The blazing sun harshly shone down upon the plains of South Africa. They'd tracked their target inland, far from any coastal breezes making the heat nearly unbearable. Clint had never handled the heat well, if the reward for the bounty wasn't so tempting, you'd never find him in a country like this, he much preferred it back home in Alaska. But when the Black Wraith requested your talents you didn't say no.
Being the oldest and most experienced here, he led a team of six hunters. He wasn't meant to be their leader, instead it was meant to be the seventh member of their group, the man who'd asked for his help, but without warning he'd set off on the hunt, long before they'd ever gathered. Clint wasn't surprised, it was typical behaviour of Louie. Despite this, it still annoyed him to no end, he'd only agreed to join the hunt because Louie had asked him, now he'd been left alone to lead a group of hunters he'd never met, nor did he know the capabilities of. Usually they'd never operate in such a big pack, but the threat of their prey deemed such actions appropriate, and the reward was more than enough to comfortably compensate each of them.
They'd been tracking their prey for over two miles, picking up its scent from its last known location. They hunted an obeah. An ancient witch of this continent, known for their ability to harness the Abyss born magic of voodoo. They were usually based up in western Africa, but this one had strangely been found in continent's southernmost land. The obeah are rare creatures, nearly extinct like most of their ancestors, and extremely dangerous, wreaking havoc and destruction wherever they find themselves. This one had been no exception, rewarding it with a swift and generous bounty.
As Clint and his pack trekked across the arid grasslands he began to pick up on disturbances and irregularities throughout the terrain. The environment had slowly began to grow lusher and plentiful, even curving trees had begun to sprout up from the earth. Clint knew this shouldn't be possible it betrayed the possibilities of the climate, it was no act of mother nature and meant only one thing. They were close.
They carried on forward following the environment's abnormalities. Clint noticed they'd not seen any living animal for miles, not even a singles species of bug, only the dried carcasses of different mammals and birds. It's feeding the plants with the ecosystem's life force, Clint realised. They needed to kill it before it caused any permanent damage.
Suddenly thick, towering roots erupted from the dry soil around them. The numbers were vast and only increased by the second. Before Clint and his pack could react, the grass land had warped into an unnatural jungle, so tall it even blocked out the sun.
The hunters scattered as the roots plunged forward like drills. The roots were larger than should be possible, dwarfing even a full-grown man, and they moved with such sentience it was like they were truly alive.
Magic, Clint thought, it was the only option. The obeah was here.
The hunters drew their weapons, huge, gleaming blades and handguns. They began to shred through the attacking vegetation, the plant like tissue, smoking against the metal of their blades. Clint severed a thorned spike of bark and vines that had suddenly burst out the ground before him, trying to impale his stomach. It was then he noticed. Far in the distance, hidden within the cover of its sanctuary, he caught of a glimpse of the obeah.
It looked like a frail, old woman, with shrivelled, hollow skin and wild grey hair. Its eyes were completely white, and, beneath its clothing, Clint could see its body was covered in vines and moss.
"Obeah dead ahead!" Clint bellowed to his fellow hunters.
Instantly they regrouped, attempting to barrel their way straight through its defences, and end this as fast as possible. But they soon discovered no matter how many plants they cut down more would just grow to replace it. This wasn't right, an obeah shouldn't be this strong. The monster was growing and controlling more plants that should be possible. It was like the witch was being enhanced, empowered by another being.
Before Clint and his hunters knew it they were being pushed back, surrounded by writhing, giant roots. They couldn't win the fight like this. Soon they'd be completely trapped, and if that happened the battle was as good as lost. The obeah would wipe them out in one brutal sweep.
Suddenly Clint noticed a gap between the plants, revealing the decrepit face of the obeah. Without hesitation, Clint raised his pistol and fired. The gap vanished before he could even pull the trigger, his bullet plunging harmlessly into a wall of bark and roots. Damn, just his luck.
"Retreat," Clint ordered. "If we get trapped we might as well as have walked into the maw of a kraken."
The pack was forced to give up ground, as they slowly crept back, fighting off the incoming swarm of roots and thorny vines. The obeah was slowly growing more aggressive. The ground trembled and more plants burst out from behind them. A spike of fear shot up Clint's spine, they'd wouldn't be able to clear the obeah's range in time.
