by Holly Hook
I'd been afraid of that. Very, very afraid of that.
I looked to Trish, but she was picking at one of her fingernails, bored. That sure made me feel better. There was no sign of the pitcher she'd had me drink out of earlier, the one Xavier might have seen.
Thorne unbuttoned the long sleeve of his shirt and rolled it up, exposing his wrist. “Here,” he said, offering it to me. “I ate a really big dinner tonight just in case this happened, so I shouldn't get too dizzy or anything.”
All I could do was stare at where his artery was underneath the thin skin of his wrist. It wasn't that hairy there as if Thorne kept the area shaved. There were multiple small, round scars where he'd been bitten before, probably by other students that he coached in these fights. Some were white and old, while others were a little pinkish and still fading.
“Don't worry,” Thorne said. “I won't turn or anything. I don't have the gene for it. I got tested before I started doing this just to make sure.”
“I'm...not doing it,” I said, even though my stomach rumbled. Xavier was here and this was a lot different than drinking out of a pitcher. I'd only done this once had never bitten someone before and caused so many problems and I wasn't planning on starting now, in front of all these people. It was worse than feeling naked. I didn't even want myself to see this, to experience this, to break my hard earned normal-ness.
“You need to,” Thorne said. “Trish told me you've been on a starvation diet. I told you, I know what I'm doing. Someone as small as you isn't going to cause me harm. You won't need much. Trust me. I've been here for a lot of these fights and countless more practice sessions.”
My stomach roared now. Thorne's heart was racing faster. His smell was getting stronger. A part of me wanted to do it, needed to, because Xavier was depending on me and so was Dad. But then I remembered Russell Fox's scary reddish eyes and another convenient fact.
“I literally can't,” I said. “My teeth haven't grown all the way back yet. I've...been filing them until I came down here. I had to or I was going to get caught up in the Normal world, you know?"
“I can attest to that,” Trish said from across the room. “I'll go get the pitcher.” She got up, stormed past us, and left the room. It was just me, Allunna, and the two guys now.
"What is her problem?" I asked.
"It's a long story," Xavier whispered.
"You said that before. What did I do to offend her?"
He didn't answer.
Thorne retracted his arm. With relief, I noticed, because his smell faded a bit. That meant his pulse was calming. “Why didn't you say you were filing?” he asked. “Just so you know, you can't be doing that anymore. Our warriors need to show their full nature. Blood from the source is always the best and you might not have a choice once you get into a real battle.”
“This is my opponent?” Allunna hissed. She walked around Thorne to glare at me some more. “Do you also faint at the sight of blood?”
“No,” I said, aware that footsteps were approaching the room. Two sets of them, in fact. I wanted to fight this woman or creature or demon. She was egging me on and I knew it. I wondered if we'd been set up to put on a good show for Leon. Maybe he liked seeing blood splatter all over the place or he just liked seeing people in pain.
The wooden doors burst open again and Trish came through, pitcher in hand and it was mercifully metal and not see-through this time. Xavier could pretend I was just drinking water if I was careful. "You'll be lucky to win this fight," she said, thrusting it at me. "Drink up."
"Where did you get this?" I asked. I didn't want to know. I had a feeling the Normals who hung around down here had the duty of, well, donating at times. Thorne was proof of that.
"It's not for you to be worried about," she said. "Imposters never last down here long, anyway. They never adapt to our ways."
Dad was Thoreau's prisoner and he might be worse soon if I didn't do this. "I'll adapt if I need to," I blurted, taking in the scent inside the pitcher.
The liquid inside smelled like steak and onions. Not bad at all. It was better than McDonald's. I sucked it down while Allunna stood there and tried to melt me with her hateful gaze. I didn't scare easily but I was starting to really tense even as strength flowed into my limbs and I set the empty pitcher down. "Thanks," I said to Trish. "I know you hate me, but thanks."
She said nothing and turned away, going back to her spot on the hay bale.
