by Gage Lee
He shook his head, then frowned. “No. I thought they were just a lot slower than you.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I said. “Hang around for a second.”
Byron nodded, then took a seat against the wall of books beside me. While he waited, I directed all my attention to Christina. My vision shifted from the physical world to the spiritual realm. I focused on the tainted jinsei, her core, and the containment vessels attached to the sides of her mask.
She took a deep breath, which should have flooded her core with fouled jinsei. But scarcely a trickle flowed into her mask, and none of that made it all the way into her core. Instead it swirled within the feeder tube and returned to the filtration vessel attached to the top of her mask.
Something was wrong.
“Christina,” I said. “Is something wrong?”
My clan member removed her mask with a frustrated sigh. “Yes! This is like breathing mud. I can’t get any of it into my core.”
That was weird. With a frown of my own, I took a long, hard look at the tainted jinsei in the containment vessel. Gruesome smears of toxic aspects were visible. Smaller flecks of shimmering light revealed bits and pieces of positive aspects such as fire and electricity. A deeper look revealed the faint, luminous glow of gold aspects.
When I took a quick breath straight from the container and focused my attention on the gold aspects, there was a faint resistance to my core’s filtration abilities. For someone of my level, it was barely noticeable. My clan members, though, were all significantly weaker than me.
None of them was strong enough to pull the gold out of solution. While it was possible for me to do all of the purification by myself, it would take months for me to generate enough gold and copper by myself. Months during which I’d be distracted, and my students would be under constant attack.
There had to be a faster way.
And maybe Eric had already shown it to me.
“I want to try something,” I said. “We’ll start with you, Christina.”
“Will it hurt?” she asked with a wry grin. “Because Eric beat me half to death showing some new moves, and I’m at my limit for being hurt today.”
“You probably won’t even feel it,” I said. “But I’ve never done this before, so if you feel any discomfort—”
“I’ll let you know immediately,” Christina said. “Will it be fun?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “The most fun.”
One of my serpents appeared and stretched toward Christina.
“You said this wouldn’t hurt!” she yelped.
“Relax,” I assured her. “There, it’s not even touching you.”
The mystical appendage had stopped with its tip aimed at Christina’s core. I took a deep, cleansing breath and activated the Borrowed Core technique.
A thread of silver jinsei appeared between us, trembling like a spider’s web in a stiff breeze. With all the will I could muster, I commanded it to hold. I pushed more jinsei into the technique to maintain the connection. I’d never tried this with anything larger than a rat, and I wasn’t sure it would work.
But if it did...
“I feel something,” Christina said, her voice both thrilled and nervous. “You want me to help?”
“If you can,” I said.
Christina closed her eyes to concentrate. The bond strengthened, and my understanding of the technique changed. It was still the Borrowed Core, but I saw more clearly how to use it with more advanced creatures, as long as they were willing participants. With a relieved sigh, I felt the tension go out of the connection, and it locked to Christina’s core.
“Oh, this is weird,” Christina said. “I see myself.”
My clan mate was right. This was strange. Our cores were bonded, and our senses overlapped. It took only the slightest effort to shift my vision and point of view to her eyes and then back.
“Try to filter the gold again,” I encouraged her.
Christina buckled the mask to her face and cycled her breath for another attempt.
I mirrored her breathing pattern. The sulfurous stink and rotten milk taste of the jinsei flowing into Christina’s nose and mouth flooded my senses. This time, a steady flow of the tainted fluid made its way down the feeder tube and into her core.
“Relax,” I said gently when I felt panic blossom in her thoughts. I cycled along with her, guiding her through the process. I felt the tiny beads of gold aspects in the jinsei and showed her how to extract them. It was strange, like I was breathing with someone else’s lungs. But a few seconds later, the first golden aspect trickled into the collection vial and landed in the crystal glass with a faint plink.
Christina’s eyes went wide and she laughed inside her mask. “I did it,” she crowed, her voice muffled by the leather harness over her face. “I really did it.”
“You did,” I said. “Who’s next?”
Eleven hands shot into the air.
We filled the rest of that night with excitement and victories. It thrilled the students that I could guide them through such an arduous process. By the time the night ended, we’d gone through gallons of toxic fluid and had harvested several small vials of golden aspects. That wasn’t the same as gold—I’d have to combine them with purified jinsei to complete the manifestation—but it was a fantastic start.
Every night after that, we retreated to the Stacks after dinner. Eric, Clem, and Abi helped the students study and practice for a couple of hours, and then my clan worked in solitude to spin garbage into gold.
It was the best week of the school year so far.
The Loss
CLEM CHASED ME DOWN the narrow corridor, her fusion blade crackling in the air above her shoulder. Eric and Abi raced along behind her, their weapons growing brighter with every passing moment. All three of them shouted at me, begging me to stop.
I didn’t listen.
I couldn’t.
The School bent and twisted as I ran, but it refused to obey me. Even with my target visualized, the shifting architecture fought me every step of the way. I ran through an abandoned courtyard filled with falling cherry blossoms and trees deformed by lightning scars. I vaulted through a ruined auditorium, hurling benches and rubble out of my path with precise thrusts and sweeps of my serpents.
