Magi's Path

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “That’ll be the last of her aether,” Gregory said. “That’s the most she’s been able to use without extra aether before.”

  “Not sure if Nessa has more she can do, either,” Yukiko said. “It all depends on how much she had to use to get Daciana to let her go.”

  The two novices got to their feet, each sporting black eyes, bloody noses, and split lips from their time on the ground. They spoke to each other and even laughed while the crowd shouted for them to continue. They both looked toward where the three apprentices were sitting before nodding and looking back at each other.

  “Here it comes...” Gregory said.

  “Yes,” Yukiko and Jenn agreed.

  The resulting clash as both Nessa and Daciana rushed each other was brief and brutal. Hard kicks and punches were exchanged, but in the end, Daciana overextended too much. Nessa kicked her knee, staggering Daciana’s balance. As Daciana stumbled, Nessa grabbed her, twisted, and slammed her over her hip. Nessa did not release Daciana’s arm— she twisted, bending it behind the prone woman and stepping on Daciana’s back to keep her down. Daciana’s teeth were bloody as she growled. She tried once to free her arm, but Nessa put a little more pressure on it, making Daciana whimper before tapping the ground.

  Yunlo was suddenly beside them, and Mindie and Klim were running out to help heal them. Nessa let go of Daciana’s arm and dropped to her knees next to her friend.

  “The winner is Novice Nessa Jimae!” Yunlo announced. “Celebrate her achievement, and the valiant effort of Novice Lyall.”

  “She capitalized in the right spot,” Gregory said.

  “I want to speak with them, but we shouldn’t,” Jenn sighed.

  “Looks like they’re good,” Yukiko said.

  Mindie and Klim stepped back after a minute, and Nessa rose and offered Daciana a hand up. When they were both on their feet, they bowed to Yunlo and the boxes before heading toward the tunnel, side-by-side.

  The crowd was still cheering and, as the two novices got closer to the tunnel, Gregory and his wives stood up to applaud them. The smiles they directed at the three apprentices were bright and happy. They waved at them before stepping into the tunnel.

  “The best we could do,” Gregory said. “At least they know we’re proud of them.”

  “Yes,” Yukiko smiled.

  “There will be demonstrations until the next fight, then Bishop’s challenge after the fight,” Jenn said.

  “And then ours,” Yukiko said. “We don’t know who will be on Nick’s team... Franco and his clanmates brutalized them.”

  “That leaves a lot of variables in the air,” Gregory agreed. “We’ll see what we have to overcome when we get there.”

  Chapter Seventy-seven

  The demonstrations after the novice fight were interesting, but not spectacular. Everyone was eager for the third-place apprentice fight to begin. The crowd cheered when Yunlo called for the two clans to step out of the tunnels.

  Hayworth and his clan entered the arena floor. The three apprentices that had fought Aether’s Guard were joined by two more, who looked injured. The five of them were clearly going to give everything they had. A single person walked out of the other tunnel. The alchemist from Green Leaf bowed, then stepped back into the tunnel.

  Yunlo’s look of disgust was clear, and he spoke to Hayworth before raising the disk to his mouth. “The Green Leaf clan has forfeited the match. Swift Wind takes third place for the apprentices.”

  The crowd was torn between cheering and booing. The boos weren’t directed at Swift Wind, but at Green Leaf for refusing to fight. Hayworth raised his hand in thanks to the crowd before ushering his clanmates back into the tunnel.

  “That’s what would have happened if we’d lost,” Gregory said, “but from the look of the magi with him, I don’t know if they could beat Nick.”

  “That would depend on who’s with Nick,” Jenn said. “I expect Jason and Parks, at the very least.”

  “It looked like Jason had a broken arm, so I’m not so sure about him. Franco’s clanmates savaged the others, so I doubt any of them will be there, either,” Yukiko added.

  “Guess we’ll find out soon,” Gregory said.

  Yunlo raised the glowing disk to his mouth. “We have had an unexpected development. Since the fight is over, we’ll ask Magus Bishop and Magus Harrison to come to the arena floor for their challenge.”

  Bishop stood up and took off her pouches, handing them to Dia. “Hold these for me, please? Apprentices, you might want to go down to the waiting area. I’m sure they will move your fight up.”

  The three of them rose and followed Bishop.

  “Fight hard, but smart,” Gin said as they went past him.

  “We will, Sensei,” Gregory said.

  They walked in silence for a bit until Bishop asked, “You have your rings and extra cores?”

  “Yes, Bishop,” Gregory said.

  “Do you have enough of them?”

  “That’s unknown, but we do have a good amount,” Yukiko replied.

  “Did you factor them into your plan?”

  “We did, Bishop,” Jenn answered for them.

  “Very well. Your win here will solidify the standing of the clan over the next few years. Our novices this year and beyond will have a harder time, but that is fine. Hard paths make the best magi, and those who would stand as Aether’s guards need to be strong.”

  The apprentices exchanged glances, but didn’t reply to her statement.

