They exited the shed and walked down the side of the practice courts, past a red tent, towards a group of demons that contained Alexi's father and mother. The other crow demons present all carried spears and were wearing black uniforms trimmed in gold. They must be guards, Ro realized. There were also two people present without wings. They were a male and a female both clad in deep reds the color of blood. Ro didn't know what their purpose was.
As they approached Daryol stepped forward grinning maliciously. Ro swallowed nervously. He looked even bigger in the daylight. The clan leader merely glanced at Ro's daggers with a disapproving frown and said nothing.
Daryol began walking to the center of the square court. Alexi, the clan leader, and Lady Alexandra all sat on first row of the bleachers on its left side. The guards stood on either side of them. The red clad creatures took up seats on the bench behind the clan leader and his lady. All eyes were fixed on Ro and Daryol as they walked.
Lady Alexandra leaned closer to Alexi.
"Alexi, what is she wearing on her wrists and ankles?" She asked in hushed tones. Alexi peered at Ro's wrists. He had noticed her wearing the bands but hadn't really given it much thought.
"I am not sure. I'll go ask." He answered in hushed tones. He rose. "Roselyn, wait." Ro turned and stopped. Alexi quickly walked over to her and grasped her left wrist. His eyes immediately found the engraved flower on the bands surface. Anger flitted across his face.
"Take these off." He ordered.
"They are just light weights. They won't make any difference." Ro countered. Alexi lifted his gaze to meet Ro's. His gaze was hot with anger.
"A little weight could mean the difference between a scratch and a fatal injury now. Take them off." His voice was low and menacing. Ro shifted uncomfortably.
"I can't. I don't know how." She said stubbornly. Alexi stared at the bracelet, looking at the magic that formed it. He could see layers of compaction magic, each one compression the earth that created the bracelet, adding more weight to the band. On the side of the band he could see a magicked key hole. He tested it with his magic. It was keyed to expansion magic, but the correct pressure he couldn't tell. He sighed and summoned his magic. He forced expansion magic into the hole. The bracelet and Ro's whole arm recoiled as the hole exploded with magical force.
"Ow." Ro said flatly, showing her disapproval. The bracelet remained closed about her wrist.
"Too much pressure." Alexi muttered under his breath.
He tried again, using less force. There was no recoil this time, but the bracelet vibrated a little, telling him he was closer to the right pressure. However, it was still closed around Ro's wrist.
Alexi swore. His father wouldn't wait forever to start the fight. Hastily, Alexi tried again with a bit more pressure. The bracelet shook violently and cracked open in response. He pried the edges apart and slid it into his hand. He almost dropped it. The thing weighed nearly ten pounds. Now he understood the need for all the layers of compaction. Laine had been slowly adding more weight since he had given them to Ro. Ro shook her hand, testing her movement without the bracelet. She moved her arm so quickly it blurred slightly to Alexi's eyes. He deftly unlocked and removed the remaining bands. Ro jumped, and her feet easily cleared two feet. She broke into a dazzling grin.
"I feel so light." Ro happily announced. Alexi shifted the weighted bands, so he held two in each hand. She would feel light, he was carrying close to forty pounds.
"Have a good fight and remember your promise." He told her as he walked back to his waiting parents.
"Sure! It should be interesting." Ro found it hard to feel nervous when she felt like she could just float away. She quickly walked to her spot in the training court and was still smiling as she faced Daryol. He stared at her in confusion for a moment before breaking into a savage grin himself.
"Don't worry little human. I'll kill you quickly, so you won't suffer much." Ro's smile fell as she remembered what was going on. Her eyes became two hard agates in her face as she sunk into her crouch.
"The fight is to first blood only." The clan leader roared to them. "Begin."
Daryol charged straight for Ro. His spear came down in an overhead strike. Ro raised both of her daggers to block. Spear met dagger in a loud clang and Ro's muscles strained as she fought to block the blow. It was like trying to stop an avalanche. Ro felt herself being pushed down. She belated realized that blocking this giant was a mistake. She quickly came to a decision on what to do. She jumped and arched her back and guided the spear tip to the ground. Then, planting her hands and daggers to catch herself, she pushed off the ground again and kicked Daryol hard in the chest with both feet. She had hoped that the move would make him drop his spear, but he held on to it as he stumbled back. Ro's feet touched the ground and she pushed off with her hands, righting herself. Daryol thrust his spear straight for her middle but Ro spun nimbly to the left. He swung low and she jumped over his attack. Then he tried a diagonal cut from overhead and left but Ro stepped forward and spun again, this time turning to the right, inside his range. She held her daggers out as she spun aiming for his chest and his right thigh. He jerked back seeing the danger, and she danced under his right arm. Ro returned to her crouch and watched Daryol warily. He regarded her with confusion that swiftly turned to anger when he saw that she wasn't the least bit winded. He was already sweating.
Their standoff lasted only for a minute. Daryol charged again. He struck in a low diagonal sweep. Then he attacked with an overhead strike, followed by a high diagonal cut and a low strike, all in rapid succession. Ro just dodged them all waiting for an opening. Furious now, Daryol roared and stabbed for her heart with all his strength. Ro smiled slightly as she took in his unbalanced stance. This was an opening. At the last moment she dropped to a crouch, stepped out, whirled to the right and stabbed him in the back.
Blood sprayed into the air as the force of Ro's blow drove Daryol to his hands and knees and off her dagger. Daryol coughed and more blood landed on the dirt. There was also a continuous fast drip from his stomach that was beginning to make a pool on the ground. Ro looked at her dagger and saw it was red up to the hilt. It must have punctured out through the other side of his stomach. Ro felt sick as the tangy scent of blood wafted through the air around her.
The red garbed woman without wings ran over from the side lines. Pale green fire was already showing around her hands. The male followed her and helped Daryol to his feet. The woman placed her hands on either side of his wound and together the three of them began walking to the red tent set up between the bleachers and the equipment shed.