by Gage Lee
The last four words rang with sacred energy so powerful it rattled the scriptorium’s door. The Flame’s power within me stirred, like a lazy dragon disturbed from its slumber. A short burst of emotion washed out of it and rolled through my core. Was that approval?
I believed it was.
“What if we can’t win?” Hazel asked.
“One way or another,” I said, my voice firm, but gentle, “you’re fighting. I’ve given you the best odds of victory. Ultimately, though, only you decide who wins and who loses. I think the time for talking is over. Shadow Phoenixes, it’s time to fight.”
The Offense
THE DOOR TO ISHIGARA’S scriptorium burst open to unleash a flood of students eager for dinner. But they’d hardly stepped foot outside the classroom when those in the front came to an abrupt stop, and those behind them crashed into their backs. Confusion reigned in the hall for several seconds as the students in the rear pushed against those in the front, who refused to move one inch closer to the half-circle of Shadow Phoenixes who’d surrounded the door.
I can’t say that I blamed them. Faced with an angry elder and a small clan of fighters with their fusion blades drawn, I’m not sure I would’ve charged ahead, either.
“What is the meaning of this?” Ishigara’s angry voice sliced through the din. “Move out of the classroom in an orderly fashion.”
“I think they’re scared,” I called out. “I hear there are a lot of duels going on these days.”
The scrivenings professor parted the crowd of confused students and emerged from her classroom with a scowl for me. “Let the students leave my classroom,” she said.
“I will,” I promised. “But first, one of my clan members has something to say.”
I stepped back to let Hazel take the lead. She gave me a nervous glance as she passed, and I nodded to her. This was her time to shine, and our clan’s chance to show the rest of them what we were made of.
Hazel planted herself in the middle of the hallway, her sword raised to point over the heads of her classmates.
“Michelle of the Titans of Majestic Stone,” she called out, “I challenge you to a duel.”
A ripple of confusion passed through the students. I would have bet good money that this was not something their clan elders had prepared them to deal with. They thought they were the hunters, not the prey. Faced with a defiant, pixie-like member of the Shadow Phoenixes, they weren’t sure how to react.
“This is not a dueling hall,” Ishigara snapped at me.
“It was when Rafael attacked me during my freshman year,” I countered. “You seemed fine with students hacking at each other in the halls back then. In fact, I don’t think you even looked outside the scriptorium when he tried to kill me. And, even if you care, I don’t. The only rules about the location of duels is that they cannot happen inside classrooms or dining areas. Last I checked, this isn’t either of those.”
My harsh words for an authority figure strengthened my clan members’ resolve. If I could stand up to Ishigara, they could face their fellow students.
“This isn’t doing your clan any favors,” Ishigara hissed at me. “I thought you’d become more reasonable.”
“Stand aside,” I said. “This duel is happening.”
Ishigara scowled at me. She wouldn’t have had a problem telling Jace Warin, her mediocre scrivenings student, to move along. But when I spoke as Elder Warin of the Shadow Phoenix clan, my words held more weight. Especially when I was in the right, and she knew it.
Ishigara bowed her head, then stepped out of her classroom. I returned the bow and reached into the heavy pouch dangling from the left side of my belt. I removed a gleaming ingot of orichalcum and presented it to her with a flourish that no one would miss. It was important that the students see this and report back to their clans.
“Here is the agreed-upon price for your services,” I said. “I hope you find it sufficient.”
The hallway went dead silent and Ishigara froze in place. If she took the orichalcum from me, the students would think I’d paid her off to let the duel continue without interference. Not accepting the offer, though, would be a grave offense to a standing clan elder. And the punishment for that was whatever it took to satisfy my wounded honor.
I’d never use my position to punish Ishigara, but she didn’t have to know that. At least not yet.
“Thank you, Elder Warin,” the professor said in a voice filled with a mixture of dread and admiration.
Her eyes sparked with anger when they met mine, and I almost felt bad for her.
