“Ugly duckling?” Flare asked. “You look like you fell from the heavens.”
She’s not far off, Rick thought.
“Hey, Assan! Looks like your girl’s been eyeing Rick!” Adam yelled.
Rick turned to see Assan walking up.
“Oh, you know what I mean,” she said waving her hand dismissively. “We’re short on time, so we can save the revenge planning for later. Assan dear, can you explain this round’s rules to Rick?”
Assan nodded. “They’re quite simple. Our five-man team was split in half, the bottom three and the top two.
“It lets them fill up the day,” Stella said.
“The team of three fight another’s team’s team of two. Full fight, no instant death, and weapons are allowed. The team that wins both fights continues.”
“What if there’s a tie?” Rick asked.
“Tiebreaker between the two halves that won,” Stella said.
“But what about—” Rick started.
“Simple, Adam said. “We don’t lose, and then we don’t have to worry about it.”
“Could you tell Rick the plan?” Flare asked Adam.
“Sure,” he said. “It’s real simple, Stella will take on one and I’ll take the other. You hang back and help whichever one of us needs help.”
Rick shot a glance at Stella. Shouldn’t she be the one to hang back? he thought.
“Sounds good,” he said.
Assan cleared his throat. “And to make sure you don't get attacked again, Flare will be standing in your chamber, and I will be watching Adam and Stella,” he said pointing at them.
“Just to be safe,” Flare said.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! PLEASE FIND YOUR SEATS. COMPETITORS FOR THIS ROUND, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CHAMBERS.
“That’s our cue,” Stella said.
Racing down the steps they reached the chamber rooms. Rick caught a glimpse of one of their opponents. Dressed all in white, the man stepped into his room and shut the door. Glancing back at Stella, Rick did a double take. Resting on her shoulder was an ax.
“Where’d that come from?” he asked.
“It’s my Grandpa’s ax.”
“It doesn’t look that old.”
“My father replaced the head, and I replaced the handle.”
“Wait,” Rick said holding up a finger. “Actually, on second thought, never mind. See you out there,” he added in rapid succession and walked into a room.
Flare followed him in and shut the door.
“Did you—” he started.
“Shh, she’ll hear you,” she hissed.
“But—”
Flare pointed over his shoulder at the crystal chamber. “Get that pretty face in there now.”
Rick grinned. “Sorry guild master, but you see, I kinda—”
Flare lit a fireball in her hand.
“Right,” he said. “Time to go.”
Stepping into the chamber the room faded and was replaced with the field.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! COMMONERS AND ROYALTY! MEN AND WOMEN OF ALLLLLL AGES! MAY I PRESENT THE 6TH MATCH OF THE DAY!
Rick put his hands in the air as the crowd roared. Across the field stood two men, one dressed in black, the other in white. Something was familiar about them, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
JUSTIN AND JAYDEN VS. ADAM, STELLA, ANNNNND RICK!
“Interesting color choices,” Adam yelled across the field at them.
“You won’t be laughing when this white is stained with your blood!” Jayden yelled back with a slight accent.
“And the black?” Adam called out to Justin.
“I hate washing out blood,” Justin said. “It's such a nuisance.”
The crowd grew silent. Even Devlin was quiet waiting for more insults.
Who do they remind me of? Rick wondered.
Jayden smirked at him as if he knew what Rick was thinking.
SHOULD WE GET THIS STARTED? Devlin asked.
With the crowd erupting in agreement, a loud bell rang, starting the match. It’s echoes slowly faded, no one moving, just waiting. Stella and Adam started fanning out to either side. Justin and Jayden launched forward, rushing directly for Rick. He grinned, drawing upon his Elementia.
No need for anything fancy.
Adam smashed into Justin, his entire body covered in stone. Stella brought her ax swinging in at Jayden.
Rick growled, letting the lightning die. He did not like waiting! Stella’s ax sliced through Jayden, his body turning to shadow. Adam with his fist covered in stone, battered at a white shield in Justin's hand. Stella closed the distance between her and a shadowy Jayden.
