Finding himself smirking at her last comment, his skin crawling with aroused pressure under her breath, James shrugs again before saying, “Well, I do try to be friendly with everyone. I’ve found that opens more doors than other ways.” Despite something telling him he shouldn’t fall for it, he brushes back some of her long hair, asking with a spark of intrigue in his eye, “Perhaps, the door between you and I may open again?”
“Hehe, we’ll find out, soon enough.” Their faces edge closer, each looking longingly into the other’s eyes, before their lips meet in a deep kiss. After a brief embrace, their clinging hands disapprove of the clothes still on them, they part to remove such hindrances, and resume their passion with their bare chests pressed against each other. A few moments go by in their love-lock before Irene swings a leg over to seat herself in James’ lap, her hands guiding his face to her breasts, and she says between breaths, “Hey, after we graduate, you and I could stay together, and be a royal couple. When our fathers step down, we could unite our states, of Saratu and Tirez, and rule them together.” She lets out a moan from the affection his mouth gives her, fueling the fire rising between them.
Pausing in his indulging of her sweet, firm fruit, with his hands caressing and scraping her trunk in his hold of her, James manages to get out, his rationality blinded by lust, “Yeah, sure, that sounds, ah, excellent.”
“Good, and I wouldn’t even mind if you brought some other lady friends around to play with. In fact, you and I could share them.”
That last phrase puts a crack in his desire for her, but it isn’t enough to quench the flames when James suddenly stands, lifting her up in the movement, sets her lying down on the table with her legs hanging off the side, and stays between them while his hands unzip and pull down her leather pants and underwear. Before he pulls down his own pants in haste, he growls out as he stares at her sleek, hot, bare body, “Fire Spirit burn you, Irene Goros.”
She chuckles with an amused grin, bathing in the heat radiating off their bodies, before countering, “Careful what you wish for, James Iroshen, or you may get burned, as well.” Her eyes then snap shut as her body tenses and her breathing quickens when he clamps down on her hips and enters her, a shaft of iron thrust into the forge, and the two become engulfed in an inferno of pleasure, their gasps, groans, and cries filling the dark room like smoke.
Chapter 10
Love and War
***
The Alkalian College Liberators’ party ends in the night with Matt and his allies clear on their plan. The Royale Project is their best chance to finish Cain’s reign of tyranny. About a week later, at the start of what would normally be a week of class studies, all the college students meet in the auditorium and are told the essentials of the combined project-and-tournament. Students cannot fight those who share the same color of badge during the project portion, they can’t challenge the same individual more than once, and they have only four days to get points before the tournament finals. As they leave the auditorium, the students stop by the same machines they visited at the beginning of the school year to receive their randomly decided badges.
Leaving the main college building, Matt, Rose, and Sean, dressed in their usual attire, compare badges they got for the project/competition. Matt and Rose both have red badges, while Sean has a blue badge. Sean tells his roommates as they walk along, “Because I didn’t know my fighting powers last year, I hardly got any points out of battles, and wasn’t able to even reach a passing grade. But this year, things will be different. I’ll be racking up my tally so fast, it will be like a never-ending jackpot! That is, of course, if you two don’t challenge me during this part.”
“Now why would we do that?” asks Rose with humor. “Last I remember, I thought we were on the same side, and would be fighting Cain and his thugs whenever we could.”
“Ah, right, that is true,” Sean concurs. “Despite the rules saying we can’t fight others of the same badge colors, nor fight them more than once, here’s the thing between the lines. You can still do such things, they just won’t count on the badge’s record of earned points. So, whether they are legit or not, I predict there will be quite a few battles between our allies and Cain’s out in the fields.”
“Oh, really?” Matt asks. “I’ve gotten used to small scale fights, against one or a few enemies, but a whole field of people that are either friends or foes? I don’t know how well I would perform, there.”