"Vis," he chanted. A powerful forces erupted from in palm and crashed into the flanking vines, shredding them to pieces. However, instantly the obeah began to replace them.
It was times like this he wished he'd been able to master the incantations of pyromancy. Was no one in their pack able to unleash flames? He wondered. From the lack of incantations being used he assumed it must be true, either that or they knew their fire wouldn't potent enough to harm the witch's magic.
They continued their retreat, but the obeah was acting with greater speed. They wouldn't escape in time.
Suddenly, every single plant behind them was torn apart.
'The hell!?' Clint thought astonished.
The plants were engulfed by violent, blue flames and were quickly reduced to a charred mess. Then Clint saw it. Their seventh member, Louie hunter, was finally here.
The hunter burst forward, moving so fast he was a blur to even Clint's enhanced vision. One of the most dangerous hunters the world had to offer descended upon the battlefield. The Black Wraith had begun his hunt.
Louie tore through the incoming onslaught of plants like there were paper, the roots bursting into blue flames the moment it touched the blade of his sword. Suddenly, the plants began to pull back, the obeah was trying to retreat. It was no fool, it knew it'd found an opponent it couldn't beat.
However, Clint knew the Black Wraith well, escape had never been an option for the witch. Louie carved away the last wall of its defence, exposing the obeah to the light of the blazing sun.
The monster loosed a desperate battle cry, it sounded like squawk of a dying crow, making Clint's skin crawl. It threw both its arms forward and twisting roots the size of trucks ruptured from the ground. They flew towards Louie, but he remained unfazed.
Clint could barely follow the fight, as the Black Wraith leapt on top of one of the giant roots, he sprinted down its length, rapidly enclosing the distance between him and obeah. Louie appeared before the witch and instantly severed its arms at the elbow. Viscous, green blood sprayed into the area, as it screeched in pain. With a second slash Louie removed its legs at the knees, letting its limbless body to drop to the soil.
The witch's connection its magic was instantly crippled, and all the plants suddenly dropped to the ground, useless and limp. The hunt was over, they'd won.
Sheathing his weapons, Clint wandered over to Louie. He glanced down at the obeah. It was barely breathing, hanging onto its life by a thread. Smoke billowed from the sizzling skin, where the enchanted steel of Louie's sword had struck, sapping away the witch's power and lifeforce.
"Wraith," the witch growled, in perfect English. Clint was caught off guard, he hadn't expected the creature to be able to speak. He'd been certain they lost that ability when they gave themselves to the Abyss
"You know me?" Louie questioned.
"All under Her do," the witch spat.
'Her?'
"Who's Her," Louie asked, reading Clint's thoughts.
"She will be your death, Black Wraith," her eyes glanced at Clint, "all of your deaths. She'll bring forth the end of this world and rebuild it in her image. She … will save us, her chosen children."
"Who is she?" Louie questioned, irritation coating his voice.
The obeah didn't respond, instead a crooked smile spanned its face, revealing vile, rotted teeth. It began to cackle.
Louie plunged his sword through the monster's chest. The obeah's soulless eyes bulged and a final gaps escaped its lungs. Instantly its body began to crumble to ash, like a rotted plant.
"What was that?" Clint asked disturbed.
Louie shook his head. "No idea."
Clint shook the eery feeling from his body and the two of them wandered away from the decomposing corpse to meet up with the rest of the hunters.
"So do you have any more jobs you want me for?" Clint asked.
"You want more work?" Louie asked, baffled. He gave Clint a confused glance. "Money troubles?"
"No," Clint shook his head. "But I'm never going to say no to the pay checks you bring in. If I ever do I've been possessed, and I give you permission to shoot me."
Louie couldn't hide his smile. "I'll keep it in mind. But no I've got nothing coming up."
"You going on vacation then?" Clint inquired, puzzled. In the four years he'd known Louie, he'd never not been working, pretty much always moving from one bounty to the next.
"Not quite," Louie replied. The Black Wraith sheathed his sword upon his back. He turned and met Clint's stare. To Clint's surprise, a grin shone across his face. "I'm going home."