  As they reached the stairs, Hayworth was leading his clan out of the waiting area. “Pettit, looks like our loss was still a win,” Hayworth grinned at him.

  “Honestly, if I’d known it would go like that, I’d have been tempted to lose,” Gregory shrugged. “Instead, we’ll just have to win.”

  “I hope you do,” Hayworth said seriously. “We’ll be watching. If you’ll pardon us, we have to make it up to the stands to watch our seniors fight.”

  “We’ll watch from the tunnel,” Gregory said.

  The two groups parted with quick goodbyes, as Bishop hadn’t stopped to listen to them talk. Quickly dropping their things off, they grabbed helmets and weapons and hurried up the stairs into the tunnel. Mindie stood at the end, looking worried.

  Mindie glanced back to see them. “Is she not going to wear any armor?”

  “She hasn’t since she’s given up being a proctor,” Gregory said.

  “But they’re using real weapons,” Mindie said, motioning to where Bishop and Harrison were standing.

  “She fought him a little over a year ago,” Yukiko said. “Neither of them had more than a scratch when it was over.”

  “If Harrison hasn’t improved, this will be over with quickly,” Gregory said.

  Bishop bowed formally, while Harrison gave her a short bow in return. Yunlo raised his arm and smiled briefly before vanishing.

  “Fight!”

  The crowd erupted as Harrison charged Bishop. Bishop stood there, hands on her hilt and sheath, waiting. The moment Harrison got close enough to strike, she stepped in and drew her sword. Harrison had to change his attack to defense or be disemboweled.

  Bishop didn’t follow through— she backed off a step and said something that was lost to Gregory in the roar of the crowd. Harrison’s lips pulled back in a snarl and he came at her again.

  Mindie’s throat was tight as she watched the two magi fight. She was sure one of them was going to die, that she’d fail to get to them in time.

  Jenn shook her head. “She’s not going full out.”

  “No, she isn’t,” Yukiko said. “Having seen her fight repeatedly over the last few months, I agree with you.”

  “It’s going to be over in a moment,” Gregory said.

  Bishop looked sad as she continued to hold Harrison at bay. With a snap of his foot, Harrison flung sand up with his toes as he came in for another attack. Bishop leapt back, blinking furiously to clear her eyes. Harrison was wearing a triumphant smile as he slashed down at her.


  That smile was wiped away when Bishop parried and riposted, her blade gashing his sword arm. Harrison’s sword fell from his hand and he dropped to his knees, clutching his arm as the wound pumped blood.

  “Break!” Yunlo shouted, suddenly between the two magi. “Healers!”

  Bishop backed up, producing a cloth and wiping her sword down.

  Mindie had started running the moment Yunlo appeared between the fighters. Klim stayed where she was, as only one of them had been injured.

  Harrison was glaring at Bishop as Yunlo announced her as the winner. He glanced at Mindie when she touched his shoulder, but went back to glaring at Bishop.

  Bishop knelt down a couple of feet away and spoke to him. Harrison blinked at her, clearly shocked at what she was saying. Bishop bowed her head to him and stood up. She offered her hand to him, as Mindie was done healing him.

  Harrison looked up at her, then took her hand and got to his feet. He said something before taking a step back, bowing to her formally, then collecting his sword and walking away. Bishop watched him go and bowed to his back.

  With the fight done, the three apprentices walked back to the waiting room.

  “She didn’t mean to do that,” Jenn said.

  “The sand made her move to finish the fight,” Yukiko agreed.

  “Did they just make up?” Gregory asked.

  “No idea, but he seemed better after she talked to him.”

  The sound of footsteps made them all look toward the stairs when Bishop entered the room. She met their eyes, pausing for a moment before continuing down the stairs. “I’m sure you know I didn’t mean to cut him as I did.”

  “The sand?” Gregory asked.

  “Yes. When he tried to blind me, I knew I had to end the fight,” Bishop said.

  “He appeared calm afterward,” Gregory half-asked.

  Bishop nodded. “I reminded him of a promise. If you’ll excuse me, you all need to focus on your fight. Good luck.”

  “Thank you,” they said, bowing to her.

  ~*~*~

  Gregory stood with Yukiko and Jenn in the hall, waiting for Yunlo to summon them. Mindie was standing a few feet away, fidgeting.

  “Good luck to you. I hope you win,” Mindie said when Yunlo called for them.

  Gregory gave her a grin and put his helmet on. “Thanks, Mindie.”

  Leading the way, Gregory raised his hand in acknowledgement to the cheering crowd. He kept his eyes locked on the far tunnel, waiting to get a glimpse of who they would be facing. His answer came a few seconds later as Nick, Jason, and Parks came out of the tunnel.

  “Three versus three...” Jenn said. “The odds are better than we thought it would be.”

  “Are we still going with our plan?” Yukiko asked.

  “Yes.”

  Nick had his helmet tucked under his arm and a sneer plastered on his face. “The fringer leads his whores to fight.”

  “Quiet!” Yunlo snapped. “The rules remain the same as they have been. Bow to the boxes.”

