Witches of Fire and Ice

Priscilla's confusion was plastered across her face as worry filled her heart, her mother was outside in that thick fog. Lucia smacked the back of her head like a child, Priscilla had already forgotten about the voice mimicry.

'You realise that is not your mother right? You need to listen to me when I explain important details. Witchcraft is not simple, any wrong move or an imperfect balance can cost you more than just your life. That applies to external threats such as the Vaundr.' Lucia pointed at the door, motioning for her to peek outside.

Priscilla's eye hugged the hole, a crooked smile barely lit by a soul-fire lantern impaled in his shoulder. He didn't miss any chance to try to rip out her eye with the jagged end of the sickle, Priscilla jumped back onto the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. Lucia felt terrible about forcing her to leave at such an unfortunate time. Priscilla lifted herself up, wiping away the tears that left small craters on her cheeks, her determination to beat her first foe, was immortal.

'I am ready to go!' She felt up the feathers and gripped the vial tightly. She unbuckled the locks on the back windows, readying herself to fly through the void-like forest.

A burst of light flashed through the forest, knocking the Vaundr possibly a hundred feet back. His crooked face contorted into a frown as his lantern flickered. Silence was only broken by her little steps crushing leaves and branches in her wake, animals had ceased their nightly orchestra of noises. Each dash left several trees in the dust, the little kitten leapt from branch to branch high above her.

Her palm began sweating whilst holding the vial of fog, a single vial that would save her temporarily. The map showed the guard tower to be no more than two kilometres, Priscilla knew she wasn't fast, but two kilometres was nothing even to her.

 'Meow!' 

'Hey there girlie, may I ask you a question?' His creepy slender frame crept from around the tree, the soul-fire lantern sparked up towards the young girl hungrily. 'What's the hurry?'

Panicking, Priscilla shot a feathered bolt into the torso of Vaundr, his body shook uncontrollably, but she had no time to feel pity. Slippery leaves stuck to her clothes, falling from branches disturbed by the black cat. Her eyes scanned nearby trees for any signs of Vaundr, his unpredictability proved to be a huge challenge-

'Uhmph-'

'Golly gee, we meet for the third time tonight. Let's make sure there isn't a fourth.' His broken arm raised the sickle far above his head, slashing down at her, cutting half of her hair, missing Priscilla who rolled away. 

'Lantern's screech.' Vaundr chanted followed by the light in both lanterns dying out. 

'Let the fun begin little witch.' 

Tears welled in Priscilla's eyes, scrambling to arm the crossbow with another feather. 'Yeouch!' Blood stained her pale skin as the rusty metal blade ripped through her leg. 'Fuck Fuck Fuck!' A click echoed through the nearby trees before launching the Vaundr away for the second time. Priscilla tied a piece of her torn skirt around her thigh, stopping the blood flow from spilling out for a short while. 

Distant rings of the sickle drew nearer but Priscilla continued trudging along the darkened forest. In the short amount of time she had been running, they had traversed almost half of the distance. But the slash took a huge toll on her physical state, her socks were flooded with blood and her head was starting to get lightheaded. 

There was still so much distance to push through yet no goal in sight, her head wandered through darker corners than the night searching for a solution. 

'I can smell you.' Called out the Vaundr, brandishing his blade ready to strike once more. This was his game, hunting witches, allowing only the pleasure of her screaming to guide him. His lifeless eyes scanned the darkness, searching for the fresh prey he had injured.

''Stay silent!'' Thought Priscilla, she figured if Vaundr hasn't found her yet, it means he suffers from the same disadvantages as herself. In her hand she crumpled up some dry leaves and mixed them with mud, her head peeked around the corner spotting the wandering Vaundr. 

Her mud bomb flew into his eyes, debris scattering through the air blocking his vision and impairing his eyes. 'Damn you! Sly witch.'

Adrenaline rushed through her veins, picking up the slack on her injured leg, Priscilla knew that tactic wouldn't buy her much time, but it was enough to make steady progress. 