No, wait! that’s a decoy! Rick thought shooting a bolt of lightning directly at Stella. Jayden appeared behind her, just in time to get struck. The force of the bolt knocked him to the ground.
On instinct, Rick jumped out of the way. A beam of light shot by. Then he was there— Justin. With a smug smirk on his face, he attacked with a mace made of light. Rick created an electric shield catching and stopping it. Justin pulled back and swung the mace overhead. Again, Rick created a shield. He shot a bolt from his hand. Justin dove out of the way, abandoning his mace. It vanished along with Rick’s shield. In an instant, Justin was on him again. They traded blow after blow. Landing a lucky punch, he had a second to look around.
Where’s Adam?
Shooting forward, Rick kicked Justin in the chest. Sending him to the ground, he glanced at Stella. Both were fighting Jayden as he tried to fend them off.
“I thought this was going to be more challenging,” Rick said.
Stomping down he summoned a bolt of lightning.
“Wait!” Justin said. “I have a message from Taranis.”
Taranis? Rick hesitated. “What?”
“Angel Soul,” Justin said, his skin turning white.
“Sh—” Rick started, but that’s as far as he got.
Justin launched up with enhanced speed his arm slamming into Rick’s chest. Instantly, Rick was airborne. Flying a few feet, he crashed to the ground. Rick gasped the air knocked out of him. Gritting his teeth, pain shot from his broken ribs.
How? he thought trying to get up.
Justin appeared above him, covered in white armor and in his hand was a sword made of light. He stomped on Rick’s chest, making pure fire shoot throughout his broken ribs. Still in need of air, his scream was barely a whisper.
“Taranis said we didn’t have a chance. Looks like he was wrong,” Justin said driving his blade down.
Shadow Reaper appeared in Rick’s hand and sliced the blade in two. Swinging his sword, Rick brought it against Justin’s boot, cutting through the armor and slicing into his leg. Justin grunted. Not in pain, but in sheer surprise. Angel skin was tougher than dragon scales. That surprise was all Rick needed. Grabbing the leg, he shoved it up off his chest.
With what little air he had, he said two simple words. “Angel soul.”
Instantly he felt stronger, quicker, and in less pain. Justin recovered his balance and kicked Rick in the side sending him flying through the air. He lost his grip and Shadow Reaper dispelled.
Twisting, Rick landed on his feet. Pain stabbed through his chest. It was numbed, but his ribs were still broken. In a flash, Justin was there, swinging his reformed sword of light at incredible speed. Rick caught it with one hand, armor forming around him. He grinned, healing his chest with the other hand, the pain disappearing. Justin let go of the blade spinning around to strike him with his fist. Rick let it miss him by centimeters. Summoning Shadow Reaper, he stabbed. Justin jumped back. Flying several feet away, he held his side.
“How can that sword cut me?” he demanded.
“You should be proud,” Rick said twirling it. “This sword can cut through anything, and yet we’re still a pain to stab.”
Rick shot a quick glance over at Stella.
Not good, he thought grimacing.
She and Adam lay on the ground struggling to get up. Jay
den had used Demon Cloak. His body, now solid black, oozed power.
They were no match for a Demon.
Justin shot forward almost instantly closing the gap. Easily dodging, an idea formed in Rick’s head. Lighting chains appeared in his hands. Whipping them at Justin, he managed to wrap one around his leg. Twisting around Rick shot toward Jayden. In the blink of an eye, he was only feet away. Justin came flying by, smashing into Jayden like a ball and chain. Releasing the him Rick watched them fly across the field and smash into a wall.
Crouching beside his friends, Rick healed the both.
“I need you to stall the Angel,” he said turning back around.
Justin, already recovered, was helping Jayden up.
“I doubt we’ll fare much better than we did against the other one,” Adam said getting to his feet.
“Adam, be his punching bag. Stella, keep Adam alive as long as possible,” Rick said shooting forward.
Justin slammed into him. Spinning, Rick shot away, toward Jayden. A hundred black spears greeting him, Rick shot to the side. The tendrils followed striking him all over his armor. It didn’t crack, but everywhere they’d struck was slowly eaten away as if by acid. Rick sent a beam of light into Jayden. His body simply warped around it.
