“We hope that the gift is something you want,” Hao said. “We were unsure of how you would view it after we spoke with Yu.”
“I’m sure I’ll love whatever it is,” Gregory said. “I’ve been hoping her gift will be here soon. I ordered it months ago.”
“Oh? What did you order her?” Yoo-jin asked.
“A book,” Gregory said.
“A book?” Hao asked curiously. “What book?”
“‘Advanced Strategies for Empire’s Gambit.’ She got a look at our instructor’s copy and wanted one.”
“A practical gift?” Hao chuckled. “She loves practical things over trinkets. I think you’ll be surprised by how much she loves it.”
“Did the scrivener here in the city not have a copy?” Yoo-jin asked, puzzled over why he had to order it.
“I don’t know,” Gregory admitted. “I promised a scrivener back in Tolkin that, if I had need of more books, I’d remember him. I sent him the vela and book I wanted delivered to me.”
“It hasn’t made it yet?” Yoo-jin asked.
“No, which makes me worry that it might not be here in time. I might have to visit the scrivener in town to get a copy, after all.”
“Yes, time is growing short,” Hao nodded.
“If it’s not here by tomorrow, I’ll ask one of the staff at the clan hall to run the errand for me.”
“The fight’s almost over,” Yoo-jin said.
That pulled their attention back to the end of the apprentice match. The fighting between the Iron Hand and the Hardened Fist was winding down. The last two apprentices were clashing in the middle of the arena, and the others had been seen by healers and taken off the field.
“Two physical enhancement apprentices,” Hao said as the two men fought. “Almost out of aether, too, it looks like.”
“Yeah,” Gregory agreed as the blue flames on their weapons flickered and started to go out.
The apprentice from the Iron Hand managed to execute a disarm before driving his blade through his opponent’s gut. Leaving the weapon in, he grabbed the Hardened Fist member and eased him to the ground.
The adjudicator called the match, and the healers were already sprinting forward. Gregory was glad to see that Mindie and Klim were there, along with the older healers that had been on hand for the first part of the day.
“She’ll be out next,” Gregory said as he watched the victorious apprentice deftly remove his blade when he was bade to do so.
When the injured man was taken away and the victor had bowed to the boxes, the adjudicator left the field, too. An instant later, Grandmaster Yunlo was standing in the middle of the arena floor, wearing his midnight blue kimono. A stir went through the arena when Yunlo was recognized.
Yunlo let the crowd chatter for a bit before raising a metal disk in front of him. “Magi, ladies, and gentlemen, we’ve come to the final eight for the novices. Our first match is a repeat from the final four during the last tournament.”
As he lowered the disk, both Yukiko and Nick left their tunnels, walking toward the middle of the arena. Gregory’s eyes widened when he saw Nick— he was wearing armor that covered his vitals. Nick smirked at Yukiko and started talking the moment they could hear each other. Yukiko ignored him and kept walking forward, but she was clearly unhappy about the armor. Nick kept talking, even when they came to a stop in front of Yunlo.
Yunlo let him go for a moment before making a chopping motion with his hand. Nick cut off whatever he was saying. Yunlo said something, and Yukiko and Nick bowed to the council box formally. Yunlo had them bow to him next, then to each other. Yukiko bowed formally, as she was supposed to, though Nick gave the bare minimum he could get away with. Yunlo frowned, but didn’t rebuke Nick.
Gregory felt his spine tingle. His anxiety was back and growing as Yunlo raised his hand, not moving back at all. The instant that hand came down, Yunlo was no longer where he had been, now twenty feet back from that spot.
Nick’s hand shot forward at the same instant, a ball of fire zipping toward Yukiko, who vanished as a shadow swallowed her. Nick’s left hand was already pointed to Yunlo, and another ball of fire left it a half-second later. Yunlo vanished from where he was, reappearing on the other side of the arena. Nick didn’t stop there— a wave of fire erupted out from behind him as he spun to face that way.
Gregory’s eyes were darting around the arena, looking for Yukiko without using his ability to see aether. Nick stopped casting fire everywhere and turned around to look for Yukiko. He jerked back the other way, thinking she was coming up behind him, but she wasn’t there.
Gregory saw the shadows at the furthest point from Nick become a touch thicker than the others. Lips pursing, Gregory worried about that, and his worry was founded when Nick saw the same thing and threw another fireball at that spot. The flame dispelled the darkness briefly before it splashed against the wall. The people in the stands right next to the fire all winced and jerked away.
Nick spun back the other way, his sword swishing through the air as he again thought Yukiko might be there. Stopping in place, Nick was clearly upset that he hadn’t been able to find her yet.
That was the moment Yukiko had been waiting for. The shadows around Nick had been shifting slowly, not drawing attention to their movements. All at once, the shadows grabbed Nick’s legs tightly, stopping him from turning.
Yukiko appeared behind Nick, her wakizashi in her hand. Nick laughed as a bright light flashed into existence, banishing the shadows holding his legs and allowing him to spin on a nearly-blinded Yukiko. Yukiko staggered back, her blade coming up vertically on reflex. That saved Yukiko from the first strike, but the armor was still glowing, stopping her from getting away easily.
