by Mazhar, S
“There will be three rounds,” Scott continued. “The Hunters of Balt have to win the first two and survive the third to win. Each round lasts forty seconds.” He nodded at them. “Your time starts when the ring is ready.”
A rumbustious cheer went through the crowd, with literally every single mage shouting encouragement and clapping. Aaron watched as the eight mages in the ring turned to one another, determination visible on all of them. No one moved, they just each stood facing an opponent, waiting. The symbol inside the ring began to brighten, as if a light under it had been switched on. The cheering got louder and more frantic the brighter the symbol glowed. Then the light went out and the Hunters attacked.
Aaron was expecting a fight. A boxing match, maybe mixed martial arts, or even good old fist-fighting. What he wasn’t expecting was the ground to literally shake as the mages unleashed their powers. Four pairs of Hunters scattered to different areas of the ring.
Aaron watched gobsmacked as the girl from Skyler’s gang stood with a fireball hovering over her hand. She threw it at the biker mage who ducked, avoiding the hit. Aaron panicked when he saw it about to hit the mages standing around the ring, still cheering and clapping, but the fireball vanished when it passed above the rocks outlining the ring. It was as if there was an invisible barrier surrounding the ring – one that prevented anything from leaving it.
A biker mage threw out his hands and his opponent was thrown back by an unseen force. The Salvador mage leapt back onto his feet and twisted out of the way of another attack, retaliating by pointing to the ground and pulling his hand back, as if pulling an imaginary rug out from under the other mage’s feet. The biker mage fell down with thump.
“Whoa!” Sam gasped. “I...I can’t believe I’m actually seeing this.” He shook his head, eyes wide and unblinking. “It’s...it’s magic. They’re using magic!”
“Not magic,” Aaron murmured, stunned at the display himself. “Powers. Mages have powers,” he said, having remembered his dad’s words.
Rose didn’t say anything, but watched the fight with an open mouth, hands against her cheeks, with odd choking noises of disbelief every few seconds.
A shimmer ran through the ring, signalling the end of forty seconds, and the eight mages relaxed, bringing their hands to rest at their sides.
“Well done.” Scott beamed. “You held your ground against the Hunters of Salvador.” He gestured to Skyler. “Round two, please.”
Skyler waved a hand and the rocks jumped up to make the stone archway again. The eight mages left the ring and another eight entered, four from Skyler’s team and four from Bella’s. This time, Aaron noticed, even Salvador’s mages were wearing long coats and leather vests. Aaron leant closer, eyes narrowed at their unusual attire.
“The ring will tell you when to start,” Scott’s voice boomed across the grounds.
Again, the eight levelled up against one another and Skyler moved the rocks to seal the ring. It seemed that Skyler was the only one that could lift and drop the rocks. There was the same bright flash in the symbol on the ground, and the second round began. It all happened so fast, Aaron was left a little dazed. One moment he was staring at the mages, who stood facing their opponents. The next, they had pulled swords on one another. Aaron blinked, gaping hard. He even brought up a hand and rubbed at his eyes, but the swords were still there.
The clang of metal hitting metal, as the swords blocked each other, rang through the air. The surrounding mages cheered and clapped, shouting encouragement and praise. But it was frightfully obvious the mages weren’t fighting to disarm each other; they were trying to impale one another.
“What are they’re doing?” Rose cried. “Oh my God! Oh my God! They’re going to kill each other!”
“What is this?” Sam seethed. “This...This isn’t a sport! It’s plain-ass crazy!”
Aaron couldn’t speak. He was rooted to the spot, numb and mute with shock. The long coats made sense now. They were hiding weapons. Each of the eight Hunters had a long, gleaming sword in hand and were attacking each other with vigour. Aaron turned, tearing his gaze away from the fight to look at Alan, still seated next to him. He was cheering loudly, hazel eyes sparkling with glee as he watched the fight. Aaron twisted back to see Scott, still smiling with delight as he watched the match. They all wouldn’t be so relaxed if there was even the slightest chance of a casualty, would they? Somehow, Aaron knew the mages wouldn’t be killing each other in the name of sport. They didn’t look savage enough for that. The sword fight must be restricted somehow. Even though it didn’t look like it, maybe it was a case of pretending to hit, but not to actually hit.
