AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lio shot to his feet. Still too slow. Lyros’s right arm closed around Lio’s throat from behind and choked him with a Mortal Vice. If Lyros tightened his grip a fraction, he could cut off the blood flow to Lio’s head. Inconvenient, but not deadly to a Hesperine. Decapitation was fatal, though, and from this position, Lyros could do that with his bare hands.
Lio’s heart pounded, counting off how much time he had before this move would make Lyros the victor. Lio jammed his chin into the crook of Lyros’s arm to buy himself time. Tonight, it wasn’t enough to stay on the defensive. He had to get on the offensive before it was too late, and stay there.
Lio made a Sun Strike in Lyros’s eyes, then twisted to the right. He felt the Vice release. He kept moving, bringing Lyros’s arm with him, and folded his Trial brother’s wing back into a Crippled Dove. Lio spun the move into a Grounded Owl and put Lyros on the sand. Lio followed his Trial brother down and tried a choke-hold of his own.
But Lyros rolled before Lio could secure him in Hypnos’s Grasp. Lyros found his feet with a parting blow to the side of Lio’s head that befuddled his ears. Lio rolled to his feet and right into another Mortal Vice.
Lio brought both his hands around behind his head and tried to gain control of Lyros’s wrists. It turned into a grappling match. But Lyros had built his strength through a lifetime of training. His grip was sure. Lio started counting again.
This time, when Lio twisted to his right, he swung his arm around behind Lyros. With a heave, he lifted his heavier Trial brother, leveraging his own height to swing Lyros up. He tossed his Trial brother to the ground. He followed through with a heel-strike at his Trial brother’s sternum, Lyros’s own favorite Stake Through the Heart.
Lyros’s hands closed around Lio’s ankle and twisted. Numbness started in Lio’s joint and radiated outward. What move wasthat?
Lio stayed on the offensive, keeping the fight on the ground as much as he could, while Lyros’s moves sought to force Lio onto his useless foot. Lio fought on one good foot, with his hands, and on his knees.
The noise of the crowd had become a massive heartbeat that pumped emotion through the gymnasium. Lio caught glimpses of the audience in flashes between the sand that flew in his eyes. The elders’ dignified gazes gleamed with attention, while the youngbloods flushed with the thrill of the event. Both Hesperines and Tenebrans were on their feet, leaning out over the stands. Although not a drop of blood hit the ground, the mortals called out or pumped their fists at each feat of battle prowess. All of the Tenebrans but Cassia, who stood still as a statue and gripped the railing in front of her.
Her pulse raced inside Lio and fed his resolve. He kept up a frenzy of offensive moves, the only fragile barrier between him and certain defeat.
Lyros launched into a new set of moves. His precise strikes were unlike anything he had ever used on Lio before.
Lio had just survived to advance to the next level of training.
His familiar defensive tactics lasted him through exactly one set of Lyros’s moves.
Lio landed flat on his back, not a puff of air in his lungs. Through a blur of sand and spell light, he saw his Trial brother’s foot poised over his sternum.
Lio raised his hand and gave the salute of respect to the victor.
His ears still worked, because through the audience’s cheers and moans of sympathy, he could hear the Tenebrans.
“Impossible!” Lord Adrogan had never sounded so incredulous. “He barely held his own for the entire fight!”
“Well, Skleros,” Chrysanthos asked, “what’s that you were saying about not underestimating him?”
“Perhaps he’s better with a hammer,” the necromancer quipped.
“How will he lift it with that wrist?” said the Dexion.
Lyros took hold of the hand Lio could still feel and helped him up. “Your wrist and ankle will regain sensation in approximately sixteen minutes.”
Lio gave his Trial brother a rueful grin. “That’s what I get for trying to use your favorite finisher against you.”
“That was your best move, actually. Impressive choice for its meaning, not just tactics. Cultivate that strategy, and you could use it to manipulate your opponents.”
“Huh. Maybe I should try a Mage’s Supplication on Chrysanthos, then.”
Lio let his Trial brother do the laughing and tried to catch his breath.
Lio limped back to his place in the stands just as Aunt Lyta ascended the dais again. She appeared to be enjoying her part in the drama. “Will our victor challenge his fellow Steward, his comrade in battle, his Grace?”
“I will,” Lyros declared.
“It is my pleasure to accept,” Mak replied.
Now Lyros put his fangs to his palm and clasped Mak’s hand, and they faced each other on the sand bearing one another’s blood marks.
When the screams of the nearby initiates lowered to mere yells, Lio managed to catch what the Tenebrans were saying.