Dodging another volley of tendrils, Rick glanced behind. Adam had coated himself in stone, but Jayden was pummeling. A black fur-clad paw knocked Rick to the ground. Claws dug into his chest. In that brief moment, Jayden closed the distance and now was in the form of a werewolf.
“I hate transformations,” Rick grumbled throwing him off. He rolled out of the way and Jayden clawed at the dirt. Shadow reaper appeared in Rick’s hand. Slashing at the werewolf, he cut off one of its arms. Howling in pain, Jayden glared at him. Suddenly Rick was staring at a snake’s face. It shot forward, trying to bite him. Dispelling Shadow Reaper, Rick caught its neck inches from his face. He could smell the breath of death. The snake's body wrapped around him, squeezing with immense strength. The armor began to crack. He couldn’t breathe. Out of options, Rick spat into the serpent's mouth.
If a snake could look disgusted, Jayden certainly did. Incensed, he flung Rick into the arena wall causing pain to shoot through his shoulder. Groaning, Rick twisted around to face his opponent. A giant stood before him. At least twice as tall as Rick, he stood there wiping his mouth and spitting.
“Got something in your mouth?” Rick called up to him.
The giant's foot came rocketing toward Rick. Easily jumping out of the way, Rick shot a bolt of lightning into his ankle. A huge black sword appeared in Jayden's hand. Leaping out of the way, Rick stumbled back. The sword smashed into the ground and the entire arena shook from the impact. He shot forward and ran up the blade, a lightning chain forming in his hand. Reaching the giant's arm, he coiled it around Jayden’s wrist. Forming a rod of light, Rick attached the chain to it and shot it into the ground.
Jayden backhanded him. Bones shattered. Flying through the air, Rick crashed to the ground, his armor disappearing. Groaning, Rick waited for his body to heal.
Ow, he yelled in his head.
Rolling over, he caught a flash of blue light. Stella was gone, but held Adam by the throat, whispering something in his ear.
“Time’s up,” Rick muttered turning to face Justin. He was in the form of a massive Chimera! “One of the most powerful forms a Demon can use,” Rick said grinning. “Nice!”
The amount of fuel it burned was almost equal to Gemini. Shooting forward, he sliced the goats head off in the blink of an eye. Black flames shot from the lion's mouth. Leaping back Rick sliced the serpent tail as it tried to strike. Rick twirled.
Too slow!
The lion struck him with its shoulder. Black flames shot out at him. Rick hit the ground and created a white shield around him. The flames cleared, and Rick stood, but no longer faced a chimera.
“A DRAGON!” Devlin announced.
“Oh, come on!” Rick shouted as the crowd erupted with excitement.
This is going to hurt!
The Dragon, the ultimate form. Only a handful of the most powerful could hold it for more than mere seconds but, a dragon could wreak havoc in those seconds. Jayden opened his mouth. Rick gritted his teeth and leapt in the air toward him. Black flames erupted, covering the field in darkness.
Chapter 22
S tella groaned, lying face down on the field. Her whole body hurt. She and Adam had been overwhelming Jayden when suddenly he turned into a demonic Gad. Now she just lay there, waiting for him to finish her off. But instead, a rush of energy flooded through her body and the pain disappeared. Looking up she saw a man covered in white armor.
Like a gallant knight, she thought.
“I need you to stall the Angel,” the knight said.
It was Rick!
“I doubt we’ll fare much better,” Adam said standing.
“Adam, be his punching bag,” Rick said. “Stella, keep Adam alive.”
“Me? What are you—” she started as he shot off to the other side of the field. Trailing off, Stella got to her feet and picked up her ax. In a blink Justin was there, wearing similar armor to Rick. Kicking Adam, he sent him flying as a white sword appeared in his hands. He stabbed at Stella. Barely sidestepping, the blade sliced through her sleeve, grazing her arm. “So fast,” she gasped. Again, he was on her, knocking her feet out from under her. The bones in her legs shattered. Stella screamed. Falling backwards, the wind caught her. She threw herself to the side. Justin stabbed his sword into the dirt. We don’t stand a chance, she thought crashing to the ground.
