Four months later
Two girls stood in a clearing on a beautiful estate. The couple trees in the clearing had heavy scorch marks and deep gashes. One girl had flaming red hair that was tied up in a ponytail and danced behind her as she lunged forward at the other girl. Her green eyes flashed with excitement and adrenaline. She moved with grace with the dual blades in her hands. The other girl placed a foot behind her, preparing for the impact.
Unlike the red-head, the girl only had one sword. Her chocolate brown hair was also in a ponytail and deep brown eyes watched the incoming girl with a sharp glint. She raised her sword in one elegant swoop, meeting the red-head's blades. A loud clang resonated through the entire estate.
The red-head yanked one of her blades away from the collided swords and stabbed it at the side of the brunette. The other girl's eyes flashed and she deftly dodged the incoming blade, breaking contact with the red-head's other blade. Regaining her balance, the brunette rushed forward, and using her sword as leverage, pushed herself off the ground and kicked the red-head straight in the chest, sending her flying.
A clap sounded behind the two girls. A man in a sleek black suit stepped out of the shadows. He had a smile on his face, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes as if he had seen too much and done things he could not take back.
"Well done, Amara! Astrid, you too. Valiant effort on your part!"
I turned and smiled, wiping off the sweat on my forehead. "Thanks!"
I ran over to where Astrid was starting to stand back up.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, clear worry laced in my voice. She grinned at me and patted my shoulder. "Dang, that was some kind of kick! I am going to have a bruise in the shape of a foot for a week!"
I smiled. Astrid always loved to tease me. I knew she would be fine in a day or two. She was just being over dramatic. In the past four months, I had greatly improved in hand-to-hand combat, archery, and in sparring with swords. I had adopted a new normal and I had settled in pretty quickly at the manor. After accepting my new path from the voice, I had started reading books on the supernatural world. It amazed me how I had actually known about the unordinary.
I had gone on many missions with the team. I also experienced my first time in space. Let me tell you, not fun. Don't ever let Astrid pilot; she is crazy. Through these missions, I learned that an age old war raged across the universe. The brothers from the incident actually played a big part in it.They were the sons of a demon named Titus. He was the king of demons and he was one of the major figures in the war. I had learned about all the different races and, of course, I was still trying to figure out mine. Taliya jumped on any evidence or clues I had.
After the incident in the dungeon, I had noticed some distance from some of the members of the team. Wren and Kalina had accepted me and tried their best to include me, but deep down, I knew that they were scared of me. Theo tried his best to avoid me and Caspian rarely uttered three words to me. Gram remained the same as before, but I sensed apprehension in him.
Luka and Astrid were really the only ones who hadn't changed after what they saw. Then again, Luka didn't really talk to me very much, so I couldn't tell. I followed Astrid back to the manor. I made my way to my room. Yes, I had finally conquered the maze of hallways. Take that, stupid manor!
I stripped my clothes and took a shower. After, I put on blue ripped jeans and a simple black tank. It was in the middle of August and the cool breezes of autumn had not come yet. I left my room and strode into the living room to see Astrid sitting on one of the couches. She looked up from her phone as I walked in.
"Hey girly!" she said, a bright smile on her face. I smiled back and walked over, plopping down onto the couch next to her.
"Well, you have really improved, Amara," Astrid said. "I bet you can beat Gram and maybe even Luka!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Luka? Is Luka better than Gram?"
Astrid's emerald eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous glint. Oh boy, someone is about to be ripped on. "Well...you could say that," she said with a wicked smile on her face that sent chills down my back. "Of course, Gram doesn't want to admit it, but Luka would totally destroy him."
Just as Astrid finished her sentence, Gram and Luka entered the room together. Astrid's voice quieted at the end of her statement when she spotted Gram. The mischievous glint in her eyes disappeared and was replaced with guilt.
"O-oh, hi-i Gram. Didn't see you there," Astrid said, tripping over her words. Luka immediately caught on and his eyes flashed in amusement. I covered my own laugh with a cough.
"Did something happen?" Gram asked with his eyebrow raised. He said this like he was confused, but I was sure he had heard what Astrid had said. "Do you have something to say to me?"
Astrid blushed, clearly embarrassed. "Um, you look fine?"
I wanted to face-plam right then and there. Luka tried and failed to stop his laugh. Gram scowled at all of us. "So, Astrid, you think that I can't beat Luka in a duel?"
The mischievous light had returned to Astrid's eyes. A wide grin spread slowly over her face. "Yes, in fact, I think Amara could beat both of you in a duel."
Now both boys were looking at Astrid. Luka's cold eyes stared at Astrid and then me. A small mocking smile spread over his face.
"Oh really?" Luka said. "You think that Amara could beat Gram and me in a duel?"
I grinned. I wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "Yes, I can beat Gram and you in a duel."
"Alright then, why don't we settle this right now. Grab your things and meet us outside in the ring," Luka said, his eyes shining bright. "Don't chicken out, Solis."