But as my body raced toward its destination, my thoughts ran in the opposite direction, back to the moment when I’d realized something was terribly wrong.
I’d gathered the clan in the stacks for our usual daily study and purification session. Everyone had been so happy and excited at the progress we’d made. With the Borrowed Core technique, my clan had gathered nearly half the aspects we’d need to manifest the gold and copper.
I was measuring our haul with Hahen and Niddhogg when Clem pulled me aside.
“Someone’s missing,” she said with panic in her eyes. “I just did a head count, and there are only twelve students in the Stacks. There should be thirteen, right?”
Her words made my heart seize. I’d made sure the students came directly to the Stacks after dinner. But there’d been two weeks since the last challenge to our number, and I’d thought it would be safe to let them make the trip on their own, just this once, while I’d gathered more wastewater.
I was wrong.
The Borrowed Core had given me a keen insight into my students and the subtle differences in their cores. It took me less than a heartbeat to scan the stacks with my spiritual senses and find out who was missing.
Christina.
“Stay here!” I’d shouted to the students, then exploded out of the Stacks and willed the School to take me to my wayward clan member.
The little dragon and rat spirit both yelped with surprise as I bolted away from them, and Hahen shouted for me to wait for my allies.
“Jace!” Clem had shouted as she chased after me. “It could be a trap!”
I knew that. Everything in my life could be a trap. But I couldn’t let that stop me. If Christina was in danger, it was my job to res
cue her.
A job I was failing at miserably. The School wouldn’t take me to my wayward clan member no matter how hard I tried.
I finally came to a frustrated stop in a subterranean chamber that was more cavern than room. Stalactites dotted the domed ceiling, and dozens of stalagmites jutted up from the floor. I turned in slow circles, trying to think of where Christina could be, mentally demanding that the School show her to me.
“Jace,” Clem said. “Calm down. We’ll find her.”
In my heart, I knew we were already too late. How long had it taken me to get this far? Ten minutes? Christina had been missing for at least fifteen minutes before that. Anything could’ve happened in that time.
“Please,” Abi said, his face grave. “Working yourself into a frenzy won’t help anyone, my friend.”
“I—” My protest died on my lips. “You’re right. I have to think this through.”
I paced and worried at the problem. Though the dueling had reached a fever pitch, with every clan scrambling to gather new recruits at sword point, my students had gotten adept at avoiding duels. The Right of Primacy didn’t allow for straight-up kidnapping, thankfully, so there was still a chance that Christina was only detained and not locked in a duel.
That didn’t explain why I couldn’t find her, though.
Hahen scurried toward us with Niddhogg frantically flapping his wings to keep up with the spirit. I hadn’t realized the pair had pursued us. The effort had just about wiped them out.
“Jace,” the rat spirit gasped. “Remember what happened with Byron?”
I wanted to slap myself in the forehead for not seeing it earlier. “The quorum is blocking me.”
“They aren’t blocking me,” Clem said.
Eric grinned, his long sword bobbing in his hand. “Lead the way, Clem. Maybe we’ll get to kick some butt today.”
“After me!” Clem shouted and rushed out of the cavern.
I scooped Hahen up onto my shoulder, and Niddhogg landed on the back of Abi’s chair. The five of us raced after Clem, and it took only a handful of minutes for her to guide us to Christina.
The quorum had surrounded her. Another student stood next to my clan member, his fists clenched, his face twisted into a conflicted mask.
“What’s going on here?” I barked.
We’d arrived in a small room with a peaked roof. There were no chairs, but what might once have been an altar stood at the far end of the room. The designs on the walls had long since faded, and dust filled in gaps in the carvings, but I could’ve sworn I saw at least one symbol of devotion to the Flame.
“It’s good to see you again, Elder Warin,” Theodosia said, her customary smirk twisting the corners of her mouth. “It appears one of your students has chosen to duel her way out of an argument.”
Both Christina and the student inside the box the quorum had formed glanced nervously at one another. “I didn’t mean to,” Christina wailed. “He was picking on Dolores. She’s a freshman. I tried to stop him and—”
The other student, a young man wearing the colors of the Titans of Majestic Stone, glowered at Christina. “You attacked me. I had no choice but to challenge you.”
Christina opened her mouth to defend herself, but Theodosia cut her off. “Enough of this. You accepted the challenge, did you not?”
I didn’t have to hear the answer to know what she would say. The scene was as clear to me as if I’d witnessed it firsthand. The Titan had gotten my clan member’s attention by bullying a younger girl. When Christina tried to stop him, he’d rebuffed her, and things escalated. He’d challenged her. Christina had lost her cool in the heat of the moment and accepted.
“Yes,” Christina said, lowering her head. “I accepted his challenge.”
Of all my students, Christina was the best fighter. She was fast, fluid, aggressive, but in control of her every motion. I knew she could defend herself, but there was something about this fight that worried me. Tension weighed on me, as if the very room was holding its breath.
“I know you’ll represent us well,” I said to Christina with a shallow bow. “I have faith in your skill.”
Christina and the members of the quorum seemed shocked that I didn’t try to stop the duel. Anything I did, though, would only make things worse for my clan. I had to trust that Christina could climb out of the hole she’d dug for herself.
