by Frank Morin
She hesitated a fraction of a second to increase her tap rate. Shona took advantage of the delay to push back from the wall and backhand Verena across the sternum. The blow was like a sledgehammer and it catapulted Verena backward forty feet. She was so strong!
Verena again caught herself with quartzite thrusters and landed in a battle stance facing Shona, who this time pursued her at a confident stroll. Verena’s heart was racing and she was breathing faster than she should have. She’d always thought bash fighters seemed ponderous, but Shona was deadly fast. Again she squashed a flicker of fear, replacing it with a renewed determination to win.
“Not bad, but you can’t master tap rate in the middle of a fight. It takes practice.” Shona clearly expected to continue dominating the match.
Verena hated that she had given Shona such satisfaction in the opening moments, and willed herself to settle down and enter the battle calm she usually sought during a fight. Knowing that anger and impatience would get her hurt was different than actually exercising patience, and she felt another flash of irritation that Shona could push her like that.
Most of their friends were enthusiastically cheering, as were scores of soldiers along the wall. Connor looked concerned, but raised a fist in encouragement, which she appreciated. Tomas and Cameron were laughing and gesturing excitedly as they chattered back and forth, no doubt altering their bets. Verena assumed they were betting against her, and that helped firm her resolve to make them lose all their money. She should’ve taken a bet of her own before the bout commenced.
“I can see why you held the top standings for Boulders at the Carraig,” Verena told Shona.
Shona look surprised by the compliment as she drew almost within striking range. She started to nod acceptance but Verena added, “Fighting untrained children must be really nice. When you lose today, I expect you’ll find the experience educational.”
As she intended, the insult enraged Shona and she rushed in, right fist cocked to deliver a mighty blow. Her initial dominance of the match gave her just enough overconfidence to fall into the trap.
Verena dropped straight down to her side, using quartzite to catch herself just above the sand. As Shona rushed past, surprised by the move, Verena kicked with all of her granite strength at Shona’s leading foot.
She connected! The blow knocked Shona’s foot right out from under her. With a squawk of outrage, Shona tripped to the ground, but did not have the decency to land on her face. She caught herself on her hands.
Verena slid forward, using a gust of quartzite and kicked at Shona’s face, but Shona was too fast and rolled aside.
The move wasn’t a surprise. Shona was fast and graceful, but Verena was quickly gaining a feel for her opponent. As nimble as Shona might be, Verena could still return to her feet faster with an explosive blast of air. In fact, she released enough air to lift her right off her feet, and she applied all that force into another might kick just as Shona rolled to a crouching position.
Verena’s stone-hardened foot caught her in the chin, and Verena exulted with the sense of profound rightness she felt at that moment.
The look of surprise on Shona’s face was priceless. The blow struck her so hard that Verena’s foot ached, despite her high tap rate, and Shona catapulted right over backward.
As Shona tumbled away, Verena rushed after her just like Shona had done to her earlier, intending to smash Shona down when she tried rising again. Bash fighting was so much fun.
But Shona would not fall for the same trick twice. As soon as she crashed to the ground, she hurled herself back to her feet with one mighty, convulsive heave of her entire body. It was an incredibly acrobatic move, one that most Petralists burdened by ponderous granite bodies would never attempt. Shona was far more graceful than any other Boulder, and she knew exactly how and when to tap her strength.
She managed to set herself just before Verena reached her, but Verena still fired a hard, but controlled punch. Shona blocked it with a forearm and returned with a punch of her own. She might be superhumanly powerful, but Verena knew hand-to-hand fighting just as well.
She blocked Shona’s return, twisting her elbow around Shona’s forearm to deliver a backhand across her cheek. Her satisfaction at landing a blow against Shona’s hated face fizzled when Shona didn’t even grunt, didn’t acknowledge the blow, but threw another punch.
Verena refused to back up, and neither did Shona. For the next several seconds they stood toe to toe, raining mighty blows over each other, slamming sledgehammer strikes into each other’s faces and torsos.
Verena managed to block or avoid more of the blows than Shona did, something that she felt proud about for a few seconds until she realized that blocking or dodging was not nearly as important in a bash fight. All of her training had taught her to avoid taking damage, but Boulders didn’t need to worry about that.
Shona was grinning as she fought, the picture of Obrioner nobility. Verena grinned in turn, matching her punch for punch. It was an exhilarating feeling, and she finally understood why Boulders always whined when their bash fights got cut short.
She’d never experienced anything that quite matched the brutal, wild freedom of it. She still loved flying more, but in a different way. Bash fighting answered a primal part of her that she usually refused to admit existed.
So she threw herself into the fight with every ounce of skill and newly won granite strength, and for a moment held her own. She could tell that annoyed Shona, and it reinforced her battle lust. But Shona adjusted quickly, and demonstrated again her experience by slowly beginning to drive Verena back, despite everything Verena did. In a force-on-force bash fight, Shona was going to win.
Then Shona tapped limestone. Her entire body blazed with such brilliant light that it blinded Verena momentarily, and Shona connected with a brutal uppercut that knocked her right off her feet.
