by TR Cameron
Her laugh was condescending. “Well, if there’s enough left of you at the end of the battle to put in one, rest assured I will. And I’ll return it to the tavern so your friends can remember your failure after we take the business over.”
Now, it was her turn to laugh. “Please. I’ve already proven to be more than a match for muscles over there, and my second will make mincemeat out of his partner. He’ll chew her leg off before she knows what hit her.”
The Atlantean leader shook her head. “We underestimated you once—twice if you want to include our first meeting. It won’t happen a third time. And no one here is fooled by the nature of your partner.”
Cali waved and Fyre dropped the illusion. Several indrawn breaths greeted the sight of the dragon lizard. His metallic scales shimmered in rainbow colors under the industrial lights from high above. “My statement stands. Bargain bin Jason Momoa and the Wicked Witch of the West over there won’t be a match for us.”
Danna shrugged. “Then you’ll be one step closer to your victory, not that you’ll ever reach it.”
She sighed. “Do we really need to do this? Couldn’t you all simply, you know, head back to New Atlantis and leave my city alone?”
This time, the woman’s laugh was throaty and almost seductive. “Oh, no, princess. Soon, the city will be entirely ours, and you will come begging to have a place in it.”
“Over my dead body.”
The evil grin widened. “That’s the plan.” She stepped back and cleared the path for the fight to begin.
Cali looked at Fyre with a grin of her own. “Which one do you want?” He jerked his head toward the right to indicate the witch, and she nodded. “Good. As long as you keep her busy, it shouldn’t take me too long to disable the meathead. After that, we can finish her together and be done in more than enough time for me to get to work.”
She turned to her two opponents, raised one hand, and crooked a finger at the man. “Bring it, big boy.”
He attacked instantly, an eagerness to start the battle that equaled her own visible in his gritted teeth and wild eyes.
Chapter Five
Fyre was a blur in her peripheral vision as he raced toward the witch. Cali set her feet to withstand her opponent’s assault. She reminded herself that escalations would bring retaliatory escalations and to focus on keeping it hand-to-hand for as long as possible. Avoiding the trident that had so vexed her the time before seemed like a very good plan.
His charge ended with a sudden leap and his foot snapped out at her chest. She flinched instinctively, then continued the motion and fell away from the kick so it barely grazed her shoulder. He was out of range before she had a chance to counterattack, and she lunged toward him. When he landed and lashed out with a back kick, it was a move she’d anticipated. She grasped his leg with both hands, fell back to the floor, and twisted it over her head. He had no option except to spin horizontally if he wanted to avoid having his knee dislocated, and he landed hard on his back. His other foot drove down from above, and she rolled to escape it and scrambled in the hope that she could gain her feet before he recovered.
She succeeded, and as he straightened, she delivered a sidekick to his ribs. The blow struck padding of some kind under his loose athletic jacket, and he flicked a grin at her. Well, apparently, he’s smart enough to learn something. Good for him and bad for me. He brought an elbow down on her shin, and she cursed as she staggered away.
The Atlantean pressed his advantage and lurched at her while she struggled to find her balance on the injured leg. She evaded his jab with a quick sidestep, ducked under his hook punch, and almost bent herself in half backward to evade the uppercut that carried his full power behind it. Instinctively, she turned the backbend into a hands-assisted flip—one of the few acrobatic moves she was capable of—and came up ready to defend herself.
He snarled and shuffled in, then drove his rear arm forward with a twist of his hips to aim his fist at her forehead. She swayed to the side, caught his wrist, and punched her knuckles into the nerve cluster above his elbow. With his arm weakened from the strike, she used it to yank him off balance and push him toward the floor. He twisted his body violently and wrenched his limb out of her grasp.
Her adversary stood opposite her, shook the damaged limb, and growled with suppressed fury. “Okay, little girl. That’s one for you. But now, it’s my turn.”