I wondered how long she'd let me lie here in pain if Allunna defeated me.
The wooden door came open again and a very old man, so stooped over he was almost as short as the dwarf I'd seen earlier, shuffled into the room. Violet robes decorated with crossed swords swished around his bony ankles and his black slippers. He moved so slowly and struggled to look straight up at us so much that I was tempted to walk over there and help him, but his eyes were strong. Stony. He surveyed me like something he'd haggle over at a garage sale.
"Alyssa," he said in a voice like rustling leaves. He extended a hand and smiled, but it was anything but warm.
I shook it because I wasn't sure what to do. His grip was strong and he pulled me a bit closer.
He had the same blue eyes as Xavier, flecked with the magical purple. This man was another War Mage. Now that I was paying more attention, I could see that many of the wrinkles on his face were really scars, long and jagged and thin and tight. He'd been in a lot of fights and he gave off the same wood smoke scent that Xavier did. If I were blindfolded and forced to go by smell alone, I wouldn't have told the difference.
"This is my grandfather," Xavier said, stepping forward. "Leon. The leader of Cumberland's Abnormals Underground. He's going to be judging you." He pulled at his T-shirt collar. The adrenaline smell was getting strong again. It was clear that Xavier didn't have a good relationship with this man.
Leon's gaze got intense as he studied me over, like he was sizing me up. “Another specimen,” he said. “I hope you've chosen well this time. Done the research. Thought about it.”
Xavier nodded. “I have.”
I felt bad for the guy. My grandfather on my mom's side hadn't seen us in forever, not since I was two and I wasn't even sure the guy was still alive. Mom's parents were strictly anti-Abnormal and had been all their lives. I was pretty sure that even if I met Mom's father, he wouldn't be as intimidating as this and Xavier was stuck with him.
Leon shuffled backwards, straightening up a bit as he did so. He had once been tall. Imposing, even. Even at almost the same age as Trish he still carried that commanding air.
“Finally,” Allunna said, tapping her sword on the blood-stained floor. “We can start.” She eyed Xavier for a second and smiled. That puppy look came over his face again. She could seduce any guy, hands down.
I had a sudden urge to stab her in the face. This was going to be a violent fight, but at least my opponent wanted to be here even if it was just to impress the guys.
“When I give my approval, you will fight as if to the death,” Leon said. “It's unlikely that either of you will kill the other, but the fight will end and the victor declared when the first of you is unable to rise from your injuries after a count of ten.”
“Like boxing?” I asked.
Leon glared at me. I was crossing a line here.
“Like boxing,” Xavier filled in.
Leon shifted his withering glare over to his grandson. “You will not disgrace me any more. Remember your place.” Then he turned to me and Allunna. “Begin!”
Crap. I tensed.
I faced Allunna and raised my sword. She did the same, glaring into my eyes with those horrible black ones. I could almost see my reflection in them and wondered how any guy could fall for that—how Xavier could find that attractive. Another surge of anger washed through me. We circled, silent. Our feet made scraping noises on the floor. Warmth spread through my body. I'd never fought of succubus before. She was the first I'd met.
And her blood smelled like a sewer.
“M
ake your move,” she egged. “Come on. Prove you're not some Impostor and make your move.”
Thorne stood behind her, watching, but I paid no attention to him. Making the first move got you in trouble more times than it didn't.
Allunna lunged, twirling the sword and aiming for my heart.
I dodged, yanking mine back and blocking. She pushed against me, filled with seething hate and she was strong—way stronger than anyone in club had been. I had to stand my ground with all my strength but I still slid back an inch.
In club, during practice and tournaments, I'd always held back a little like Dad warned me. I kept my speed in check, my strength in check. Now I had to abandon that. Allunna really wanted to stab me in the chest and I was pretty sure that could threaten my life. My arms trembled and I pushed back as hard as I could, gritting my teeth, until she finally fell back.
"I guess you aren't as weak as I thought," she said, lunging again.