Verena did not need to see Shona to understand that Shona was about to grab her legs and either throw her against the wall or simply slam her into the ground. The heavy bash fight had been a joy, but if Shona wanted to bring in their other weapons, Verena was happy to oblige. She tapped quartzite shielding.
Shona’s fist struck the shielding along her ankles, just as she expected. Shona was not able to grab her, but still knocked Verena horizontal. So Verena triggered a tiny jet of marble from her extended forearms, aimed at Shona’s face.
Shona had nothing to fear from such a tiny bit of marble, but as Verena expected, she couldn’t help yelping and pulling back, hands instinctively rising to protect her precious, recently restored hair.
Verena released the shielding and dropped to the ground. She wasn’t proud of using the hair trick. Every woman understood the primal need to defend her hair, but she wouldn’t hold back. Shona was still glowing like the sun, and air came whistling in around them, but not strong enough to pull Verena away. Verena lunged and slammed her knee into Shona’s midsection so hard that it was Shona’s turn to get lifted into the air.
Verena grabbed her ankles and spun mightily, hurling Shona with all her strength at the nearest wall, about twenty feet away.
Shouting an angry curse, Shona slammed into the wall and bounced off, landing on her feet, unhurt.
The momentary reprieve gave Verena a chance to snatch a stone from the pouches at her waist and activate the mechanical. She felt the bout shifting to her favor, and she was not about to let up. Shona stopped glowing, and approached, glaring again.
Verena assumed a nonchalant pose. “Thanks for suggesting that move. It’s very effective. How did you enjoy it?”
“I plan to demonstrate a few more,” Shona said, breaking into a run. She glanced up at the many onlookers, plainly annoyed that they had seen her take that hit. She had long claimed she could easily destroy Verena if ever given the chance, but now those claims were being proven nothing but empty air, like the tertiary power she was still tapping uselessly. It was starting to whip sand into the air, but Verena could easily ignore that.
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Shona did not need to know that though. Getting a fun idea, Verena stepped back a pace, raising one hand to shield her eyes and grimacing as if she had gotten sand in one of her few vulnerable parts.
The wind intensified as Shona laughed and charged. Verena took another stumbling step back, raising her other hand toward her face too, as if momentarily disoriented. Shona took the bait and rushed in, her right fist already cocked back to deliver a mighty curse punch to end the match.
Connor shouted, “Verena, look out!”
He was a dear, but he should know her better. She let Shona close, blinking her eyes wildly and shaking her head to reinforce the illusion.
Shona should know her better too.
As Shona rushed in to deliver a punch strong enough to crack her stone-hardened skin, Verena dropped her hand and stared Shona in the face, smiling.
Shona blanched, realizing too late that she’d been duped. Before she could skid to a stop or change course, Verena dropped a stone.
When the tiny piece of slate landed, a wallstone erupted out of the ground. The earth covering the floor was not extremely thick, but she didn’t need much for such a focused wall. Only two feet wide, it erupted from the sands at a forty-five degree angle and caught the still-charging Shona in the chest with brutal force.
It reminded Verena of that first fight in Alasdair when Captain Rory had led his ignorant army right into Ilse’s trap. They had known nothing of Builder powers and had been caught completely by surprise. It was even more satisfying to catch Shona with the same trick months later when she knew exactly what Verena could do.
The brutal impact blasted all the air from Shona’s lungs and catapulted her back in the other direction. The impact was so hard it looked like she might have gotten neck whip-snap, despite her granite-hardened muscles and bones. In any other moment, Verena would have cringed to unleash such overwhelming force against an opponent, but the months of pent-up loathing for Shona made her grin.
Shona had apologized to Connor, but had never apologized to Verena. That crushing blow was exactly the penance Shona needed to pay to help Verena accept the idea of reconciliation.
Feeling remarkably content, Verena gave chase by jumping and landing on her knees where she had affixed a couple pieces of basalt. Activating the stones’ sliding properties, she shot across the ground after Shona as fast as a Strider.
Shona crashed into the wall of the courtyard so hard that she cracked the stones and left a Shona-sized indentation. When she stumbled free, she fell to her back, momentarily stunned. Seeing her like that reinforced Verena’s sense of catharsis. She’d never seen Shona unable to immediately shake off a hit. She appreciated that Shona gave her plenty of time to slap two more pieces of basalt onto the soles of her feet.
Shona blinked open her eyes and Verena punched her right between them, striking with every ounce of might she could generate. The blow jarred Verena all the way up to her shoulder, and it drove Shona’s head three inches into the dense ground.
It felt so good!
Verena was tempted to kneel on Shona’s arms and pummel her unconscious, but she didn’t need to. So she rose, stepped back a pace, and gestured Shona to rise. It took a couple seconds for Shona to recover her senses, but she was a fighter. She growled angrily, her expression determined, and she lunged back to her feet.
And of course her feet instantly went out from under her as if they started to run before she was ready. They shot up, nearly clipping Verena as Shona crashed onto her backside hard enough to grunt.
Verena chuckled. “What’s the matter? Too tired to continue?”
The blows to her head must have rattled her thinking because Shona immediately leaped back to her feet. They again slipped out from under her, this time sliding sideways in opposite directions and dropping Shona into a full split.
