be for long. Marie glanced at them.

A wide grin spread across Eric’s face before he jumped back a good twenty feet. Both vampires watched one another. Eric broke the stalemate as he launched himself forward. He kicked and Adrian barely managed to dodge it. The former master threw a punch next but instead of dodging Adrian sidestepped and threw the other vampire back into the hole they’d made.

Marie finished off the last of the spell as Adrian glanced her way.

[Ready?] She nodded. Marie wished she could reapply his barrier. There were several cracks in it already but if she didn’t focus on the separation spell it could disappear before she got a chance to use it. “Holding” a spell like this required the magic user to continuously visualize the spell in their mind. It was one of the drawbacks to air writing.

The sound of rocks shifting brought their attention back to the hole. The vampire calmly stepped out and straightened his suit before he combed the debris from his hair. One quick roll of his shoulders before Eric smiled in their direction.

“I’m ready to continue if you are.” The man laughed as he moved towards them. Adrian hadn’t been injured yet but with the other man being enhanced by a demon, there was no way he would be able to keep this pace up for long. Marie may have slowed down the demon’s absorption of death and magic in the air but she hadn’t stopped it.

The vampires circled one another, eyeing each other. Adrian broke the deadlock this time as he launched himself. Eric didn’t move, just watched with a smirk on his face. Adrian lashed out with a kick. Eric dodged it and threw a punch. Adrian dodged and kicked out again. The fight was speeding up.

Getting faster and faster.

It was going too fast for Marie to keep track of. They traded several more blows, the sound of air whistling around them. Eric jumped high into the air and tried his own kick. Adrian grabbed Eric’s leg before he slammed the vampire to the ground. The former master rolled away before jumping to his feet. Adrian kicked out but the other vampire dodged backwards. A ball of lightning headed towards Eric but he dodged back. Marie wasn’t able to use another spell but she could use this.

That brief moment that he looked away, Adrian got behind him and locked him into a hold. The two struggled, with Eric trying to reach behind his head and grab Adrian. The former Master clawed at the face of the other vampire. Adrian tightened his hold on the other man while he turned him to face Marie..

[Now!]

Marie filled her spell with magic and released it. The spell soared towards the two vampires. Moments before the spell hit its mark, Eric grabbed Adrian’s arms and threw the both of them sideways. The spell hit the back wall and pulsed for a moment more before it faded away. Marie stared at it for a second too long before she snapped out of it and rushed to redo the spell.

The two vampires struggled on the ground before Eric came out on top with a headbut to Adrian’s face. With his hold weakened, the former Master was able to slip out. Eric knelt on the ground. He grabbed the Master vampire by the throat and threw him against the wall, creating a new hole in the process. Eric laughed as more dust and dirt billowed out of the new hole.

“No one can defeat me. Not even a Guardian or a Master Vampire hold a candle to my power.” Eric smirked at her before disappearing once again. Marie frantically searched for him. She found him exactly where she expected him to be.

He was ten feet away from Mark. She let the spell go before she gathered more lightning. Marie threw them both at his back, hoping he would dodge or, at the very least, to distract him so that Adrian would have time to make a reappearance. Eric didn’t dodge this time and the attacks connected. The upper part of his suit blackened and a soft wisp of smoke appeared but that was it. The former Master turned towards her.

“Do you want to die first?” Marie gathered more lightning in preparation. The vampire strolled towards her, easily dodging the lightning she threw his way. “Did you really think you, a mere human, had the ability to harm me?” Eric caressed her cheek with one hand while the other hand was wrapped around her wrist. “I will enjoy breaking you in front of him.” He threw her across the cavern. Her back hit the wall and she fell down beside Mark.

Marie tried to lift herself up but her arms crumpled beneath her, putting her face down in the dirt. Her arm, her body was screaming at her to just lay there. She ignored the pain as she worked to stand up. Marie could feel something in her shoulder grind but she couldn’t stop. Laying down would only make it easier for him to kill her and she was not going to make it easy.