I blocked, bracing for the poke. No. The stab. These weren't foils. Our blades ran against each other, making a metallic scrape that filled the chamber. That took up the whole world. I managed to shove Allunna back again and she staggered, but caught her balance on her toes. Her balance was good. She knew what she was doing.
I wasn't ready for her to jump.
Allunna blurred, sailed upward and over me. I whirled around as her form spun overhead, an acrobat with a lifetime of practice. She landed where my back would have been a second before and seized my free arm, but I yanked it out of her grasp and stabbed with the other.
Drops of blood flew through the air and she hissed. The smell was horrific. I wanted to gag. Demon blood was vile. Allunna backed away and grasped her side as a black liquid seeped out around her fingers. She glanced at her wound, a narrow line that pumped out what looked like oil, and back to me.
A low growl sounded from her throat, something from another world. Her eyes narrowed.
I had to take the opportunity. I lunged again, sword aimed at her stomach.
She was more ready than I thought, raising her own between me and my weapon. She hooked her blade on my sword, just inches from my face, and pulled me closer. Since I was still charging, my grip loosened on the handle and my sword went flying over her shoulder, spinning until it lodged its blade into a bale of hay, narrowly missing Thorne who jumped out of the way.
Allunna seized the front of my shirt and lifted me up.
I was in trouble. Huge, huge trouble. I had just done the most embarrassing thing in this fight and now Allunna was going to gut me like a hunted deer. She smiled, revealing a set of teeth that were all pointed.
She raised her blade with her free hand and sliced me across the back, as if wanting to remind me of the gunshot I had taken there.
I bit my lip and held in a scream. Red hot pain flared and turned the world into an angry shade of pink. Thorne stood behind Allunna, watching, unable to run to my aid. The look on his face was torture. Xavier stood beside him, eyes closed as if he couldn't bear to watch.
I just wanted the pain to stop. The thought of banishment was just the faintest scream.
Allunna sliced again. My blood dripped onto the floor through my tattered tank top. I could feel the warmth and the strength draining from me. I punched, getting her in the stomach, but like Thoreau's it felt like iron.
Alyssa.
Xavier's voice exploded in my mind. Another heat, a fiery one, surged through my limbs and I punched again, harder, and found my target.
Allunna hissed and her grip loosened. She dropped me and I landed on my feet, opening the eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed. The world had snapped back to normal. Xavier still had his eyes closed. Thorne kept his arms behind his back and Leon stood there, watching with great intensity. Everything zapped into better detail. The sights. The smells. Even the sound of Allunna's raging pulse and the velvety noise of her skin pulling together.
My sword stayed lodged into the hay bale. I ran over, yanked it out, and felt an amazing surge of energy rush up my right arm and into my hand.
The weapon lit as magenta fire exploded around the blade, casting heat against my face and the same glow on everything around me.
Leon said something, but he was gone. Everything around me was gone. There was just Allunna, rushing me with wide eyes that reflected the blade.
There was just the fight.
I charged, aiming for her side, and struck her ribs. Allunna let out another hiss and backed away, then swung her own weapon and sliced across my arm. Pain erupted, but the power surging through me was stronger, more intense and blocking it out.
I struck again. Ribs cracked and Allunna crumpled, dropping her sword and curling into a ball to protect her vitals. She seethed and a low, otherworldly growl like something from Lovecraft rose from her throat. I stood over her with the still-flaming sword, flaming with magic exactly like Xavier's, and counted.
One...two...three...by time I got to eight I decided she was definitely not getting up. Her sword lay next to her, still wet with my blood. The floor drank any that dripped off. Once I counted to ten I lowered my own weapon as the flames died, leaving the air cool and refreshing.
I had won. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I had won.
Chapter Six
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say or if there was some custom I had to follow, so all I managed to do was stand there, sword lowered with my blade to Allunna, keeping it pointed at her side, and face Xavier and Thorne. "Now what?"