Fyre’s plan had been to overwhelm the witch with a sudden rush and relied on the likelihood that she would underestimate exactly how fast he could be and expect him to take to the air. Even though the room’s ceiling was two stories high, it would nonetheless hamper his ability to attack from above as he couldn’t get up far enough for a proper dive. His swift advance involved shifting from side to side, the serpentine motion a natural and effective instinct for his species.
It proved valuable yet again when the blasts of shadow magic the witch flung at him passed on all sides but failed to connect. With only a moment before he would reach her, she abandoned the attacks and threw up a shadow barrier between them. The Draksa darted to the right and conjured a veil that curved almost all the way to the line of onlookers in an attempt to sneak behind her protective wall.
The witch snarled and waved her hand in a wide arc to deliver glitter in a sparkling rain through the surrounding space. It was drawn to him despite the veil—a type of magic he hadn’t seen before and didn’t know how to counter—and he dispelled the illusion. She scythed a narrow line of shadow at his feet, and he elevated hastily as it sliced a clean groove into the gymnasium floor. Her other hand whipped toward him and another line of shadow emanated from it, as thin as a beam of light but undeniably wickedly sharp and destructive. He banked to the side to avoid it and found his progress instantly hindered by the back wall of the room. With a snarl, he pulled up and rotated so his feet pointed down and his teeth faced his foe and without pause, dove directly at her.
One of the shadow lances cut across his wing and he howled in pain and anger as it parted the scales and the flesh beneath. His claws stretched toward the witch, and a tearing sound confirmed that he’d snagged the shoulder of her tunic as she dropped and rolled away. Fyre landed in a scramble of claws, slid on the slick surface, and managed to reorient himself quickly. He expelled a cone of frost at her, but she summoned a shadow shield to protect herself and the frozen particles flowed around her without effect.
Frustration roiled his mind, but the joy of combat surged in his heart. With a deep, throaty growl, he launched himself at her again.
Her foe’s long dark braids whipped around him as he attacked. He had abandoned the previously ineffective boxing style and was now a constant blur of motion. His approach was graceful and unpredictable as it involved steps, skips, and small jumps that made any interruption to his advance too difficult to manage. Cali remained loose, kept her balance evenly distributed, and waited for the actual attack. When it came, it was a surprise, nonetheless.
He raised his arms and telegraphed a punch, and as her body reacted to it instinctively, he hurled himself into a lightning flip that whipped his feet at her in a blur. With an undignified yelp, she skittered to the side and barely managed to avoid taking a heel to the head. The strike of his heavy boot on her shoulder sent a red haze across her senses and she staggered away. He dove forward, planted one hand on the ground, and used it as a pivot to swing his boots at her face. She thrust them away frantically and this time, the only damage was a stinging blow to the forearm she used to block, which went numb from the impact. As soon as his feet found purchase, he launched up again and aimed a jumping sidekick at her chest. She raised her arms in defense but the strike pounded into them and she careened away.
With a muttered oath, she fell and slid on the slippery floor, thankful for the padding in the jacket Nylotte had given her, which had probably saved her from broken bones. Before her momentum stopped, she used it to roll into a backward somersault and rise to her feet. He had already surged into another assault, but
the shock and anger at being hit had accelerated her brain. When he repeated the flip, she rotated sideways with a quick stutter-step and pistoned a kick into the side of his knee as soon as his foot landed. The Atlantean crumpled but pushed off with his other leg to gain enough distance that her follow-up attack fell short. He rolled to his feet with a grin. “Pitiful. Is that all you have?” He flicked his braids out of his face.
Cali shook her head. “I beat you once and I’ll beat you again.” Her palms itched for the feel of her sticks but she still believed facing his trident would be more dangerous than dealing with his hand-to-hand combat skills. She offered him a condescending grin. “I’ll admit your dancing was something of a surprise, but that’s the thing with surprises—once they’re revealed, they’re easily dealt with.”
Her provocation failed to elicit the desired reaction. The enforcer merely smiled and advanced again.
