4. Bits and Pieces

Lace followed Kiren into the wide circle that had been drawn in the middle of the practice yard, about fifteen meters across. Bits and Jahn stood opposite them. The young nobleman rolled up his sleeves and cracked his fingers one by one. Frost curled up his arms and his breath came in foggy puffs.

Bits just stared at them, arms at his sides. That grin was still plastered on his face.

Jahn should be the biggest problem. I’ll focus on keeping him off balance so that Kiren can finish them both. His Power should theoretically allow him to regenerate an unlimited amount of damage, so as long as he doesn’t get overwhelmed, there’s no way we’ll come out of this on the losing end.

“If you are knocked out of the ring, unable to continue fighting, or choose to surrender, those count as a loss,” Counter said, standing just outside the circle. The Heroes ringed them a little further out. “When both teammates of one team are out, you are to cease fighting immediately. Drawing blood is permitted, but performing potentially lethal attacks is not. Are both teams ready?”

“Ready,” Lace and Kiren said.

“Ready,” Jahn said.

Bits let the silence drag out for a moment. “Oh, what the hell. Ready.”

“Then begin!” Counter shouted.

Kiren threw up dirt as he set off in a sprint towards their two opponents.

Lace threw a punch and the wind whirled around her arm. It sent out a funnel of rapidly moving air that collided with Jahn and knocked him back a few steps. He teetered on his heels, off-balance.

Bits remained exactly where he was. His grin slipped just a hair.

Kiren was close. Only a few meters separated them.

Jahn righted himself.

Kiren got in range and wound up for a running punch.

Bits tilted his head a little to the left, barely avoiding Kiren’s attack. “Now!” he said.

Jahn put his hands together horizontally. Ice formed on the ground behind Kiren and grew into a low wall that stood about as tall as a man. The wall obstructed her view, and she could no longer see Kiren or Bits at all.

I need to get a better view. Kiren might need my help.

She moved to the right to get a better view, but a flying object made her dodge back to the left. A spear of ice shattered against the ground behind her.

Jahn hovered his hands above the ground, palms down, and vapor coalesced into ice as more spears grew from the ground. He snapped one of them off and rested it against his shoulder, the point aimed towards Lace.

When he threw, she jumped to the side, easily moving out of the path of the spear. They were too heavy, unable to be thrown with any particular speed.

Jahn made a fist of his hand. The spear shattered in midair, shards like sharpened glass spreading out in a cloud that descended towards Lace.

She put up her hands to summon some wind, but she had been caught off balance. It was too late.

A translucent, blue sheet materialized in the air in front of her. The shards hit the ethereal membrane and bounced off with equal force, shooting straight into the ground with dull thuds.

Lace looked back. Counter stood behind her, arms crossed.

“Use of deadly force is not permitted!” he called. “Do that again, and you’re disqualified.”

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Rather sheepishly, Jahn let the rest of his spears melt into the ground.

Good. I can use that to my advantage. Jahn won’t be able to use his Power to its fullest extent, but mine cannot be considered lethal. If I can pressure him out of the ring, I can free myself up to help Kiren.

She ran towards Jahn. He backed up, nearing the edge of the ring, eyes widened in fear.

I need to get close so my wind has the maximum amount of force. That should be enough to knock him out.

“Kiren? You okay?” she called while approaching Jahn. She glanced back at the ice wall, now that she was on the other side. Kiren and Bits were trading punches, but Kiren had taken a lot of damage. The whole lower part of his face was smeared with blood.

“I’m fine!” Kiren said. “Just fucking finish up and give me a—” He took a blow to the stomach that sent him reeling. He backed up against the wall, barely blocking another series of jabs.

I have to win this quickly. Kiren’s not looking good.

Lace turned her attention back onto Jahn and blew a focused jet of air. The young noble stumbled up to the edge, but he planted his feet on the ground, halting himself. Frost spread around him, crawling up his feet and ankles. She shot another blast of wind, but the ice kept him firmly affixed.

Lace was close, only about two meters away from him. She stopped in her tracks.

Oh no.

Jahn grinned.

He baited me.

Ice crawled across the ground. She backed up, but the ice stuck to her feet. She yanked her legs, but they were firmly stuck. She panted from the exertion she had put her body through.

Jahn unfroze himself. She blasted him with air, but it was weaker than before. He quickly righted himself and approached, ice coating his right hand like a heavy gauntlet.

I need to do something quick. One hit from that, and I’m out.

Lace reached down and fumbled among the gravel for a decent-sized rock. She had to dig a little for it, but she found one. She hacked away at the ice around her ankles, even as new frost coalesced atop her skin. She got one foot loose.

Jahn reached her and swung with his oversized, icy fist, putting his whole weight behind it.

Lace ducked low and applied a brief rush of air above her head. Jahn’s punch flew wide and he stumbled off to the side, dragged along by the sheer weight attached to his hand.

Lace got her other foot loose. Her feet were still stuck to the ground, but she managed to slip out of her shoes. She walked across the ice towards Jahn before he could recover. Her bare feet stuck to the ground, taking bits of skin.

Jahn recovered. He came towards her and swept his off hand through the air, producing a thick cloud of freezing cold fog that obscured his movements.

Lace didn’t need to see him. She ran into the fog, planted her feet, and exhaled deeply as the air rushed in behind her.

The cloud was dispersed. Jahn stumbled back. She kept up the pressure, bombarding him with a steady wind. He slipped on his own ice, dragged down by his heavy gauntlet, and slid just out of the ring.

“Jahn is out!” Counter said.

Not the smartest kid. He was undone by his own Power.

“Unmaker’s black,” Jahn swore, shaking the ice off his hand as he stood back up. “You got lucky.”

Lace paid him no mind. She had to help Kiren.

She turned around.

Bits walked towards her, grinning like a madman. His face was spattered with blood, knuckles dripping with it. None was his own.

Kiren lay propped against the melting ice wall, his face bruised black and blue, blood leaking out of his nose and bubbling from between his lips. He was completely unconscious.

“Kiren is out!” Counter announced.

Lace threw a desperate gust of wind at Bits, driving the precious air from her lungs. The blond man kept low to the ground, slowed but not stopped.

“Feeling a little tired there, hon?” Bits asked. “Don’t worry. This’ll be over real soon.”

Lace breathed in dry, shallow wheezes.

Damn it. I’ve relied on my Power too much.

She still had a shot, though. Bits would have to come in close to finish her since he didn’t have a Power to aid him. She entered into a wide stance, arms covering her vitals, center of gravity firmly centered.

Bits stepped in close.

Lace struck out with her palm.

He stepped aside and grabbed her wrist. He twisted firmly.

Pop.

Lace cried out.

He put a foot behind her leg and elbowed her in the face. She fell backward, unable to catch herself.

The back of her head cracked against the ground, sending colored sparks across her vision. Everything went blurry and unfocused, obscured by pain.

The last thing she saw was Bits grinning down at her.

“Jahn and Bits are the victors!” Counter announced.