Eyes watering, Yukiko did her best to defend herself from Nick’s onslaught. Nick was laughing the entire time. He wasn’t going for an attack that would stop the fight, instead going for painful hits.
Gregory’s hands clenched as he watched Nick toy with Yukiko. Inadvertently, his ability to see aether triggered and he could see the aether powering the armor dimming.
Nick lashed out with his foot, catching Yukiko in the gut and throwing her backward. Rolling as she sucked in breath, Yukiko was getting back to her feet when a fireball hit her. The flames washed over her, leaving her untouched.
Nick was shouting at her, but the words didn’t reach the boxes. Another ball of fire hit Yukiko as the light on the armor dimmed, and the flames again failed to touch her. Nick seemed to lose his mind— he rushed forward only to bounce off nothing, staggering back as blood gushed from his nose.
Yukiko staggered fully to her feet just as the armor stopped glowing, letting shadows exist again. Nick wiped the blood away, his face a mask of rage, not noticing the shadows growing around his feet.
Nick spat some blood at Yukiko and took a step toward her, or rather, tried to. His foot didn’t move. Eyes widening, he looked down to see the shadows encasing his legs. Head jerking back up, Yukiko was no longer in front of him, instead appearing out of the shadows behind him.
Fire erupted all around Nick and Yukiko let out a brief scream. Nick tried to jerk around to see if she was down, but he didn’t manage it before she brought her leg up firmly between his.
Gregory’s heart had stopped when Yukiko screamed, but he exhaled heavily when he realized it was just a scream of surprise and not pain. He winced when Yukiko’s foot connected with the fleshy bits between Nick’s legs.
Nick collapsed, his hands grabbing his damaged pride. Yukiko planted a knee into his side as her short wooden blade hit him under the chin repeatedly. Yunlo was behind Yukiko at that moment, taking hold of her shoulder.
Yukiko jerked her wooden blade around, about to strike, but stopped when she realized who it was. The healers were already sprinting forward before Yunlo declared Yukiko the winner. Yukiko stepped back to give the healers room as she bowed to Nick, Yunlo, and finally, the boxes. She wobbled a little, but walked off under her own power.
“
That was closer than I had hoped to see again...” Hao exhaled deeply. “My heart was racing the entire time.”
“Yes,” Yoo-jin agreed.
~*~*~
Gregory was waiting for Yukiko when she came up out of the waiting room. “You did good, Yuki.”
Yukiko gave him a tired smile. “Thank you, dear one. I used a lot of my aether. Moving shadows at a distance takes more.”
“Go slow. I’ll be waiting for my match. Your parents are waiting for you.”
Yukiko looked at the empty halls before stepping up to him and kissing his cheek. “Be careful, dear one.”
“I will.”
Chapter Fifty-seven
Gregory found Jenn stretching, reminding him of how he’d seen her during the first tournament. “Limbering up?”
“And centering myself,” Jenn replied as she executed a standing split. “They should be calling for me in a minute or two.”
“You have the ring charged up?”
“Yes, and I have three cores. I’ll keep one in my left hand and replace it instantly from my obi if needed.”
“It’d be good if you win, but don’t be reckless about it. They’ve figured out that we have a way around the fire, so they might have given him a trick like Nick’s armor for you.”
“I’ll do my best, Greg,” Jenn said, lowering her leg. “Are you going to be watching from the tunnel?”
“Yes.”
“I have to win... I have to be able to stand beside you and Yukiko.”
“You already are,” Gregory said. “The three of us are going to be beside each other for years.”
Jenn whipped around to face him. “Really? You’ve agreed?”
Brow furrowing, Gregory frowned. “Agreed to what?”
Jenn’s excited, happy expression fell, and she turned away from him. “Nothing...”
“Jenn, I—” Gregory started.
“Novice Bean, it’s time,” Mindie said from the stairs to the arena floor.
Jenn went right past Greg, not saying anything, her face emotionless. Gregory knew he missed something important and walked behind her, wondering what he could do to bring her smile back.
Almost to the exit, he reached out and touched her shoulder gently. “Jenn, I don’t know what I did, but please give me a chance to make up for it? You need to focus right now, but know I’ll be here for you no matter what.”
Jenn nodded once. “I know. It makes it hurt even more, Greg. I’ll win, don’t worry. I have to show you that I can be here, too.” She patted his hand once, making him remove it.
Mindie paused at the exit, watching the two of them. She gave Jenn an encouraging smile as the smaller woman walked past her. “Good luck.”
Jenn nodded to her before stepping out of the tunnel and walking across the arena floor.
Gregory stood a few feet behind Mindie, watching his friend walk away. I’m sorry I distracted you, Jenn. I hope I’ll not be the reason for your loss.
Mindie glanced at Gregory and shifted back to stand beside him. “I thought you were with the other one?”
“Huh?”
“The other novice, Warlin.”
“We’re betrothed. Our wedding is after the tournament.”