Fyre was ready for the shadow lance as it streaked out to strike at his feet again. This time, instead of launching fully into the air, he made a small hop assisted by a wave of his wings and veered to the side. It didn’t appear to be an attack the witch could sustain for long, as her routine was to summon the line, slash with it, and let it dissipate. If the weapon had been more permanent, his evasion wouldn’t have worked. He sent another blast of frost at her as a distraction and surged forward at an angle. She cowered behind the protection of her shield to avoid the icy blast as he’d hoped she would. He spun as he arrived in range and whipped his tail behind her.
The heavily muscled appendage smacked into her calves and she immediately fell. Her skull made a resounding crack when it met the wooden surface, followed by a series of loud curses as she regained her feet. The scent of her blood wafted to him and drew a fierce smile. She’d landed the first strike, but he was fairly sure he’d done far more damage with his retaliatory blow. As she swung her hands to bring her shadow magic to bear, he caught sight of the very small wands held in each and hopped to the side as another line of shadow emanated from one of them. His jump was intercepted by a sudden wave of her other hand, which conjured a wall of force that pounded into him and propelled him in the direction in which he was already moving. He landed and skidded on his flank to scatter the onlookers in his path before his spine impacted with the bleachers.
The Draksa twisted into an upright position with a growl. It had been a clever attack and one he hadn’t expected, but she didn’t follow it up in the seconds during which he was vulnerable. Instead, she swayed for a moment with her eyelids closed, then opened them again with a smile. The only conclusion he could draw from the focused awareness in her gaze was that she had used her magic to block the pain or to heal herself. Not that his kind gambled, generally speaking.
He checked on his partner and saw that she was injured but still fighting. Rage surged through him at the sight but he forced it back and moved cautiously toward his opponent. He and Cali had discussed strategy ahead of time and had concurred that the rules of the battle probably ensured that as long as they stayed with their selected target, their foes would be required to do the same. So, while he wanted to rescue her, he couldn’t. They’d agreed they would only cross opponents if their enemies did it first or if the need was so great that it left no other option.
Fyre belched another barrage of ice at the witch and again, she summoned a shadow shield to protect herself. He maintained the assault as he advanced, which forced her to stay cowered and covered, and tensed his muscles for a second tail strike.
Her opponent used a mix of his direct and indirect styles as he renewed his advance. When he tried the flip kick again, she was ready for it and skittered out of range. As soon as he had regained his balance, he launched a punch at her temple that would have knocked her into the next century if it had connected.
Cali flinched to allow the strike to pass in front of her and used her left fist to guide his arm away. She caught his wrist with her right hand and yanked him forward, then controlled the joint with a sharp twist as she ducked under the limb, spun so her back faced him, and hammered an elbow into his ribs. He grunted at the impact, but she didn’t feel anything break and cursed under her breath. Whatever he’s wearing seems to have as much protection as the jacket Nylotte gave me. I hate competent enemies.
She raised her other hand to his trapped wrist and pulled down sharply in an attempt to snap his elbow over her shoulder. His response was unexpected, and she felt rather than saw him flip over her head. When he landed, he planted a sidekick into her chest, which drove her back a step and stole her breath. She managed to not fall and pushed forward to counter when he moved faster than he had in either battle. This time, his flip came in at an angle instead of from the top, and her frantic effort to shuffle out of danger failed. His feet struck her left shoulder and forearm. The cracking sound promised a fracture or break lower in the limb, and the way her arm suddenly screamed fire at her and hung limply told the tale of a dislocated shoulder, based on her many viewings of Lethal Weapon.
The Atlantean enforcer stepped back and laughed, which helped her to master her pain and transform it into a simmering cold rage. She shouted, “Fyre, now,” and willed the bracelet on her right hand to become an Escrima stick. The sight of the Draksa bathing the enforcer in ice made her smile, but it quickly turned to a frown as a shadow shield stopped the freeze at his thighs and the blasted trident appeared in his hand. Okay, jerk. So you want to take it up a notch? Let’s get to it.