No sooner had Aaron comforted himself with the thought, than he saw one of the biker mages knock the sword out of his opponent’s hand and plunge his own straight into the other mage’s stomach. Rose screamed and Sam shot to his feet, cursing blind. Aaron was left dazed with shock. He felt Sam’s hand grip at his arm and haul him to his feet.
“We’re getting out of here!” Sam said, clearly panicked. He had Rose’s hand in his other. “Come on!”
“Aaron? Hey, where are you lot going?” Alan asked as Sam dragged Aaron and Rose down the steps.
“Sam! Sam, wait!” Rose pulled back, halting him. “Look!” She pointed to the ring, where the impaled mage simply took hold of the sword and pulled it out of his torso.
The sword was stained red. The mage grunted with obvious pain, his face twisted in agony as he doubled over after pulling the sword out. He threw the blade back to its owner and said something, which was impossible to hear in the commotion of the cheering crowd. Judging by his expression, it wasn’t anything polite.
“What the–?” Sam gaped at the still-standing mage. “He just got stabbed with a sword!”
“They can’t die,” Rose gasped. “Mages can’t die.”
“We can.” The voice came from behind them. Turning around, they saw Alan, who had followed them. “Mages aren’t immortal,” he explained. He smiled and glanced at the ring. “We can die, just not at the hands of another mage.” He clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Come on, you’re gonna miss the final round. That’s the one to watch.”
Silently, the three friends followed behind Alan and resumed their seats on the steps. They watched the mages leave the ring after the second round came to an end. The eight mages carried their bloodied swords out with wide grins on their faces, and ripped, crimson-stained clothes.
“Do they have to stab each other?” Aaron asked, feeling a little sick. “They could just disarm the other.”
“Disarm?” Alan frowned, like he didn’t understand the word. “Why would they do that? Hunters kill, they don’t disarm.”
“Yeah, okay,” Aaron said, “but they don’t have to hurt each other. Even if the cut’s not fatal, it would still hurt.”
“Not as bad as bullets,” Alan said. “Those things are murder to dig out. That’s why guns aren’t allowed in the ring.”
“Oh really?” Sam asked with heavy sarcasm. “Well thank God for that!” He shook his head, looking away from Alan. “To think,” he muttered angrily to Aaron. “I figured your parents didn’t want you hanging around me because I was a bad influence.” He gave a narrow-eyed glare at the mages. “Only to find that their community is the one with tattoos and weapons, riding bad-ass bikes and going around stabbing each other with swords.”
Maybe it was the after-effect of his panic or maybe it was the way Sam said it, but it made Aaron laugh. He stifled it at Sam’s annoyed look.
“Sorry, Sammy.”
Sam looked away, but a slow, exhausted smile came to his lips as well.
“Well done, Hunters of Balt.” Scott’s voice drowned out all others. “You sustained only two hits. It all rests on this final round. Choose another four mages to enter the ring.” He gestured to Skyler. “But for the final round, you face Skyler and Ella. You will have, again, only forty seconds. If any of you four remain standing at the end of the round, you get the Q-Zone.”<
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“Wait, so it’s four of them against only Skyler and Ella?” Rose asked. “That’s not fair.”
“Did you notice, Scott didn’t say they had to defeat Skyler and Ella?” Aaron said. “All four only have to remain standing by the end of the round.” He frowned. “That’s weird, no?”
The crowd’s yelling and cheering increased to new levels as Skyler raised the stone arch again. The red-haired Bella chose another three mages and stepped in herself as the fourth fighter. Skyler waited until Ella joined him before stepping into the ring and lowering the rocks. Sam let out a low whistle at the sight of Ella.
“Damn, look at her,” he whispered across to Aaron.
“She’s not really dressed for a fight, is she?” Rose asked, sounding genuinely worried.
Aaron agreed whole-heartedly. Ella was only wearing tight-fitting jeans and a white cropped top. Her long hair was left to cascade down her back. Aaron noticed that she too had a tattoo: an extensive, incredibly detailed image of a vine with open flowers along it. The black ink tattoo started just at the top of her ribcage, going all the way down to cross her navel and disappear behind the waistband of her jeans. It seemed likely the tattoo continued down her leg.
