by Andrew Rowe
Marissa dodged another one of Mizuchi’s swings, but she stumbled and fell backward.
Mizuchi took advantage of the opening immediately, launching a kick at Marissa’s chest.
Marissa raised an arm to block, but the kick impacted with such force that it carried her off the ground, throwing her backward a dozen feet. She hit the ground and tumbled into an expert roll.
She managed to make it back to her feet before Mizuchi hit her again, this time in the right shoulder.
Marissa screamed, then jammed her fingers toward Mizuchi’s eyes.
Mizuchi just moved her head to the side, then kicked again.
Marissa hopped back, slower this time, and began to circle back around to where she’d first attacked.
I didn’t know why she was going that way, but I couldn’t think about it.
I poured my effort into draining the mana out of my items.
I drained the mana watch completely. As much as my mind was screaming that I needed it, I knew rationally that it was less important in the middle of a fight.
And for once, my self-control was stronger than my fear.
I drained the shield sigil about halfway. I needed the mana, but I wasn’t going to leave myself completely defenseless.
With a little bit of my mana restored, I concentrated, forming a longer thread of mana out of my right hand.
Then, with a hint of transference mana, I pushed the string toward Patrick’s bracer.
I missed. I pushed again.
Marissa dodged another swing, hopping onto the stage.
Mizuchi hurled a blast of lightning.
Marissa focused her shroud and slashed it in half, just like Keras would have.
But she wasn’t at Keras’ level of skill. Not yet.
The blast was weakened, but it still hit her, sending her into a series of convulsions as she fell to her knees.
Mizuchi hopped onto the stage casually. “Are we done now?” She threw a swing at Marissa’s head.
Marissa ducked the swing, then rolled off the stage.
Mizuchi hissed. “You’re beginning to irritate me, girl.”
“Good, that means I’m startin’ to warm up.” Marissa hopped to the side as Mizuchi lunged at her.
Mizuchi landed near Teft.
More specifically, she landed inside what looked like a bear trap composed of raw mana.
The trap snapped shut around Mizuchi’s leg. She screamed.
Teft, still on the ground, waved a hand. Chains of mana appeared around Mizuchi.
Then columns of mana shot upward all around her, each as thick as a fist.
Like the bars of a prison cell.
Mizuchi snarled, straining at the chains. They cracked, but didn’t break.
“Now,” Teft yelled, his voice somehow strong in spite of his injury.
The archer fired another arrow.
Mizuchi twisted, snapped the chains, and caught the arrow in a clawed hand.
But that was just another distraction.
Elora Theas appeared right behind Mizuchi, a swirling ball of air mana in her hands.
Professor Meltlake pushed herself to her feet, wiping blood from her forehead, and pointing her cane.
They attacked Mizuchi from opposite sides. Elora hurled the sphere of mana, and Meltlake conjured a tremendous torrent of flame.
When the attacks impacted, they mixed. And wind, when mixed with flame, combusted.
The resulting explosion rocked the chamber, unattended tables and chairs aside. I had to brace my feet to keep from falling over. My ears rang.
A large section of the floor around where Mizuchi had stood was simply missing. Nearby the tapestries nearest the center of the room caught fire, spreading smoke.
Elora stumbled back, falling onto the stage.
Meltlake collapsed, blood streaming freely from her nose.
When the smoke cleared, Mizuchi was almost unrecognizable.
Not because she was wounded.
Rather, because she had abandoned the frailties of the human form that she had chosen to mimic.
Vast wings had wrapped around her, shielding her body from the flames.
The skin on her face had warped and fallen away, leaving only scales.
Four horns protruded from the top of her head, and her spine gave way to a long tail that ended in spines.
She was not in her true form; not a serpent.
But she was closer.
And those few things we might have called injuries were entirely gone.
“It has been many years,” her voice was stronger now, the pulse of mana in her tone, “since I have been forced to wear this form.”
