I consciously grabbed hold of Alistair’s magic. “Taking someone else’s magic is like reaching out an invisible arm and latching on to it. You should be able tofeelit, the way you would if you were actually touching the person with your hand. It’s like an extra sense that can’t be put into words. You’ll understand it once you experience it yourself.”
When I took hold of the magic, it didn’t resist. Alistair’s magic flowed into me, and I felt the buzz of defensive magic begging to escape. I lifted my hand, and a hot battle orb formed, warming my palm. The Elves gasped. I tossed the battle orb into the air, and it exploded, sizzling like a firework over the Elves.
“Wow, that was amazing!” one of them cried.
“Do it again!” another begged.
I cocked my head toward Chancey. “Hey, you wanna give it a try?”
“Do I have a choice?” he asked, but he was already making his way on stage as Alistair returned to the audience. He nudged me when he reached me, then whispered lowly, “I still can’t believe you’re part Elf.”
“You better start believing it, because after this, you won’t be doubting me,” I said.
“You’ve been using it in the ring, haven’t you?”
I smirked. “Just a bit.”
He cracked his knuckles. “Show me your worst.”
I shrugged. “You asked for it. Stand here, would you?”
I guided Chancey several feet away from me. “Angels are considered to be quite strong,” I told the Elves. “Their magic is trickier, but there are different levels to it. Stealing their wings, for example, will be as complicated as stealing a shifter’s magic. Siphoning their super strength, on the other hand, is pretty easy— even if the supernatural resists.”
Chancey sounded intrigued. “You wanna play Tug-of-War?”
I shrugged. “You wanna get your ass kicked?”
“I wanna see what you’re capable of.”
“Then by all means, hold back,” I invited him. “You’re gonna regret this.”
“Not a chance.”
I found Chancey’s super strength with ease and tugged on it. He resisted me, but I’d grown accustomed to this magic after all my time in the ring pulling strength from my opponents without even realizing it. I yanked on his magic, and it flowed into me. To show him just what I was made of, I spun and landed a heavy kick to his chest. Chancey went flying across the stage and landed on a chair in the crowd. By the sound of it, he’d crushed it to bits.
Ivy gasped as he scurried over to him. “Chance, you okay?”
Chancey didn’t make a noise for a moment, and I feared I’d knocked him out. Then he burst into a fit of laughter, catching everyone off guard. “God, that was incredible! Charlie, you’ve been holding back on me!”
“Chance, you’re bleeding!” Ivy protested.
Chancey didn’t seem to care. He was more impressed than anything. “It’s fine. I heal fast. What’s next?”
“Let’s split into three groups,” I said. “Chancey and Ivy will work on strength magic with their groups. Alistair will work on battle orbs. I’ll come around to see how everyone’s doing. Our goal today is to help everyone get a sense for what someone else’s magic feels like. Let’s get started.”
Everyone split off, and I walked around to observe.
“Wow, I feel really strong!” a guy working with Chancey exclaimed. I thought it was the same kid who said he’d stolen wolven magic.
“Wanna test it out?” Chancey asked. “Lift me above your head.”
“Easy,” he replied. He grabbed Chancey and lifted him up so fast that Chancey’s foot nearly caught the end of my nose. Chancey hollered in laughter. He was getting a real kick out of the Elves.
After he set Chancey down, I turned to the guy. “What’s your name?”
“Reid, my prince.”
“Call me Charlie,” I told him. “Reid, you seem to have a pretty good handle on this. Do you mind helping your group while I visit the others?”
