[Lady Ying Yue, Myth of the !]

  Mildly annoyed, Ying Yue jumped back as the fools rushed in, thinking the saint had made a mistake; Catherine tossed her shield up, time slowing to a crawl for Ying Yue with the impending sense of danger that impressed on her chest, and Nüba’s gripping voice compressed around her undead heart like a drought-infused whirlwind.

  “Sacrifice everything.”

  Immediately after, consigned laughter rolled through her mind from the hanfu Soul-Item she wore. “Escape through—oh, it’s already too late. Well, shit. I knew we made a mistake.”

  Dammit.

  Stiff arms spinning in front of her, she set her ground and took a stance. The beads and yin-yang symbol around her neck brightened, the same pattern spreading beneath her feet. Her earrings crumbled away, and her outfit turned jade-green.

  She tugged back her puppets to defend her, manipulating the invisible threads as the two former holy men shot to defend her. Hands clasping together, light projected from the two Chinese dead men, attempting to curve what was about to come.

  Catherine’s aggravatingly pure smile fell on her, her sky-blue eyes a picture of the heavens, her snow-white nun’s robes and golden accessories shimmering. Alabaster wings unfurled from her back, blonde hair billowing around her as the halo over her head radiated a blinding light.

  The shield froze in the air, its pattern spreading out across the room and locking every familiar and vampire in place. Ying Yue felt like a deep ocean compressed her, making it difficult to move, which meant the other fools would be paralyzed—the saint was supposed to be strong, but not have this much power.

  Catherine’s hands enclosed on the hilt of her sword, bringing the tip to the corrupted blood floor. Small streams of crimson fell from the three cuts on her peaceful face, dripping onto her robes.

  The woman’s soft, humble words burned Ying Yue’s ears as she ignored the other vampires, knowing their deaths were already assured. Ying Yue gathered her defensive chi to do as instructed; this was a suicide attack, which was why it was so potent.

  “You are what I would consider evil,” the saint smoothly stated, flipping her sword up as the corrupted blood crystal around them purified a brilliant gold in her holy light with her spreading wings. Ying Yue couldn’t speak as the pressure continued to mount by the second. “You turn that which is good and force them to act against their will…trapping their souls for your use.”

  She turned her stunning gaze to the two men defending Ying Yue, holy light spinning around her as her partner inched forward, fighting through the waves of restrictive pulses; the Myth of the Estries wouldn’t make it, though, and she couldn’t defend against this attack.

  “You have fought well, St. Peter Wu Guosheng and Mitrophan. Your sacrifices were not in vain. Saint Colmcille completed his mission, as have you.”

  Ying Yue’s lust grew, causing disharmony within her as she saw tears falling from her puppets’ eyes. How is she awakening their free will? These chains are blessed by Nüba. I want her! Her attitude, her power, her faith, her infectious smile that inspires…her pretty eyes. No. It is a need; I have to have her! She’s such a lovely, delicate flower to pluck and keep.

  “Stop!” Ying Yue growled as the woman flipped her blade upward, bringing it to her own chest. White flames lit down its length, bathing the shield above as it spread throughout the unholy room, sanctifying it. “I will not die—live to kill me!”

  The saint’s unburdened eyes were not on her but the weeping puppet holy men defending her. “I set you free.”

  “No!” Ying Yue shouted as the woman slid the burning blade through her chest without a moment’s hesitation. “I have to have you!”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Catherine closed her eyes, her white robes turning blood red. Her wings were dyed the same color as the heavens opened above them, feathers floating out of the dimensional rift like tears.

  “And He gives unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of His hand. His Father, which gave them Him, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of His Father’s hand. He and His Father are one.”

  Sparkling eyes opening, showing a graceful smile that could wash away wickedness with a glance, Catherine whispered, “Through Him, we become one with the Father. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

  “Nooo!”

  “It has been my pleasure to protect you, Lady Ying Yue.”

  A feverish rush of Divine Force surged through her, and her single good eye darted to the heavenly rift. Divine flames sparked from every feather drifting through the air, engulfing the whole room and sanctifying it with fire.

  The nova expanded, suffocating her as it ate past her defenses, sweeping through the vampires as if melting butter. Defenses evaporating in an instant, she fought through the burning heat until it faded, leaving a hallowed hum in the air.

  Lowering her half-incinerated hands, her fingers were blackened and locked in place; she stared at her unusable digits, her cursed blades eradicated, before dully scanning the sanctified room.

