Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  Yukiko and Jenn exchanged a look before Yukiko sighed. “We’re fine, dear one. We’ve just been thinking ahead. There is something that we need to discuss with you, but we’ve decided it’ll wait until after the wedding.”

  “It’s best that way,” Jenn added.

  Gregory eyed both of them, and nodded. “Okay... I was just concerned that maybe something had happened to hurt your friendship.”

  “No,” they said together.

  When Gregory’s eyebrow went up at that, Yukiko coughed. “Things aren’t what they were, but it isn’t bad. Will you give us until after the wedding before we talk about it?”

  “I’d give you anything, Yuki. I was just worried for you both.”

  “You’re a good man, dear one,” Yukiko said softly.

  “Yes,” Jenn agreed.

  “Let’s go rinse off and see who we’re fighting,” Gregory said, feeling a little embarrassed.

  As they went to leave, Yukiko slowed her pace. “I’ll catch up to you in a moment, Jenn.”

  Jenn paused at the door, looking back at them. “If you’re not there in a couple of minutes, I’ll bring some cold water back here.” A hint of a smile touched her lips when she said it.

  “Better make it two buckets,” Yukiko giggled.

  “Deal,” Jenn said as she left, shutting the door behind her.

  The moment the door snicked shut, Yukiko was in Gregory’s arms. Her soft lips met his with equal passion. After a minute of kissing, Yukiko pulled away from him.

  “That wasn’t the real reason I wanted to stay behind,” Yukiko admitted. “I just need to know, dear one... If I asked you for something, would you give it to me?”

  Gregory’s face went red at her phrasing. “Uh, Yuki…”

  Yukiko giggled. “No, not that! We’ll have that soon.” Her smile slipped and her face became serious. “There’s something that I will ask you for, and I—”

  “Anything,” Gregory said just as seriously. “Yuki, you’re my heart. If my heart wants something and I can give it to her, I will.”

  Yukiko’s eyes glittered. “I love you so much that it hurts, dear one... What I’ll ask for might hurt us both a little, but I believe it’s the right thing to do.”

  Gregory took her back into his arms. “Yuki, I know that you want everything for me, like I do for you. I trust you to do what’s best for us.”

  A single tear escaped as she began to kiss him again. Gregory held her tightly, returning the kiss, but holding back so it was a sweet, lingering kiss, instead of an impassioned one.

  The two of them drew apart when the door opened again. Jenn was standing there with a bucket in each hand and a smile on her face.

  “I’m com—” Yukiko started to say.

  “I’m just doing as you asked, Yuki,” Jenn cut her off, setting one down to get a good grip on the other bucket. “I take it you wanted to be doused to make sure you cooled off?”

  “Wait!” Gregory sputtered, moving a little away from Yukiko. “We don’t have extra clothes on us!”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have taken so long,” Jenn said simply as she pulled back her arm.

  Yukiko vanished from the room, leaving Gregory as the only one in front of Jenn.

  “Oh, for Aether’s sake...” Gregory grumbled.

  Jenn’s arm went forward and Gregory winced away, turning sideways. When nothing happened, he cracked an eye open and looked to the door. Both Jenn and Yukiko were repressing their laughter, and when he saw them, they began to laugh in earnest.

  “What just happened?” Gregory asked.

  “I knew you two didn’t have clothes, so the threat would be enough,” Jenn laughed. “It’d look bad for the clan if you showed up to the arena dripping wet.”

  “I figured it out when I got behind her,” Yukiko giggled.

  Shaking his head, Gregory started toward the door. “I see... Maybe I should pay you back.”

  Jenn turned and bolted. Yukiko followed her, laughter trailing down the hall as they went. Gregory chuckled, picking up the empty bucket that had been left behind and making his way toward the showers.

  ~*~*~

  The sky was overcast, and a warm wind blew as the three friends stood to the side, waiting for Magus Paul to post the match-ups for the day. The other novices were split into groups based on their clans. Some of the smaller clans joined together to be a little safer while the clanless kind of huddled together.

  “Surprised no one’s been challenged,” Yukiko said softly. “All of us are here. It’s an easy time to issue one.”

  “They wouldn’t want to until after they see the match-ups. Don’t want to have two fights that close together,” Jenn replied.

  Paul came striding toward the novices with a roll of papers in his hand, his eyes moving from group to group. Coming to a stop in front of the board, he turned to face them. “Novice Dimitry Drog was found an hour ago, his neck snapped. That means one of you won’t have a match today, which makes his death suspicious.”

  Novices started eyeing each other, but Hayworth spoke up, “I thought the list of who fights who isn’t known until you get them from the council?”

  “That’s how it’s supposed to work,” Paul said, staring at Hayworth. “Interesting that it was your opponent who ended up dead, isn’t it?”

  Hayworth stood there blinking for a long moment, then sighed. “Because I’m stupid enough to just kill an easy opponent instead of just beating him? Many things I might be, but stupid is not among them.”

