Nightblade (Darkest night) Chapter 80: Lunatic

Or rather, she tried to. Talia lunged forward with lightning speed, her fingers tightly clamping down on the red head’s mouth.

The girl struggled uselessly against the iron grip, her feet thrashing on the ground and her arms flailing at Talia’s face.

Talia’s eyes widened.

" This damn lunatic!"

Shebincresed her grip, grabbing the girl’s offending hand. Talia drove her knee into the girl’s abdon.

Pale rays of light slowly filtered through the canopy above, illuminating them.

‎"Are you trying to get us killed?" Talia hissed furiously, piercing the girl with an icy glare. Her brown eyes glead murderously with silent fury.

‎The girl’s eyes widened, darting to the pistols holstered on Talia’s body suit, then she frantically shook her head.

"I’m going to let you go now, if you try anything funny," she leaned down and whispered into the girl’s ear, her voice taking on a darker edge.

"It’s your funeral."

‎Talia slowly released her grip on the girl’s mouth and then silently backed away.

The girl quickly sat up, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her hands trembled slightly. She quickly scanned her surroundings, then her gaze settled on Talia’s crouching figure.

‎"You can stay here and beco its next al, or you can follow , your choice," Talia whispered.

In the next instant, Talia disappeared into the undergrowth, lding with her surroundings

‎She quickly crept through the bushes, then rose to her feet and began to sprint.

‎Without wasting a breath, the redhead frantically scrambled after her.

‎After a while, a heavy downpour began, piercing through the thick canopy of the forest. The scent of earth and wet wood filled the air, the wet leaves on the ground muffling the squelching sound of their steps as they crept through the forest.

‎After estimating that they’d put so distance between them and the spider, Talia ca to a stop, gasping for breath.

She glanced around, surveying their surroundings for potential threats.

Her eyes intently scanned the nearby tree and bushes.

After a while, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

‎Talia slowly sat down, leaning against one of the larger trees. The tree’s large canopy conveniently sheltered both of them from the rain.

She took in deep breaths, slowly savouring them, pacing her breathing.

‎" With that thing here, it would explain why we didn’t et any other creatures. They’re probably its prey."

‎Taloa glanced up, scrutinizing the pale Talented.

‎The girl hadn’t said a word since they’d gotten away from the grotesque creature.

‎" Hey, what’s your na? I don’t think I’ve seen you before."

‎For the first ti, the girl spoke.

‎" Amanda, what’s yours?"

‎" Talia."

‎A somber silence passed, filling the mont. Talia was the first to speak.

‎" You’re one of the Talented, right?"

‎Amanda nodded, observing her with sothing akin to curiosity.

‎" Then how can you be here? Only aspirants should be able to enter Tenebris."

‎Amanda’s brows knit together in confusion.

‎A look of genuine puzzlent appeared on her face.

‎" I’m not sure myself, all I rember is that I was at the academy and then in the next mont I saw you and then...that...thing."

‎The mory of the giant spider and the hideous corpse at its feet vividly flashed through her mind.

‎" Ah.."

‎Suddenly, Amanda’s face beca pale, turning a sickly dark shade, then in the next mont, she swiftly turned and puked her guts out.

‎Talia turned away, wrinkling her nose at the sight.

‎" Shiiit!"

‎She rolled her eyes, then walked over to the Talented girl, awkwardly patting her on the back.

‎" There... There,"

‎" But honestly, I can’t bla her. That wasn’t exactly the prettiest sight to wake up to. If I’m right, I blacked out a few tis when I saw that thing. That’s the only explanation for the gaps in my mory. "

The retching sounds continued for a while, cutting through the eerie stillness of the forest.

‎Around them, the downpour had turned to a drizzle, disappearing almost as quickly as it had started.

‎" Co on, we need to get moving, create more distance between us and that thing."

‎Amanda was still recovering from the violent stomach-emptying fit.

The girl appeared tired despite having been unconscious, with dark bags under her unusual crimson eyes.

‎She tiredly wiped her mouth on her sleeve, then spoke.

‎"So, where are we going? Do you have an idea of where we are right now?"

‎Talia shook her head.

‎A confident smile slowly appeared on her face.

‎" I’m not sure about where we are right now, but I do know that we can just barely see the sun from here, so let’s try to follow the direction of the sun. With any luck, if we follow it, we should be able to find the end of this forest."

‎Talia rose to her feet and started walking in the direction the sun’s light appeared to co from.