Mindie’s brow furrowed and she looked at Jenn, who was bowing to the boxes. “Oh... I thought you two were having a lover’s quarrel just then.”
Gregory’s eyes went wide. “No. No! Jenn’s our friend and clanmate. That’s all.”
Mindie glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Oh, I see.”
“Thank you for helping Yuki after her fight, by the way.”
“It’s my job,” Mindie said softly. “I dislike the Eternal Flame, though, this year especially... they seem even more aggressive than normal. Shun is the worst of them.”
“He’s not a good person,” Gregory agreed. “Jason isn’t any better, either. He’s more calculating than Nick.”
“Yes. He’s terrifying in that way.”
Gregory didn’t reply because the fight had started. Both Jenn and Jason rushed toward each other— they had infused their bodies with aether to move faster. The sound of their wooden blades meeting folded into each attack, so the sound neither began nor ended, but just hung in the air. The sounds abruptly stopped when a spike of earth shot out of the ground.
Jenn staggered back, her hip bleeding. She’d been just a little too slow dodging the attack from behind. Hissing in pain, she stared at Jason, who was smirking at her. “No fire? Won’t your boyfriend be mad that you aren’t using fire?”
“Anything it takes to knock you pests from the tournament is what we were told,” Jason smiled. “Ready for the rest of my surprises?”
Jenn took a limping step backward. “Are you ready for mine?”
“I know all of yours already,” Jason laughed as two more spikes of earth shot out of the ground on either side of Jenn.
Jenn conjured a barrier for a second to shatter the one to the left and spun, hacking at the one on the right with her sword, breaking it apart. She couldn’t stop, as Jason leapt at the same moment, his sword coming down in a vicious overhand strike.
Jenn brought her blade back around to catch and deflect his attack, but that knocked her off balance. Jason smirked as he kicked out and caught Jenn in the leg, his foot coated in blue flame. Jenn screamed when the kick hit and she went sprawling onto her back.
Gregory had to resist the urge to rush out and help his friend. Mindie was leaning forward, clearly ready to run out when needed.
Jason shifted his grip on the sword as he darted forward, intending to pin the small woman to the ground. His sword came down, but was knocked aside by an aether-created barrier. Jenn kicked out, catching Jason in the ankle and making him hop back. He wobbled, his injured ankle not liking the sudden shift.
“Fucking little bitch! Just stay down and I won’t hurt you more than necessary,” Jason growled.
Jenn got to her feet, favoring her injured leg, which didn’t want to hold her weight. “I’ll win.”
Jason snorted. “I gave you a chance.”
A dozen spikes of earth erupted under Jenn, all of them angled to impale her. Jenn flexed her undamaged leg, blue fire encasing it as she executed a backward flip. The spikes all crashed together in the spot she’d just been standing in.
“Stop!” Yunlo shouted, suddenly next to the earth spikes. “Novice, that would have killed your opponent! You used it deliberately to do so.”
“I disagree,” Jason said. “I was clearly testing her injured leg. She escaped without injury, after all.”
Yunlo grunted. “A weak theory, but I’ll let it stand for now. Fight!” He was gone in the same instant he told them to resume.
Jason frowned, as he didn’t see Jenn anywhere. Eyes darting, he tried to find her, spinning in a slow circle to see if she had slipped behind him.
The crack of breaking bone echoed in the air as Jason fell to the ground, grabbing his left knee. Jenn appeared beside him, her wooden blade broken. With a cry, she drove it down at Jason.
“Stop!” Yunlo shouted suddenly from beside Jenn, but was too late to stop her from slamming the jagged wood into its target. Yunlo grabbed her and the pair of them were next to the exit. Letting her go, Yunlo hadn’t even needed to call for a healer because both Mindie and Klim were rushing to Jason. Raising the disk to his mouth, he announced, “Novice Bean is the winner.”
Jenn bowed to Jason, who was being treated by the healers, before she limped in a circle to face Yunlo, bowing again. Another slow limping turn got her to face the boxes, where she bowed for the last time.
“You meant to make me stop the fight?” Yunlo asked her.
“After your warning, I couldn’t kill him and not be in trouble for doing so,” Jenn said evenly. “As it is, I creased his neck.”
“I noticed,” Yunlo said. “You’re dangerous for one so small.”
“My father said I was tiny, but fierce,” Jenn replied.
“He’s right,” Gre
gory said from the tunnel. “You’re also a damned good friend.”
Jenn turned to Gregory and started limping his way, her leg getting firmer with each step. “Well, the cloak won’t be usable again for this tournament. Guess I have to hope you make it to the finals so I can have my rematch.”
“Yeah. Walk you back to the waiting area?”
“Thank you.”
“You did well. I was worried about the earth spikes. When that first one caught you…” he trailed off, looking grim.
“I let it graze me to draw him into using it again. He should’ve known better. When we push our aether for faster reaction times, everything seems to slow down,” Jenn explained as they walked down the tunnel. “I had enough warning to get away. My baiting him with the first one worked.”
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