“This could go on for a while,” Jake whispered in her ear.
Sophie nodded. Neither of the boys seemed to be tiring. Nils might be more agile than the average Affinite or human, but it still took more effort to lug that mass of a body around; yet he showed no signs of slowing down.
After Nils got another punch in, which caused Nathan to stumble slightly, the Affinite chuckled. “Tiring yet, Aster?” he mocked. “Nothing special without your magic, ey?”
Nathan said nothing. It took less than a second after his stumble for him to regain his footing. There was no emotion on his face; nothing that would indicate that the mockery had any effect on him. Nothing that anyone else would detect anyway. Only Sophie could see the slightly raised lip that could form a snarl if only Nathan would allow himself to do so.
“Nils is getting frustrated,” Jake whispered. “He wouldn’t be trying to bait Nathan if he was still confident. Nathan’s reading his moves.”
Sophie watched Nils come at Nathan again. Nils jogged a little on the spot before suddenly lunging forward, swinging his left hand with the dagger towards Nathan’s exposed right side.
Sophie narrowed her eyes as Nathan didn’t move away quickly enough, and Nils’ dagger cut through the fabric of his sleeve. Something was wrong. Sophie had never known Nathan to leave his right side exposed like that before. It was his strong side; he was right-handed.
Then Sophie noticed that Nathan had switched his dagger from his right hand to his left. And that he’d exposed his right side again. Nils lunged again, and Nathan only just avoided the blade, stumbling back a few steps in the process. Something flashed in Nils’ eyes. He knew he was getting close. Nathan was slowing down.
Nathan held his hands close to him, making fists. But his right hand was higher, once again leaving the right-hand side of his waist exposed. Nils readied himself again. He tightened his grip on his dagger with his left hand and lunged again.
He missed Nathan completely. With incredible precision, Nathan pushed Nils’ dagger-wielding hand away from him with his right hand. A split-second later Nathan threw his left hand with the dagger forward, towards Nils’ right shoulder. Nils, seeing the attack coming just in time moved away to his left, avoiding the dagger.
But Nathan was never planning to beat Nils with his dagger, Sophie knew. Why would he do it with his weak hand? He’d planned it all. He’d planned for Nils’ arrogance; for Nils to think Nathan was tiring and leaving his right side exposed as a result.
As Nils moved aside to avoid Nathan’s dagger, he stepped directly in front of Nathan. It was in that moment that Nathan’s right fist, strong and fast, cut from underneath, swinging upwards, hitting Nils right under his chin.
The sound of the impact echoed through the arena. Sophie knew Nathan had broken bone. Nils fell backwards. All six foot six of him crashed to the ground in a great thump.
A hush fell over the onlookers. Nathan was strong, but he wasn’t strong enough to do this. Everyone stared at Nathan, Jackson and Percy included. Nils lay unconscious on his back.
Nathan, in turn, stared at Nils. His right hand was still in a fist, hovering in front of him. Not even he seemed to understand where that level of strength had come from. Sophie couldn’t even begin to contemplate how it was possible for Nathan to bring down the bulk that was Nils.
Sky was the first to break the silence. He started laughing. “Oh… my… God… Nate!” he said as he ran into the ring and jumped up onto Nathan’s shoulders. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Nathan stumbled slightly under Sky’s weight. He didn’t take his eyes off the Swedish Affinite, still unconscious at his feet.
Lian joined in Sky’s enthusiasm, whooping loudly, and even Matu said, “That was incredible.”
Jackson blew his whistle and pointed to Nathan. “Nathan wins,” he said. The other Affinites broke into applause. Even Jake clapped, though he stared at Nils, frowning, also trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
Sophie stepped forward and knelt down at Nils’ head. She traced her fingers over his jawline and felt an unnatural crunch underneath the skin.
“Well, Soph?” Sky asked, still laughing and patting Nathan on the back. Nathan in turn still looked dazed.
“Broken,” Sophie replied without looking up.
Sky laughed even louder. “That’s insane!”
Sophie put her magic to work and healed Nils’ broken jaw quickly. But when she finished, Nils remained unconscious. She could only heal physical ailments. She couldn’t wake him up if his body didn’t want to yet.
When she looked up from Nils’ body, she shook her head towards Jackson, telling him she couldn’t wake Nils. He would have to do that on his own accord, when his body was ready. The force of Nathan’s uppercut must have been even stronger than any of them had realised.
Sophie looked over to Nathan. His gaze was still distant, but he’d stopped looking at Nils. Sky was still jumping up and down next to him. Matu and Lian were there, too. And so were the other Affinites. The frozen focus had gone, and his insecurities had returned. Awkwardly he received the praise for a battle no one had really expected him to win, and certainly not in the way that he had. While everyone else was celebrating his strength, Nathan caught Sophie’s eye. Perhaps only the two of them were questioning where that power had actually come from.
And even though she was the Aster of Knowledge, Sophie found herself without a single answer.
Chapter 9
One evening, a few days later, Sky, Lian and Nathan opted for the village café instead of going to their beds early. As long as they didn’t drink and they’d be fit enough for anything they could be summoned for in the next twenty-four hours, the Small Council had nothing against them relaxing every once in a while. Though there was nothing on the tracking screens in the Board Room that suggested the Asters would be going anywhere any time soon.
