Sages of the Underpass

by Aaron Michael Ritchey

  Niko shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Yeah, I don’t either,” Danette agreed. “A lot of that is luck. Now, there’s talent, without a doubt, and flawless technique can’t hurt you. But then there’s luck and marketing and a million other things out of our control. I’m learning, though, that the dream is more about doing well, today, rather than worrying about whatever we’ll do tomorrow. I used to think there were only two outcomes, failure or legend. If I can’t win every fight, I might as well lose every one of them. It’s not true. Most successful Battle Artists will die nameless. That’s the thing, I went after the agents, I went after the traditional path, and I didn’t make it, for whatever reason.”

  Another glance at the house behind them. Niko remembered Andrew Coffey’s reaction to Danette, and how she’d known how uncomfortable she’d made him.

  “But I can get fans,” Danette said. “I can fight. I can make money. Will I be on cereal boxes? Will there be Danni Dragon action figures? Probably not. Overweight fifty-year-old women don’t play well with the major action figure demographic. That’s not my fanbase anyway. So, there’s a whole world of possibilities between failure and legend.”

  Niko sat down next to her. This was as different from the BCBA critique group as it could get. The Premiers were all about posturing. Danette was just being honest.

  If talking to her was so interesting, how would sparring with her be?

  He was about to find out. A car pulled up and parked in the driveway.

  “That’s Evelyn and Pax,” Danette said. “Looks like we can get started.”

  The Sages

  THE PAIR WHO LEFT THE car, a relatively new Kia Cherubim, were around Niko’s age but were exact opposites of each other. The guy was huge, well over six feet tall, maybe closer to the seven. You could hang an anvil off each shoulder. He had flaming red hair and a bright pink face, freckled, like instead of getting sunburned, he just freckled more. He wore gray sweatpants and a black sleeveless T-shirt.

  The woman was slender, with a sharp jawline and wispy dark hair that almost looked like feathers. Her skin was darker. Other than her angular face, there was a softness about her. She wore a one-piece exercise spandex, covered by a loose sky-blue shirt. Maybe she was five feet tall. Maybe.

  Both approached. Paxton and Evelyn.

  “So, the new guy!” the big man thundered. He walked up onto the porch and put out a giant hand.

  Niko stood and took it. “I’m Nikodemus Kowalczyk.”

  “Paxton Kelly, but call me Pax. I fight as the Peacemaker, since that’s the joke. Might as well call me Tiny. But, you know, Pax, peace, you get the picture. This is Evelyn. She’s quiet. I do most of the talking for her.”

  Evelyn glided forward. She shook Niko’s hand. “Pax likes to talk. Even when he fights. You get used to it, though it can be very annoying.”

  Danette watched the interplay.

  “I do talk a lot,” Pax admitted. “But Nikodemus Kow... Kow... Kowabunga. Now I know why you shortened it to Niko Black.”

  “Still not sure I like the name,” Niko said.

  Pax kept on going. “Congrats on the fights. I caught both your last fights. At MudCon, that was a good move, getting up at zero sharira. It’s a badass way to take a defeat. Then you got all humble at the BCBA Con. Knelt and cycled. Again, badass.”

  “Thanks.” Niko felt comfortable. That was a surprise. Seo-yun’s short speech about friendship had struck him wrong. Well, everything about the Premiers Critique Group struck him wrong.

  “Danette said you might not come.” Evelyn’s voice was quiet after Pax’s booming. “She said you might not be able to surrender.”

  “Surrender to win!” Pax yelled. “Ain’t that in The Pranad?”

  “No,” Niko and Evelyn said at the same time.

  They looked at each other. Evelyn smiled. “Well, there is something similar. The Artist must surrender to their Art, at its deepest level, no matter the nature of the Art.”

  Niko had forgotten that line. “Isn’t that in a later chapter, in the Myth of the Twelve Brothers section?”

  Before she could answer, Pax rolled his eyes. “It’s saying the same thing. Surrender to win. Only, that little line of wisdom came from Our Lady of the Underpass.”

  “That would be me.” Danette rose and bowed. “Niko and I were just talking about that. He’s willing to give us a try.”

