The Divergence

Cordelia met the hand reaching toward her with a kick, her boot striking Adelaide’s forearm hard enough to knock the approaching hand aside. 

Rather than stop there, Cordelia continued through the motion, pivoting smoothly on one foot before her other leg swept into Adelaide’s waist.

Adelaide was launched sideways, striking the ground and rolling through leaves and dirt several times before planting one hand beneath herself and flipping back onto her feet. 

Cordelia was already there, forcing Adelaide to deflect the punch aimed at her face before immediately returning one of her own.

Cordelia leaned aside, feeling Adelaide’s knuckles pass close enough to disturb her blue hair, then answered with another swipe.

For several seconds, the two became little more than blurs moving between the trees.

Their fists and feet collided with sharp cracks as they exchanged blows, neither remaining in one place for more than an instant. 

Cordelia ducked beneath a kick, Adelaide twisted away from the swipe that followed, and both accelerated again.

Adelaide suddenly feinted toward Cordelia’s side before throwing a punch toward her face.

Cordelia’s hand snapped upward and closed around Adelaide’s wrist. 

Instead of pushing the attack away, she pulled Adelaide toward herself, causing Adelaide’s empty red eyes to widen slightly as her balance shifted forward.

Cordelia stepped smoothly to the side and swept Adelaide’s legs from beneath her in the same flowing motion. 

Adelaide’s body became nearly horizontal with the forest floor, but before gravity could finish pulling her down, Cordelia drove her other fist directly into her stomach.

The impact slammed Adelaide into the ground back-first.

Leaves and dirt erupted around her as the earth vibrated beneath the blow, and Adelaide stared upward for a moment before laughing softly. ”That was cool. I wasn’t expecting you to do that.”

Cordelia smiled as she raised one foot over Adelaide’s chest. ”Neither was I, really. It just felt like the right thing to do.”

Her boot descended.

Adelaide crossed both forearms and caught the kick against them. The force pressed her several inches deeper into the soft earth, but she immediately grabbed Cordelia’s ankle and tightened her grip.

Before Adelaide could use the captured leg as leverage, Cordelia sprang forward.

Her hands closed around Adelaide’s neck, and their combined momentum sent them tumbling through the leaves. 

Adelaide managed to plant a knee beneath herself and caught Cordelia’s wrist with one hand, pulling hard in an attempt to pry her fingers away from her throat.

Cordelia tightened her grip instead.

Adelaide’s neat pearl-colored nails extended a few centimeters on her free hand before sinking into Cordelia’s side. 

Cordelia flinched as Adelaide dragged them through fabric and flesh, gouging several deep lines beneath the torn dress and coating Adelaide’s fingers in dark red blood.

Cordelia didn’t release her.

She clamped down and jerked sharply sideways.

A loud crack sounded between them.

Adelaide’s resistance disappeared immediately.

The two separated as their momentum carried them in opposite directions. Cordelia rolled once and planted a hand against the ground, sliding to a stop on one knee while Adelaide came to rest several feet away, completely motionless.

Cordelia looked at her for a moment before glancing down at herself. 

The side of her dress had been ripped open where Adelaide’s nails had gouged through it, and blood slicked the skin beneath, carrying its peculiar sweetness into the surrounding air.

The wounds were already pulling themselves closed.

Cordelia touched the damaged area lightly and watched the last of the deeper cuts disappear within seconds. 

Her dress followed more gradually, torn fabric beginning to draw itself together as though the damage were being reversed.

A giggle escaped her as she flexed her fingers experimentally. ”I can see why everyone said this was fun. Being able to use all of my strength without worrying about permanently hurting someone is incredibly relaxing.”

Adelaide remained unconscious and offered no opinion.

Cordelia crouched beside her, sliding one arm beneath Adelaide’s knees and the other behind her neck and shoulders. 

She lifted her effortlessly into a princess carry, Adelaide’s long green hair spilling over Cordelia’s arm as she started walking toward where she’d last heard the others.

”You did very well, though.” Cordelia glanced down at Adelaide with a small smile. ”I nearly lost a few times.”

A tremendous crack echoed through the forest.

Cordelia stopped and looked toward the sound.

Another followed, accompanied by the unmistakable noise of wood splintering apart somewhere deeper among the trees.

Cordelia adjusted Adelaide slightly in her arms. ”I suppose those two are still going.”

Several hundred feet away, pieces of wood exploded through the air.

Lavinia crossed her arms in front of her face as debris showered around her. 

A broken section of trunk sailed past her shoulder and crashed somewhere behind her while smaller splinters bounced harmlessly from her dress and became tangled in her golden hair.

She lowered her arms just in time to see a boot coming toward her head.

