Blood, Honor and Dreams (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #2)

“A legitimate fight. No more of this tossing things gently at you. If you are determined to be distracted tonight, I’ll remind you why you need to focus on me. Recite the three rules for me,” Neph said, his voice still harsh with annoyance.

“Use the opposite of your opponent’s spell for the best effect,” she said calmly. That had been Neph’s first lesson and it was drilled so far into her mind that she would never forget it. If someone so much as lit a cigarette near her now she had a water spell ready. “Counter the spell if you can, rather than deflecting,” she continued. That too was heavily ingrained in her from the few deflections she hadn’t gotten quite right. If you didn’t master the angle with perfection the spell could still graze you and certain spells hurt even if you did have shields up. Force magic, for example, one of Neph’s favorite weapons, would hit you like a club with or without a shield.

“And? Are you planning to take half the night to recite it?” Neph snapped again and she frowned at him. Apparently his temper was very frayed and surely it wasn’t all from her being distracted. She was almost always distracted with something and he never got this upset over it.

“Is something wrong Neph?” she asked in concern.

“Beyond the fact that you haven’t recited the final rule?” he growled and motioned with his hand for her to continue.

“Use the simplest magic possible. No one ever expects something simple and it will save your energy,” she finished, still watching his expression which hadn’t lessened from a scowl in the least.

“Ready?” he asked, as a bolt of lightning erupted from his hand.

Startled Jala blinked and then hastily deflected the spell at the last moment. The edge of the bolt grazed her shield and she felt her muscles contract briefly. Neph had never attacked without being sure she was ready before. She opened her mouth to speak and realized he was already throwing another bolt. Apparently there wasn’t going to be a respite here.

Do not think so much. React to him, don’t analyze him, Marrow said.

“React to him,” Jala repeated quietly as she deflected the next bolt as well and felt the lightning energy course through her again. Her muscles clenched once more and she fought down the wave of pain. With a deep breath she began her first spell and tried to focus on instincts instead of rational thought. Fire coursed down her fingers as she hurled the Flame bolt at Neph’s head and she felt her irritation grow as the mage countered it easily.

“Pathetic,” Neph muttered, his next two spells already rushing toward her. The first was a Force bolt, impossible to see beyond a shimmer in the air. The second, close on its heels was an Ice bolt. No opposite magic for the first spell then.

She fumbled the counter on the first one and the force bolt hit her directly in the center. Her shield held but she was still knocked back several feet, her sandaled feet digging grooves in the loose sand. Pain lanced through her ribs from the impact but she kept her focus and managed to counter the Ice bolt just before it hit. Her victory however was short-lived as Neph already had another spell on the way. It was easy to understand how he had won the mage duels at the Spring Games so many years in a row. Despite what he had said, she knew he was taking it easier on her than he did other opponents.

Stop thinking so much! Marrow scolded once more.

Jala frowned and hastily countered Neph’s latest assault and tried once again to quiet her thoughts. With the rate he was throwing spells, she wasn’t sure how she was going to get a spell in edgewise. She was barely managing to counter them.

The ground beneath her dropped suddenly and she felt her heart lurch. Frantically she cast a levitate and felt Neph’s Force bolt hit her hard from above forcing her down into the crater he had made. Spots danced before her eyes from the impact and she felt her shields falter. Desperately she tried to regain her focus as another Force bolt hit her in the chest smashing her back against the dirt. Her shields collapsed entirely and her temper flared. Neph had never been so brutal before and he wasn’t even letting her catch her breath between hits. At this rate she would be laying on one of Rose’s healing tables by morning. With a snarl she spit dirt from her mouth and tried to ignore the protests from her injured body.

“Cassia would slaughter you in a duel,” Neph called as two more Ice bolts hurtled toward her.

He is right, Marrow agreed sadly and her temper snapped.

With another snarl, she countered the bolts without a second thought and sent a series of Windblades flying toward Neph. Of all of the battle spells Neph had taught her so far, the Windblade was her favorite. They were hard to spot and lethally effective. The razor thin sheets of compressed air were by far one the most dangerous spells she had to call upon. Moving forward she threw spell after spell as he had done to her. Ice bolt and then Flame bolt followed with a flurry of Windblades. With luck she would keep him as off balance as he had her for the first part of the fight. She felt her pulse quicken as she pressed him and a sense of euphoria washed over her. Her fingers flexed and twisted with each complicated casting and it was like a dance for her. He returned fire with far less frequency than he had and she countered the spells as they neared not bothering to raise her shields again. She didn’t need shields, this was her calling, to fight. To kill. The thought froze her in mid cast and Neph’s next spell hit her hard sending her crashing to the Arena floor. Her mind fogged as pain lanced through her chest and shoulder. Without shields it was a wonder the spell hadn’t killed her with that direct of a hit.

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