“Eh, I get where you’re coming from,” Sean agrees. “What we’re talking about here is the good old, classic war zone scenario. In the midst of a seemingly ordered contest between two sides, all kinds of chaos goes on, and if anybody in the middle of it all comes out unscathed, then he’s the luckiest guy in the world!”
“Hah, the luckiest guy. You wouldn’t be referring to yourself, would you, Sean?” suggests Rose with a smirk.
“Uh, not until you mentioned it, hehe.”
“That’s what I figured. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if, once a big battle gets going, you’ll be the first one bolting out of there on your air balance!”
“Oh, come on, I wouldn’t be like that! I could, you know, use my air balance to take on everyone around me. Dashing in for a hit, spinning for another, flipping over someone, slamming into another…”
“Or, you could be dodging, dipping, ducking, and diving out of harm’s way.”
“Or that. Er, no, I mean, I wouldn’t be doing that! Or would I? Gah, I mean…” When Rose and Matt both laugh, he moans, “Dammit, you’ve got me all messed up! Enough of berating me, who’s trying to tell you how this thing works from experience, okay? Anyway, what usually happens with most of the students is…”
“Matthew Calamos,” says a deep, quiet voice that runs down their backs like cold water. The three turn to a tall, intimidating man, casting a sharp stare from his black-glinted eyes at them. He wears clothing more primitive than they have ever seen before. A vest made of tethered, animal hide, painted with runes, withered-brown pants held to fit his legs by ties, and moccasins covered with thick gray wool. He barely has visible hair upon his face, and his long black hair is styled into a tall, spiny shape which almost looks like a dorsal fin. His skin is heavily tanned to a bronze shade, his bare chest and arms are thick with muscle, and black face paint forms small stripes along his cheeks.
Matt, blinking in wonder, asks the imposing man in strange costume, “Yes, and who would you be?”
“Who I am does not matter,” the man replies. “I hear you are a Dark Warrior Alkalian.”
“Uh, that’s right.”
“Then listen to my words. Your special powers mean nothing.” He stares down Matt while Rose and Sean find themselves stepping back, and he goes on, “I have seen too many examples of specially gifted Alkalians having their lives wasted due to the hubris they have that relies on their abnormal enhancements. They may think that such powers make them invincible, but in the long run it only assures them failure and disgrace. If you think being a Dark Warrior makes you any better than other Alkalians around you, then you are sorely mistaken.”
“Um,” Matt stammers, “okay, I know what you mean, but…”
“People like you are a tragedy waiting to happen. No matter what the advantage is, someone always finds a way to counter it. In this case, I’ll be the one to prove that to you.”
Matt then notices the badge upon his vest was green, and has some relief to know this guy is a student. “Oh, if you’re challenging me to a duel, you could just say it. I’ll accept your challenge. Would you like to meet me at the casino, tonight?”
The man stiffly replies, to his surprise, “No. We will not fight where others watch only for entertainment. Our battlefield will be a more appropriate setting. Head to the far, northeast corner of the campus grounds. There we shall have our contest, and you will learn just how weak you are.” Without another word, the man turns and leaves at a brisk march, and other students clear a path before him like calves before a bull.
Matt turns back to his friends. Rose is as astonished as him while Sean is deep in thought. “Anyone know who that guy was?” Matt asks.
“I’ve never seen him before,” admits Rose, and she passes the question to Sean. “Do you know who that guy is?”
As if reacting to Rose asking him, Sean’s face pales with shock and dread. He sets his terrified eyes on Matt and says in a gasping voice, “What have you done, man? You’ve just agreed to your own execution!”
Matt is both confused and worried by Sean’s exclamation. “What do you mean?”
“That man was,” Sean hisses with fear, “Nicholas Narqailein! He’s the baddest of the bad among the senior students. He’s so bad, even Cain’s scared of him! I’m not just talking about reputation, either, almost everyone, even most of the professors, believe he’s the strongest Alkalian student of us all! And now you have to fight him!!”