Instantly Justin was there. Grabbing Stella by her shirt, he lifted her into the air like she weighed nothing.
“At least you make a girl feel skinny,” she said grimacing.
A stone coated Adam Came barreling into the man. It barely staggered him. He dropped Stella and backhanded Adam. Hitting the ground, she clenched her teeth, pain shooting through her legs.
Yup, he definitely broke it.
Justin was a blur of movement. Adam was trying to protect himself as best he could, but Justin reigned blow after blow after blow, with incredible speed. Conjuring the wind, Stella threw it against Justin, forcing him to take a step back. Adam swung his rocky fist into the man's face, and Stella sent another blast of wind toward Justin’s legs. He ignored the blow and jumped, flipping over Adam. A blast of white light shot from his hands striking Adam in the back. He fell to the ground and slid a few feet, before coming to rest.
There must be something, she thought glancing around. Gramp’s ax!
Her grandfather's ax was lying in the sand, only a few feet away. Using the wind, she picked it up. Justin stood over Adam. Sending the ax hurtling through the air, she struck him squarely in the back.
I did it! she thought throwing her hands up in the air.
Justin slowly turned to look at her.
“By the serpent's tail,” she cursed.
In a flash, Justin stood over her, his sword stabbing into her chest.
Blinking, Stella stepped out of the crystal chamber. She picked up her ax, strapped it to her back, and broke into a mad dash.
Where’s Assan? she wondered running down the hall and up the steps.
Reaching the end of the tunnel, she gasped. An awesome black Dragon appeared towering over the field. Reaching the railing, she looked down. Rick spun about to face it.
“A DRAGON!” Devlin announced.
The crowd around Stella erupted with excitement. Rick shot forward, leaping into the air. Black flames spewed out of the dragon's mouth, obscuring him from view. Justin took cover behind a massive white shield. The black flames spread out across the field, smacking into Justin, hiding him from view, too. The dragon disappeared, but its flames remained for several seconds. As the smoke cleared, she spotted Justin on his hands and knees his armor cracked in several places, and Jayden lay exhausted on the ground. But Rick was gone.
“We lost...”
“AND THE WINN—”
>
A dark figure appeared above Justin, driving his blade through the man’s back.
“Rick!” she yelled.
With the point sticking out of Justin’s white chest, Rick kicked him to the ground.
He disappeared in an explosion of blue light. A massive black bolt of lightning shot from Rick’s hand. Jayden didn’t even move. A loud crack accompanied the flash of blue light as he disappeared too. For a moment everything was silent, not a soul made a sound. Then the crowd erupted, and the noise was defining. Stella barely heard Devlin announce them as the victors.
Venom! How powerful is he? I got power out the wazoo, but I’m nothing.
Making her way back down, people began to trickle into the arena’s tunnels. Adam stood at the mouth of the tunnel.
“We lost,” he growled when she got close.
“Nope,” she grinned. “We won!”
“By the serpent’s tooth, we won?” he asked, a huge smile appearing on his face. “How?”
“Language,” she said trying and failing to look stern.
“You swore on the serpent's tail a few minutes ago.”
“Right before that demon stabbed a sword through me,” she said mimicking the action.
“I think Rick fought the demon,” he said. “Which would mean we got the angel. Isn't that nice of him. Do you think that’ll keep me out of paradise?”
“The angel mopped the floor with us,” she said feeling where her legs had been broken.
“How’d we win?” he asked again.
Stella waved her hands in excitement. “Rick went demon mode and stabbed Justin through the heart and then simply shot Jayden.
“Wait, Rick can do that demon cloak, too?”
“He switched near the end to stab the white one through the back,” she said making shanking motions.
“I’ve never seen spells that powerful. Especially not from light and dark.”
Stella looked up at him. “Where’s Rick?”
“He’s not in there,” he said pointing behind him.
“Then where is he?”
“No clue, I never saw him,” he said. “No one was down there.
“No one!” Stella said, her breath catching. “What about Flare or Assan?”
Gemini- The Beginning Of The End Page 24