༺༻
s e v e n
☽✧☾
The fight raged under the moonlight. Although Mei Lin was bleeding from her side, she fought like a cornered tiger. Lu Hua, adrenaline burning through her veins, faced two more.
She parried a swing from one demon, spun to kick the knee of the other, making it stumble. But her eyes kept flicking back to Mei. The older woman was slowing, her breath ragged and the pain and blood loss taking their toll.
"AUNT MEI!" Lu Hua yelled. The demon Mei was fighting feinted high, then lunged low, its sword point driving deep into Mei's shoulder.
"ARGH!" Mei cried out, staggering backwards, her own sword falling from her numb fingers. Blood bloomed on her robe.
Lu Hua's world narrowed to that splash of red. Fear for Mei choked her. She turned, abandoning her own fight, sprinting towards the fallen woman.
She never saw the chain.
It whistled through the air, a heavy iron links ending in a cruel hook. It wrapped around her waist, yanking her backwards with brutal force. The air whooshed out of her lungs. She crashed onto her back, the sword flying from her hand.
"GOT HER!" snarled the demon holding the chain, pulling it taut. Lu Hua gasped, clawing at the cold metal biting into her ribs, trying to find purchase on the grass. Her feet scrabbled uselessly.
Mei, pale and trembling, tried to push herself up. "Lu Hua...!" she gasped weakly. The demons ignored her now, their prize secured.
"Don't kill her!" the tall leader barked at the demon near Mei. "The girl is all we need. Let the old one bleed." He gestured sharply. "Portal! Now!"
One of the demons raised a clawed hand. The air in front of it rippled like water, then tore open with a sickening *schlorp* sound. Beyond the tear wasn't the bamboo grove, but swirling darkness shot through with streaks of purple and green light – a demon portal.
The chain demon yanked hard. Lu Hua cried out as she was dragged bodily across the grass towards the swirling darkness. "LET ME GO! MEI!" She twisted violently, kicking her legs, trying to dig her heels in. It was useless against the demon's strength.
As they reached the edge of the portal, the cold, unnatural energy washing over her and the demons holding the chain and flanking her chuckled.
"Struggle all you want, sweetblood," the chain-holder sneered, his yellow eyes gleaming. "Makes it more fun."
"Look at her fight," another demon leered, reaching out to touch her tangled hair. Lu Hua snapped her teeth at his fingers, making him jerk back with a laugh. "Feisty and pretty."
"Bet she screams prettily too," a third added.
Rage and terror warred in Lu Hua. As the chain demon hauled her the last few feet, his hand gripping the chain close to her waist, she saw her chance. With a desperate snarl, she lunged her head forward and bit down as hard as she could on the thick skinned wrist holding the chain links.
"YEEEOOWWCH! YOU LITTLE BITCH!" The demon roared in genuine pain and surprise. His grip on the chain instinctively loosened as he tried to shake her off.
Lu Hua hit the ground, the chain slackening just enough. She scrambled, trying to rip it off, trying to crawl away from the swirling portal. Freedom was inches away!
But the tall leader was faster. He moved like lightning. Before Lu Hua could get her legs under her, his arms clamped around her from behind like iron bands, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her completely off the ground.
"Nice try," he hissed in her ear, his breath hot and foul. He squeezed, making her gasp. "But you're not going anywhere."
Lu Hua thrashed, kicking backwards. "LET ME GO, YOU UGLY BASTARD!" she screamed, pure fury in her voice.
He just chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "Such spirit. It will be fun watching it drain away." He took a step forward, carrying her struggling form effortlessly. "Into the portal! Move!"
The bitten demon, clutching his bleeding wrist, glared murderously but grabbed the loose end of the chain again. The others followed. Lu Hua, held immobile in the leader's crushing embrace, could only watch as Mei Lin, clutching her shoulder, forced herself onto her hands and knees, her desperate eyes meeting Lu Hua's for a heart-stopping second before the swirling darkness swallowed Lu Hua whole.
The portal snapped shut behind them with a final *pop*, leaving only the ruined bamboo house, the bodies, and a gravely wounded Mei Lin crawling towards the path, leaving a trail of blood on the grass.
★
Inside the portal, it wasn't travel. It was falling and spinning through freezing roaring darkness. Strange lights flashed past, disorienting. The demon leader held Lu Hua tight, the chain demon kept a firm grip on the chain still wrapped around her waist. The other demons flanked them in the howling void.
"Stupid human," the bitten demon spat, sucking on his wounded wrist. "I'll have a taste first as compensation."
"Shut up," the leader growled. He looked down at Lu Hua, who was still straining against his hold, her teeth bared in a silent snarl. "Save your strength, little firebrand. You'll need it where we're going."
"Go to hell!" Lu Hua spat, twisting her head to try and bite him again, but he easily dodged.
"We just came from there," one of the other demons chuckled darkly. "And we're taking you back."
The disorientation was overwhelming. Time lost meaning. Lu Hua felt nauseous, dizzy. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the darkness suddenly spat them out.
They landed hard on cold, damp stone. Lu Hua stumbled as the leader released her, only the chain around her waist keeping her from falling. She gasped, gulping in air that tasted stale and metallic. The cold of the portal was replaced by a damp, underground chill.
