Chapter 2

Cold directionless winds breathed upon Marvel again, and that made her shiver more. It was like the draft from a primordial abyss of darkness which had never seen light. As it continued touching her body, her heart seemed to lurch, and then hammer shockingly.

She could hear her intelligence screaming at her instinct to turn back and run, but Marvel knew better. Marvel knew that even if she ran and made it a half-mile across the ice-locked drifts of the buried meadow to the windowless vault of her team, they wouldn't let her in.

Once that old witch closes the door with her magic spells, it won't open until sunrise. Even if any of her trusted wizards went against her rule, they knew the punishment. It's banishment to the underworld or death by ironic acid.  

Instead, Marvel drew the veils of Hodesh's illusion more firmly and prayed that they shouldn't expose her. She also hoped that the old witch, Hodesh, was right. She had assured her that these veils would protect and hide her from the angry dark beast of Lamarck. She was hoping that the spell was true.

Finally, Marvel could feel the dark beasts coming closer. She could sense that they were coming through the changes in the air. She knew instantly that it was her vampire sense that was helping her.

As they strode closer to her, the little skiff of snow whirled up. It was as if they were being stirred by the wind. Marvel was sure that it wasn't the wind. That's because she couldn't feel any of it behind the collar of her shirt. That's the work of those dark beasts.

In all directions, the snowy landscape rolled like a frozen, silver sea. From the corner of her eyes, Marvel glimpsed movement. It was sudden and fast. It was so blurry that it vanished instantly. Nonetheless, she caught a glimpse of that thing. It's just that she didn't have a clearer vision.

Instead of panicking, Marvel stayed still. She surveyed the surroundings again. This time, she didn't do it in haste. She surveyed it with her professional vampire eyes. Her red eyes penetrated deep into the night, in the shadow of all the surrounding trees; and then she saw something behind the tree.  

Marvel took two steps forward because she wanted to take a proper view. She wanted to be sure of what she was seeing. She was ten meters away from the trees when the thing suddenly vanished again. It was so fast and so blurry that even the branch didn't shake. Nonetheless, Marvel caught a glimpse of it. The problem is that she couldn't describe it.

With the help of her vampire senses, she could sniff and feel them. She was sure of that. They were surrounding her, hiding beneath the dark shadow of the snowy mountain, crawling behind those big oak trees and flashing all around her.

She knew it, but their illusion filtered them from her eyes. Once again, Marvel hoped that Hodesh's illusion spell would cover her; just like those dark beasts of Lamarck were invisible to her.

She felt their stirring. However, it was blurry, and she couldn't get a proper view. It's like a gleam of starlight on something that pulsed wetly and the sudden glitter of acid on chitinous claws.

Marvel could hear some strange buzzing and humming sensations above her head. It was so loud that it penetrated her skull and went into her brain. With the help of her vampire senses, she could feel some strange, liquid moisture on the mask that's covering her head. It smelt like a drift of wind that was filled with rotten blood.  

Then suddenly, one of them was above her. It was a delirium vision of an obscene, squamous tuck. It has slobbering tentacles like those of a drooling mouth. It has huge clawed legs dangling down like the feet of a wasp or a wall spider. From them, acid dropped, and it emitted smoke as it came in contact with the snow.

Marvel shut her teeth hard, so she wouldn't scream. She had fought many wars, killed different evil entities, and defeated different species of creatures. But she haven't fought a beast before. This will be the first time she will be facing this kind of ugly creature.

Despite the coldness of the night, sweat was forming on her face and every muscle in her body fought to remain still. It was fighting against the instinct that was urging her to run.

The revulsion of the acid that was dripping brought a nauseating, burning sensation to her throat. Before she could blink, it was gone again. The wind of its departure kicked a stinging gust of snow over her. Finally, she fell to her knees.

How long had she been there? She didn't know. She was trembling uncontrollably. Her eyes were shut as if trying to block the memory and image of the creature out of her head. Nevertheless, it was useless.

Gathering all the strength her vampire power could offer, Marvel rose to her feet. Slowly, she started heading back to the tent. She had done it. Marvel was sure of that.

Hodesh had sent her out to test her stupid veils of alien illusion, and she succeeded. She couldn't feel the presence of those beasts again. That means all of them were gone. That means they didn't see her. Even though they could feel something, they couldn't see it.  

Finally, they stood a chance against them. With this new achievement, Marvel was sure they stood a chance against those dark beasts.  

Without the cloaking spell of Hodesh, she was sure that nobody stood a chance against those ruthless beasts, not even the half-breed.  

It has been two weeks now since Lord Darius was defeated. They had all thought peace would reign, but they were very wrong. Instead of the brutality decreasing, it seems to be increasing.

News of different creatures from unknown niches started surfacing. They were killing people all over the territory. Creatures of different sizes and heights started emerging from nowhere, not to mention the red-winged creatures with big bulging eyes.

She could have called the half-breed for help, but she didn't. Marvel is a leader. She is a champion. She believed in herself. That's why she didn't depend on anybody's help. She's a wrecking machine.

Lycans are indeed the strongest species in the supernatural realm. However, Marvel doesn't believe in that. She always told her people not to depend on anybody else's strength but their own. Yet, they won't believe her.

She proved this to them when she single-handedly killed a pack of rogue Lycans. They were sent by Lord Darius to invade Lamarck, kill everybody who failed to worship him and bring him their valuable items.

The war was so heated and fierce that it lasted for several months. All the people of Lamarck had lost hope. The king himself was about to surrender. 

That's what enraged Marvel.  

With her bow and arrow and silver sword, she went to the front line, slew the army commander, and beat the rest back. She massacred them without mercy, from Lamarck to the boundary of Isengard.  

Since then, nobody has dared disturb Lamarck. Hearing her name alone sends fear down the spine of her enemy.