  Every blessed artifact she’d been given and taken from fallen opponents was destroyed, leaving her half-naked apart from her dead Soul-Item. The yin-yang disk below her vanished, only having blocked half of the initial blast, the holy men flaking away, converted to salt. Yet, still, with all of her efforts put into defense, it had almost not been enough.

  There were no charred corpses of the four other vampires, nor furniture, nor the two hidden Legendkin corpses she’d brought to puppet as her support. The corrupted blood of this world had turned a brilliant gold, the crystal projecting a powerful holy radiance. She’d underestimated the saint’s convictions, and it cost her a prize worth a hundred holy men in China.

  Ying Yue’s feet tingled with the rest of her burned skin as she hopped through the blinding room of glorious rays until she stood before the shockingly potent religious woman. White, Divine flames continued to burn her corpse, Catherine’s own sword plunged into her chest, and large wings spread out behind her back as gleaming feathers floated out of the golden portal to higher dimensions enclosing the ceiling.

  “Such…a pity,” she growled in Chinese, noting the evaporated fake earrings the saint wore. “Trap us in your sanctuary and leave us nowhere to escape your holy judgment. You not only deny me your body to use in death but managed to pass on the earrings? An impressive, aggravating woman of the Western church. The salt of the Earth…”

  Turning around as the woman’s body turned to salt, Ying Yue huffed and hopped out of the purified room. She entered the night, where two figures waited—more annoying women.

  The twinkling blue eyes of the blonde didn’t shift to her as Twilight twisted an empty glass of wine behind her back; Ying Yue didn’t miss the sealed letter held against the crystal cup. The woman stared up at the orange moon, her entertained tone making Ying Yue want to slit the dangerous woman’s throat.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t be able to achieve your emperor’s mission, Ying Yue. Now, you’ve also lost such a potent puppet to your arrogance. It is best you leave before the fun really begins.”

  Beside the blonde, Elizabeth’s leering smile made Ying Yue’s burning skin itch to take the woman’s body for herself, yet she had already suspected this figure was a fake—a clone made of blood—puppeteered from somewhere else within the castle.

  There was no reason to believe the Legend was as weak as she sensed, and Ying Yue had every reason to think this clone was still a part of the real host. Elizabeth was playing a very deceptive game, drawing in so many vampires to watch them fight her battles and dance to her manipulations, and this blonde entity had to be her best friend.

  “It was a pleasure having you as a guest, Lady Ying Yue,” the noblewoman mused. “It is a shame you must depart early. Have you decided to take Empress Wu’s side rather than face punishment? You lost much attempting to match the saint’s resolve…and you lost. Will your emperor be forgiving when you have failed and are so weakened? What use are you?”

  Her half-burned face twitched with amusement as the Countess of Blood made a simple gesture, opening a rift to allow her to exit without confrontation. Yet, her single good eye was on the back of the blonde manipulator.

  “You may tell the empress that I will make her pay for the humiliation she has given me—for helping the saints leave China—all of you will know my wrath. Nüba knows of your plucking strings and the council you are bringing together, Twilight. Babel knows…and the Tower will rise.”

  With that conclusion, flaming hatred gripping her soul, Ying Yue left the plotting Twilight Council to their machinations, their judging eyes on her half-covered, burned back. She would savor this bitter and shameful loss, for the vengeance that would follow would be sweet; they would regret allowing her to escape when weakened. Like the retreating waters of a great swell, she would return like the crashing justice of a tsunami—she swore it.

  - Growing Community =D

  View and help

  Support me on and get up to: Note that instead of 'first of the month' billing, I have opted into 'pay on the same day you sign up'!

  + Weekly Poll On Next Week's Priority Series

  + 6 Chapters (6 Weeks) ahead in A Tail's Misfortune

  + 6 Chapters (6 Weeks) Ahead in The Oscillation Rewrite

  + 6 Chapters (6 Weeks) Ahead in UE Rewrite

  + 6 Chapters (6 Weeks) Ahead in Veil of Chaos

  Patreon Exclusive Novella Books

  + Ask a Character any question you want and they'll respond in-character!

  + All my commissioned artwork is up for free on my Patreon!

  Current Books on Amazon and Audible:

  Series Books

  The Oscillation

  Book 1 - Chaos

  A Tail's Misfortune

  Book 1 - Transformation

  Book 1 Audible - Transformation

  Undying Empire

  Book 1 - Foundation

  Novellas (Stand Alone; Same Universe)