‎" Stop!"

‎The sudden shout froze Talia in her tracks.

‎ Her head whipped around in Amanda’s direction.

‎" What’s wrong?"

‎Talia’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

‎Unbeknownst to her, above her, two giant serpents slithered down the trees on either side of her.

‎Their tenebrous scales shimred in the sun’s pale light, coiling srizingly around the dark bark of the tree.

‎Amanda had almost missed them, dismissing them as tree bark.

‎Her eyes widened in realization.

‎"Camouflage! That’s why we weren’t able to see them at first."

‎Amanda slowly moved her hands, taking a few steps back.

‎"What kind of horror is this? These things they’re almost as large as basilisks!"

‎At this point, Talia’s patience was wearing thin.

‎An irritated scowl appeared on her face.

‎" Hey, what’s the matter?! I..."

‎" Duck!"

‎In the next mont, one of the giant serpents lunged forward, its fangs hissing through the air.

‎Talia’s eyes widened, sensing that sothing was terribly wrong.

The horrific, heartstopping hiss behind her proved her right.

‎In the sa instant, she threw herself forward, lunging for the ground.

‎Her training kicked in, and she quickly spun around, pulling Hawk and Echo from her holsters.

Her mouth dropped open in shock at the sight.

‎The largest snake she’d ever seen was flying through the air towards her face.

‎A raw sound that she vaguely recognized as her voice escaped her throat.

Her heart pounded frantically in her chest, adrenaline coursed through her, and it almost seed like ti slowed down to a crawl.

‎In the next instant, Talia’s fingers instinctively curled around the triggers, pulling them several tis.

‎A split second later, she hit the ground and rolled away, then everything went white.

‎A mont later, a crackling sound filled her ears. The air slled slightly of ozone.

‎" What is this taste?!"

‎A second later, another violent burst of white light blinded her once more.

‎"Crap! My eyes! I can’t see! What’s going on?! Why can’t I see?

‎Talia rolled over and began crawling in the direction she’d seen Amanda.

‎" Help !"

‎Talia desperately felt out the ground in front of her in an attempt to tell her where she was.

‎Her sight slowly returned, the white fog gradually dissipating.

‎Then she saw Amanda.

‎The Talented girl’s eyes were aglow with fierce crimson eyes.

Her hands crackled with bolts of electricity, the air around her literally humming from the power around her.

‎Talia spun, then froze.

‎The serpent, actually two of them, were dead, their bodies charred beyond recognition. The giant creature’s body twitched spasmically, but they were undoubtedly dead.

The creatures were at least over ten tres tall, but the Talented girl had killed them like it was nothing.

‎" Who is she?!"

‎Talia turned back to Amanda, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

‎Amanda’s glowing eyes reverted to their normal colour.

In the next mont, she dropped to her knees, gasping heavily. Her body trembled slightly, twitching erratically from ti to ti.

Her face tightened, turning even paler.

‎"What’s wrong?" Talia asked in puzzlent.

‎Amanda gasped, gulping deep lungfuls of air before speaking.

‎" My power, it feels...restrained."

‎A look of disbelief appeared on Talia’s face.

‎"What does she an, it feels restrained? If this is restrained..."

‎Talia shuddered to think what could happen if the Talented girl wasn’t restrained.

Talia rembered her rough handling of the redhead.

" That ans she could have killed back then!"

‎" Let try sothing," Amanda bit out, then rose to her feet.

‎Talia stared at her, watching her every move intently. The TAlented girl stood in place, seemingly waiting.

After a while, a frown appeared on Talia’s face.

"Is she waiting for sothing to happen?"

A few monts passed without anything happening.

A look of panic appeared on Amanda’s face, her eyes widening slightly.

‎Her breaths beca short and rapid, her chest rising and falling with frightening intensity.

‎A crazed look appeared in her eyes

‎Talia’s brows creased in confusion.

‎" What exactly are you trying to do?"

‎Amanda glanced at her, her eyes eerily glazed over.

‎Talia’s hand unconsciously drifted to Echo, pausing above its holster.

‎" What’s the matter?" she asked calmly.

‎A quiet sigh escaped Amanda’s lips, her arms sagging hopelessly at her sides, then she muttered sothing under her breath.

‎"I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that."

‎Amanda’s eyes moved to her own, then shifted to the ground.

‎" I can’t fly...I can’t sense my flight ability."

‎