Lian was sitting at one of the lower round tables, and playing poker with Nathan, the Kadiri twins, Asmae and Marwa, and Jillian and Arthur Kelly. He saw that Sky was up at the bar with Ashu and Kemal, drinking a beer. Only Sky would be drinking while on stand-by. Then again, only Sky could drink multiple glasses without having any trouble the following day. The only reason he was sticking to just a single drink now, Lian knew, was because in theory they could also be summoned somewhen in the night. And even though Sky rarely woke with a hangover, in the middle of the night he would still be tipsy. Jackson Kelly had been furious the first time he found out Sky was drinking while on call, but that day Sky had trained as well as he always did, so the Commanding Chief had no foot to stand on. Jackson now knew Sky wasn’t stupid enough to drink more than he could handle.
“Dealer takes two,” Asmae was saying.
Lian turned his attention back to the game.
“How is it having your father back on the island?” Marwa asked Jillian.
“It’s strange,” Jillian answered. “I know this is supposed to be normal, but him being away and only popping in every now and again used to be my normal, you know?”
Lian looked up at Jillian. She didn’t look much like Percy, or his twin brother Jackson. The colour of their hair was the same, and she had the same eyes, but the rest of her features she must’ve inherited from her mother. It had always been strange to Lian how Jillian’s family functioned. For the past twelve years Percy Kelly had been living almost permanently in Brazil. He travelled back to Saluverus no more than four times a year, and only stayed a couple of weeks. And in those weeks, he spent most of his time training with the best members of his battalion from the war against Astaroth; some of whom now made up part of both teams on the two missions currently in Brazil.
“Is it different now that he’s here permanently?” Nathan was asking.
Jillian shrugged as she took the card Asmae dealt her. “Quite the same. It is strange now that Mum’s gone, though.”
“Why, where’s your mother?” Lian asked. “I raise ten.”
“Call,”
everyone except for Jillian said in turn around the table. They slid some of their chips to the centre of the table.
“She’s part of the five-man rescue team my dad’s sending in to look for the four people from the Queen’s Case that the Small Council hasn’t been able to make contact with for the past few days,” Jillian explained. “I fold.”
She placed her cards face down on the table and pushed them away from her.
“Seriously?” Lian said, surprised.
“Strange that he would send his own wife,” Nathan commented quietly, perhaps more to himself than to the others around the table.
Arthur Kelly snorted beside him. Jillian looked over to her cousin and chuckled. Even though Jillian was Percy’s daughter and Arthur was Jackson’s son, they were so close that practically everyone mistook them for brother and sister instead of cousins. Nathan looked from one Kelly to the other with a question in his eyes.
“Is it funny?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, it’s not,” Jillian giggled, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“We just forget that our family isn’t like others,” Arthur began.
“That still doesn’t explain—” Marwa started.
“Mum only had one condition when Dad proposed to her,” Jillian interrupted. “No matter what, their marriage would never get in the way of her work. She has the same bravery affinity as Dad. She is one of the best soldiers on the island. They met when she saved his life, though he will never admit that.” Jillian chuckled again, shaking her head. “They’ve trained together ever since, and she became one of his best soldiers. She told him she’d leave him if he ever chose someone else less suited for a job, just because he didn’t want her to get hurt.”
“He seems to have remembered,” Asmae mused.
“Yeah, well, she meant it,” Jillian said.
They were an interesting family. Arthur Kelly had inherited his father’s affinity for bravery as well. He had dedicated his entire life training to become his father’s successor one day. He made the Small Council take his name off the Transfer list because he never wanted to become an Aster. Becoming Commanding Chief was his dream, and it was either that or nothing.
Jillian had inherited the affinity for bravery as well, but she wasn’t following in her father’s footsteps. She got additional combat training like Arthur and other Affinites with battle-worthy affinities, but she chose not to have it be the focus of her life. In school Jillian excelled in chemistry, physics, maths and biology. Only Sophie got the same grades she did. For as long as Lian could remember, Jillian wanted to become a scientist. Her battle-minded parents never had a problem with that.
“Where are Sophie and Matu? They’re usually up for a night out,” Arthur asked.
“Sophie’s off with Jacob somewhere—” Lian started. There were a few groans around the table, followed by a few laughs at each other’s similar reactions. For everyone here, Jacob wasn’t their favourite person. “And Matu is off having dinner with his father. Supposedly, he might be leaving the island soon.”
“Why? Where’s he going?” Asmae asked.
“You know that one team hasn’t been in contact with the Small Council for a while? Well, apparently one of the Affinites in that team was one of the top soldiers in his regiment in the war. If the rescue team finds evidence of a struggle or battle with Disciples, Matu’s father said he’ll have Madeleine send him in immediately so he can help look for her,” Lian explained.
“Who’s the Affinite?” Asmae asked.
“Nadine Amsel,” Lian replied.
Silence fell around the table for a moment. There were plenty of reasons that communication could break down on a mission, especially one so remote as deep in the jungles of Brazil. Still, everyone around the table knew that if Nadine weren’t to return, there would be five children on Saluverus left as orphans.