They were in a vast cavern. The ceiling was lost in gloom high above. Thick, slimy pillars of dark rock rose from the uneven floor. Flickering green torches cast long dancing shadows, revealing rough-hewn walls and dark tunnel mouths leading deeper into the mountain. The air stank of wet stone, decay, and something sharp and bitter – like old blood and sulfur.
This was the demons' hideout. Lu Hua stood chained, surrounded by her captors, shivering not just from the cold, but from the crushing weight of dread that settled over her in the oppressive gloom. The leader smirked down at her pale face.
"Welcome," he said, his voice echoing in the cavern, "to your new home, sweetblood."
★
Mei Lin stumbled through the academy gates just as dawn painted the sky grey. Blood soaked her robes, her face pale as chalk. Every step sent agony shooting through her shoulder and ribs. A young teacher practicing sword forms near the entrance gasped. "Mei Lin?!"
He rushed forward, catching her before her knees buckled. "Demons..." Mei gasped, her voice a raw scrape. "Took... a girl..."
The teacher didn't hesitate. He scooped her up with surprising strength, ignoring her pained cry, and ran. He didn't head for the infirmary. He headed straight for the secluded pavilion of Master Lan.
Master Lan, the elder with eyes like calm water, was already meditating when they burst in. Her serene expression shattered at the sight of her bleeding friend cradled in the young teacher's arms.
"Mei Lin!" Master Lan surged to her feet, her aura radiating sudden, icy power. "Set her down! Gently!"
The teacher laid Mei Lin carefully on a low couch. Master Lan knelt beside her, her wrinkled hands glowing with soft blue light as she pressed them over the worst wounds, stemming the blood flow. "What happened?"
Mei Lin clutched Master Lan's robe weakly. "Demons... they disguised... and killed Yan..." A sob choked her. "They took Lu Hua... my guest... sweet blood... they said... they crave it... Please, Lan... save her..." Mei Lin didn't mention Li Chen. Bringing his name into this felt complicated. Lan was her friend. That was reason enough.
Master Lan's eyes hardened like flint. The mention of Yan, her own former student, and the brutal attack on Mei Lin ignited a cold fury. "They have forgotten the wrath of Ling Jian." She looked up at the young teacher. "Summon ten senior combat disciples. Ready the Swift Wind Hawks. We leave within the hour."
She turned back to Mei Lin, her healing energy flowing stronger. "Rest, old friend. We will bring your girl back."
★
Deep within the cold, dripping cavern, Lu Hua sat huddled near a sputtering green fire. The chain around her waist was anchored to a heavy iron ring bolted into the stone floor. She glared pure hatred at the demons lounging around. They ignored her, sharpening claws or gnawing on grisly bones.
The youngest demon, the one she'd bitten earlier, finally wandered over. He crouched in front of her, a twisted smirk on his grey face. His yellow eyes roamed over her, lingering on her neck. "Still feisty, sweetblood?" he purred. He reached out a clawed finger, tracing a cold line down her cheek. Lu Hua jerked her head away, but he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You know... we could make this easier. That bite you gave me?" He chuckled darkly. "Showed spirit. I like spirit. Maybe... I won't let them drain you dry. Maybe I convince them to turn you instead. Make you one of us. My partner." He leaned closer, his rancid breath hot on her face. "Wouldn't that be fun? Forever together?"
Rage boiled over. She snapped her head forward with all her might.
CRUNCH!
Her forehead smashed into the bridge of the demon's nose. Black blood spurted. He howled, staggering back, clutching his face.
"AAARGH! YOU CRAZY—!"
But instead of anger, a wheezing pained laugh bubbled out of him. He wiped the blood, still chuckling. "Hah! Still got fire! Good! Makes the turning sweeter!" He gave her one last look, a mix of pain and sickening desire, and wandered back to the others, still laughing and shaking his head.
Frustration burned hotter than the fire. Lu Hua yelled at the group. "You're all pathetic! Ugly cowards! Kidnapping girls? Couldn't find anyone willing, huh? Smell like rotten eggs left in the sun! Bet your mothers were trolls!"
The demons just laughed harder, a chorus of cruel, grating sounds echoing in the cavern. The tall leader spat out a bone. "Insults? Funny. We don't care about your words, little human. Only your blood."
Another demon, sharpening a nasty-looking dagger, grinned. "He's right. Words are wind. But your blood? That's treasure."
The leader stood, stretching. "You think we grabbed you just for fun? You're rare, girl. Very rare." He walked closer, stopping just outside her chain's reach. "That scent on you? That power humming under your skin? We know it. Felt it before."
Lu Hua glared, silent now, listening despite herself.
"Thousands of years ago," the leader continued, his yellow eyes distant, almost reverent, "another human like you walked this land. Same sweet scent. Same... potential. She was hunted too. Powerful. Beautiful. Like you."
Another demon snorted. "Until she vanished! Poof!!"
The leader nodded. "Yes. Vanished. With her lover. Some powerful cultivator, they say. Ran off into the sunset like a bad story." He sneered. "Wasted. All that power." He looked back at Lu Hua, his gaze greedy. "We won't waste you, sweetblood. We won't let you disappear. We'll use you. Every. Last. Drop." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a guttural whisper. "Your blood will make us strong. Strong enough to walk longer in the sunlight. Strong enough to take everything."
Lu Hua shivered, not from the cold this time, but from the chilling certainty in his voice. She is trapped, chained, surrounded, and now she understood the terrifying value they placed on her very existence. Escape felt impossible. Rescue felt like a dream.