She actually wasn’t that limber, and clutched at her thighs with a groan as she toppled backward again. Connor and Hamish both grimaced. Verena couldn’t help laughing, and she felt gratified when Ilse did too. Anika clapped loudly, whistling.
Shona glared up at her and snapped, “What did you do, vixen wench?”
Verena crouched, careful to stay out of Shona’s reach and said calmly, “What did you expect me to do? I’m a Builder.”
Shona tried lunging again, but every time she planted a foot it immediately slipped out from under her. Verena retreated and watched, enjoying every moment of it until Shona realized what she had done and ripped the bits of basalt off her shoes. She threw them at Verena, and Verena caught them, eliciting another scowl.
Shona jumped back to her feet, showing remarkable resilience, but Kilian stepped between them. Verena had not even noticed him crossing the floor. “I’d say that’s enough for today.”
“I can keep fighting,” Shona insisted.
“That’s never the problem with Boulders, is it? Fight’s over. I call the test a success.”
So did Verena. She had thoroughly enjoyed it. But Shona looked so crestfallen that Verena could not help but saying, “Excellent match, Lady Shona. I appreciate you demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of bash fighting. I think we’ll have to do additional research regularly.”
Shona brightened. “Absolutely. No research is completed in a single day.” She was taking the beating with better grace than Verena had expected, and she was grateful for it. It left the door open for them to beat on each other far more often.
She surprised herself by extending a hand and smiling at her long-hated enemy. Shona took it with a firm, but not overpowering grip and said softly for just Verena to hear, “We should have begun punching each other a long time ago.”
“I agree. It opens a whole new aspect to our friendship.”
Had she actually said the word friendship to Shona? She felt shocked, confused, but somehow pleased by it. She was sure her expression reflected her surprise. Shona looked just as startled, but gripped Verena’s hand for another second, her expression turning thoughtful. “We shall see.”
That was good enough for Verena. She chuckled at a sudden thought. When Shona arched an eyebrow in question she said, “Who would have thought Anika was so wise?”
They laughed together. So weird!
Connor jogged up and gave her a fierce hug. He looked relieved, but was careful to keep his joy restrained. “I’m not sure I want to loan you granite every day so you two can beat on each other.”
Verena gave him a charming smile and said, “Excellent point. We should try basalt next time.”
Connor groaned.
75
New Limits and New Opportunities
Connor felt immensely relieved that neither Verena nor Shona had been badly hurt. He grinned as he stood next to Verena, facing Shona, so relieved that they both seemed to be in such good humor. He should have foreseen that they’d insist on dueling more. He loved bash fighting as much as anyone, and his initial reservations about those two fighting more often were softened by their reactions to their first fight.
“You’re taking to granite really well,” Connor told Verena. He appreciated how both of them had fought hard and creatively, and he loved seeing Verena wielding a Petralist power. With training, she could become a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. She was already incredibly deadly, but add superhuman strength and nearly impervious skin, and he started wondering if he had accidentally unleashed a monster.
A super-cute adorable deadly monster.
“Thanks,” Verena said, flashing that special smile that melted him on the inside.
Shona actually nodded. “Daily dueling will help work out your hesitation.”
She seemed to be taking her loss with remarkable grace, and Connor appreciated that. She had gotten in a number of excellent strikes against Verena too, and no doubt every single one of those were already cherished memories. What pleased him the most was how they had shaken hands at the end and even seemed to share a private joke.
Either Shona had gotten rattled a lot wor
se by that wall smash than he thought, or finally getting to beat on each other was actually proving beneficial. Combat therapy. Who knew?
“I noticed you tapping quartzite. How did it feel?” he asked Shona.
She grinned, a look of wonder on her face. He knew that expression all too well. He felt it every time he tried a new affinity.
“It’s amazing. I need to learn how to fly.”
“Flying is difficult until you’ve ascended. Air is very fickle and doesn’t seem to like responding to a Petralist’s call.”
“Will you tell me more about her?” Shona asked.
He wanted to, but what about Water’s caution that he not share too much? “Soon.”
Shona accepted that with grace and said, “Now that I’ve tried quartzite, I’ll need to try each of the others too.”
He did not blame her. Trying new affinities could be very addicting. The rest of the group gathered around. Tomas and Cameron were already exchanging money. He’d have to ask them later what the final wagers were. They owed him a sizable chunk for his bet on Verena.
“I actually do need to train with loaning powers, and I need someone to help me. I don’t think I can loan powers to myself.”
Hamish chuckled. “You’d need to split your head like Aifric does.”
“We don’t actually work that way,” Aifric protested.
“I’m just glad you girls don’t get into slap fights all together,” he replied with a grin, then added, “Let me go next, Connor. Shona already had a turn.”
“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get to try another,” Shona protested.
Verena chimed in. “I’d like to try another one too.”
That elicited a round of enthusiastic calls from everyone else to help Connor train. Most of the group started debating loudly about which Petralist power they wanted to try first. Connor grinned at their enthusiasm. Usually only he could enjoy the effects of his ascension. Getting to share his training and exploration of marvelous new discoveries with them was a wonderful treat.