The door to the café opened, breaking the silence around Lian and Nathan’s table. Everyone around the table looked up to see four Affinites walk in, Nils leading the way. He cast his eyes over everyone in the café before heading over to a table near the back. His three friends followed him.
Lian sniggered the second Nils turned his back on their table. Sophie might have healed his broken jaw, but she hadn’t taken away the injury completely. Even though it had been a few days since the incident, there was still some swelling and some significant blue and purple bruising.
“You know he’s still upset that Sophie didn’t heal his jaw completely,” Jillian said.
Lian snorted. At the back of the café, Nils was rubbing his bruised jaw absently with his hand.
“He should be glad she healed him at all after his mockery during the battle,” Arthur said.
“Didn’t seem to affect Nate though, did it?” Lian said, slapping his brother on the shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter,” Asmae said. “You can’t expect help from one Aster after coming at another, that’s just not smart.”
“Who ever said Nils was smart?” Lian pointed out. “Didn’t even see the upper cut coming!”
“It was a brilliant move,” Jillian commended.
“And the power on that thing; I didn’t even know you could hit that hard,” Arthur added.
Nathan smiled awkwardly as Lian patted him on the shoulder again and ruffled his hair. Lian could laugh at his brother. He was always the quiet one. Even when he pulled off a magnificent move like he had, Nate still couldn’t boast about it.
“All right, all right,” Asmae tried to calm the group down. “Back to the game.”
Jillian leaned across the table towards Nathan and whispered, “How did you get so much power behind it?”
Nathan shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Asmae cut in before he could say anything. “Jill!”
Jillian chuckled and sat back down into her chair, shooting an apologetic look towards Asmae. Everyone except for Jillian, who had already folded, picked their cards back up again and the game continued.
“Where’s Anna?” Marwa asked at some point. “I fold.”
“Night shift with Marlena,” Lian replied. “Fold.”
“Fold,” Nathan said.
Only Marwa and Arthur were left in the game. They weren’t playing for anything, but especially these two took games extremely seriously. Asmae was the more outspoken of the twins, while Marwa was the quieter, more cunning of the two.
Arthur and Marwa eyed each other up and down, holding their cards up in front of them protectively.
“Show your cards,” Asmae ordered.
Marwa gestured to Arthur. “You first.”
Arthur looked round the table and placed his cards down in front of him. The five cards were three tens and two eights. “Full house,” he spoke proudly.
Everyone around the table turned to look at Marwa, whose eyes were glittering mischievously.
“Come on then, what’ve you got?” Arthur asked.
Marwa placed the cards out in front of her.
All four jacks and a seven.
Arthur swore.
“Four of a kind,” Marwa said triumphantly. She reached across the table and pulled the pile of chips towards her.
“I thought I had it,” Arthur grumbled.
“Tough hand to beat,” Lian admitted, clapping Arthur on the back.
“Never underestimate a beauty behind glasses,” Jillian said.
Arthur rolled his eyes and turned his head away, standing up from his chair. Lian swore he saw the boy flush for a moment. And Marwa seemed to be very focused on separating the chips she’d collected.
“I’m getting another drink,” Arthur announced, getting a hold on his composure again.
“You doing a whole round?” Jillian asked, looking up at her cousin.
Arthur narrowed his eyes at her. “Only for the winner this time,” he replied, winking at Marwa. “Same as before?”
The Moroccan Affinite looked up through her dark lashes only for a moment and nodded quickly, before turning her gaze back
to the chips in front of her.
“All right, new game,” Asmae said, collecting all the cards out on the table. She started shuffling them, and then dealt out a new hand to everyone. Arthur returned again with two drinks. He offered one to Marwa.
“Non-alcoholic lime daiquiri, just as the lady likes it,” Arthur said.
Marwa thanked him and then turned back to the game. Over at the bar, Sky and Ashu burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the café. Lian smiled to himself as he picked up the cards he was dealt. Even with the pending threat in North America, and the other, greater unknown threat that Gayle’s birth had foretold, he was glad they could still have moments like this.
“All right, here we go again,” Asmae said. “Everybody in.”
Less than a week passed without any further updates. The Asters did know that Matu’s father left for Brazil yesterday, but none of them knew the details of why.
All the Affinites who had come to Saluverus as a result of the Affinite kidnappings or for the Memorial had returned home. Sky’s mother had joined her good friend and now widow, Orla Brown, and her son in their return to Perth to help move them into a new house, since their old townhouse had been completely destroyed.
Things on the island seemed to be completely back to normal. The masses of Disciples in North America were still coming and going in waves but nothing of significance was happening yet that would indicate an uprising. The Asters were back in the swing of their full-time trainings with Jackson Kelly. Percy was also still forever present, but Sky didn’t mind the ex-soldier so much.
Sky was glad to have the trainings. By being able to use his magic on a more frequent basis again, he no longer walked around with his body aching to use it. The roaring in his ears had gone away and his blood was no longer humming with the need for the magic to be released. His anger at what had happened to Gayle and her parents hadn’t disappeared, but at least his magic had settled down.
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