79. Aster vs Seaton

The second the timer hit zero, Aster leapt into the air, soaring through the sky as though in flight as she flung the needles at the merfolk so fast that her arms were nothing but a blur. At the same time, Seaton slammed his lance into the ground, and a wave of water rose from the end, rushing forward like a tidal wave and just barely intercepting the attacks before they could reach him.

The water didn’t stop there, continuing to stretch and morph until it formed a thin shroud around Seaton. The grasses that had been caught by the first wave swirled inside the shield of water, trapped by the currents.

Aster landed lightly on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. She scowled at the man and tugged more grasses out of her head. “Looks like you’ve got some tricks,” she muttered.

“As much as I dislike to admit it, you are faster than me. I can’t dodge those blades.” He brought his spear back up to a neutral grip. “This is my solution.”

Aster’s eyes darted rapidly over the man, scanning the cloak of water and their surroundings. She crouched lower, mouth set in a determined line.

“We’ll see.”

The fey dashed forward, running straight at Seaton, whose grip tightened on his spear in preparation. She planted a foot on the ground and swung her leg as though in a kick. The merfolk raised his weapon to block, but instead of kicking, Aster twisted in a full circle and used the momentum to launch herself up into the air, nearly folding in half as she vaulted over her opponent entirely. A shower of needles rained down from above as the fey passed overhead before landing back on the ground with a few more flips to maintain balance.

Seaton frowned. He flicked his wrist, and the new layer of needles now clouding the top of his water shield were flung aside. They landed limply against the ground, no different than regular blades of grass.

Aster grinned. “Just checking for weak spots, don’t mind me.”

The merfolk narrowed his eyes. He lunged forward, bringing the spear around in an arcing swing that Aster ducked under. She retaliated by hurling another blade, though it was slower than her ranged attacks had been. This one Seaton knocked away with his spear instead, and the water shield shifted to close the opening that had formed to make room for his earlier attack. Isaac watched Aster’s eyes dart to where the opening had been, so quick he nearly missed it, and flicker with understanding.

The fey crouched low to the ground. Then, after a moment’s pause, she rushed forward, keeping her body low to the ground this time and swinging her leg around to trip the man. Seaton blocked it with the end of his spear, his own weapon constantly changing angles as he anticipated the fey’s attacks.

Some water splashed and wet the ground around them. The two weren’t locked in stalemate for long, though, because Aster almost immediately jumped back again, knowing a direct strength contest wasn’t in her favor.

Her eyes remained focused on the place where they’d just clashed, and Isaac noted that the water shroud once again shifted to patch over the thinned area. So that’s how it is, he thought.

Isaac came to the conclusion at the same time as Aster straightened and pulled a few more grass blades free. The shield was enough to stop the thrown blades, but not strong enough to block close range swings. The most it could do was slow them down slightly. Isaac frowned. Seaton was 2 levels above Aster, but within the specific rules of the tournament, where the first to land a solid hit was counted as the victor, the fey had the advantage with her speed, and it seemed both of them had reached the same conclusion.

Seaton shifted his stance. Now that the fey knew his shield couldn’t block direct attacks, he could no longer afford to stay on the defensive. Narrowing his eyes, he charged forward, stopping and thrusting the spear exactly at its maximum range. Aster blocked the attack with a particularly long grass blade, sharpened and indistinguishable from a knife. Her feet skidded along the ground as she sunk slightly into the dirt. Gritting her teeth, she sprung into the air to leap over the spear, immediately landing and blocking a second, just as perfectly spaced attack with a kick this time.

Before she could jump away, the half of the spear that Seaton was holding dissolved into streams of water that rapidly jetted around the two combatants, twisting and reforming the end of the weapon into a curved crescent that blocked off Aster’s escape route. Seaton bolted forward, grabbed the curved end of the newly formed spear, and swung it at his trapped opponent.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Isaac sucked in a breath as the morphed spear nearly slammed into the fey. Mere centimeters before it hit, however, Aster bent over in a narrow backbend, planted her hands on the ground, and vaulted over the weapon in an impossible act of flexibility that made her look as boneless as the rolling grasses of the Old Lands plains. She tumbled onto the ground, coughing up dust, but quickly rose back to her feet. She wiped some dirt out of her eyes, her lips drawn up in a sneer.

