Chapter 12
The Chase
The flame in the chalice flickered softly, its warming and inviting light causing Meredith to reach out for it. There was a definite heat coming from the core, and she could feel the sweat breaking out along her arms the closer she got. Despite that intense sensation of heat, she sensed it was safe to touch. With no one around to stop her, Meredith’s hand ghosted into the flames.
It tickled her skin, like tiny fingers dancing across her. There was no burning, no pain at all, but the comforting sensation of home. The flames licked across her hand, sparking up towards her arms, and she drew further in. More than a comfort, the flames were a salve being applied to her bumps and bruises, caressing them and healing them. Meredith’s senses began to slip, wishing to sleep as they connected to that other world.
Light appeared around her in little dots that were spread throughout the ruins. From there, Meredith could see the entire world stretched out before her. Most of the lights were behind her, stretching back towards where people were clustered. Thin threads stretched from there, the walls no object to them. Moreover, the very thing in front of her served as the greatest light. True to its outward appearance, it was a great flame that warmed her very self, spreading through her whole body.
“Amazing…” she breathed. Without even realizing it, Meredith’s head tipped forward, the bangs of her hair making contact with the flame. Still, it did not burn. Eddie’s great interest in the magic core back in the Frostland made sudden sense. It was such a remarkable and unique form of magic that she never could have imagined existed, and she’d managed to see two of them. It felt…special.
Emil’s lessons on magic came back to her, and she reached out with that feeling towards the inner workings of the core. If it was the same as one that existed inside her, Meredith thought, perhaps connecting with it would serve as the kind of trigger she was looking for. It certainly seemed to help Eddie in focusing his own magic.
Meredith swallowed, and continued to bridge the gap. She could almost see it there, what she’d felt before: that fragment of light with the broken voices. Her fingers wiggled a bit, hoping to take complete hold of it, the heat guiding her grasp. More threads were attaching, numerous and from a single source as opposed to everything else throughout the ruins. Meredith breathed in, and when she thought it was within reach, she clamped down with her hand.
Flame rushed through her vision, screams entering her head. Her mouth gaped open, many residual thoughts and feelings assailing her mind. Legs trembled, pouring sweat off of them as her body began to rapidly perspire. Pictures passed through, and suddenly there were more people around Meredith, walking through the halls without care or worry, as if it was all some ghostly apparition of the past. Not all of it was peaceful, the milling people replaced with fleeing ones and, at one point, a man battling a woman, both down to the last embers within them.
A different voice, hollowed and empty like the lingering traces of what remained, spoke to her in a rasp.
“Mem…ories…” Meredith said, her breath coming in gasps. She was unable to retain everything, and her mind was jerked inexorably forward, through the halls of the fallen fortress and beyond, to all the connected ruins and paths both higher and lower. It was a complete whirlwind of travel in such a short period of time that Meredith got a mere glimpse of the great city she’d only seen on television at the end of the upper ruins.
She only had a moment to feel that encroaching darkness around the city, and of powerful manifestations of energy elsewhere, reacting in concert to that same darkness.
As she had on the day she’d begun her journey, Meredith screamed and fell back, her hand leaving the flame until she’d fallen to the floor. The chalice rattled, the flames having flared high before shrinking back down to the size they’d been when she entered. Meredith could hardly look at it, breaths coming in heaves as she touched a hand to her head. It had felt so horrific; so real.
The word that had fallen from her lips unbidden came back to her. Had they been memories? Was that what a core was? The memory of the space where it had formed?
There were too many questions, but one thing was certain to Meredith: the room with the stone tablets was straight ahead. There was just one last room standing between her and her destination, and she could delay for nothing. She pushed against the floor, standing once more. The flame no longer interested her, and she wanted to get as far away from it as possible. To push it from her mind, Meredith glanced at her map, choosing the correct passage from the doors available.
The core lit the hall beyond, a much shorter one than those previously in the ruins. No more did Meredith need any light coming through the rusted exterior, and nor did she need her friends to help illuminate the way. Meredith reached up to slap her face, purposely ignoring what had taken place moments earlier. She stepped into the next room.
A grinding noise reverberated around the hall, and a bridge in the room slammed into place, startling the girl. She took another step forward, and the grinding repeated itself, part of the bridge beginning to tilt back up, making the chasm impossible to cross. She stepped back, and the bridge began to return to its horizontal position. “Oh…that’s simple…”
Or it would have been, but there wasn’t any sort of weight nearby to put on the pressure plate she’d been standing on. On further examination, Meredith realized it was a plate that was connected to a wider array of plates and gears that sent signals to raise the bridge. Suddenly, crossing the gap before her was akin to a looming mountain. Meredith spun, looking for anything to place down, but only managed to find a few busted pipes.
Thinking it was better than nothing, Meredith bent low and began to collect the pipes one by one. They felt decently heavy, though they were no real substitution for her weight. She chose to try, regardless, and placed the pipes down on the pressure plate. It sunk down a little, but not enough for her to cross. The bridge remained vertical. Her teeth grinded together.