"I won't. See you in ten."
I jumped off of the couch and ran to my room to change. I paused, thinking about what I should wear. I needed to be able to move pretty quickly. I put on black leather jeans, even though I knew I would regret it later, and kept my black tank on. I pulled on hand grips and put my combat boots on. Finally, I snatched my pocket-knife from the dresser. I looked in the mirror, making sure I was all set. Nodding in satisfaction, I left the room, briskly walking down the hallways.
Upon exiting the manor and approaching the ring. Luka, Gram, and Astrid were waiting for me. I didn't see anyone else, but I knew that they were eagerly waiting for the match to start. Astrid walked to me.
"Ok, so we are going to be doing a double, so I will be fighting with you. Got it?" Astrid said.
I nodded my head and followed Astrid back to the two boys. Luka smirked when he saw us.
"Ready to lose?"
I rolled my eyes, while Astrid scoffed. She wanted to give a retort, but I stopped her.
"The best response is to just beat them," I said. Astrid smiled. "You are right. Let's give them a fight they will never forget!"
I giggled at Astrid's enthusiasm. The four of us approached the ring. Caspian was waiting in the middle of the ring. He usually was the referee in these matches. We split to our respective sides and prepared ourselves. Caspian stuck one arm out. His voice rang out clearly.
"This match will be held as a double. Astrid and Amara on one team and Luka and Gram on the other. This match will continue until only one person or one team is left standing in the ring. If one contestant steps outside the ring, he or she shall be eliminated and cannot participate until the next round. Swords and powers will be allowed in this match. Any other weapon will cause the contestant to be eliminated. If any contenders would like to quit this match, please do so now."
None of us moved. Caspian continued. "Alright, let the match begin!"
An eerie silence settled over the clearing. None of us moved, waiting and watching each other's actions intently. Astrid moved closer to me and whispered in my ear quietly.
"You take Luka and I will take Gram. Watch your back and mine. Remember, Luka can transform still."
I nodded faintly. Suddenly, I felt her press one of her blades into my hand. I looked at her in shock. She winked at me and then plunged ahead at Gram. Gram was ready and waiting. Astrid's blades clashed with Gram's. Luka moved, double-teaming Astrid. I knew Astrid would not stand a chance against Luka and Gram. I made my move. I dashed forward and twirled to meet Luka's blade. A sharp clang echoed.
My eyes widened slightly. Luka was strong. With one hit, I felt the vibration in my bones and I knew that I could not win with strength. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Astrid had been thrown back my Gram. Luka disengaged and charged towards Astrid.
I gritted my teeth. They were targeting Astrid! Once they got her out, it would be almost impossible for me to win. I desperately ran to Astrid, shielding her from Luka's incoming sword. Before Gram could reach Astrid, I slammed him in the face with a wall of ice. Astrid scrambled up and helped me fend off Luka..
I whispered to her their plan in passing. I saw her eyes go cold. This time, she stuck close to me. Suddenly, we heard a rumble from beneath us. Astrid grabbed my arm and pulled me away quickly. The ground moved towards us like a tidal wave. We ran with Luka chasing us. This was not going well. We had to escape this somehow.
Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my chest, like it was going to burn a whole through my body. My head spun and I clutched tighter onto Astrid. I started to stumble. Astrid, noticing that I was lagging, stopped. The wave of earth was coming towards us fast and Astrid kept trying to pull me up.
At this point, I was in so much pain that I could barely breathe. Suddenly, the pain intensified so much that I was on the brink of blacking-out. Then it was gone and the world was still. When I opened my eyes, Astrid had her eyes closed with her head leaning into my shoulder. Luka was kneeling and the ground was back to normal. Gram was covering his eyes with his hand in pain.
Astrid opened her eyes and gasped. She was half-smiling and half-shaking.
"Amara, you are glowing!"
I looked down and sure enough my whole body was glowing. I raised my hand and a small ball of light swirled in my palm. Curiously, I threw the ball and it landed into the ground. My little light was like a snake. It snuck through the ground and I could sense everybody. I aimed it at Gram and it exploded underneath him, sending him flying backwards. He didn't fly out of the ring, but he was at the edge of it.
Luka had recovered and saw his teammate go flying. He ran over to Gram and pulled him up. Gram clutched his head.
"Dang, where did that come from?" Gram said. He shook his head and his eyes cleared of his previous pain. "You almost blinded both of us."
I opened my mouth and closed it. I had almost blinded them? Does that mean…
"It seems we have uncovered another power of yours, Amara," Luka said.
I smiled, enchanted by the glow of my light. So, I can control light. We had come to a complete stop and we were able to see our audience. The whole team, Archeon, and some of the manor staff were watching our fight.
"Shall we continue?" I said, standing up with Astrid. I dusted myself off. Gram walked over to stand beside Luka. Luka smiled at my statement.
"Why not?"