We slowly advanced through the woods. I was on edge since I'm sure the vamps could smell our blood. I didn't want any dangerous people being close to Acacia or Naomi. I made sure to walk ahead of them and allow my hybrid eyes to glow. I strategically angled my face, so Acacia wouldn't see the glowing orange eyes (she would've definitely realized that I wasn't just a vampire/ witch hybrid).

Where the hell is the barrier?! I couldn't even do a spell since I had no idea what the spell would even be! I can't even try to mentally speak to my mum since we were in a different plane. Hmm... what to do? What to do?

"Any ideas?" I turned to the two.

"Try and find the barrier, but something tells me we'd have to ask a local-" Acacia was then cut off.

"Yes, let's go ask hungry vampires if they can show us the exit." Naomi sarcastically stated.

"It was a vague idea." Acacia glared at her. "Any other brilliant ideas?" She sassed back.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and whisper to the trees and have them telll you where the exit is?" Naomi snarked.

"You can do that?!" I turned to Acacia who rolled her eyes. "That's so cool! Can you talk to flowers and birds and-"

"It's not that cool." Naomi grumbled while Acacia smirked.

"These trees aren't friendly." Acacia averted her eyes. "And I can somewhat communicate with living things that occupy the forest." She shrugged and tried to walk off, but I held her wrist.

"That's really so cool!" She blushed and looked down. "I wish I had cool powers like that." I pouted.

"Don't compare yourself to her. You are on an entirely different level, amore. She's down here..." Naomi squatted and held her hand barely above the ground. "And you're like up here." Naomi stood and began jumping up.

"And you're literally below the ground." Acacia smirked when Naomi glared.

"Love that you guys are getting along swell..." They rolled their eyes at me. "Buuuuuuut we kinda need to work together if we're gonna get out of here. I'm not sure where the barrier would even be." I couldn't even feel the magic from the barrier. "I can't even feel the magic."

"As long as you keep this degenerate away from me." Acacia held my hand.

"And if you can keep the elitist away from me." Naomi took my free hand.

I sighed when they glared at each other. They then began to walk in different directions, so I was stretched in two directions! Naomi and Acacia dug their heels in the ground and began yanking me. I groaned when they began screaming at each other. I tried to tell them to be a little quieter since we didn't want to alert the vamps.

"SHUT UP, ZENA!" I rolled my eyes when they both yelled at me.

Those two weren't stopping anytime soon. They demanded the other to release me and obviously they refused. Why can't they just get along? My ears picked up the sound of footsteps. I then caught a glimpse of red eyes a mile away. My eyes widened and I quickly yanked the two towards me. They gasped and fell towards me, so I quickly caught them. They began glaring at me, so I stood them up and motioned ahead. They followed my line of sight and gasped.

I immediately positioned the two behind me and glared at the vamp ahead of me. I then heard sounds around me, so I focused my hearing and realized there were three behind me. They tried to take us by surprise, but I heard them. I yanked the two girls down, causing one vampire to fly over our heads.

I then pushed Naomi out the reach of another vampire. I saw a woman trying to attack Acacia, so I grabbed the vamp's neck. I harshly glared at her before flinging her through a tree. Acacia quickly scrambled up and gripped my hand. I used my magic to summon Naomi to my side.

"You're a unique one, aren't you?" The leader smirked. "That makes your blood even more appealing." He sniffed the air.

"Leave." I spoke through gritted teeth.

"And pass up a lovely meal." He bared his fangs. "The dark haired one would be the appetizer..." He looked at Naomi, causing me to hiss. "You'd be the main course..." I rolled my eyes. "And blonde would be desert." I growled when he licked his lips.

"Fuck off or we'll kill you!" Acacia stepped in front of me. How does that girl literally have zero fear?! "You ever speak about killing her again... and I'll slice you to bits!" Oooooooh, she's hella protective of me. That's cute.

"You speak a lot for such a weakling." He flashed his red eyes at us.

"And you threaten a lot for someone with little importance." Acacia sassed back.

"KILL THEM!"

Naomi glared at an embarrassed Acacia. I shoved them out the way of the vampires. The vamps tried to grab the girls, but I held them back. I used my magic to place a protective barrier around the girls. I was then slammed into a tree and repeatedly punched. I kicked the vampire off and hissed at the ones closest to me.

"ZENA!" I turned at Acacia's scream.

I saw more vampires had appeared and were trying to break down my invisible barrier. They couldn't enter, so they resorted to throwing objects at the girls. Because of their strength, the objects were similar to projectiles and could seriously injure or even kill them. The leader took advantage of my distraction and put me in a headlock. I gritted my teeth and tried to pry him off. I saw a rock shatter Naomi's kneecap. She screamed and fell to the ground. A log then smashed into Acacia, closely knocking her unconscious.

"I'll yield!" I yelled. "I surrender!"

"Hmmm... that wasn't so hard, now was it?" He chuckled. "Drop the barrier."

"Don't hurt them." I demanded.

"You aren't in a position to make demands." He hissed.

"Torture me and leave them alone."

"You're blood-"

"You can consume it until you become drunk. Just leave them." I interrupted him. "And no double crossing or I swear to God... you'll regret it." I bared my fangs.