Lavinia ducked, and Evangeline’s leg whipped through the space where her face had been an instant earlier.

”Everyone else is already done!” Evangeline landed and immediately spun toward her, bright red hair following the movement. ”We’re the only ones still fighting, and it’s because you’re being so careful!”

Lavinia snickered as she backed away. ”Of course I’m being careful. If I lose immediately after declaring myself invincible, do you have any idea how tragic that would be?”

Evangeline lunged forward with a grin. ”You already ruined the invincible part by getting hit!”

”Invincible doesn’t mean untouchable!” Lavinia raised an arm and blocked the punch that followed.

The impact forced her backward half a step, but she caught Evangeline before she could withdraw. 

Lavinia punched her once in the chest and followed immediately with another blow to the stomach, sending Evangeline staggering several feet backward.

Evangeline recovered with a spin and vanished from Lavinia’s sight.

Lavinia’s pointed ears twitched.

Leaves shifted behind her.

She ducked.

Evangeline’s extended pearl-colored nails swept through the air exactly where Lavinia’s neck had been a moment earlier.

Lavinia rolled her empty red eyes as she turned. ”You really like going for my neck.”

”It’s a good target!” Evangeline tried to pull her hand back, but Lavinia caught it first.

Lavinia giggled and yanked her closer. ”Then you shouldn’t leave your arm out where I can grab it.”

She threw her weight forward, and they toppled together, hitting the ground in a tangle of limbs and hair. 

Evangeline immediately tried to shift on top, but Lavinia rolled with their momentum and kicked herself free before bouncing back onto her feet.

Evangeline planted one hand against the ground to rise.

Lavinia kicked that hand out from beneath her.

Evangeline hit the dirt again and snapped her head toward Lavinia. ”Rude! I was getting up!”

”That’s why I kicked you.” Lavinia smiled brightly before kicking her again.

Evangeline went sliding several meters through the forest floor before slamming back-first into a tree. 

The trunk shuddered and scattered leaves over her head, leaving Evangeline sitting against it for a moment with an increasingly displeased expression.

She looked down.

Dirt caked the front of her ornate dress.

Lavinia saw the exact moment Evangeline’s expression changed and cautiously raised both hands. ”Oh no. Your dress heals, Evangeline. It’ll be perfectly fine.”

”That’s not the point.” Evangeline slowly looked up at her.

”It’ll even clean itself!”

”Not fast enough.”

Evangeline vanished.

Lavinia barely had time to move before nails ripped across her side.

Fabric tore as Evangeline’s swipe started near Lavinia’s waist and slashed upward toward her lower ribs, slicing through both dress and skin. The front of Lavinia’s outfit split open along the path of the attack.

Lavinia looked down at herself.

Then she slowly looked at Evangeline.

”Really?”

Evangeline grinned.

Lavinia grabbed her arm and narrowed her empty red eyes. ”Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.”

She yanked Evangeline upward while sweeping both legs from beneath her, lifting her completely from the ground before forcibly slamming her back down.

The impact shook the earth and sent loose leaves outward around them. 

Evangeline kicked upward almost immediately, but Lavinia knocked the boot aside with her forearm, caught Evangeline before she could recover, and threw her again.

Evangeline rolled through the dirt several times before twisting back onto her feet.

She looked down at herself.

Her own dress was filthy, there were leaves tangled in her bright red hair, and one sleeve had been torn near the shoulder.

Evangeline glanced toward Lavinia.

The golden-haired vampire’s dress had been ripped open from her waist nearly to her ribs and was only beginning to mend.

Evangeline brushed some dirt from her own dress and seemed noticeably happier. ”Actually, mine isn’t that bad.”

Lavinia stared at her. ”I’m glad my suffering has given you perspective.”

”It has.” Evangeline nodded seriously before smiling.

”Wonderful.”

They lunged at each other again.

Their arms collided with a sharp crack before both twisted away. Lavinia’s nails passed near Evangeline’s shoulder, while Evangeline ducked and drove a fist toward Lavinia’s ribs.

Lavinia blocked.

Evangeline spun around the defense, her other hand flashing upward.

Lavinia saw the extended pearl-colored nails coming toward her throat and moved backward.

Not quite fast enough.

The nails tore across her neck.

Dark blood sprayed lightly through the air, and the scent of berries and pine immediately flooded the space between them.

Lavinia stumbled backward several steps, one hand instinctively rising toward her throat. 

Blood poured between her fingers and ran down the front of her dress, making the fabric cling wetly against her skin as the deep slashes began rapidly drawing themselves closed.

Evangeline paused and watched her.

Lavinia looked at the blood coating her palm before raising her empty red eyes.

