“Are we sure this is a good idea?”

Michael and Megan paced around each other in a wide circle, eying each other warily. For Megan’s part, she was remembering just how fast he was, and his prodigious skill in magical combat, both melee and otherwise. It was a completely unfair matchup. Sure, she could cast pretty quickly now, but if she missed even one spell, Michael would be able to close the distance and hit her with that sword of his. Hell, he could even use the sword to stop any spell she might launch. Damien was a threat to be sure, but not as much as Michael was.

Michael, in the meantime, was thinking of how quick and clever Alice was. It wasn’t that he discounted Megan’s skill completely. She was a phenomenal mage. It was just that he knew that, out of the two of them, his battle sense was much sharper. Alice, however, was another case altogether. She was just as fast as he was, and had more devious tactics she could use to undermine his defense and stick one of those nasty knives somewhere they shouldn’t go.

Each of them, so absorbed in their thoughts about the proposed sparring match, didn’t realize that the other was thinking along the same lines. Each of them was wary for a good reason, fully aware of just exactly what the other pair was capable of—two perfect partnerships, with both mortal and Infernal able to cover for the differences of the others. Nearly impossible to defeat, but now they were expected to fight.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Alice said, answering Michael’s original question. Still, he couldn’t ignore the way she continued to pace, her body light and lithe. In spite of her outward caution, she seemed eager to try it out. “But I don’t think they’ll give us a choice in the matter.”

“Hell no, we won’t,” Alice said, shifting into place and pushing Megan back. “Let’s kick his ass!”

She darted forward without warning, almost catching Michael by surprise. He sent a bolt of electricity at her, flicking his hand in a way that the lightning spun into a small disc. She dashed the spell to the side with one of her knives, surprising him again. Neither he nor Megan knew that she could deflect spells like that. He drew his sword with incredible speed, just fast enough to parry her knife in time. The heavier blade deflected her with ease, and he immediately lunged to counter, forcing the Infernal girl to jump back, avoiding the longsword.

Michael jumped back as well, but in mid-air, he switched places with Damien, and the Infernal had two spells launched before his feet touched the ground. Megan and Alice switched at once, and Megan swiped a hand through the air to disperse the two bolts of magic before releasing her own, a firebolt that split into a dozen smaller pieces, each arcing out in different directions to curve back in on the Infernals.

Michael reappeared to summon a perfect barrier, blocking the spells, then sent a solid wall of air back at Megan. She jumped into the air with a gust herself, sending her body soaring high. She and Alice shifted back just as they began to fall, leaving the Infernal girl with her daggers drawn, falling like a meteor. Damien was able to swipe her to the side, but before he could purchase on the moment, Megan had tripped him with a summoned vine.

Both Megan and Damien rolled to their feet, breathing rather more heavily than they’d expected. The constant mental strain of shifting back and forth took its toll. They might have become more accustomed to it and could do it as quickly as thinking about it, but that didn’t make the process effortless. We’ll definitely have to work on that some more, Megan thought, with Alice grumbling her reluctant agreement a half second later. Still, it was a good enough skill in a fight.

Damien clicked his fingers, causing the ground on either side of Megan to rise up and attempt to crush her. She dove forward, rolling to avoid the trap, just as Alice reappeared, knife slashing for Damien’s chest. The Infernal leaped back a half-second too late and got a thin cut to one arm for his lack of speed. But then Michael was back, and he launched into a ferocious pattern of strikes that forced Alice onto the defensive.

Despite appearances, Alice was more than a match for Michael’s sword skills. In all fairness, he wasn’t quite an expert in the art of swordcraft, but he was more competent than the average seasoned soldier. But Alice had been alive much longer and knew a wider variety of tricks to keep him occupied. Sure, he was fast enough to prevent her from getting a chance to switch Megan in, but there were more than a few times when he found one of her knives dangerously close to his sensitive, pale skin. She seemed to be wielding four knives, not two.

Alice and Damien both remained in the backs of their partners’ minds, watching closely for the first chance. But they were still active in the fight through their magic. Damien was bolstering Michael’s defense, allowing him to escape some of those close scrapes without getting, well… scraped. Megan was enhancing Alice’s striking power and her speed, and of course, both were essentially a second pair of eyes watching over the combat, using their knowledge of the opponent to help their partner avoid being tricked.

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“Watch out for his feint there!” Megan shouted, and Alice was able to spin away from the lightning-fast backhand that Michael unleashed.