"Fine." He spat and broke my limbs.

I grimaced as I felt my bones shatter in several places. The pain broke my concentration with the barrier. I sighed when I saw it fall. The vamps immediately grabbed my friends, but they didn't harm them. Thank God! I was then dragged by my leg through the forest. The vamps weren't concerned if my head banged against rocks, trees, or any other hard object! I was just grateful that they had my friends walk. It killed me to see Naomi in pain from her injured kneecap.

She could barely walk, yet they forced her anyway. Acacia was clutching her abdomen in pain. I wasn't a doctor, but I could presume she broke several ribs. They were both in pain, but the vamps didn't care. In fact, they seemed to be reveling in the injured.

We kept walking until we came across a village. The vampires in the village stopped to hiss at us. They licked their lips and allowed their red eyes to glow. I hissed back if they looked too long at my friends. I received several kicks in the head from my disrespect.

I was thrown to the ground when we entered the market square. A vampire, with gloved hands, approached me. He smirked and revealed a silver collar. My eyes widened as he clasped it around my neck. Whatever strength I felt quickly dissipated. I immediately fell to the ground from exhaustion. The vampires laughed and took turns beating me. I could hear Naomi and Acacia scream at watching me be assaulted. The vampires chained them to a post, so they'd have a perfect view of my demise.

I was barely conscious when they started cutting me with silver blades. I screamed at the pain and begged them to stop. They became more savage and decided to nail me to a wooden plank. I tried to fight them off, but they had the upper hand. I found some energy to fling a vamp away from me. That infuriated the others, so they held me down. Silver bracelets were then placed around my wrists. I grimaced when the silver burned my wrists.

The vampires continued on with my crucification. They made sure their hands were gloved before picking up silver nails. They then drove the nails through my hands. I screamed bloody murder at the pain. Once I was nailed, some vampires advanced with torches. They then took turns burning me alive.

Acacia screamed and begged them to stop. Naomi was yelling at the vampires to release me. I saw my skin crisping and deforming. The leader of the vampire group used a blade to slice my throat. I began gargling blood, which was hampering my breathing. He held my face and wickedly smiled. I saw Acacia let out a pained screech when the leader began carving my face. He sliced my mouth into a permanent smile like the Joker.

"Any last words before you die?" He smirked.

"You're... dead.. when..." I was struggling to breathe because of the blood. "When... when..."

"When what?" He laughed and riled up the crowd. "WHEN WHAT?!"

"When my maman finds out." I coughed.

"Oh, I'm so scared." He mocked me.

"You should be." I groaned.

"Call her and then I'll kill her. Just like how I'm gonna kill you. I fear no one-"

I felt a breeze rush through the village. Before he could blink, his head was ripped off his body. My eyes widened at seeing his body fall limp. The crowd's cheers slowly died down. They began looking at what caused their leader's death. The vampires quickly became fearful since they didn't know what killed him. I forced myself to look up and focus on the familiar scent.

I turned to see my maman walk through the center. She held the leader's severed head in her hand. My maman was pissed since her hair was stark white, eyes were black, and her fangs were on full display. She hissed at the villagers, who began to cower in fear. I was too exhausted to see what my maman did. All I heard were screams, sounds of bones breaking, blood splashing, and even more horrific sounds.

"HAVE MERCY ON US!" The villagers begged.

"HOW DARE YOU BEG FOR YOUR PATHETIC LIVES AFTER ATTEMPTING TO DESTROY MY DAUGHTER!" My maman gripped two vampire's throats. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"

"Lara, the heir." A vampire rushed out before my maman ripped his face off.

"AND YET YOU DARE HARM SOMEONE SO DEAR TO ME!" She roared. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL! MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN! NO ONE IS SAFE!" She exploded several homes. "THAT WILL-"

"Maman." I whispered, but she heard. My maman stopped to glance at me. "Have them join us in fighting Lilitu. We need them and can't kill them all." I sighed out.

"BUT-"

"Please, maman." I almost passed out.

"Fine." My maman did magic to release Naomi and Acacia. Naomi raced to help me while Acacia was frozen in fear. "You owe your worthless lives to my daughter. It's by her compassion that you worthless slimes still breathe." My maman flung some vampires from her. "I expect you to send some people to inform the government about my demands." They shook in fear. "I expect you to fight by my side against Lilitu." She looked around at the vampires who were frozen in fear. "UNDERSTAND ME?!"

"YES, YOUR HIGHNESS!" They replied.

My maman roared at them one last time, causing them to shriek in fear. Naomi had completely released me and was now carrying me bridal style. I looked over to Acacia, but she was absolutely terrified. I don't know why since we just defeated- oh no. She's terrified of me.

I sensed her emotions and my heart fell. Acacia was petrified since Lara was my maman. She was frozen in shock, so my maman tried approaching her. When Acacia realized, she took a step back from my maman. My maman was momentarily confused, but quickly understood. She then gave me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, but take me home!" Acacia backed away until her back collided with a tree. "And stay a-away!" Her voice shook.

"Ac-"

"Please don't kill me." She squeezed her eyes shut and crouched into a protective position. "Please, spare me."