  “It can be a tough pill to swallow, though,” Pax said. “We’ve been so conditioned to believe there’s only one way to go, the traditional route. It took me a bit to come to terms with being an Unrepresented Artist. Evelyn, though, couldn’t care less.”

  Niko turned to the slight woman. “How so?”

  She blushed and looked away.

  Pax answered for her. “She does it because she loves it. You should see her, the best I’ve ever seen. But then, it’s in her blood. I could go on, but I don’t want to embarrass her. I do that during training.”

  “You wish,” Evelyn said.

  “She’s not wrong.” Pax laughed loudly. “Evelyn is objectively the best Artist in the group. She embarrasses me and Danette on a regular basis.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” Danette said. “It’s after seven. Let’s get started. We all have to work in the morning.”

  “Work?” Pax yelled. “It’s just more training, at least it is for me. But you’re right, my lady, let’s get started. Are we doing the culvert tonight?”

  “No, I was going to start Niko off slow.” Danette patted the big man’s arm in a motherly gesture. “We don’t want to do trains. That would scare the poor guy off.”

  Niko had no idea what they were talking about, but it sure didn’t sound like sparring.

  They got in the Kia Cherubim. Pax insisted Danette ride shotgun, so it was Niko and the big man in the back, while Evelyn drove.

  They didn’t go far. They stopped in the Guadalupe River Gardens parking lot. Planes from South Valley’s airports roared overhead. Night had fallen. Lamplights, powered by level-one drodes, lit the path.

  Guadalupe River Gardens was a dark forest of greenery that ran along the small stream next to the expressway. The place smelled murky from the river, and yet, the city smells of airport and traffic took away the worst of the stench. The air felt cool and wet. Debris from homeless people cluttered the trees. They walked to a stretch of concrete path that led to a playground about a hundred yards away.

  “Oh, so we’re doing obstacle course.” Pax took his back leg in a big paw to stretch his quadriceps. “We are starting him off easy. More work for me. But you guys know me, I love to work.”

  Danette bent and touched the ground, obviously very limber. She straightened. “So, Niko, we start here. Your goal is to get past us to the playground. Now, let’s tell Niko a bit about ourselves so he’s not in the dark.”

  “I’m a rock guy, mostly,” Pax said. “I was born Masonry, but I grew up wanting to be Sanguine. I love the speed and showiness of that style. So I’ve been practicing Sanguine’s Second Study. As for my innate Harmonic Studies, I’m Second and Third Study Masonry.”

  Niko so wanted to ask about belts, but it would be rude. And they were wearing normal clothes. He wasn’t about to change into his robes. He’d fight in jeans, boots, and a shirt.

  Pax saw the look on his face. “I think in the traditional world, I’d be a Venus Belt, but we gave up on that idea. If we can do shit, why label it? I do have a nice leather belt, when I’m out on the town, wooing the ladies.”

  “You don’t track belts?” Niko asked.

  “We don’t track belts,” Danette said. “I was born Radiance, and I have my First Study there, but I have Third Study Sky and Fourth Study Quintessence. I’m almost Pure Harmonic in all three Studies.”

  Niko wasn’t sure he believed her. “How is that possible?”

  “All things are possible,” Evelyn murmured. “Even the impossible becomes possible when dealing with the world of the spirit.”

  Another
quote from The Pranad.

  The small woman continued. “I’m a full Luna. All Four Studies. I’ve been thinking about expanding into Masonry.”

  “But that’s an Earth sign,” Niko said. “That would be Discordant.”

  Evelyn shrugged.

  If Evelyn had mastered all four of the Luna Studies, that meant out in the Arenas, she’d be a Terran Belt. That was quite an accomplishment. Out of all the signs, Luna was the most difficult to master, the most elegant, and in some ways, the most useful.

  Giving up on Luna had been hard for Niko. There were a ton of jobs for Lunas, from nursing to becoming an Arena Master’s assistant, monitoring prana and sharira and healing most injuries. However, he’d stuck with Quintessence because it was easier and quicker to master, and he liked the more physical aspects of it. As a cusp, he’d had a strike against him from day one. Was that true? Or had he been conditioned to think so? His coaches had all thought so.