But only almost.
Cornering her wasn’t the kindest thing I could have done. On the other hand, until recently, she’d gone out of her way to make my life as unpleasant as humanly possible. Turnabout was more than fair play in this case.
“I don’t want to fight,” Michelle called from her position at the rear of the crowd of students. “I refuse your challenge.”
Hazel glanced toward me, and I nodded for her to continue. There was no rule saying that a student had to accept the challenge. But there was also no rule saying that a student couldn’t continue to issue the challenge.
“Michelle, of the Titans of Majestic Stone clan,” Hazel called out, “I challenge you to a duel. You dishonor me with your refusal. I shall not move until you accept.”
Confused mumbling filled the hallway for a few moments, and then a boy in the front of the group, a Disciple of Jade Flame, strode forward. He headed straight toward the edge of the enclosure my clan had created, his eyes sparking and looking for a fight.
“Get out of my way,” he snapped.
Ferundo smiled grimly and lowered the tip of his fusion blade until it dimpled the Disciple’s robes. “I will not move until my clan has satisfaction. Proceed at your own peril.”
The Disciple snorted and called Ferundo’s bluff.
That was a mistake.
My clan member didn’t move. The tip of his fusion blade pushed through the Disciple’s robes and bit into the skin over his heart. A dark stain appeared on the young man’s robes and spread from the tip of the sword.
The Disciple flinched away from Ferundo’s blade, hand clutched to the dark blotch on his chest. “You stabbed me!” he shouted.
“You walked into his sword,” I corrected. “My clan member has issued a challenge. She will continue to issue it until her chosen foe accepts. No one is leaving until this duel ends.”
Ishigara stiffened next to me. “This is a bad idea,” she said. “You’ll turn the rest of the clans against you.”
I looked over my shoulder at her with a smirk. “That’s not much of a threat. We’re up to our eyeballs in enemies. The other clans left me no choice.”
Hazel issued her challenge again. Louder this time, with an added insult to the end. “You are a coward for refusing my call,” Hazel shouted. “Let the entire school know that your clan is filled with weak and puny warriors who will not defend themselves.”
A ruckus at the back of the gathered students grew into a shouting match, and the crowd pushed Michelle out into the hall. Her clan members wouldn’t stand by while the hated Shadow Phoenixes insulted them.
Good. At least that was going according to plan.
Michelle looked timid. Hazel had chosen well. I hated to think that way, but it was the truth. We needed numbers, no matter how pathetic they might be, and this girl fit the bill. Even if she was furious at being taken from her clan, she lacked the will or strength to cause any problems. She was exactly what I needed for the rest of my plan.
“I see you have accepted the challenge,” I said to Michelle. “Are you ready to begin?”
“I accept your challenge,” she said to Hazel. “And, as the challenged, I have the right to state the terms of our duel. We fight only to first blood.”
Hazel glanced at me, and I nodded. “I accept your terms,” she said. “We duel to first blood.”
Michelle threw herself into the fight without warning, summoning a
defensive technique even as she thrust her short, heavy blade at Hazel’s throat. The attack lacked finesse, but it was all power, and it caught my clan member off guard.
Hazel recovered quickly, though, and twisted at the hips to let the attack pass by with inches to spare. With an angry shout, she reversed her pivot and slammed her elbow into her opponent’s nose.
I winced, expecting a spray of blood and the wet crunch of cartilage in Michelle’s nose. Instead, Hazel yelped in surprise and pain, then took a hopping step away from her opponent. She cradled her sword arm, lines of pain stamped into her face.
The Titan’s technique had hardened her body, adding mass to her assault but also shielding her from a counterattack. It was a clever maneuver, and I hoped Hazel would recover from the defensive trick before it was too late.
“What is this lunacy?” Theodosia shouted from outside the ring my clan members had formed. “I came as soon as I could.”
