9 The Rogues

Aaron furtively led me back to the campsite, which was still a few meters afar. We kept walking at a steady pace. The fact that we might encounter rogues rattled me to my core. I was too perturbed to ask Aaron any questions, fearing that the sound of my voice might alert the rogues to our whereabouts, but deep down I hoped Aaron was mistaken.

Suddenly, Aaron halted his footsteps. I was about to inquire what was wrong. when I followed his line of sight and my gaze fell on the deep red glowing eyes on a face filled with malice.

‘rouge’

Fear coursed through me, awakening every nerve inside my body. my breath halted and my heart stopped. I could feel the malicious aura precipitate in the air around us. I instinctively tightened my grip on Aaron’s hands.

Never had I ever come across such a vicious sight. Half of the rouge shifters face was covered in brown fur that made his features barely visible. He was maintaining a half shift form that only rogues were capable of maintaining. Standing beside him was a red-haired woman, a rogue vampire with the very same eyes as her male counterpart. They were both accompanied by a mage, a bald man with pitch-black eyes, who was standing behind them.

Sensing my fear Aaron comforted me, ‘’Don’t worry I won’t let anything happen to you.’’ he looked into my eyes and tightened his grip on my hand drawing me closer to him. But his words failed to bring me any comfort, knowing that he could not fight them all on his own while worrying about my well being.

For the first time in my life, I regretted not learning magic. At the very least, I could have helped him fight the rogues and now I could not even alert others. I just hope that they can sense the looming danger.

The rogue shifter growled at us as if acknowledging our presence and spoke with derision in his voice, ‘’Look what have we here; lovers on a rendezvous. deep in the forest.’’

The vampire bared her fangs on the comment and spoke on cue, ‘’Who knew we would find such delectable prey this deep In the forest. A celestial no less and judging from her scent, she seems to be brimming with magic. Oh! what a delight. Arthur, the girl is mine, I haven’t had a decent feed in so long. I am practically starving.’’ the woman’s revolting words infuriated Aaron and disgusted me.

‘’Stay away from her.’’ he practically growled at the rogues.

‘’Oh, how protective. Looks like we have to get rid of him first.’’ The rogue shifter spoke as if analyzing an obstacle in the endeavour to bleed me dry.

The mage interrupted their musings and chimed in, ‘’Be fast about it we have to complete our task on time.’’

‘’Don’t worry we can always improvise, besides the odds are in our favour.’’ the shifter responded in a pacifying manner and leapt through the air with claws out towards Aaron.

Aaron swiftly dodged the attack, and manoeuvred me to the side, right before the rogue shifter’s claws could slash him. He brandished his claws and charged toward the rogue shifter. Even in such a predicament, Aaron had no trouble keeping up with the rogue shifters attacks. meeting blow for blow, all the while guarding me and then for the very first time, I saw him shift into a wolf, right in front of my eyes.

The change was instantaneous, he went for the rogue shifter’s throat right at that moment, tearing out his carotid artery, but the rogue shifter’s wound closed up on its own due to his accelerated healing abilities. Amid the scrimmage, the female rogue vampire found this to be the most opportune moment to pounce at me, but before she could even touch me; Aaron leapt towards her, and slashed her chest, aiming at her heart. But this manoeuvre left him open to the rogue shifters attack. The rogue shifter took the opportunity and swiped his jagged claws at Aarons back.

Aaron in his wolf form growled at the rogue shifter and pounced on him again. Meanwhile, the rogue vampire endured her pain, and in an enraged state came for me again. She caught me by my hair, exposing my neck, as she bared her fangs, and sunk them deep inside my neck.

I felt a sharp stinging sensation on my neck, followed by a sensation agonising pain. I screamed in anguish, and thrashed around, wanting to escape her clutches, but she caught my arm. Her claws broke through the surface of my skin and blood seeped out of my new wounds.

My scream distracted Aaron, and he tried coming my way to save me, but the rogue shifter took advantage of his distraction and kept on attacking, blood gushing out of Aarons wound, due to the injuries he sustained. staining his fur and the ground red; the scent of blood disseminating in the air.

The sight of Aaron fighting all on his own while being bloody and bruised pained me. I had to do something.

In my disoriented state, I racked my brain for any overlooked spell or enchantment that could save us from this dire predicament, but my weakened state made it difficult for me to concentrate. All I could feel at the moment was the rogue vampire’s sharp fangs, and the agonizing pain they were causing.

My consciousness was slipping slowly, and in my disoriented state, I recalled a forgone magic lesson that one of my magic teachers had taught me long ago.

‘Magic is everything, every element, every living being. All you have to do is feel the magic around you, envision it, shape it, command it. Then even the most difficult of spells will be easy to perform, concentration and connection with the spiritual element is the essence of performing magic.’

Words that I never really paid attention to before, but now I obeyed.

‘Concentrate, feel’.

I numbed myself to the pain, closed my eyes and felt the natural elements around me. Magic particles, swirling in the air and embedded in the earth, nurturing the trees and plants. I could feel their charged energy around me.

‘Envision it.’

I envisioned them to be animated blue-purple charged particles swirling in the air.

‘Command it.’

I connected with them through my inner essence and imagined the electric particles enveloping me.. charging the very air around me branching out towards my opponents electrocuting them.

The air crackled around me as the sparks formed nets of lightning. I opened my eyes and saw the nets electrocuting the rogue vampire as she was nearest to me. She screamed in agony and fell to the floor. The mage who was clearly on guard after witnessing my magic was chanting some sort of spell, but before he could attack, I guided the lighting towards the shifter with whatever magic was left inside me. However, the mage intercepted by creating thorny wooden vines that sprouted out of the earth and started encircling me, imprisoning me; nullifying the currents my magic produced. The rogue vampire, despite being electrocuted, endured her pain and stood up. She came at me, kicking me in the stomach with an impact, so strong, that I flew backwards and my back collided with a tree trunk, inducing new heights of pain in my body.

Depleted of magic and energy; my vision started getting blurry and darkness overtook me.