Cate felt the vampire approaching. As it reached the clearing, she threw the athame to the ground before her, moving her hands through the air in a bizarre manner while chanting hurriedly.
The incantation: "Through the power of the Old Ones, the ones who sit above all things yet judge not the living, I call upon the power in my blood to fill up my soul and rejuvenate my being."
This spell allowed magicians to connect directly to the magic that flowed through the world. It granted a magician access to not only their own power but also the world's limitless magic supply. This meant their spells would become more powerful, allowing them to fight for longer, as the world's power would sustain them even after the magic in their blood ran out.
This spell, of course, had a major drawback: the longer a magician remained connected to the world's magic, the greater the chance they would be devoured by it and wiped from existence. The duration a magician could safely use this spell was strictly limited, determined by the strength of their bloodline and the amount of blood of the Old Ones they possessed.
Cate used the spell immediately, certain that the fight ahead was likely far more than she could handle on her own. She was about to face a powerful vampire.
Whoosh. The moment she finished the incantation, a wave of power swept through the Endless Forest. The other participants felt this power and couldn't stop themselves from shivering at its boundless nature. This was Cate's power, something that could bring down the world.
The vampire saw the magic circle on the ground and immediately recognized it as a Hunter's trap. He growled like a beast, making the earth tremble. He accelerated with such speed that the ground cracked, and countless trees were shattered into splinters by the great force. Cate rolled over the ground and grabbed the athame.
She wasn't as fast as the vampire, but with so much power coursing through her body, she was close. The vampire swiped at her with his long claws. They cut through space, and watching them, the Mage Born understood that these claws could cut him into pieces with very little resistance. Cate dodged the claws, but she still wasn't fast enough. The claws lightly touched her back, but this was enough to open large wounds that spewed blood in all directions. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and continued moving, using her will to cast another spell.
"The world is mine to move through, as my ancestors are the creators of all. I am the world, and I shall be protected by the world through all changes brought about by forces counter to those of my ancestors. By the power flowing through my blood, I stand invisible before my enemies."
She chanted this, another spell, within her mind as fast as she could. With the power of this spell, Cate became invisible to the vampire and even to the Mage Born. Simultaneously, the vampire attacked, aiming to bite her neck, but the spell deflected his fangs and pushed him backward with ease. Now that she was both invisible and relatively invulnerable to magical attacks, Cate turned around and struck the athame into the vampire.
"Waaah!" The vampire cried out in pain. He felt the athame drink his blood with a thirst surpassing his own. Bang! The vampire wouldn't stand there and allow himself to be killed in such an ironic manner. He punched Cate in the chest. This attack was not powered by the magic within the vampire's blood; it was simply his physical strength. As such, the protection spell she had just cast did nothing to stop the blow. Cate was sent flying through the air. Her body was racked with pain as her organs shifted and shattered into pieces.
Cate was used to pain far greater than this, so she powered through it and threw the athame toward the Mage Born. The Mage Born didn't know what was going on, but he didn't move. He trusted that Cate wasn't trying to kill him, let alone Mary. Even if he had believed he was in danger, the athame was moving so fast that he couldn't have evaded it. The athame pierced through Mary's heart. She didn't seem to feel anything. The athame glowed with a brilliant crimson light that covered Mary. The light, carrying the vampire blood it had absorbed, then entered her body.
Cate had done all this to attract a vampire because their blood had very powerful healing capabilities. She could have tried asking the vampire politely, but that would most likely have failed since vampires were not the kindest sort.
The moment the vampire blood entered Mary's body, the paleness of death that had already covered her skin began to disappear.
"My enemies are many, and my answer is death. Life is mine, and forgiveness is null. The fabric offers insight through all the living and the dead. With my soul as witness, all secrets are laid bare."
Cate chanted this, another spell, once more within her mind. Her eyes glowed slightly with a purple light before it disappeared. However, her eyes remained purple.
Cate looked at the vampire, and the powerful being who had walked this earth for hundreds of years felt as though he was being seen through. In his three hundred years of life, he had never experienced anything like this. He felt like all his weaknesses, all his pain, and all his shortcomings were laid bare for Cate to peruse as she wished. Cate moved to attack once more. The vampire threw his fear to the side and moved to attack and kill the bitch that dared to think herself his equal. After centuries of immortality and bathing in human blood, he had lost all fear, and the little that remained was far from enough to guide him into fleeing this place.