Her hands, both clawed now, grabbed onto the bars and pushed. The bars began to buckle almost immediately. “You have done well. Each of you should be proud to have survived this long.”
I still felt the compulsion to remain still and silent, but it felt weaker. The spell must have lost some of its potency when Mizuchi shifted forms.
Moreover, the mana I was taking out of the items was already pure. Mizuchi’s spell had only affected people, not the mana stored in items.
If I can just get a little more...
Mizuchi smashed a clawed hand through the few conjured bars of mana that were still surrounding her. Most had been obliterated by the combined attack.
Elora took one look at Mizuchi and snapped her fingers, vanishing.
I didn’t blame her in the slightest.
Elora must have broken the anti-teleportation runes, I realized. That’s why she took so long to attack.
I hope she gets us some help.
“Necklace. Message Keras. Help.”
The necklace flashed again, but faded immediately. Elora must not have broken the anti-communication runes.
Maybe she hadn’t even broken the anti-teleport ones, so much as weakened them or made an exception for herself.
What else could I do? I could whisper, but that wasn’t much on its own.
I tried to move my other hand toward my pouch. If I could reach the Jaden Box, maybe...
Mizuchi growled at the spot where Elora had been a moment before. “Irritating. I suppose she will have to be dealt with at a later time.”
Mizuchi turned her head to Meltlake next, but the professor was unmoving on the floor.
Next, she turned back toward Marissa.
Marissa had taken the time to get some distance, at least. She’d run almost back to where the rest of the students were. She was only a few feet from the closest student tables.
That distance didn’t last more than a moment.
Mizuchi moved faster now, appearing in front of Marissa.
“I think you could have been a hero, if you’d lived long enough.” Mizuchi’s tail slammed into Marissa, spines piercing into her arm.
Marissa fell to a knee.
“No!” I heard Patrick yell.
He was standing now.
I turned my head to him. “Patrick. Box.”
I was insistent enough that I managed to get his attention.
Patrick reached into my bag and pulled the box out. “Good idea, Corin. I’ll take things from here. Retrieve: Dawnbringer Replica.”
His sword appeared.
“Patrick, wait—”
He stuck the box in my hand, then he began to run.
Mizuchi smashed Marissa in the jaw, sending her tumbling back and ripping the spines free from her arm.
This time, Mara didn’t get back up.
I looked hopefully toward Teft, the last person that I knew might be able to intervene.
His eyes were closed. He’d been close to the epicenter of the explosion, and he was badly burned. I couldn’t tell if he was just unconscious or dead.
Resh. What can I do?
“You lasted a long time, for a child. I’ll give you the honor of a good send-off.”
Mizuchi took a deep breath.
Marissa didn’t move.
Mizuchi exhaled, a wave of lightning ex
ploding out of her mouth. The same lightning breath that had nearly annihilated us when we’d been hundreds of feet away just ten weeks before.
My eyes widened as Patrick charged into the path of the attack.
And swung a sword that gleamed like a mirror.
Mizuchi’s draconic breath struck the blade — and rebounded back at her.
The blast flashed across the room in an instant, slamming straight into Mizuchi and sending her crashing into the opposite wall. The stone splintered on impact.
When Mizuchi extracted herself from the wreckage, she bled.
“Where...” Mizuchi snarled, “Did you get Dawnbringer?”
“She’s not Dawnbringer,” Patrick replied, raising the gleaming blade. “I call her Bright Reflection.”
Mizuchi howled. The room trembled, stone shaking and cracking apart.
But I didn’t tremble. I was done trembling.
I stood.
“Retrieve: Selys-Lyann. Retrieve: Ring of Jumping. Retrieve: Ceris.”
Sera was rising, too, and I could see more other students around us breaking free. That reflected blast must have hit Mizuchi hard enough to loosen her control on everyone.
I passed Sera the crystalline sword.
I slipped the ring of jumping on and raised the Selys-Lyann.