Chapter Six
The Atlantean enforcer used his magical trident to break away the ice that had gathered around his feet, then threw the weapon at the Draksa. Fyre leapt to avoid it and flapped his wings to gain height. Cali noticed that he seemed to favor one of them. She made a wish that he wasn’t too badly injured and pushed down the additional rage that his injury inspired. I have plenty, thanks. Fortunately, the quick healing powers of his species gave him a greater ability to sustain damage than she possessed.
She raced forward with the held stick in her right hand and winced at each uncontrolled swing of her dislocated left arm. With a cry of surprise, she threw herself to the side to avoid another throw of the forked weapon, which had magically returned to the man’s fist. Fortunately, she had reflexively dodged to the right and landing on that shoulder was nothing more than an inconvenience. She scrambled to her feet as her enemy kicked away the remaining ice that had trapped him.
Entirely focused on regaining her balance, she didn’t notice the powerful blast of water until it swept into the side of her head and flung her violently to sprawl on her back. She rolled sideways and searched for the source. The witch directed another focused line of liquid at Fyre and thrust him off course. The dragon lizard landed quickly to avoid any further attacks while airborne.
His wing must be bothering him more than I thought. Normally, the Draksa was more agile in the air than on the ground, which was saying something given his earth-bound prowess. She yelled, “Back on the witch,” and once again scrabbled to her feet as her partner crossed in front of her and returned his focus to their female opponent.
She focused her attention on the enforcer, who strode forward with the trident in his hands. He flipped it to horizontal and fired a force blast from its tines, but she sidestepped it easily. “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt,” she taunted. He tried again and this time, slashed it viciously to generate a sustained line of force along that vector. She simply spun to the side to avoid it and continued to close the distance between them.
The stick in her hand hampered her ability to launch direct magical assaults, and her dangling arm was equally useless for that task. She saw her opportunity when he abandoned the magic in favor of a direct attack—maybe he wanted to make it personal. That suits me fine, buddy.
He stabbed with the trident and aimed at her heart. Cali circled her stick from outside to in and up to down to deflect the attack to her right as she sidestepped so it couldn’t catch her if the block missed. She flicked her weapon hard at
his face and caught him a glancing blow on the cheek as he jerked away, which accomplished nothing more than to increase his anger. He spun the forked weapon hand over hand in front of him. The action turned it into a blur before he lunged it suddenly at her face. She shifted her head left, then right, then ducked to avoid the third attack. When she threw the stick forehand at his knee, it connected with a pleasing crack.
With her hand temporarily free, she punched the air with a fist and a force blow hammered into the same knee and forced it out from under him. He caught himself on the way down but the distraction opened him to her punch at his face, and his nose broke under the impact of her force magic. He snarled and hurled the trident at her. The angle was bad but it still compelled her to drop and roll away. She’d momentarily forgotten about the damage to her arm, but the devastating wave of pain that seared through her when it impacted with the floor was an immediate and effective reminder. A curse fought free between her gritted teeth as she staggered to her feet and called her stick to her. Her foe mirrored her and his weapon slapped into his hand. He shook his head and it seemed like he no longer enjoyed the battle nearly as much as he had at the beginning. “It’s time to end this.”
She nodded. “So, you surrender?” His snarl suggested that wasn’t his intent at all.
Fyre decided he’d had enough of the enemy witch. The blast of water had been more annoying than painful, but the damage the shadow lance had done to his wing was healing more slowly than he would’ve expected, probably because he put it constantly under strain in the battle. She fired a staccato line of shadow bolts at him, and he dodged them with ease as his serpentine advance again caused them to miss. He rushed in and swiped with his tail, but she managed a shadow shield to block it. While her attention was focused on his tail, he raked his talons at her legs and rent the camouflage pants she wore. She screamed as blood flowed, and he growled a laugh at her.