“You know, everyone calls fey tricksters, but I think you merfolk are much worse.”

The spear dissolved and reformed back into its usual shape, solid and heavy. Seaton frowned, swinging the weapon around a few times before getting back into a ready stance.

“I’d hardly call it a ‘trick.’”

“Of course not, merfolk are all super honorable, right? It’s just us fey who’re the problem.” Aster yanked a few more grasses out, longer strands that were about the length of shortswords.

Seaton narrowed his eyes. His grip on the spear tightened, and without another word, he charged, bringing his weapon around in a nearly vertical arc.

Aster tensed, readying to dodge. Just as the fey moved to leap out of the way, however, the end of the spear dug into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dirt and launching it straight into the fey’s face. She stumbled back, coughing and angrily wiping at the dirt. The motion left streaks on her skin. Seaton’s expression, meanwhile, hadn’t moved an inch. He simply brought the spear back to a neutral grip, eyes sharp.

Aster spit to the side and picked up the needles that she’d dropped during the attack, casually flipping them up and down in one hand. She sneered. “If that’s how your oh-so-dignified royalty behaves, makes you wonder how bad regular merfolk must be.” She hurled the needles and immediately yanked out new ones.

Seaton snapped his fingers, causing the water shield to shift and push out the absorbed blades. It was quite thin at this point, and large splotches of the ground beneath them were damp. He brought his spear up and slammed it towards his opponent, Aster flipping out of the way. Without pause, the merfolk pulled the weapon back, readying to attack again.

“I believe my conduct is more of a personal matter,” he said, voice indifferent. He took a step back, dug his heel into the dirt, and hurled the spear at the fey with a familiar aggression that Isaac remembered from the opening obstacle course. His grip on the tablet tightened further, and he would’ve worried about damaging it if he wasn’t so focused on the fight.

Aster ducked under the incoming spear, planting her hands on the ground and kicking her legs up to grab the weapon out of the air. Springing back up, she moved to grab the spear, but before she could, it dissolved into a by now familiar stream of water that rushed back towards Seaton.

The fey didn’t seem bothered by this, however, and dashed forward, striking out with one of her grass blades. The spear reformed just in time for Seaton to barely block the attack, and the merfolk visibly grit his teeth at the close call.

“Oh believe me, I’ve heard.” Aster jumped back, then rushed forward again without pausing. This time, she managed to pierce through the water barrier entirely, sending droplets spraying out around them that the fey ignored. The shield had slowed her attack down just enough, however, for Seaton to block, once again by a hair’s breadth.

Aster’s eyes studied the merfolk keenly. “Careful, you’re starting to slip, water rat.” A second high swing was blocked. The clang of clashing weapons rang throughout the arena.

“I could say the same for you. Your attacks are treading dangerously close to the line.” With a sharp yank, he knocked the blades out of Aster’s hand. The fey immediately responded by pulling out another. Seaton’s eyes narrowed. “Though considering who your king is, I suppose it makes sense the fey would be irresponsible, reckless fools with no forethought.”

The merfolk barely brought his spear up in time to block a swift high kick aimed near his head. More water splashed onto the earth, the shield thinning more with each strike. Eyes narrowed, Aster leapt back so that she was out of range and shook some of the water off. The ground beneath them had darkened in color, appearing like a dark stain in the center of the platform.

Aster brought the blade up in a ready position, not taking her eyes off her opponent. “Yeah? I guess you’d know all about that.” She snorted, the corners of her mouth somehow sharpening even further. “I mean, considering your sister—“

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Seaton’s eyes flared and he violently slashed his spear out. Aster brought her blade up reflexively, ready to block, only for her eyes to widen as instead of solid metal or undulating water, a coiling surge of ice jetted towards her with the same speed and precision of the water streams at many times the power.

The tips of the icicles gleamed in the light. Aster cursed and jerked back, twisting around to dodge after realizing she couldn’t block the attack.

An explosion of blinding gold engulfed the platform.

An accompanying blast of wind knocked Isaac backwards.

Bolded words flashed across the tablet’s bright red surface.

And not a second later, from the center of that light came a piercing scream.