Chapter 14: Blood and Resolve
Chapter 14: Blood and Resolve
...Sir Bolton's fingers tightened around Oliver's leg, and the boy screamed as a sharp crack echoed through the vent. Pain shot up Oliver's spine as his vision blurred. His entire body stiffened, instinctively trying to pull away—but the grip was too strong.
His efforts only proved useless against a superior power. While Bolton simply saw him as extra saucing to the delicacy that was Velma.
On the banquet floor, Velma lay dazed, her vision tunneling from blood loss. But the moment she saw Bolton dragging her little brother backward through the vent, something inside her snapped.
"No..." she whispered. "No!"
Her trembling hand slammed against the blood-soaked floor, and with a cry, she pushed herself up. Her body screamed in protest, but her will was louder. She kicked off with what little strength she had left, launching herself at Sir Bolton's back, wrapping her arms around his waist like a shield.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she roared, summoning every last drop of Aether she had. It wasn't much—but it was enough.
Bolton growled. "Persistent little—"
He struck her across the face, hard. Velma reeled, blood spurting from her lip, but she didn't let go. She clenched her jaw, drawing the final spark of Aether to her teeth, and bit down—right over the Norran Vein, a rarely exposed blood channel near the lower rib that bypasses most Aether defenses barely beneath his reinforced skin.
Bolton's eyes flared as a thin stream of blood gushed from the bite.
"ARGH!" he howled.