  Gregory and his wives bowed formally to the Eternal Flame, showing that they could be respectful, but Nick and his friends didn’t bow back to them. That caused a stir in the stands, and Yunlo glared at the three Eternal Flame apprentices.

  “Bow or forfeit!” Yunlo barked.

  Nick grimaced. He bowed only a fraction, as did the two behind him. Yunlo snorted, but raised his arm.

  When Yunlo’s arm went up, Yukiko ran to the far right wall, and Jenn to the far left.

  “What? They can’t do that!” Nick snapped.

  “Nothing says you have to start with your group together,” Gregory said. “They’re positioning, not fighting.”

  “Pettit is correct,” Yunlo said. “Fight!” His arm came down and Yunlo was three dozen feet away.

  Nick might have been flustered, but Parks and Jason weren’t. Jason rushed for Jenn while Parks tried to box Gregory in. Parks was only able to form a single barrier at a time, and with Gregory having aether sight and foresight going, he couldn’t keep him from slipping away.

  Nick spat when he saw Gregory moving well past where he should have been boxed in, but instead of trying to catch him, he spun and threw fire at where Jason and Jenn were. “Fine! That one, first... watch her burn, fringer!”

  Jenn saw the fire coming and managed to dodge the two balls of fire that came her way, giving ground to Jason in doing so.

  Parks kept after Gregory, moving him farther away from Jenn. Gregory was wearing a grimace, but inside, he was laughing, as they had planned for this.

  “Now!” Gregory shouted.

  The evening sun was low and the shadows in the arena were long. They were long enough that Yukiko could be anywhere, and that caused Parks and Nick to spin, thinking Yukiko was going to be behind them. Parks’ attention was drawn away from Gregory, and he sprinted after Jenn.

  Jenn was laughing at Jason, as she had more aether and could use it better. “I thought your arm was broken.”

  “The clan provides.”

  “Yeah, long heated nights in a clanmate’s arms, or did Nick burn you because you started seeing Parks behind his back?”

  Jason spat at her and his whole body blazed with aether. “Time to break you!”

  Jenn didn’t do more than she already was, but she did give ground to him, using his aggression to lead him away from his allies. She even put a look of surprise and fear on her face, trying to bait him a little more.

  Nick and Parks turned around to find Gregory. Both spun magic— Parks put up a wall in front of him, and Nick threw a barrage of fire at him. Gregory laughed as he came to a stop, then spun around and went under the six balls of fire.

  Both were so focused on Gregory that they failed to see Yukiko appear behind them. Arm blurring, her wakizashi slammed into Nick’s neck, making his eyes cross as he collapsed to his knees. She dropped to the ground and let the shadows take her away.

  Yunlo teleported Nick from where he was to Klim’s feet, as he could see the apprentice struggling to breathe. He looked back just in time to see Gregory rushing Parks, who was staring at the ever-shifting magi, and wondered how Gregory could keep his foresight up as long as he did.

  Gregory knew he’d have to drop foresight or aether sight, as his ring was rapidly running empty. With Nick out of the fight, he let aether sight drop and could feel the drain on the ring diminish.

  Parks grimaced and looked past Gregory, then gave an evil smirk. Gregory looked back to see what was going to happen. “Jenn, Vemril rush!” he yelled over the crowd.

  Jenn stopped retreating and blitzed at Jason. That caught Parks— who had just placed a barrier behind her— and Jason by surprise. She switched her wakizashi to her left hand and snagged Jason’s kimono with her right. A hard stop and pivot had Jason flying back the way she had come, slamming him into Parks’ barrier before hitting the ground.

  “No!” Parks hissed. His focus was locked onto Gregory and Jenn in front of him. Seeing Gregory turn and dart toward Jason, he snarled and started to form another wall, only to drop to the ground when Yukiko slammed her weapon into the back of his neck.

  Jason got to his feet and saw that Nick and Parks were down, and all three of his opponents were still up. “Damned assholes!” Jason spat. “You can’t beat me one-on-one and you know it!”

  “We don’t need to. This is a clan battle, and yours failed,” Jenn snickered. “You should be used to it by now.”

  Jason screamed and rushed her. He made it two steps before the shadows grabbed his legs all the way to his thighs, pitching him forward. Aether blazing along his legs, he yanked one free, but that was as far as he got before Jenn caught Gregory’s thrown naginata and slammed it down onto Jason’s head.

  “Break!” Yunlo called before Jason was suddenly at Klim’s feet.

  Jenn shouted and ran to join Gregory and Yukiko. She tore her helmet off and threw it behind her. The crowd was cheering and the ground shook slightly from the rambunctious celebration. Her
two lovers ditched their helmets, too, and they all hugged before turning to the crowd to accept the cheers, redoubling the noise.

  “If it had been more than them, we would have had serious trouble,” Yukiko said, “but you shouting ‘now’ made them flinch so hard.”

  “It was in the back of their minds the entire time,” Jenn laughed. “They knew you’d pop up, but never knew where or when.”