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“How about, if you win, I will kiss you anywhere you want… for as long as you want?” Heat rushed from my face to my core at the thought. I let out a shaky breath.
“Fine. And if you win?” I asked, he smirked against my ear, and traced a finger down the front of my armor. I suddenly wished I was wearing something a little less… protective.
“Then I get to kiss you anywhere that I want… for as long as I want,” The heat that had began to grow in my core intensified and I shuddered. I nodded.
“One,” he began to count, lips still impossibly close to my ear, “Two…”
“Three!” I blurted and shot off towards the ring. His surprised bark of laughter erupted behind me, but it wasn’t long until he caught up. We were neck and neck, shooting for the ring like two streaks of midnight. I was almost there; I was going to beat him. Suddenly, he gathered his shadows, and shadow walked the rest of the way, appearing in the center of the ring before me.
“You cheated!” I laughed. I tried to pull back to slow down but wasn’t quick enough and crashed right into him. We rolled across the ring, before finally coming to a stop. He was lying on top of me, his face inches from mine. Grinning like a cat with a mouse.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t let you win; the prize was too tempting.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed him off. “It’s basically the same prize,” I teased, but his eyes were darker than I had ever seen them.
“Believe me, they are not,” he touched my chin gently, before standing up. I shuddered, in the most pleasant way.
“Ok you two, enough playing around. We have work to do,” Dossidian bellowed, though he was grinning as he approached.
“He started it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m about to finish it,” Dossidian joked. “Get up and grab a saber. You’re with me first.”
52
The team had set up a series of stations, each one tested a different skill and was led by a different member of the team. Conrad and Meredith watched from the side lines. Magick folk were deadly opponents, but because their magick was a gift from their deities, all magick for them came at a price. They used it for self-defense and in most cases, only when necessary.
Daemons on the other hand, were power sources themselves. Their biggest risk was generating too much power or losing control. It could consume you, if you weren't careful, or put the general public at risk.
Dossidian’s station was first. It was a weapons-focused task. I was asked to start with a saber but was allowed to use other various objects that were available to challenge him.
“This will teach you resourcefulness,” he told me, “Anything can be a weapon, if you’re creative enough.” Thanks to my ability to shadow walk and fly, I was able to get him to yield. Albeit he managed to get me to yield first a few times.
Next was Rycon’s station. No weapons were allowed here, no shadow walking, no flying. No magick at all. Only hand to hand. I was allowed to draw from our bond. I noticed that my natural speed had begun to increase as we approached the day of the Quickening.
The first person to land three hits won this station. I remembered Kasha’s advice. Prioritize defense. You can’t land a hit if you’re dead. So, I took my time with Rycon. I landed three hits, and he landed two. He smirked at me, giving me a nod.
“Good job, Kitten. Maybe you won’t be the death of us both.” I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
Finally, was Kasha’s station. This one was almost all magick and was the most deadly. Meredith was on standby for medical support if necessary. Both Amon and Conrad’s expressions were a little bit strained, as we faced off.
This one was about staying alive. Kasha would come at me, with a series of energy blasts, and she would not let up. The only way to end the attack was for me to get her to yield. I could use anything in my arsenal to do so. My strategy here was to end the fight as quickly as possible, without getting hurt. Kasha’s offensive attacks were deadly and relentless. She had an impossibly large well of internal power to draw from, and she was incredibly fast.
I gathered my shadows around me. They came to me eager and obedient, like well trained guard dogs. Kasha fired her first blast, but I was already gone. I had barely reappeared when then next blast was already screeching by. My shadows swallowed me up again, and I appeared above her in the air. She pivoted, another beam of light already coming for me. She seemed to know where I was going to rematerialize before I did.
I dissolved into shadow again, and stayed there for a moment, so I could think. Suddenly, I had an idea. I bid my shadows to surround Kasha as well and opened the ground up beneath her feet. She glanced down, shocked, as her feet began to sink into a black hole. I resolidified the ground around her waist, effectively preventing her from twisting and pivoting.
I reappeared behind her calling one of the whips from the weapons stand to me. Grabbing her by the wrists, I twisted her arms behind her, and bound her hands together with the thin end of the leather whip, completely immobilizing her. I came around to face her, looking down at her, from where she sat, half buried in the ground. She was grinning from ear to ear.
“Great job, Raven.” She said.
“Way to think on your feet with the whip!” Dossidian cheered.
Amon came up to me, eyes shining with pride. “I think you’re ready,” he said. I nodded.
I was ready.
After training, we all gathered in the common room. To my surprise, the table was filled with gifts, wrapped in black wrapping paper with big glossy green bows. There was also a large chocolate cake that read: Happy Birthday, Raven.
