The Arena (13 page)

A laughing Mike appeared in front of me. “Next lesson: basic invisibility.”

“Holy shit, we can turn invisible?”

“Well, not directly, but you can make a shield around you and use your gift to basically take a snapshot of what’s around you and mimic it on your shield. It’s more like instant camouflage. We have other spells that are a little bit harder to master, but let’s stick with the basics for now. So, start by creating your shield around yourself, and then command it almost like taking a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree picture. Then fix the images from your mind into your shield.”

This task took me a lot longer to master. It was about an hour before I could almost disappear. Mike assured me that for my first time, I was doing great. His teaching skill was so laid back and filled with positive reinforcement; it made me want to try harder. It also limited the amount of frustration I felt when I failed. He had hinted there was one more task left, and I wondered when we would get to it.

As if he’d read my mind, Mike called a halt to our invisibility training. Wait, people with magic couldn’t read minds, could they?

He gave no indication that he had heard that thought as he moved on to the next task. “Ok, this one is going to be fun. I’m not sure if anyone else will be teaching this today, but if they are, I have a little extra flair for you to add to it. I want you to create a mini tornado, and then, as it’s moving, fill it with bright orange fire. This spell looks cool and, as you will learn later, can be extremely practical in the field.”

He smiled, but then his face turned more serious. “I am going to need you to make sure that no matter what, you aim this spell at the wall. The runes there are made to dispel any magic that hits them, basically rendering it void. That is why we can practice down here so freely, not really a chance of wild magic running around. Ok, so think twister first and then we will add the fire. The first time you cast the spell, it may help to spin your finger against your palm.”

I started thinking of every tornado I had ever seen on TV. That helped me focus on the image. Remember when chasing tornados seemed really cool? Now it seemed like everyone wanted to swim with great whites. Seriously, what is it with people and their death wishes? You know a twenty-foot great white could literally rip you in half with one bite. Shit, at twenty feet, it might be able to swallow you whole. Sometimes I see those people on twelve-foot skiffs, taking pictures of them, and think one of these days you’re going to die. Hope it was worth it.

I could feel the power growing in my hand as the first little gust of wind started to form. Soon I had a miniature tornado going. I looked over at Mike, and he mouthed the word
bigger
. All I had to do was imagine the tornado growing large, and it did. I set it down on the ground and continued to let it grow in size. Mike pointed toward the wall. As the tornado ripped its way across the cavern floor, it picked up dust and changed color. When it hit the wall, the wind died instantly and the tornado was gone.

Mike took a look at his watch and then did a double-take. He motioned for me to head back to where we started class, and then walked around letting the instructors know time was up for the day. I looked down at my watch and realized we had actually been down here for four hours already. When you’re learning something new that you are extremely interested in, time had a way of just getting away from you.

Mike had all of the students line up facing the wall. “We are just going to move right down the line. When it is your turn, step forward and cast any spell that comes to your mind. When the spell of the person in front of you hits the wall, the next person can step forward until we are done.”

I was a little worried because we hadn’t worked the fire into the tornado yet, but I was going to try and wing it on the fly. What was the worst that could happen? A spectacular failure was still spectacular. What? Screw that. Damn, Mike’s fountain of optimism must have been contagious. I did not want to screw up, but hey, I was going to give it a try, anyway.

I was about two-thirds down the line, so at least I would get to watch the others first. The first student stepped forward, and the competition was on. There was an interesting mix of talents. Some people launched car-sized fireballs; some of the students could only create a simple shield around themselves. The red-headed girl from the auditorium cast a pink fireball, which seemed to grab everyone’s attention.

When she walked by, someone asked how she did it. She responded, “I like pink.”

It was my turn. Stepping forward, I worked at creating the tornado. I set it on the ground and sent it out toward the wall. When it was halfway there, I thought of a fire burning at the bottom of the tornado. Bright orange flames licked around the tornado, feeding greedily on the oxygen it provided. By the time it hit the wall, it was a raging inferno of fire. Didn’t they say we should burn the Lycans? Now I could see how this could come in handy.

The last person to go was Marcus. I was interested to see what he would do, since he had bragged about being one of the best. I hoped he could put his money where his mouth was. I watched as he created a tidal wave out of nothing and sent it rushing toward the wall. Halfway to the wall, the wave froze, and then exploded outward. All the shards of ice hung in the air for a second before they launched at the wall in rapid succession. Ok, so Marcus had not been lying about how talented he was.

Enthusiastic applause broke out from the students and teachers. It was an impressive display of magic and control. The winners of the tasks were not announced, but I was sure that no one had beaten Marcus. Mike stepped forward and dismissed the class. I slowly walked back to my dorm room. A weight had dropped from my shoulders. I could use magic, and I wouldn’t be heading home so soon after all.