Distracted by Theodosia’s appearance, I missed a critical clash between the duelists. Hazel had done something tricky, and now Michelle was on the back foot.
“You needn’t have rushed here,” I said with all the authority I could muster. “Professor Ishigara and I are here to witness the duel. I’m sure you have your hands full orchestrating attacks against my people.”
“You,” the quorum’s leader growled. “I should’ve known.”
“Yes,” I said, “you definitely should have. You declared war on my clan. What did you think would happen?”
Michelle and Hazel shouted in unison, and I turned my attention back to the duel to see the two young ladies put everything they had into a furious exchange of blows. Michelle was limited in speed and agility, but she made up for it in power and armor. She hacked at Hazel’s weapon, nearly knocking the blade out of her hand.
But Hazel had some surprises of her own to spring on her opponent. She followed the Path of Imp’s Trickery, a good fit for her diminutive size. Rather than relying on brute force, the path channeled jinsei to generate confusion and pain in an opponent. When Hazel’s next attack struck home, a silver flash of sacred energy sent ripples racing through Michelle’s aura. The Titan let out a yelp of pain and swatted at her own face as if trying to clear something from her eyes.
“Let us through!” Theodosia shouted. “This duel is uncalled for and unjust.”
“Unjust?” I shouted across the crowd, irritated that I had to look away from the fight. Hazel was pulling out all the stops, and I wanted to see her victory. “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a duel, just like all the other duels you’ve started. Stand down, Theodosia. You started this madness, and now I’ll finish it.”
The quorum’s members shouted at me, demanding that I clear my students out of their way. I refused and ordered my clan members to stand fast. If the quorum wanted through, they’d have to fight. And as proud as they were of their honor and following the rules, knocking junior students around to disrupt a duel would be a bad look.
Michelle, still blinded by Hazel’s trick, held her sword before her and waved it back and forth to ward off an attack. Unfortunately, the weapon’s short length made that less useful than it could have been. Every time she swung, she left one side open, giving Hazel the opportunity to pick her targets at will.
For the moment, though, Hazel seemed content to dance around her foe, cycling her breath, gathering her jinsei. She was gathering her strength and waiting for the right moment to strike.
“The Consuls will have your head, Warin,” Theodosia shouted.
“Elder Warin,” I shouted at her, driving the words home with a spike of jinsei that rocked the woman back on her heels.
After that, I ignored her. Theodosia’s threats to involve the Triad were empty. The Consuls had agreed to restore the Right of Primacy. If they’d expected my people to take a beating without responding, they’d lost their minds. Using the laws and rituals of Empyreal society to break me had failed. But throwing those same laws and rituals aside to bring me down would jeopardize the legitimacy of their authority. I had very few allies in places of power, but even my enemies would see such a blatant disregard for tradition as a threat to them.
And those elders who would love to see me dead would surely still remember the fate of the New Moon clan. No, the Consul Triad wouldn’t involve themselves in my affairs again until they could do so without breaking their laws.
Which would be a very long time. I had no intention of giving them the rope they needed to hang me.
Michelle made a blind lunge. She thrust her blade toward where she thought Hazel was, only to find empty air greeting her blade. The poorly timed maneuver had missed my clan member by a mile and left Michelle out of position to defend herself.
Hazel chose that moment to strike. She put everything she had behind a thrust aimed at Michelle’s exposed side. Silver fire danced along the blade and sent a crackling shock wave through the air. The attack was coming in too strong, and too fast.
Hazel had pushed herself hard to her opponent’s defenses. But Michelle had nearly exhausted herself, and the jinsei that hardened her skin was long gone.
I held my breath and offered a silent prayer that my clan member hadn’t just made a fatal error.
The unerring strike found its mark. The tip of Hazel’s fusion blade punched through Michelle’s side, and the weapon sank a foot into her.
Michelle let out a strangled, choking gasp and clasped her hands around the blade stuck in her side. Blood bubbled over her lips and spilled down her chin in a thick red stream. The Titan would die without immediate help.