Despite her ill-suited attire for the fight, Ella looked completely at ease. Skyler stood casually next to her, looking calm, with a smirk on his face. Bella openly glared at him. The symbol on the ground lit up for the third time that day. Bella reached up, her hand going for the back of her neck, reaching for something tucked under her coat. Aaron felt his stomach turn suddenly.
“Wait!” he cried. “She’s got a sword!” He turned to Sam and Rose. “That’s not fair. Skyler and Ella don’t have any weapons!”
“Relax, Aaron,” Alan said, reaching out to hold on to his arm. “Skyler and Ella don’t need weapons to fight against mages. They’re Elementals.”
Aaron’s heart skipped a beat. “What?” he asked. “Did you say Elementals?”
Alan’s answer was drowned out by the thunderous clapping and yelling as the final round began and a furious battle broke out in the ring. Aaron’s attention was pulled back to the fight in time to see Bella and the other three biker mages pull out their swords and leap towards Skyler and Ella. Two boys targeted Ella, while Bella and a boy went for Skyler.
Skyler twisted out of the way, dodging the two blades with great ease. He threw out a hand and the other boy was hit by an invisible blow, causing him to stagger a few steps back. Skyler stepped out of the way of Bella’s sword and turned, coming behind her. A kick at the back of her knees and Bella was down.
“Prat!” Sam cursed. “You don’t do that to a girl.”
“Unless the girl is trying to stab you with a sword,” Rose pointed out.
The two biker mages were ruthless in their attack against Ella, but no matter how fast they swung their swords or how furiously they slashed, they couldn’t get her. Ella ducked and dived, bending backwards to flip and dodge the blades. The whole time, the teasing smile never left her face. Aaron hadn’t seen any of the other Hunters move like that. Ella twisted out of the way of another attack before turning to face the two boys. She clenched both hands into fists before bringing them up, opening them with her palms raised. A sheet of what appeared to be glass appeared before her, just as both mages thrust their swords forward. Both swords got stuck in the sheet, which Aaron noticed belatedly wasn’t glass but a mix of water and ice. The bikers tried, but they couldn’t get their swords out of the icy clutch. In a flash, Ella was behind them. She threw out a hand and a blue rope extended from her hand and coiled around one mage’s neck. She pulled and the boy fell to the ground, clawing desperately at his own throat, choking against the rope’s hold. The second mage gave up on his sword and sent a fireball at her. A wave of Ella’s hand turned the ball to ice and it flew back to hit him square on the head. He fell with a grunt.
With Ella’s two mages down, all eyes turned to Skyler. Bella was knocked to the ground again and while the last Hunter of Balt was putting up a good fight, he was clearly outmatched against Skyler’s speed and agility. Skyler moved out of the path of the attacks, looking calm and collected, his defence effortless. In comparison, the mage from Balt was gasping for breath, his face wet with perspiration, making attempt after attempt to get Skyler but failing miserably. A simple twist of Skyler’s fingers and the sword was wrenched out of his opponent’s hand, falling to the ground with a clatter. Skyler cocked his head to the side, smirked and then kicked, sending the boy flying across the ring. He hit the ground with a groan and lay still.
The symbol inside the ring began to glow, signalling the end of the last round, prompting a deafening cheer from the mages of Salvador. As the glow got brighter, Bella struggled to get up. She raised herself to her knees. Using her sword for support, she got to her feet. The glow began to dim and Bella straightened up, wincing with pain. Before the last of the glow diminished, Skyler reacted. He kicked her feet from under her and Bella fell once again, but Skyler didn’t let her hit the ground this time. He caught her, lowering her somewhat gently to the ground, kneeling next to her. Bella wasn’t giving in though. She struggled against him, trying to throw him off and get up. The crowd fell silent as the light left the symbol and the round ended, with the Hunters of Balt on the ground and Bella fighting against Skyler’s hold.
“No!” Bella shrieked. She tried to free herself but Skyler’s grip didn’t falter. “Let go of me!”