  Pax snapped his fingers. “This is the part of the evening where you tell us about your mad skills. Other than working a crowd like no one’s business.”

  “I’m cusp,” Niko started. That was where he always started. “I was a Mars Belt, lost it, but recently, I got it back. Just the First and Second Studies in Quintessence.”

  Evelyn moved forward, walking so softly it was like she was floating. “Can I check your prana? I know it’s personal, but I also act as an Arena Master. It’s safer this way. You can say no.”

  “It’s okay,” Niko said uneasily. As a full Luna, she could check both his core and his sharira. That sign was the best in sensing other people’s cores, followed by Radiance and then Quintessence.

  Evelyn touched him, her hands gentle. He felt a slight poke inside his core as she connected to him. It was so different than the normal punch at the beginning of a match or Wochick’s ham-fisted bedside manner.

  Evelyn had her eyes closed. “Tinctures. Vapes. After an accident, an injury, that didn’t heal well. Your core is weak, but you’ve been making up for that by improving your technique and being careful with your prana. Smart. There’s something else, though. Something strange. Has your apothecary mentioned anything to you?”

  Niko felt exposed, naked. “I see Dr. Wochick on the El Camino. He generally just abuses me and calls me stupid.”

  Danette laughed.

  Pax leaned his head back. “Wochick is the worst. I’ve been saving up for eGlasses, but those things are expensive. And I’d still see my apothecary, Dr. Goreman, in the Devil’s Edge.”

  Niko hadn’t heard of him.

  Evelyn frowned and stepped back. “Have you ever tried any Radiance Studies?”

  “I’m cusp with Luna,” Niko said. “I know I’m Harmonic with the other Air signs, but no, I’ve never tried.”

  “You should.” Evelyn shook her head. “It’s strange, but I’m definitely feeling Radiance in your core. Of course, your doctor might have just ignored it. It’s easy to overlook things. I might have missed it, but I feel a kinship with your prana, and my sign is ascendant this month.”

  What did that mean? Kinship with his prana? Niko didn’t understand.

  “See?” Pax asked. “She’s the best. Once we get her a So-Me page and get her to fight, Evelyn is going to make it big. She’s gonna get snapped up and leave us poor Unrepresented slobs.”

  “I take offense at that.” Danette backed up. “I’ll go first. Niko, take position one about twenty-five yards down the path. Evelyn, position two, at fifty yards. And Pax, you take the third. Try and stop me.”

  Niko jogged the twenty-five yards and turned.

  He drew up his prana, strengthened his body, and readied himself.

  Danette called out, “Minds sharp?”

  Niko, Evelyn behind him, and Pax in the back near the park all said yes.

  “Souls strong?”

  “Yes!”

  “Let the Artistry commence!” Danette ran forward, going the normal speed of a woman her size and weight. And yet, there was a ferocity to her, a focus. She was determined to run through them, and by the look in her eyes, she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.

  Niko wasn’t sure this was sparring, and he had to be prudent with his prana, but still, he got in front of her, charging up his fist with Twin Damage. His hands glowed a bright orange color.

  Danette was a First Study Radiance, so she could use Darkfist. He realized he’d forgotten her other abilities. They were Air signs, partially Harmonic, but damn if he could remember what they were.

  She showed him. Instead of engaging him, she split into two, and both versions of her body glimmered with golden energy. Quintessence, Fourth Study, Twin Self. He had to choose which figure to attack. The one on his left threw an elbow. He put up his arm to deflect the punch. The minute that form touched him, it vanished. He spun.

  Her real body sped toward Evelyn, who looked laughably small when compared to the tall, broad woman coming at her.

  The minute Danette hit Evelyn, the smaller woman’s body shimmered in a silver light and came apart. She was using a Third Study Luna ability, Ethereal Dissipation. The second Danette was past her, Evelyn became whole again. She struck with a kick, her foot glowing silver, full of Tidal Force, a First Study skill.

  Danette used her Twin Self again, becoming two people, and she got lucky. Evelyn’s kick hit the decoy body, and the golden form vanished.