Then she gave a soundless chuckle.

Evangeline’s smile returned. ”Still invincible?”

Lavinia tried to answer.

Only a thin rasp escaped her damaged throat.

Her expression became deeply offended.

Evangeline burst into laughter. ”Oh, that’s adorable! You can’t even argue with me now.”

Lavinia disappeared.

Evangeline’s laughter stopped immediately.

She threw a punch on instinct, but Lavinia ducked beneath it and surged inside her reach. One hand closed firmly around Evangeline’s throat before she could retreat.

Evangeline’s boots left the ground.

Her hands immediately caught Lavinia’s wrist, and Lavinia smiled as her wings erupted from her back with a rush of displaced air.

Evangeline’s empty red eyes widened. ”Oh, come on!”

Lavinia couldn’t answer properly yet, so she merely smiled wider.

Her wings beat once.

The forest dropped away beneath them.

They shot upward through the canopy, branches snapping and leaves scattering as Lavinia carried Evangeline into the air. 

Evangeline immediately tried to extend her own wings, but Lavinia shifted against her and pinned one before she could spread it properly.

Evangeline’s free hand moved.

Her nails tore across Lavinia’s shoulder, then raked across her side when the first attack failed to make Lavinia release her. 

The wounds opened deeply enough to spill blood across her dress, only to begin closing almost immediately.

Lavinia maintained her grip.

Evangeline slashed her upper arm and twisted violently in her grasp. ”Put me down!”

Lavinia’s throat had repaired enough for her voice to return, although it remained noticeably light and rough. ”Gladly.”

Evangeline stopped struggling for half a second.

Her expression changed.

”Wait, that’s not what I—”

Lavinia folded her wings.

They dropped.

Wind rushed around them as the ground rapidly drew closer. 

Evangeline fought against the hand around her throat and tried again to free her trapped wing, her nails sinking into Lavinia’s arm and drawing several more streaks of blood.

Lavinia simply tightened her hold and rotated in the air.

At the last moment, her wings snapped outward.

The sudden adjustment placed Evangeline beneath her.

They struck the ground.

The impact sent dirt, leaves, and broken twigs spraying outward as the earth gave beneath them, forming a shallow crater barely more than a foot deep at its center and perhaps approaching two where Evangeline had taken the brunt of the impact.

For a few seconds, neither vampire moved.

Lavinia blinked rapidly, the collision having dazed her despite controlling the descent. 

Her grip had loosened, and she shook her head once as her senses settled back into place.

Something moved beneath her.

Lavinia immediately looked down.

Evangeline’s fingers twitched.

”No.” Lavinia’s voice came out airy and rough as she caught Evangeline’s head with both hands. ”We’re not doing another ten minutes of this.”

Evangeline’s eyes focused just in time for Lavinia to wrench sharply.

Crack.

Evangeline went completely limp.

Lavinia remained crouched in the shallow depression for several seconds, breathing out from habit while staring down at her motionless opponent. 

Her throat continued repairing itself, the rasp already fading from her voice as the last deeper damage disappeared.

She finally straightened and retracted her wings.

Then she looked down at her dress.

The enormous tear Evangeline had created earlier was closing, but not nearly fast enough for Lavinia’s liking. 

Several smaller tears from their fight were doing the same, while dirt, leaves, and blood covered nearly everything else.

Lavinia lightly tugged at the damaged fabric and frowned. ”I won, but my dress definitely lost.”

Evangeline offered no sympathy.

”You’re lucky you’re unconscious.” Lavinia crouched beside her and pulled her upright. ”I would’ve complained at you for at least ten minutes.”

She considered carrying Evangeline in her arms for a moment, then decided against it and maneuvered her onto her back instead.

Evangeline’s arms hung loosely over Lavinia’s shoulders while her head rested against the side of Lavinia’s own. 

Her long red hair spilled down Lavinia’s back, mixing with the thick waves of gold as Lavinia hooked her arms beneath Evangeline’s legs and stood.

Lavinia adjusted her once before beginning to walk. ”You’re heavier when you’re unconscious.”

That wasn’t particularly true.

Lavinia simply felt like complaining.

Her pointed ears twitched as she listened through the forest, catching several familiar voices carrying faintly between the trees.

Rosaline was speaking somewhere ahead, Celestine answered her, and Valerie’s considerably louder voice made determining the right direction rather easy.

Lavinia turned toward them and started walking, Evangeline bouncing slightly against her back with each step.

After several moments, Lavinia glanced sideways at the unconscious vampire resting against her shoulder. 

Her throat was almost completely healed now, and a small, satisfied smile appeared on her face as she continued through the trees.

”I told you I was invincible.”