Thorne's jaw had opened and he was staring at me, then Allunna on the ground, and then me again. Then he looked at Xavier.
I didn't like his expression. It wasn't an awesome, I'm so proud of Rosyln one. It was a what the heck just happened? sort of thing.
Leon took a step forward as Xavier backed away. I was getting a bad feeling about this, mainly because he was stepping towards me. I wasn't sure what to do but I didn't back away, even if this guy was an elder War Mage who could probably destroy me with a spell or two. The violet flecks in his eyes were incredulous. Then angry.
He reached out and seized my right arm with one strong hand, then turned it over with the other and held it close to his face.
"You are marked," he said. "Xavier marked you before your test."
"Huh?" I asked as he ran his arthritic finger over the magenta crossed swords.
"This is an outrage," Leon said. "My grandson has defied tradition and marked you before you could prove yourself." He let go of my arm and whirled away from me, turning his hate on Xavier.
Xavier puffed out his chest like he was ready for this. "You set Alyssa up," he said, his words calmer than I thought they'd be. "I knew you probably would. You wanted her to lose and you wanted me out of here. If you were playing dirty, why couldn't I? We never test people against demons."
Leon also remained a scary calm. "These are different times," he said. "These are hard times. Your magic needs to be linked with the best. This girl clearly is not the best."
"Because you tested her against a demon!" Xavier shouted. "None of the other mages have to deal with this. You know the only way to fight a demon is with war magic. There were no way Alyssa could have won."
I stepped away from Allunna, who was crawling away and retrieving her sword. I watched her through the corner of one eye, but it was clear the fight was over. She took the bloody sword and Trish stepped forward to take it from her. Allunna handed it over and Trish walked off, out the door, holding the weapon that still dripped with my blood. Meanwhile, my back tingled as it healed.
I had used Xavier's magic. We were already linked more than I thought.
The thought was so weird, I couldn't grapple with it right now. Well, maybe I could a little. Xavier had saved my hide. He'd known we were being set up by his grandfather. He'd also made me even more Abnormal than I already was. I wasn't sure whether to kiss him or slap him, or if slapping him would now also hurt me.
Leon said nothing, then cleared his throat. "You are a special circumstanc
e," he said. "You know that. Now you have broken tradition. You know what this means."
Xavier hung his head and Thorne shifted like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Maybe he didn't want to dare. The look he gave me told me everything I needed to know.
Xavier and I were going to be banished anyway.
There hadn't been any way out of this. We really had been set up and I didn't know why. I wanted to ask why Xavier deserved to be treated like this and why his grandfather hated him so much but I had the feeling it wouldn't be a good thing to do with anyone around besides me and Xavier. Heck, it might not be a good thing with just me and Xavier around, either.
"You're insane," Xavier said. "All you care about is the family honor when the world might freaking end. Thoreau's not going to play fair. Neither can we. We have to do something about him before he does something about us!"
"You are undermining our efforts to stop him," Leon said. "You know that War Mages are only allowed to pair with the strongest warriors. And you know it is best for us to stay hidden from Thoreau until we have a good plan."
"She fought a Shadow Wraith! Without a weapon!"
"This girl got lucky," Leon said, pointing at me. I wasn't even worth being called my name. "That's all. Your judgment is not sound. We can't have you sabotaging us. If everyone acted the way you do, we would have lost long ago."
"Things are different now!" Xavier shot me a look, then glanced at the double doors with his eyes. We didn't need some magical link for me to know what it meant. We had to get out of here.
Leon gestured to the doors first. "To the Garden," he said. "I would let your power burn out on its own, but since you're Bound, we will need to use the rite to eliminate it. Perhaps your sister can use your power for a better purpose. We'll begin the transfer shortly."
I didn't know what that meant, but the way he said that made it sound like we were going to the electric chair. I tightened my grip on my sword, rushed towards Xavier and grabbed his arm with my free hand. We crashed into the door together and burst through into the now-empty corridor.