  The Air Sign Artist had gotten past both Niko and Evelyn. She approached Pax, who drew up the concrete behind him, using his Masonry skills, to create a solid cement wall, seven feet high.

  “Coming atcha live!” Pax yelled. He darted forward at Danette, fast, so fast, his entire frame glowing a brick red. That was his Second Study Sanguine in action. Ram Speed. Seeing someone that big move that fast made Niko blink.

  He nearly missed what happened next. Danette reached out and hit Pax with long arcs of electricity that crackled over him.

  “Oh, that’s a spicy bit of sausage!” He grimaced, grunted, and lost his speed. But he wasn’t out of the picture yet—he had his Masonry Second Study, Ox Endurance, to keep him on his feet. He went to grab Danette. “Not so fast, Danni Dragon. I gotcha.”

  She charged up her right first. And first, the manifested prana was golden, but it darkened until it was black. She rammed a fist into his chest, knocking him back against the wall. He went down to a knee and tried to get a hand on her whirring legs, but she was too fast.

  She didn’t uncharge her Darkfist ability. She hammered a hand into the concrete, and it shattered, flinging debris.

  She sped to the swing set of the playground and turned, laughing. “Well, now, I might have been a little dramatic there, at the end, but I got here, didn’t I?”

  Pax grunted as he got to his feet. “Oh, Danette, dammit. That Darkfist, I always forget about the Darkfist. Ouch.” He rubbed his chest.

  Evelyn moved over and put a hand on his back. She had to reach up.

  Niko jogged over.

  Evelyn patted Pax on the back. “You used a lot of prana on the Ram Speed, but thanks to your Endurance, your sharira is only at about eighty percent.”

  “Wait.” Niko could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. “Wait. Hold on. Danette, those were nearly perfect Studies. How is your prana?”

  The woman shrugged and walked through the remnants of the wall she’d punched through. “I’m down, but I reached the playground. I won. This means I’ll have to go easy on you, Niko. Lucky for you.”

  “Why isn’t everyone doing this?” Niko asked in wonder.

  “Because the corporations don’t like it,” Pax said. “And this, my friend, is why we’re here, Unrepresented, taking crazy chances, and kicking some serious ass.” He fixed the path, turning his wall back into the concrete path. “When I’m not a Battle Artist, I work for the beloved and equally despised California Department of Transportation.”

  Now, what he’d said about his day job being training made sense.

  From Danette, “You’re next
, Niko.”

  Pax would be in front, Danette in the middle, and Evelyn his last obstacle to get to the playground.

  Niko wiped sweat from his face. “Mind sharp?”

  “Yes!”

  “Souls strong?” Niko asked, feeling the adrenaline hit him.

  “Yes!”

  “Let the Artistry commence!”

  He didn’t run, but walked steadily forward, saving his energy.

  “Oh, Niko Black, walking tall and proud.” Pax didn’t put up his wall. His meaty hands dangled at his sides.

  Niko got into striking distance. He feinted left, moved right, and powered up his Second Study. He was around Pax in seconds, his feet driving down onto the path, going for Danette.

  Pax laughed behind him. “Oh, this one is a firecracker. I’m liking this guy, Danni!”

  Niko had to let go of his super speed. He just didn’t have the prana to keep it going. Instead, he charged his First Study, and two shining fists appeared next to his hand.

  He was ready for Danette’s lightning, and if she split into two, he’d try and charge right through both of her. She went with her Radiance First Study. Her hands went dark.

  Instead of hitting her, he threw his Twin Damage fists to distract her. He spun around Danette, and took off, sprinting toward Evelyn. The long hours of biking around the city were paying off. His prana might be weak, but his cardiovascular system was strong. As was his sharira.

  Evelyn stood in her fighting stance, fists ready. Again, he was struck at how small she was, barely even a wisp of a woman in front of him.

  Yet, she was full of prana.

  As he approached, she swept her hands around, and from them burst long streams of scalding steam. The mist hit him in the face, blinding him, hurting. Steam. Third Study.

  She swept his legs out from under him, and then she was on top of him, his shirt in her grip, her left hand held back, her fist silvery with Tidal Force. A single blow would strip him of all his sharira, and just might kill him.

  She knew it.