“She’ll strike low, but watch out above!” This warning from Damien resulted in Michael just barely noticing the dagger Megan had thrown into the air, leaping back and letting it hit the soil instead of his shoulder.

Both of them stepped back in mutual silent agreement, studying the effect they’d managed to have. Michael bore several shallow cuts on his sword arm, while Alice had a bruised cheekbone and a split above her eyebrow, not to mention one of her bucklers was hanging by a single strap where Michael had nearly severed it from her arm. They were both bleeding light but switched back to heal.

In no time at all, a duel of the same ferocity broke out between Damien and Megan. She was more confident here, as she’d taken many anti-magic classes after earning her Master’s robes. The golden thread on the sleeves and hem of her robe wasn’t just for show anymore, she thought. She’d earned her own respect as Samuel’s Paragon apprentice, and was a natural in the field of countering other’s magicks. Even if she’d been a stranger in Infernal magic, she still wouldn’t have much of a problem here.

That being said, the speed with which Damien unleashed spell after spell at her was terrifying. She felt as though she’d countered ten different attack spells in the first ten seconds, and she still had to attack herself, or she’d fall behind the tempo of the battle. She caused the branches of nearby trees to reach out to try and grab him, but Damien singed them away, soon sending a flood of water from the nearby river at her.

This she couldn’t counter, as the water itself wasn’t a spell. But she could divert and redirect it. She pinched her hands together and summoned a thin, nearly invisible wall of wind, piercing through the water and shoving it to the sides. It surged past her with a vengeance, then rose up and tried to crash down from above. With a quick burst of wind, she jumped back, and avoided the crash, then sent the water back at Damien, this time in a hail of icy spikes.

He melted the spikes with a barrier of fire, a broad grin on his face. “Not bad!”

She spun on the spot, gathering the excess leftover water and forming it into a sphere. He’d distracted himself for a second too long and was trapped. He could see him thrashing around inside of it, trying to throw it off, but to no avail. Eventually, he had to give up and switch places with Michael.

By the time his feet had touched the ground, Megan already had two bolts of invisible air flying in his direction. The first, a straight shot, was inches away before he slashed it apart with his blade. The second, which she’d aimed to ricochet off the firm, soaked ground, bounced back up at the perfect angle to hit him under the chin. His head snapped up, and his eyes were crossed by the impact. A critical hit!

Alice appeared and was across the gap in a flash. She tackled Michael to the ground, knocking his sword from his hand and putting a knife to his throat. Then he shifted again, and so did Alice. When the positions had been resolved, it was Megan who was now pinned, trapped under her own barrier and the weight of the torrent of air that Damien was throwing down at her.

After a moment, Damien released his channeled spell, and Megan was able to clamber back to her feet, more than a little bruised and battered. She was shaking with the adrenaline of the fight and the sudden exhaustion as she realized just how much mana she’d spent. The physical injuries were, of course, nothing to them. Even when Alice and Michael shifted out to get their cuts tended to, it took a minute or two and they were in good condition once more.

“Alright,” Michael said, plopping down on the stump he’d used as a seat for their campsite and re-igniting the fire after Damien had doused it, “I think that settles it.”

Megan nodded, though she was still a little dubious. “It feels like the time hardly passed.”

“That’s because you’re used to living by the time that the material plane has,” Alice commented, sitting beside her. “But in these past months, you’ve gotten a lot stronger, and our shifting is almost effortless now.”

“Almost,” repeated Michael, stabbing the coals of the fire to spread them around a bit better. Even he was struggling to go any faster switching with Damien. “But we’re getting there.”

“Is that all there is left?” Megan asked, looking between Alice and Damien. “Are we High Infernals then?”

“Only in name,” Damien told her. Alice didn’t bother to reply, as she was busy staring into the flames. “We still have significantly less power than the Primeval. But with the four of us, we should be just enough of a match to beat him.”

“Especially if Eric takes a hand and helps us out,” Megan offered. Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly, as they did each time the other Outsider was brought up. But he pushed the emotion away, and only Megan caught it. “I’m sure he’ll be there for the final fight, whatever it is.”

“Probably,” Alice said without much concern or interest. “Now forget about all that. We’ll leave tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m hungry.”

“Of course food would be your highest concern,” Megan muttered, rolling her eyes. But she couldn’t suppress her grin. She was hungry too, and, knowing Michael, he’d be famished as well. “Alright. Just as a treat, I’ll make us something special.”