M
y initial fears
of not being able to use my gift had been crushed. It felt good to know that I actually belonged here. It felt as if using magic was what I was born to do. It came to me so much more easily than the physical combat did. For combat training, I had to work twice as hard as I did at anything else. By all accounts, the physical fighting skills were just as important as the magical ones.

Class continued five days a week, and now that I wasn’t feeling so stressed out, I started to pay more attention to the people around me. I continued to work with Sarge in the evenings and practice using my gift in the catacombs with Marcus on the weekends. I was finally starting to put it all together. Marcus was an incredible teacher; he showed me how to control my magic in a totally different way than I had experienced with Mike. He let me know control comes with practice, but spells come from your imagination.

It was time for my latest nightly beating with Sarge, so I grabbed my duffel of gear and headed down to the gym. Exiting the stairs, I slammed into a black-haired girl from class, knocking her to the floor.

I helped her up from the ground while saying, “Sorry about that; I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” I shrugged. “I don’t normally see anyone down here at night.” I hoped that explained why I had been going so fast.

She gave me a quick little smile. While dusting herself off, she said, “It’s all right, Jackson. If anyone was going to knock me down, I’m glad it was you.”

I beamed with a hundred-watt smile as she finished brushing the rest of the dust off of her shirt. She knew my name! Since coming to the academy, I hadn’t really had too much time to interact with people, especially not those of the female persuasion. But she knew my name! The thought of it filled me with joy. Maybe if I was lucky, I could pluck her name out of my mind and not end up looking like a complete ass. It was an iffy call to try and guess at her name. If I was wrong, I might blow any chance I had at talking to her again. “It’s Britta, right? I was watching you cast the other day. Some pretty impressive stuff.” God, I hoped I didn’t come off as a creeper.
I was watching you
. My God, what was I even thinking?

This time she raised an eyebrow at me but was still smiling, so I took that as a good sign. “So you were watching me, huh?”

Damn, I knew she would pick up on that.

“I’ll have to keep an eye out for you next time.” She gave me a playful swat on the shoulder and headed up the stairs.

I watched her legs move up the stairs until the door closed. Daily two-hour workouts seemed to have benefits for all of us. All right, I had to pull my mind back to the present. If I was thinking about Britta when I tangled with Sarge, I was going to end up with a lot more than a hurt ego. Being distracted in the ring was something that only got you hit harder, and more often.

I was greeted by loud clacking sounds when I walked into the gym. It sounded as if someone was slamming two baseball bats together in rapid succession. The sound did not seem to come in any type of set rhythm, but it was coming from the rings. I groaned a little, thinking about what kind of new torture Sarge had worked out for me, before heading in that direction.

When I got to the ring, I was a little relieved that he wasn’t getting something ready for me. Sarge was locked in fierce combat with the petite red-headed girl. I was impressed she was holding her own against a larger opponent and, if my eyes were right, actually seemed to be winning. Each of them had two batons in their hands; the wood smashing together was what I had heard when I entered the gym. I was impressed watching the speed of their combat. Maybe, if I was lucky, one day I would be able to match it.

Sarge dropped back into a defensive position. He did not make a move toward the girl, but only used his batons to redirect her attacks. My guess was, he was trying to save energy while letting her get worn out. If anything, this only made the girl more aggressive. She had come to the same conclusion as me and was trying to end the fight as soon as possible. Finally, she made the slightest mistake of overextending one of her attacks, and the fight ended with a thud. Sarge landed a blow to the girl’s ribs. The hit actually lifted her slightly off the ground. I ran to the side of the ring to make sure she was ok.

I heard her grumble, “Damn, Alex, that one hurt.”

Funny, I had been training with Sarge every night for a few months now and had never asked him his first name. It had never even crossed my mind to do so.

Never one to let any type of complaining slide, Sarge replied, “Serves you right for the hit you landed on me earlier.”

Sarge let out a little laugh as he extended his hand to lift her off the mat. I noticed a bruise on the side of his head. That bruise must have been what he was referring to. I could sense her pulling on her mana from where I stood. Slowly, her breathing eased, and she stopped hunching over. I hadn’t learned any healing magic yet, but my guess was I had just witnessed some for the first time. I was told as one of the Gifted we could heal from almost anything. Now I was a believer. Bruised or broken ribs healed in a matter of seconds—not a bad skill to have.

I couldn’t help myself when I asked, “Did you just heal yourself?”

She turned toward me, and her gaze was so fierce, I almost took a step back. “What’s it to you?”

I didn’t know what to say. I looked over at Sarge and he just shrugged his shoulders, so no help there. “I just haven’t seen that before. It was awesome.”