Matt and Rose glance at each other, both wondering if Sean isn’t exaggerating like usual, and Rose asks, “Are you sure, Sean? Is this guy, Nicholas, really that powerful?”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure! Dammit, why didn’t I warn you two about him before now? Oh, that’s right, he was supposed to be continuing his studies at the military academy in Corrasin!” He sighs to calm down and tells more about this new foe. “Nicholas is, or was, the most unique and revered student in our community. He’s a senior this year, but, unlike Matt, Cain, or other high-leveled students, he’s not a boss student. It’s mostly because of his own morality, if no one’s as strong as or stronger than him, he won’t respect or accommodate them. Ever since his first year as an intermediate, no other college student has defeated him in battle, and his few equals have gone and graduated. Oh, and he’s earned himself a few nicknames. The Wrecking Wave, the Drowning Dread, the Predator, and, of course, four-time Alkalian College Champion. Are you sorry for your decision to accept his challenge, yet?”
A shiver ran down Matt’s back halfway through Sean’s explanations of Nicholas Narqailein. Rose must have had the same sensation when she asks him, “What are you going to do now? Do you still want to fight this guy?”
As much as he doesn’t want to, Matt knows he has to stay true to meeting Nicholas in combat, or his own honor, and campaign, could suffer for it. “I’ve got no choice, really,” he says, “but to fight, and try beating, him.”
***
Later that evening, Matt and his two roommates head-off for the designated area Nicholas told them of. As they get farther from the campus buildings while moving in the northeast direction, they find themselves approaching a wall of trees, the beginning of a forest. Upon coming closer to the line of woods, they notice something at the northern end of it, a large pillar of stone, the same height as the tallest trees near it. They head toward it, having the sense that it is where Nicholas indicated them to meet.
The pillar, a solid tan with different colors of patterns all over it, is one of four in a court-like space of around one-hundred-and-fifty yards long, and each pillar is a corner of the rectangular surface. The ground area between the pillars is made of stone as well, but the only patterns carved into it are the irregular scars of ground breaking. In contrast, the ground outside the perimeter formed by the pillars looks untouched. At the far end of the ancient-looking field stands Nicholas, a dark figure blending into the faded background around him.
While Sean and Rose stay on the grass, Matt steps onto the rocky floor of the court and walks to become linear with Nicholas in the middle of the field, about fifty yards between them. The senior calls out to him, “So you came. At least you have the courage to face your failure.”
Matt gulps before calling back to him, “Any rules to go over, before we begin?”
“There are a few. We will fight until one of us surrenders by demorph. Through the duration of this battle, we will not say anything to the other, so we can remain concentrated on fighting and not on distracting words. And, as soon we both morph, the corner pillars will form a barrier of translucent energies, which prevents Alkalians and their powers, even those of Dark Warriors, from crossing the court’s perimeter. That means you won’t escape this battle until you demorph and the barrier shuts down. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Matt answers.
Nicholas growls, “Good. I am Nicholas Narqailein, one of the proud Alkalians from the state of Corrasin. I have worked hard, through sweat, tears, and blood, to be the most powerful and non-faltered warrior I can be. But when I hear someone like you is trying to put yourself on my same level of expertise, all because of your special power, I won’t let you continue lying to yourself. Now prepare yourself for your bitter taste of reality!”
While Matt does so, steeling his nerve and waiting for his opponent to morph, Sean muses from the sidelines off the courtyard, “Well, he sounds confident. But hey, I suppose I would be, too, if I can beat any student around here!”
“Uh huh, but, I’m confused,” Rose admits. “What does he mean that, once they both morph, the pillars will form a barrier?”
“Hmm? Oh, that’s simple. Look closely at this pillar here. Don’t these fancy, colored patterns look familiar to you?”
“Um, not really, they look really complex, and…wait. Are those, runes?”
“That’s correct, doll! Sure enough, these are runes specifically drawn to create a barrier between the objects they are present on, in this case four pillars, to keep Alkalians in morph within their perimeter. It can also work both ways, for as long as at least two guys are in morph within the barrier, outside forces can’t reach them.” Rose gives him a puzzled look before he explains, “Hey, I’ve studied runes for almost two years now, so you can believe what I say on the subject!”