“Bella!” Skyler snapped, shaking her. “Listen to me!” His voice carried through the air, so everyone could hear him. “You’re not ready. You hear me? You are not ready. You go into the Q-Zone like this, you’ll get killed!”
Bella stared back at him, angry tears welling in her eyes.
“Bell.” Skyler’s voice softened. “You’ll get yourself killed.”
Bella managed to free herself, or perhaps Skyler let her go, it was impossible to tell. Without saying a word, Bella painfully got to her feet and limped over to pick up her sword. Skyler stayed where he was, his head dropped and expression darkened. He lifted a hand and the stones picked themselves up, allowing the Hunters of Balt to leave the ring, defeated and heart-broken.
***
That evening, all anyone could talk about was the fight in the ring. The crowd gathered at the table for dinner ate less and gossiped more, comparing today’s fight with previous ones. Although Skyler had won the battle, he seemed to be in a bad mood. As it turned out, this wasn’t very good for Aaron. Throughout dinner, all Skyler did was pick on him.
“Did you enjoy the show, Adams?” Skyler asked, down the table. “You could’ve caught flies with your mouth, it was open so wide.”
“Leave him alone, Skyler,” Ella said.
“I bet you’ve never seen a display of power before,” Skyler said, ignoring Ella. “What with daddy dearest keeping you in the dark and all,” Skyler continued.
“That’s enough,” Drake interrupted. “You say another word, I’ll personally shut you up.”
“Bring it, Logan,” Skyler challenged. “I can beat you into the ground and you know it.”
“Sky?” Ella grabbed a handful of his top and pulled it so he had to face her. “What’s got into you?”
“Nothing.” He yanked himself free. “Just sick of all this attitude.”
“You’re the one with the attitude,” Sam muttered.
“What’d you say?” Skyler snarled. “No one was talking to you, Shattered.”
“Sam, don’t,” Aaron warned, when he saw the reply on his friend’s lips. “Just leave it.” He turned his head to meet Skyler’s icy gaze. “Let him say what he wants. It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter,” Skyler said. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters to the Adams. They just go along, doing what they want, not giving a damn what happens, ’cause you know what? It doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want from me?” Aaron asked, turning in his seat to look at Skyler. “Why are you constantly picking fi
ghts?”
Skyler let out a harsh laugh. “Fight? With you?” he asked. “Have you looked at yourself, pipsqueak? I could crush you from where I’m sitting. Weren’t you paying attention today?”
“Why are you getting so worked up?” Aaron asked. “I’m not talking to you. I’m not in your way. So why are you getting angry?”
“You want to know why I’m angry?” Skyler asked, with his eyebrows raised. “How about the fact that you can come here and sit around the table like nothing happened–”
“Alright, Skyler,” Drake cut him off. “That’s enough. No one wants to get into that.”
“I don’t know what happened,” Aaron said, ignoring Drake. “My mum and dad didn’t tell me anything. Why they left all those years ago? What happened? Nothing.” He hated admitting it out loud, but the slow burn of fury inside forced the words out. “Alright? So either tell me what happened or shut up about it.”
Skyler looked surprised. His eyes grew colder and a smirk raised his lips. “I’ll shut up when you’re out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Aaron returned.
“Then as long as you’re here, you’re the one who has to pay for your father’s sins,” Skyler said.
“What sins?” Aaron asked, feeling his whole body tighten with anger. A small part of his mind told him to stop, to not engage in a fight with Skyler, but Aaron’s patience was wearing thin at the constant provocation. “What’s my dad done to you?” he asked. Then, remembering what his dad had told him, Aaron asked, “Or is this about your father?”
A hush fell across the table. The warm air cooled all of a sudden. Skyler’s face was taut with anger, his eyes blazing and fists clenched.
“My dad told me,” Aaron continued. “And, look, I’m really sorry about what happened to your dad, but it’s not my–”
Skyler shot to his feet, coming straight for Aaron.
“Sky! No!” Ella darted after him.
Before Skyler could reach Aaron, Drake stood before him. Several mages leapt to their feet after Skyler.
“Don’t you dare talk about my father!” Skyler roared, trying to get past Drake.