Shouts erupted from the crowd as the girl fell, Hazel’s blade sliding free of her body.
“This is murder!” Theodosia shouted, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
I raced for the middle of the dueling ring. “Hold them back!” I shouted to my clan. “I can heal her, but I need space.”
My serpents went to work, pulling the pain and fear aspects out of the girl’s aura as I activated my Thief’s Shield. I transferred life and vigor aspects from my aura to Michelle’s and flooded her wound with jinsei. It was difficult, painstaking work. If I made a mistake, we’d both be badly wounded.
“Elder Warin,” Theodosia shouted. “Step away from that student immediately!”
Theodosia suddenly let out a strangled shout, and Byron echoed her cry with a powerful kiai. The sounds of conflict between one of my clan mates and a member of the quorum distracted me. The life and vigor aspects that I’d been transferring to Michelle trembled in my grasp, and a handful of them escaped. Pain ripped through my side, and I gritted my teeth.
If I stayed here much longer, the frenzied crowd would break through the defensive line my students had formed. We’d be overwhelmed before I could finish my healing work.
Michelle was stable enough to move, at least. I could finish this once we were safely back in the Stacks.
My serpents lifted the girl and cradled her above my head, where she’d be safe from the madness boiling around my clan. A quick glance at the situation showed me that Byron hadn’t struck Theodosia, which was a minor miracle. But he had drawn blood from two other students, who were now fighting one another. I hadn’t seen it happen, but he must have infected them with Xaophis. And they weren’t the only ones goaded to action by the foul spirit. Duels had erupted in Ishigara’s classroom and amongst the students who’d followed Theodosia.
The spirit was no longer satisfied with letting the clans handle me. It wanted me for itself. It was spreading its influence as far and wide as it could, as fast as it could. The gloves were off. It wouldn’t be long before the School’s halls were awash in blood.
“Come on,” I said to my clan members. “Form up around me. It’s time to go.”
My clan members fell back into a ring of blades, and we made our escape. Ishigara glanced at me as we passed her, giving me a slow, sad shake of her head.
I didn’t need her sympathy, and I didn’t want it. I was more than ready to finish th
e fight the clans had started. If they left me and mine alone, there’d be peace.
If not...
Well, they’d find out the hard way just how dangerous Shadow Phoenixes could be.
The Disciples
UNFORTUNATELY, MY PLAN to hightail it to the Stacks and hide out for a few hours didn’t survive contact with the enemy. So many duels had erupted that the School’s halls rang with the sounds of a pitched battle. It wouldn’t surprise me if Cruzal had to put out an emergency call to the security teams to restore order.
If, that is, the other clans let her interfere with their precious Right of Primacy. The chaos could have been part of their plan to bring me down. A near-riot raging through the School of Swords and Serpents made an excellent diversion for an assassin.
Especially when someone was intent on keeping me from reaching the Stacks. Powerful attention focused on my location steered me away from my goal. Whoever it was wielded serious power, and nothing I did got us any closer to safety.
If I let one of my clan members take the lead, that would probably get us around the roadblocks put in place by the unseen troublemaker. The problem with that plan was that I wasn’t sure going back to the Stacks was even safe. If a seer or two had their eyes on me, going back to the clubhouse would reveal the last ace up my sleeve.
Michelle was still stable, though I had to keep transferring jinsei to keep her wound sealed. She’d hold for a while longer.
It was time for a change of plans.
“Furendo,” I called, “what was the name of your target?”
He didn’t hesitate even for a moment, which was a nice change of pace. “Kevin Nagineau,” he said. “Disciples of Jade Flame.”
“We have to move quick,” I said to my clan mates. “Furendo, take the lead. You know your target better than I do.”
The wiry young man jumped to attention and rushed up to take Byron’s place beside me. He bowed low, then raised a clenched fist. I bumped it with a grin and gave him a shallow bow in return. “Let’s go.”