She loaded the next feather into the crossbow, Priscilla felt it in her bones that this feather would matter the most, but just hadn't figured out how to use it yet. Branches creaked as the cat jumped onto the muddy ground, its whiskers grew a little longer, at least that's what Priscilla felt when petting the cat's head. She plucked one out and attached it to her last arrow, an idea flashed across her mind, a very devious one at that.

Her eyes glided down to the wound that had managed to close up a bit, rather strange, she thought but it was no time to ponder as to why that might've happened. Heavy thumps of metal boots, no longer trying to be sneaky, headed towards her, a bloody red mist filling his eyes as veins popped like dynamite. 'Come out now witch! I will make your death painless if you do.' Silence clung to the bark of countless trees, the air stagnant out of fear of what might happen if it moved.

Priscilla meandered through the trees, ducking and jumping over any obstacles that obstructed her path to the guard tower. Only 500 meters left she thought, joy spreading through her body. The cat jumped onto her shoulders readying itself to leap backwards. She knew not of the cat's plans but trusted it.

A drop of water landed on her nose, splashing against her glasses and ricocheting in her eyes. A moment was all it took for her to start tumbling on the floor, a branch had snagged her leg as she failed the jump.

'He he he' The ghostly voice rang.

The loud steps from before had slowed down to a pitter-patter, surrounding her location. The clang of his metal sickle shook the leaves from overhead, birds ascending to the skies in horror of Vaundr's wrath.

'You have made me angry, little witch. I admit you have some tricks, but that just made me want to taste you more.' A second sickle emerged from his cloak, this one however glowed a faint blue similar to his lantern. 

'This sickle,' He tapped the sharp end against his temple. 'Is used for injuring, hurting, degrading the pride of witches such as yourself.

-Clang-

Blue embers sparked like fireworks in the small hexagonal shape of the clearing. His mouth curled, cutting into his face and nearly tugging at his ears, the devil, is what flashed through Priscilla's mind. 

'And this one is for capturing the souls of you satanic witches.' He swiped at her furiously with both sickles, cutting the very air that dared stand between them. Priscilla's figure vanished from the ground leaving the small black cat where she had been. -Click- Vaundr's head snapped back looking up at the floating witch.

'Eat shit and die you filthy demon!' The dart spiralled through the air, its whistle reverberating through the forest before being silenced with a 'Thck'

The treetrunk-like body of the Vaundr started shifting, getting smaller and smaller until a 'Meow' roared from its delicate snout. Priscilla glided down, the effects of the feather still working until she dropped from two meters off the ground. 'Ouch!' Priscilla rubbed her leg which had been miraculously healed.

Her curiosity took over and picked up the cat, booping its little nose and dodging the furious swipes of kitty Vaundr. Even the fog miraculously cleared after the transformation of the Vaundr, the vial seemed to lose its worth now that the air cleared.

Priscilla wandered through the forest once more, knowing the guard post would not be far from her location. Now that the forest was clear, animal noises resumed to normal, owls, squirrels and even foxes rummaged through nearby dens. It was…tranquil. 

Her eyes looked down at the now-restrained brown cat who did not stop trying to escape the bindings. She knew it was dangerous to keep Vaundr so close, but what could it do when it was so adorable? Priscilla's cheeks blushed, holding the kitten's soft fur against her rosy cheeks.

'What's up brat?' 

'Eek!' Priscilla jumped behind a nearby tree, quickly realising how stupid that was considering she didn't know where the voice was coming from. 

'It's me, Lucia. I am quite surprised you managed to outsmart Vaundr, not like they are known for their great intellect, but congrats.' 

Priscilla felt relieved, heaving a sigh as her legs collapsed to the muddy ground. Her eyes scanned the nearby terrain but she could not spot the elegant witch, perhaps it was a spell speaking to her telephatically.

'It was all thanks to your tools Lucia! Hopefully this won't happen again anytime soon. Hahaha-'

Fear ran through her body as a thicker fog than before crept through the trees, a pool of warmth formed in her mouth as she looked down. There it was, a blue sickle through her chest.