She looked over at Sarge. “Is this guy for real?”

Sarge smiled back at both of us before speaking. “April, this is the guy I was telling you about.” She gave me a look as if she were appraising me for an auction. “Jackson, I’ve asked April here to help with your training. As you can see, she makes quite a fierce opponent. It’s time we dropped some of the hand-to-hand and got you trained with some weapons.”

I looked from April and back to Sarge with my mouth hanging slightly open.

April’s look turned into a frown. “What, you don’t think a woman can train you?”

I was completely confused. That wasn’t what I had been thinking at all. “Actually, after watching you fight with Sarge, I was afraid you would kick my ass.”

Sarge laughed and walked away. I actually earned a tiny smile from April, so it must have been the right thing to say. She walked over to the rack and picked up a set of padded batons, and then motioned for me to grab a pair. They were much heavier than I expected. I wondered how she swung the other ones so fast.

April gave me a look while I was moving the baton around. “These are escrima sticks. The practice sticks are padded, but we have also modified them to weigh more by using a lead center. That way, when you use them, it not only hones your reflexes, but your muscles.”

April spent the next thirty minutes showing me the basics, how to hold the escrima sticks and how to set my feet for combat. She then showed me a series of moves to practice. The entire series, when mastered, was called a form. For the next thirty minutes, she had me work through each of the positions in the form, often walking around me and poking me with her stick to emphasize a point.

Sometimes she added simple instructions. “Keep that left leg straight, open up your hips there, on that third move, end with the weight centered on your feet, not up on your toes, try and take smaller steps. This isn’t about making huge lunges and powerful swings; this requires a little finesse. You need to be able to change directions at a moment’s notice.”

She continued working me through the series of moves and making changes when they were needed. “During combat, this technique will be all about muscle memory. When you practice, you need to ingrain the proper technique. That way, during a fight, it will happen naturally. You did a good job tonight, Jackson. So you will be meeting with me down here nightly now. I’ve got a lot of work for you. The best part is, once you have mastered a few of the forms, we can actually spar.”

I got the feeling she wasn’t joking. She actually loved this stuff, and she was a great teacher. “You really know how to motivate a guy, April. Your reward for working really hard is to get my ass kicked by a girl half my size.”

That one earned me a smile as well. “See you tomorrow, Jackson.”

I continued to train with April every night over the next couple of weeks. We worked on the forms she had taught me, while adding some new moves into the mix. We started each of our training sessions with some light hand-to-hand sparing. The last thing April wanted was for me to forget my up-close combat skills. She was easily the best fighter I had seen at the academy; I was impressed with myself when I could win one out of four matches with her.

The only thing that let me win that many matches was the length of my arms. If I could keep her away from my body, she had to telegraph where she was going, and it bought me half a second to react. I had no doubt in my mind that if we were the same size, I would have been lucky to win one in a hundred.

Our last match of the night ended when she landed four sharp blows to my belly and chest. I landed flat on my back, gasping for air. Between gasps, I managed to ask her, “So, tell me, what is it we are trying to accomplish by training with the escrima sticks? We aren’t actually going to carry those around with us outside of the academy, are we?”

She gave me a little smile. “No, we aren’t. Outside of the academy, you get to carry a sword. Or in this case, we are training so that you can carry two swords.”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking with me or not. “Seriously, do you think we will get in a lot of sword fights?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but I don’t think hitting a Lycan with a metal club is going to do you much good. At least with a sword, if you don’t sever something, they will need a little time to heal. Plus, it never hurts to be prepared. What if something happened that blocked your access to your gift?”

“Can that really happen?”

“There are stories out there about members of the Ascendancy dying when their gift was blocked. I’m not sure if they are true, but why take the chance when your life is on the line?”

“So what you are saying is, I better learn how to do this right, because it could save my life.”

“That is exactly what I am saying; now stop slacking off with all this talk and get back to work.”

We spent the next hour working through forms, before April decided we should do a little sparring. We went through attacks and counters in slow motion. It really helped my brain tie in the forms I had been learning and what they countered. Going through the motions in slow motion also left me unscathed, though I was sure that wouldn’t last for long. It also let April stop and show me where I had messed up—where I should be focusing my eyes and moving my feet while I countered her attacks with the escrima sticks. It all made more sense when I wasn’t experiencing only half of the fight. She continued to drill me, landing a few harder hits before calling it for the night.

We walked back to the dorms together, splitting off at the elevator when she got out on the floor before me. After another long shower, I crawled into bed. I knew this life was going to be tough, if I chose to keep it. Fighting a werewolf with a sword—well, that just sounded suicidal. I hoped I never got to experience that firsthand.