  “You’re plenty arrogant enough to think you could get away with it,” Nick said.

  “Or another clan could have done it to harm the image of my clan,” Hayworth said, turning to Nick. “Another clan that’s currently being embarrassed by a fringer, for instance?”

  Nick’s face went still. “Did you just insinuate my clan had something to do with it?”

  “Enough!” Paul snapped. “The Woven Blade clan has asked the council to investigate, and they have agreed. This death has set things into motion that the culprit couldn’t have expected. So, if you know anything, you might wish to speak with the council before it’s too late. Novice Hayworth, you are to come with me.”

  “Yes, sir,” Hayworth said stiffly.

  Paul attached the papers to the board and motioned Hayworth to start walking ahead of him. Hayworth looked affronted, but did as he was bade.

  Nick chuckled as they passed him. “Enjoy the talk, Hayseed.”

  “Novice Shun,” Paul said, coming to a stop inches from Nick, “taunt another novice in my care, and your clan will have other troubles.”

  Nick drew himself up to his full height and gave Paul a cold look. “Many clans try to intimidate or harass the Eternal Flame, Magus. Few can do more than briefly annoy us.”

  Paul gave Nick a wintry smile. “You have been warned.”

  “Nick, we should get moving,” Jason said. “If you fight first, it could be a problem.”

  Nick snorted and walked away from Paul and Hayworth. The rest of the Eternal Flame moved with him like baby ducklings following their mother. Once they had checked the board and left, the smaller clans moved to check their match-ups, followed by the clanless. As they drifted away, Gregory and the others moved up to find theirs.

  Checking the match-ups, Gregory shook his head. “Figures.”

  “You get Nick, and Jason fights Jenn,” Yukiko said. “I fight Matilda? And all as the second fights of the day in three separate arenas...”

  “Matilda’s in the Woven Blade with Dimitry,” Jenn said, “and she had been in my classes. Her magic is ice, and while she’s weak with it, it’s still dangerous. Be careful, Yuki.”

  “We didn’t have ice in our class. What can it do?” Yukiko asked.

  “Making the ground slick, dropping your response time… I’m not sure what else,” Jenn replied.

  “Hmm,” Yukiko said. “I’ll be careful. We need to go. Greg, you’re in the main arena. I’m in green, and Jenn’s in blue.” />
  “Don’t hold anything back,” Gregory said. “If we beat them, we might not fight them again.”

  “We will, but you need to, as well,” Jenn said seriously.

  “Take my core,” Yukiko said, shoving it to Gregory. “I won’t need to recharge my ring, but you will.”

  Gregory took it and met her eyes. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “No, I will be waiting for you, dear one.”

  “I’ll be waiting for both of you,” Jenn said, taking off at a jog.

  The couple exchanged a look and ran off after her.

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Gregory took a deep breath as he left the tunnel and walked onto the sands of the arena. Nick was staring at him with a smirk as they approached Magus Paul, who was waiting for them in the middle.

  “Pet-tit,” Nick called out mockingly as he got closer, “I’ve been looking forward to this. I thought it wouldn’t be until the final eight, but keeping you out will be even better.”

  Gregory didn’t reply— he just came to a stop where he should and waited for Paul to have them bow. Paul gave Nick a stern look, but didn’t rebuke him for speaking.

  “Novices, the rules are known to you both. Bow to the council.”

  Gregory did as he was told, his face impassive, but Nick wore a knowing smirk.

  “Bow to me.”

  They turned and bowed to Paul.

  “Bow to each other.”

  As soon as he was out of the bow, Gregory shifted into a defensive stance with his naginata. Nick shook his head, not touching the sword on his hip. Paul backed away from them with his hand in the air, about to start the fight.

  Gregory pushed his aether into foresight, and the future opened up to him. Frowning at what he saw, Gregory was worried about his ability to deal with the onslaught he was about to face.

  “Fight!” Paul cried out.

  The moment that word left Paul’s mouth, Gregory shifted to the right by a couple of steps. The heat of the fireball that went through the spot he’d just been standing on made Gregory’s skin dry out.

  There was no time to lose as Gregory darted left, another blast of fire going just behind him. Going into a dive, the third ball of fire went over him, making Gregory blink to get his eyes wet again.

  Nick was shouting at him as Gregory dodged blast after blast, always a couple seconds ahead of the fire. The toll on his aether was growing, and Gregory knew he’d have to chance things without foresight.

  Letting go of his magic, Gregory rushed at Nick, who was sweating and panting. A dozen feet away, a solid wall of fire rushed out of Nick, engulfing Gregory. The ring on his hand discharged, smothering the flames the instant they touched him and leaving a Gregory-sized hole in the wall.

  Nick’s mouth fell open. Disbelief was written large on his features when he saw Gregory still closing the distance. He managed to get his sword out in time to block Gregory’s first attack.

  “Impossible!” Nick growled, breathing heavily.