Matt watches as Nicholas morphs in a flash of purple, and is amazed by the type he becomes, it being one he never would have guessed nor recognized if he hadn’t been studying biology. In Nicholas’ place hovers an animal with an elongated body and head, two limb fins near the body’s front, a tall dorsal fin atop its back, and a fluke-like tail. The colossal body is colored navy blue with large black spots behind the front fins, around the dorsal fin, and before the tail fin, the eyes look like black pearls, and a single hole in the creature’s forehead, the blowhole nostril, is embedded in the thick skin. Gold yellow stripes, forming a three-pointed shuriken around each eye, show bright like war paint to make the face of the Beast look more majestic and fearsome.
While Matt stares at Nicholas’ morph, Rose is awestruck, as well. She gets out, “Whoa, wait. His morph is, a Whale?”
“Yep, that’s right,” Sean nods. “The Killer Whale, to be exact.”
“Ah, but, I don’t get it. How could he be such a threat? I mean, sure, he’s using air balance well enough there, but his morph is an aquatic type. They only perform well underwater!”
“Hah, as to that, just wait for it.” Rose, not sure what he means, stands by and watches.
Nicholas hovers in mid-air from his air balance a few feet off the ground, and once Matt morphs two things simultaneously happen. The runes on the pillars activate, causing an aurora of shimmering lights to connect the pillars on the court’s borders and become walls as high as the pillars’ tops, a ceiling also forming between them, and blue fissures of magic web over him before water rushes out of Nicholas in all directions as a torrential flood. Reacting to the incoming water, Matt jumps high into the air, letting the flood crash into the court barriers below him while he floats on air balance. The court transforms into a giant pool as the flood is contained, the water very deep with its surface half way up the court walls’ height.
On the other side of the barrier wall, Sean and Rose are now looking into blue water, so they have to step back several yards to get a full view of the battlefield. Turning to him in stunned confusion, Rose asks, “What did Nicholas just do?”
“Well, Rose, that’s precisely why nobody has defeated him yet,” Sean explains. “Not only is he a big Beast, but he also has quite the arsenal of water spells, including the one that
summons a huge volume of water instantaneously, which puts the battlefield underwater. Normally, he would also have to maintain mind control over the waters, so that it all doesn’t wash away, but here, the barrier is doing that job for him. Anyway, as you have learned in gym, most Alkalians don’t perform so well underwater. All except the aquatic types.”
“Yeah. So, as long as he has all that water, Nicholas is unstoppable?”
“Pretty much, yeah. The only chance Matt has is if he stays out of the water. If he gets pulled under, however, he will be, how do you say, chum?”
Understanding what he means, Rose bites her bottom lip in worry while they both look back to watch the battle unfold.
Looking across the pool, Matt sees Nicholas emerge and charge toward him at great speed, his dorsal fin protruding up from the water’s surface, and he forms his left arm into a rifle and fires bursts at him. Nicholas dives underwater to avoid the bullets, and Matt follows his descent, figuring he would try attacking from the cover of the deep and planning how to counter him. In the corner of his vision, however, something catches Matt’s attention, and he sees an immense wave, starting from where Nicholas dove, surging up and forward to engulf him. With quick air balance Matt leaps over the wave and hovers in the middle of the field, high above the water, glancing at the wave smashing into the barrier while looking for a sign of Nicholas in the water.
Suddenly, he hears the splash and spray of rushing water, and turns to meet an upward jet stream flipping him over. Falling downward, Matt stops himself before smacking into the water, wondering how Nicholas launched the attack without giving away his position. He doesn’t have time to think about it when more jet streams spike up at him, which he thrusts away from, before another, bigger splash happens to his left, and he looks to find a mouth of sharp teeth flying toward him.
Alkalians Page 31