I paused for one moment, considering. “Retrieve: Keras’ Blood.”
A vial of blood appeared. “Summon Keras Selyrian.”
Nothing happened.
Resh. The box hasn’t had enough time to recover yet.
I shook my head. “Store: Keras’ Blood.”
Then I took a step toward the fight.
“Don’t go,” Cecily managed. She was still sitting. Shaking. “You promised we’d leave together.”
“We will. But for the moment, I have work to do.” I turned my head toward Sera. “Think you can manage your bigger summon?”
“Not a chance. I can barely summon Vanniv.”
Vanniv himself was still struggling to get free of the spell, but showing no sign of success. He didn’t have enough mana to work with, and he couldn’t purify it like I could.
I nodded. “Then I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”
Mizuchi extracted herself from the rubble.
Many other students were free now, not just the handful of us.
Most of them were fleeing the room.
Sera and I resisted that tide, pushing forward to stand next to Patrick.
The three of us stood together in front of Marissa’s fallen form.
We would not let Mizuchi get closer to her.
Not. One. Inch.
Mizuchi walked toward us, almost casually, her tail twitching behind her.
She glanced at each of us, then back toward Patrick. “Is there someone just giving out legendary magical swords to children? Because I’m fairly certain I recognize all three of those.”
Patrick tilted his head downward. “Turn back, monster. You will find no further prey here.”
“Ooh, you’re a brave one. Almost as brave as your friend was. But you saw what happened to her, didn’t you? Broken, beaten, battered?”
“Alive,” Patrick managed. “That’s a better result than you seem to be aiming for.”
Mizuchi gave a smile that was very definitely fangs now. “I like your spirit. I’ll enjoy breaking it.”
She vanished.
I was ready for that this time.
Haste.
I was swinging at the spot just in front of Patrick in an instant. I didn’t need to be able to see how fast she was moving if I could predict her behavior.
Selys-Lyann cracked against the scales on the side of Mizuchi’s arm. She whirled toward me as the ice began to spread.
Sera jabbed at her from the other side, leaving a gouge in Mizuchi’s scales.
Mizuchi turned around toward Sera, but Sera stepped back and raised her off-hand to point. “Bind.”
A swirling ring of symbols appeared in the air around Mizuchi, then contracted until they touched her scales and disappeared.
Mizuchi tilted her head downward. “Really? You’re going to do that right now?” She shook her head. “You think you can turn my own powers against me? Let’s see you try.”
I swung at Mizuchi again while she was speaking, but she just stepped to the side. Patrick threw a blast of lightning, but it bounced off Mizuchi’s scales without effect.
Mizuchi pointed at Sera, producing a blast of flame.
Sera waved upward, raising a wall of ice.
The fire blasted straight through it, hitting Sera. I saw her barrier shatter on contact, and she flew backward and hit the floor.
Mizuchi turned, shaking her head. “Amateur.”
Sera shuddered on the floor, smoke rising from her torso.
Patrick screamed and lunged.
Mizuchi caught his sword in a single hand.
“You’re right,” she said. “It’s not the real thing.”
Then she snapped it in half, flipped the broken blade around, and plunged it into Patrick’s chest.
He stumbled back a single step, gasped, and then swung again with his broken blade.
Mizuchi just stepped to the side.
Patrick fell forward and joined Sera on the ground.
I jabbed toward Mizuchi’s throat.
She batted the sword out of the way with ease, then swung her tail at me.
Jump.
I blasted myself backward, avoiding the swing.
“Ooh, interesting. You’ve got a bit of spark. But now this one,” she pointed toward Marissa, still on the floor. “Has no one guarding her.”
A sphere of flame manifested in her hand, glowing brighter and brighter.
Then the fireball moved, but not toward Marissa.
Sera was still on the ground, but she’d crawled closer to Mizuchi and lifted her sword.