  “Just well prepared,” Gregory said, letting go of the naginata with one hand long enough to snatch the bane core from a fold in his obi. When his ring touched the core, the stone fractured and dispersed into dust.

  “No!” Nick shouted as another burst of flame flew out from him in all directions.

  Again, a Gregory-sized hole appeared in the expanding fire wall, and Gregory brought the naginata around in a complex attack. Nick looked panicked as he blocked the first part, but he missed the second part of the attack. The butt end of the naginata collided with his gut.

  Nick doubled over, gagging, as he tried to catch his breath. Spinning the weapon back around, Gregory slammed it into the middle of Nick’s spine.

  “Stop!” Paul shouted. “Healer!”

  Gregory stepped back, blinking rapidly to moisten his eyes again. His knees buckled under him, dropping him to the arena floor. Head swimming, Gregory looked at Paul, who was checking on Nick.

  Mindie was there a second later, her hands pressing lightly to Nick’s back. “It’s... broken,” she said in shock. “I can stabilize him enough to get him to the healers, but they have a lot of work to do.”

  “Do what you have to,” Paul said, turning his gaze to Gregory. “You won, Pettit.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gregory said slowly. “I think… I think I pushed too hard.”

  Mindie reached over to touch his shoulder. “Aether depletion. Drink this.” She shoved a small vial at him.

  Taking it, he drank the contents without question. The thick, choking flavor of raw ginger hit his mouth like a wild boar. Coughing, Gregory dropped the empty vial, his chest feeling like it was on fire. Tears spilled down his face and he gasped as he tried to get a full breath.

  “He’ll be fine,” Mindie explained as a couple of other people came out with a stretcher to get Nick off the arena floor.

  “Very well,” Paul said as she stood up. “Pettit?”

  Gregory got to his feet slowly. He no longer felt drained, but his whole body felt abnormally warm. He managed to bow to Nick as the men took him away before he turned to Paul, bowing again, and finally finished with a bow toward the council’s box.

  Legs feeling unstable, he made his way out of the arena. Coming out of the preparation area, Gregory saw Hao and Dia waiting for him. He gave them a wane smile. “That was... difficult.”

  “Are you okay?” Hao asked with concern.

  “He pushed his aether too far,” Dia said, eyeing him closely. “The healer gave you a short-term fix, but you’ll need to have a high-aether meal tonight.”

  “I’ll make sure he does,” Hao said.

  “We should start heading to the clan hall,” Dia said. “That’s where we agreed to meet the others. Lean on me if needed.” She directed her last few words to Gregory.

  Gregory took the offer, as his legs still felt like overcooked noodles. “Thank you, Dia.”

  Yukiko was waiting when Gregory got there. Hurrying to his side, she took his arm from Dia, giving the older woman a worried look. “What happened?”

  “He pushed himself too far,” Dia said, letting Yukiko take him without issue, “but he bested Shun. Broke his spine, in fact.”

  Yukiko’s eyes widened. “He’s dead?”

  “Alas, no,” Hao sighed. “He’ll survive, from what we heard.”

  Yukiko went grim. “He’ll want blood now.”

  “Yeah,” Gregory said. “You won?”

  “Easily,” Yukiko said. “She was down inside the first minute.”

  “I’ll go get him a snack to help stabilize him a little better,” Dia said.

  “How did it happen?” Yukiko asked, looking at her father.

  “The others are coming this way. We can explain it to everyone at once,” Hao said.

  Yukiko looked down the path and saw Jenn, her parents, and Gin coming toward them. Jenn had a bandage on her left hand and was walking gingerly.

  “She won, but it cost her,” Gin said. “He offered to fight her with just physical enhancement magic, and she agreed.” He gave Jenn a disapproving look, but continued, “She had him, but then he blasted her with fire. It drove her back, even with it mostly snuffing out. He almost took her down then, but she managed to get the upper hand. When he tried to use fire again, she went low, broke his ankle, and then slammed her weapon into his gut.”

  “How about you two?” Jenn asked.

  “I finished mine easily,” Yukiko said. “Father was just about to tell us what happened with Greg.”

  Hao gave them the recap of the fight, and both Yukiko and Jenn were a little pale by the end of it. “That new ring you told me about was the reason he won,” Hao finished. “That, and his ability to see into the future. It’s so odd to watch. He’s always at least a second ahead of what’s happening.”

  “We’ll have to take it easy for the rest of the day,” Yoo-jin said. “Two of our number are injured, if healing.”

  “This jerky is for him, and this vial is for her,” Dia said, join
ing them again. “Tomorrow will be interesting. All of you are still undefeated, along with Novice Hayworth. It wouldn’t be surprising if you four fight each other. It’ll be the only way they can get some of the Eternal Flame into the final eight.”

  “Maybe I’ll get to fight Greg before the final eight,” Jenn said.

  “Or I will,” Yukiko said. “Though, I’d prefer it to be neither of us.”