Falcrest ran after me. 'Just ignore him.'
'And how do you suppose I do that?'
I could tell she was thinking of what to say. 'Look, they told me I'd die during my first game too, and I'm still here, right?'
'Right.'
She patted me on the back so hard; I thought I was going to topple over. 'Now, let's finish this game, shall we?'
The glistening orbs didn't leave my side, and the Silverskins watched them intently, with their Captain even setting three players to mark me, no doubt a precaution against my pulling off something spectacular again. As if I'd planned what happened last time.
After kick-off, the first fifteen minutes were mediocre, with neither team gaining any momentum on the possession front.
'That should have been a penalty ref!'
The spindly Goblin was having none of it. 'Give me more abuse like that, Halzon, and you'll be off!'
I was surprised to see the player complying so readily; I could only assume that being sent off in this game meant so much more than being restricted to the bench. The match resumed without a hitch.
'Jake, what the hell are you doing?' Lockwood demanded, clipping the back of my head.
I'd just fumbled a pass, flicking the ball over the tiny player's head straight to the opposing team. And now that they were on a breakaway, I could only watch on in horror, knowing that I may well have just cost us the game.
We were all racing to get back in defence, with Lockwood sprinting the fastest. The second I wished I could move quicker was the exact moment a massive gust of wind began shoving me ahead of the others. The shapes of players and fans were swiftly blurring into streaks of colour, and before I knew it, I skidded to a halt, directly in front of our goal.
Instead of showing everyone how shaken I was following the hell-raising manoeuvre, I just stood still, grinning wolfishly at the onrushing players. One of them was Steelstream's substitute, and she kept blinking, letting the ball get away from her as she continued to lose more ground.
The spritely player appeared to slip left as she fell back but instead faked her turn. Then I saw her shoot, but as I dove to head the ball clear, I realised too late that she was still stood before me, chuckling to herself. She'd demonstrated a masterful use of mirage magic, one that I'd never seen coming, and afterwards, she was able to tap the ball into the goal with minimum effort.
'GOOOOOOAAAAAAL!'
'It looks like the replacement runner has earned her keep today, Belgrin.'
'Don't I know it. You'd better remember the name 'Taggart' folks; something tells me we haven't seen the last of her tonight. The Saltmarsh Silverskins now lead five to two. Can the home team pull back three goals with only fifteen minutes left?'
'If anyone can do it, they can, Belgrin.'
I'd collapsed to the ground with my head in my hands, not wanting to face the heckling crowd. Stupid, stupid-
Falcrest hauled me up to my feet. 'Forget about that one. We still have time.'
I'd been so distracted, I hadn't noticed Agrero pick up the ball or that he was now sprinting behind me. And when the Giant threw it, the thing hit my chest armour with so much power that I still felt the jolt of lightning despite all the warding.
'Come on!' I spat.
Agrero was pointing at me, laughing hysterically as my body spasmed under the paralysing voltage. It wasn't enough to take me out of the game, but I must have looked stupid running around like a headless chicken.
Windsinger quickly joined his Giant friend, placing him in a headlock and scruffing up his short, crew-cut hair. 'Oh, walk it off, bitch.'
I knew I couldn't, but I wanted to hurt the pair of them badly. I'd have to settle for a little in-game revenge instead.
'Well, would you look at them all down there, Gretta; there's nothing quite like a little hazing, is there?'
She giggled. 'No, there's not, Belgrin.'
'Five minutes!' The referee called before the stadium's automated countdown system began repeating it.
'You heard it, Gretta. I think this game might be over.'
'You could be right, Belgrin... Wait, what's this? Goodwin is charging down the left flank, with Falcrest on the right. The Silverskins don't know who to focus on!'
I could see Falcrest's long cross coming towards me, and with it came the two giants again. I counted down the seconds, waiting until they were too close but not close enough to stop my next move.
Now. I told myself, firing a long cross back towards her. The ball seemed to fly straight up, disappearing into the bright orange rays of the setting sun, and for a second, I thought I was playing school volleyball all over again. I swear, one day, I even managed to spike the ball the wrong way. Suffice it to say I'd never prospered within Feldspar Academy's Physical Education program.
Too focused on the ball, I didn't even notice that Agrero and Windsinger hadn't altered course. They were still angling to take me out.
Windsinger leapt high, hammering the ground next to me with his ham joint of a fist, and I felt my legs give out as the stadium's turf began to tremble. Then Agrero came in straight after, slashing at my face with a sharpened gauntlet. I'd been told this game was rough, but the player's behaviour was just ridiculous.
The referee was already marching over, but the bastard still wouldn't stop. And now his whistle was being blown so hard that it almost exploded my eardrums. The little green goblin was trying to pull Agrero off me without any luck, and even the barrier spell I saw him cast didn't seem to be working.
I heard someone call out my name, and when I looked up, I saw Edmond kneeling on the edge of the VIP box with a knife held to his throat.
'Such hubris, thinking we wouldn't understand that little message he passed on to you.'
The small dagger slid across Edmond's neck with ease, spilling blood out all over the blissfully ignorant people below. The fans weren't sure what it was, to begin with, but when Edmond's limp body smashed onto the metal guard rail of the emergency exit stairwell, everyone seemed to stagger backwards as fear took hold.
'You're next!' The finely tailored man sneered, licking the wet blade of the dagger. 'Don't let up now, Agrero. Wait, I have a better idea. Guards? Let's make this interesting. Open up the arsenal; all players are to take one weapon each, apart from Mr Goodwin here, he gets nothing.'
'That's hardly fair!' Falcrest yelled to no avail. The so-called 'leadership' had just called for a massacre, and from what I could tell, they were used to getting want they wanted.