The ball of flame moved into Ceris’ blade, causing the sword to grow red. Then Sera swung it right into the back of Mizuchi’s leg.
The sword bit in deep, and flames burst out of the wound.
Mizuchi screamed.
She kicked backward, hitting Sera in the shoulder hard enough that I saw Sera’s shoulder pop out of place.
Sera hit the ground and screamed herself, the sword slipping from her grasp.
I aimed the tip of my sword toward Mizuchi’s eye.
Jump.
Mizuchi caught the blade. Her hand began to freeze.
“Irritating.” She pulled her hand back, shattering the ice, and then swung her other claw at me.
I couldn’t dodge effectively without releasing my sword.
Instead, I side-stepped to diminish the impact, and focused on the mana thread that was still connected to my shield sigil.
I felt the shield’s power — and I moved it, all into one spot. Right at the point of impact.
Her claw hit the barrier and rebounded off the focused shield.
My shield shattered. It had blocked her blow — barely — but that one strike had taken up the entire barrier.
I responded while she was surprised, channeling transference mana into my off-hand and punching her in the chest.
It was like punching a solid stone wall. She didn’t even budge.
She released her grip on my sword, shaking her head, then swung her other claw at me.
Jump.
I wasn’t fast enough.
Her claw gouged a wound in my left arm before the power of the ring carried me out of the way.
And then, by the time I’d oriented myself, Mizuchi was in front of me again. She was just that much faster than I was.
I made another jab with Selys-Lyann, but she manifested an aura of flame around one hand and batted it harmlessly out of the way.
“I am curious where you got that. But not curious enough to keep you alive.”
Mizuchi raised a claw, an aura of electricity manifesting around it and growing thicker by the moment.
I tried to step back, but she
lunged too quickly.
She would have hit me if someone else hadn’t hit her first.
“Star descends from sky.”
The attack was now all-too-familiar, but it wasn’t Marissa who executed it.
Professor Conway slammed a fist into Mizuchi’s face, knocking her back just a few feet. “Go, Corin. Get your friends to safety. I will hold her as long as I can.”
I stepped back to disengage.
My left arm was burning from my wound, but fortunately, the regeneration function of my phoenix sigil was dulling that enough to keep me somewhat functional.
Professor Conway jumped and kicked Mizuchi in the chest, knocking her back further.
I found Vanniv finally moving, dragging Sera away from the battle.
“Can you get her out of here?” I asked.
Vanniv nodded, looking determined.
“Corin...” Sera coughed.
“Grab Marissa, too, if you can.” I instructed him.
“I will.” Vanniv slung Sera over one shoulder and Marissa over the other, then took flight.
I found Cecily pulling the sword fragment of out of Patrick’s chest. He wasn’t moving.
“Can you get him out of here?” I asked her.
“Not alone,” Cecily replied. Then she added, “Not being stubborn. I physically can’t carry Patrick.”
I nodded. He was pretty heavy.
And honestly, I didn’t know if he was even safe to move. That chest wound looked pretty bad.
I knelt down and put a hand on his chest, focusing my mana.
I hadn’t practiced healing magic, but this wasn’t exactly a good time to be picky.
At least I’d read up about the theory.
I concentrated and poured life mana toward the wound, then spread it and began to conceptualize the type of damage I was trying to repair. Bone and muscle began to knit themselves back together.
I wasn’t going to try to heal him completely. I just needed to try to stop the bleeding so he could be moved.
I didn’t get the chance.
Professor Conway’s body hit the ground a few feet away from us.
I looked up just in time to see Mizuchi’s tail whipping toward my face.
Cecily moved faster than I did.
She reached down and grabbed her umbrella, blocking the tail and deflecting it out of the way.
Then, with one smooth motion, she pulled back on the handle of the umbrella and revealed a blade hidden inside.
Mizuchi swung a claw at her, but Cecily deflected it with the blade and riposted, sending Mizuchi stumbling back a step.