Theodosia’s eyes narrowed into slits, her lips pursed as tight as a viper’s. “Then let us begin. Assume the positions. The duel begins in three...”
Christina summoned her fusion blade. She held the weapon in a high guard stance and turned her body to present the narrowest target to her enemy. Her stance was loose and open, ready to attack or defend. She’d already begun cycling, and jinsei flowed into her limbs in preparation for the battle.
“Two...”
Her opponent faced her head-on, his heavy-bladed fusion weapon held tight in both fists. Like other Titans I’d seen fight, there was no subtlety to his stance. He was all muscle and rock-solid defense. If Christina attacked him directly, he’d weather her blows until she wore herself out, then devastate her with a single finishing attack.
“One.”
The Titan advanced on my clan member with steady, relentless steps. Christina faded back and to the side, forcing him to turn his body to follow her. She was sizing her opponent up, looking for an opening to exploit.
“Your clan member is good,” Theodosia said.
The Disciple glided up next to me so quietly I hadn’t even noticed. Clem, on my other side, stiffened at her words, while Eric and Abi closed in around us to make it obvious they were there to defend me if things went sideways. The other quorum members watched nervously, unsure of what to do.
If Theodosia attacked me, things would get very crazy, very fast.
I would have welcomed the honesty of open combat, but knew it would create more problems than it solved. The quorum would report back to the elders of their clans that my friends had taken my side. They’d be banished. Or worse.
No sword could solve this problem.
“Of course she’s good,” I said confidently. “She’s trained with the dragons. She’s one of the best fighters the School will ever see.”
The sizzling clash of fusion blades drew our attention back to the duelists. Christina’s weapon dove and darted, a hummingbird searching for a ripe target to skewer with its beak.
Her opponent, on the other hand, stood as impassive and immovable as his clan’s namesake. His weapon moved just enough to shove incoming attacks to the side. Every motion he made was smooth and economical. Rather than pursue Christina, he rotated in place and waited for her to come to him.
“Mario is also quite skilled,” Theodosia said. “He didn’t train with dragons, but he did spend some time in my clan’s combat academies. We have an exchange program with the Titans. Did you know that?”
My jaw tightened at the mention of the alliance. “I’d heard as much,” I lied through a feigned yawn. “He’s passable. Better than most Disciples.”
That was an understatement. Mario wasn’t a flashy fighter, but he was an unshakable warrior. Even when Christina slipped behind his guard, the tip of her blade scarcely creased his skin. He’d hardened his body with jinsei armor techniques. My clan member landed strike after strike, with no more effect than her first. The blows hurt, but they weren’t enough to take the Titan down.
“You can end this,” Theodosia said in a voice slippery as an eel. “Surrender to me. My clan will take you into our ranks, your clan members will be dispersed to the others. But the duels will stop.”
Christina cried out in surprise and stumbled away from her opponent, favoring her left leg. Mario had opened an ugly wound on her thigh. Blood ran down her leg and spattered on the floor.
Mario didn’t hesitate to capitalize on the advantage he’d earned. The warrior advanced on Christina, his heavy weapon carving arcs through the air.
For a moment, I considered using the B
orrowed Core technique to loan Christina my strength like I had when we purified the gold aspects. But the quorum members were watching me as intently as they were the fight and would certainly see the technique. I wasn’t sure what the penalty was for cheating during a duel, but I knew it wouldn’t go well for me. The quorum would complain to their elders, and the Disciples would drag Consul Reyes into it.
That would be all the excuse she’d need to call for my exile.
No, Christina’s fate was in her own hands.
She hobbled back from her attacker, one foot slipping on the blood running down her leg. Her weapon wove a flashing shield before her, but it was too light to stop the heavy, club-like swipes of Mario’s blade. With every step he took forward, he swatted her weapon aside, and with every forced step Christina retreated, she lost more blood, and her leg grew weaker. Her cycling had become erratic, her breath little more than panicked pants that didn’t come close to filling her core. Without more of the sacred energy, soon, she would fall.
I wanted the fight to end. I wanted to take Christina in my arms and whisk her out of there before the inevitable happened. There was no way for me to do either of those things. I couldn’t end the duels without destroying my clan. As much as Theodosia tried to make it sound like the simplest solution to this whole mess, I knew our suffering wouldn’t end with my surrender.
“I won’t abandon them,” I said, my words more a snarl than a statement. “And you won’t beat us. No matter how clever you are, no matter how many schemes your family dreams up, I won’t fall.”
The quorum member inclined her head toward the duelists. “I suppose we shall see.”
As if on cue, Mario raised his blade high overhead and brought it crashing down. It streaked toward Christina’s skull like a shooting star, a blur of silver jinsei that whickered like a horse eager to gallop.
With an anguished cry, Christina pushed off with her injured leg in an awkward leap toward Mario’s left side. She landed on her shoulder, grunting with pain as her opponent’s weapon slammed into the floor with a thunderous crash. For a split second, she had him exactly where she wanted him. His blade was embedded in the stone floor, and all his attention was focused on ripping the weapon free of its stony prison.