“Let me help you.” Eric loomed over her. His smile was savage as he watched her struggle. The sound of rocks shifting to drew her attention. Adrian staggered out of the hole. Blood flowed down one side of his face and he had rips in his clothing. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Eric.

“We still have a fight to settle.”

“I will deal with you in a moment. The Guardian wished to go first. It would be rude of me to deny her request.” Eric reached down and lifted her up by her shirt. He pressed her up against the barrier. Sparks erupted from the places where her body leaned against it but she didn’t feel the electricity. Unfortunately, she didn’t think this was all Eric planned to do with her. “Let’s make a bet, shall we? Which do you think will break first? The barrier or the Guardian?” Adrian glared at the other man.

Eric didn’t even spare her a glance as he pulled her up and slammed her into the barrier. She hissed through her teeth at the pain.

“Ah ah ah. Get too close and I’ll end our little game.” Adrian had crossed the cavern and was now thirty feet away. The two vampires stared at each other. Marie took that moment to put her hand in her pocket and slap a talisman on his arm. “Feeling neglected?” Eric slammed her against the barrier again. She pressed her lips together. It wasn’t as hard as the first time but it still hurt. The former Master let her go and she slid down the barrier. “How many times do I have to tell you? You are no match for me!” He gloated for a moment before small fires erupted along his arm. Eric took a step back and tried to put it out. She staggered to her feet as she watched the vampire. It had been a long shot but she was lucky that the talisman didn’t get drenched in blood or torn inside her pocket.

Adrian was suddenly in front of her. He tensed and took up a fighting stance. Marie grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything. She didn’t want him to catch on fire by getting too close especially since that fire wasn’t ordinary.

“Wait.”

“For what?” He glanced at her before focusing his gaze on the vampire in front of them. The fire had spread from Eric’s arms to his chest and now his whole upper body was on fire. The former master had turned into a raging inferno. “What’s going on?”

“Your tricks mean nothing! You can’t harm me!” Eric roared as he desperately tried to get the fire under control. He slapped at the flames and when that didn’t work, he rolled on the ground, hoping the blood puddles would put him out.

But it didn't work.

The former Master stood up and staggered towards them, his hand outstretched.

“Enough of this nonsense! Put this fire out and I will make your death quick.”

Adrian tensed but Eric’s form collapsed into ash before his hands reached them. What was left, in his place, was a transparent monster. The demon that had possessed Eric stood in the spot the former Master had been standing. It had the body of a bear, the head of a cow and black wings that flapped as if trying to take flight. Its three tails lashed at the ground as the demon emitted a keening cry.

“Is that the demon?”

“Yes but it’s harmless. It barely has enough energy to stay here, let alone attack.” Marie raised her good arm. The demon wailed louder as it tried to slash at her with its claws. They went right through her. Without a body, a demon like this would be unable to cause harm. Marie ignored it as she gave it the equivalent of a magical push. The demon screamed one last time before fading away. Later, she would need to remember to contact someone to purify the area of the death and magic that still hung in the air. It would be bad if someone used it to summon another demon.

She turned to find Adrian beside Mark. With the malicious intent gone, the barrier had become inactive.

“He’s not healing.” Marie knelt on the other side. She placed both hands on his chest, ignoring the pain from her arm. There wasn’t much magic left in her. With the healing she gave him earlier, she might be able to get him to the point where his body’s regeneration took over. Marie frowned. She hoped that would be the case but she remembered how bad he had been before. Her eyes drifted shut as she sent her magic into him.

This was worse than she thought.

What magic she had left would not be enough to heal him. It would be like pouring water into a black hole. Dammit! What else could she do? She tried to think of everything she knew that might help in this situation. An idea popped into her head. It was risky but it was her only choice.

Marie lifted his shirt up as she bit her finger hard enough to draw blood. She wrote in blood directly on his skin.

“What are you doing?”

“My job.” Marie flooded it with every ounce of magic she had left. The spell blazed to life before the blood faded away. She sighed as she felt the pull on her energy. Her vision went dark but she was satisfied.