“Wonderful, I’m stuck…” she said aloud, her voice echoing. Not wanting to give up, but finding no real option, Meredith walked to the side, trying to see if there was any mechanism on the bridge itself that she could fiddle with. Her observations were briefly interrupted by a clacking down the hall she’d come from, but she continued. The only thing she saw was a wheel-joint system that turned with the pressure plate to move the bridge, but it was too far out to reach and operate on safely. “Maybe I do need magic…why are these ruins tailor-made for Emil?”
“Well, it is a pretty old ruin.” Meredith jumped, nabbing her sword and extending it. Footsteps stopped short, and framed in the light of the core was Eddie, his hands up and his canteen already three-quarters empty. Now that she thought on it, Meredith felt her mouth going dry, but instead of thinking on her thirst, she retracted her weapon and breathed in relief. “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you. Seems my room connected to yours and the core’s, but I didn’t stay there. I, uh…figured you’d hurry along and I wanted to help.”
“Not sure how much good that’ll do.” Whether Eddie was surprised by this development or not, he said nothing, his eyes scanning the room carefully. “You see Emil anywhere along the way?”
“Nope. I checked the map, and I think his path really diverges from ours before having the chance to join up. I got lucky, I guess.” Meredith wasn’t surprised that was the case but hadn’t wanted to waste time looking at her map for the others. She stepped forward, thinking of the best way to cross the gap before her. Her arms folded with a frown of concentration on her lips. Eddie’s arrival hadn’t changed the lack of material in the room.
Until Meredith remembered what Eddie brought with him.
“That’s right, you can create an ice bridge to get us across!” she said, smacking a fist into her palm. She whirled around, only to find Eddie taking his own step to place himself on the pressure plate. The bridge portion lowered into its horizontal placement, giving a path onward. He didn’t step off. “Eddie…?”
“Mera, this is your trial,” he said, smiling. Meredith cocked her head to the side, still quite unsure as to what was going on. He didn’t answer, either. At least, not for a moment. It was that moment that allowed her to get a better look at him, resigned and peaceful. In his eyes rested a clarity and something he’d determined during his separation from her. “With that fire core behind us, there’s no way any ice is lasting long enough to get us both across safely.”
“You’re not making sense, Eddie. What’s going on?” Meredith said. She moved just a bit closer to him, but he didn’t back up from his spot. When she got close enough, Eddie’s hand came out to pat her on the shoulder, holding there.
“We’re here, you and I, because of you, okay? You want to be a Guardian more than anything, but I don’t,” Eddie stated. His eyes’ clarity held no nonsense, and Meredith knew everything he was saying was without delusion and with utmost importance. “So, this is your trial. You need to be the one to clear this room while I hold the plate down for you. That’s what I’m here for right now. I’d be useless, otherwise.”
“That’s not…” Eddie’s insistent glare made her shut her mouth. She couldn’t agree he was useless, but at the same time saw his point. Frostfall Cavern hadn’t exactly been deemed as a success by either of them. Now, Eddie had a set idea of how to help her, and she wasn’t about to turn him down. Not with his conviction. “Right, I get your point.”
“You just bring me one of those tablets. Don’t want to completely fail the trial.” Meredith laughed and brought her own hand over to Eddie’s shoulder. They gripped each other a second, then Meredith turned to walk towards the level bridge. “Run already, Mera! Show Commander Masters that you’re the best trial candidate there is!”
Her grin split her face, and her legs began to move on their own, sprinting the length of the bridge. She didn’t look back, knowing Eddie would hold on to the pressure plate. He hadn’t failed her yet, and his faith made her surge forth to the next bright tunnel, growing closer with every single footstep. It didn’t take her long to skid in front of it. Just before entering, Meredith turned her head and saw Eddie on the other side, waving at her. She could tell he was grinning, and his loyalty made her grin back as she turned the corner and disappeared down the length of the hall.
It was a short jaunt, yet the details of the fortress’ ruins had begun to change. Things continued to be mechanical, but the sand was filling small pockets of the area, seeping in from underneath. She noticed that the hall was sloping downwards towards the end goal of the trial’s journey, and she made sure to avoid any places that seemed structurally unsound. The longer Meredith walked, the more torches there were on the walls, indicating the end of her journey. She stepped into a larger room.
This room was nearly as bright as the one with the core, illuminating manufactured walls with pictures and portraits hung all about. The paint on the pictures was long since gone, faded away with the years. Only the tapestry that hung the length of the largest wall in the room was intact, if worn away through the ages. The colors were now muted on it, but it looked to tell an ancient story, emphasized by the grouping of tablets at its feet.
“Yes!” Meredith said in a hushed tone, walking forward. Her face swiveled around the room, noting that no one was there yet. The whole room was very clearly designed as a hub, without the help of the Corps. Various entrances were behind her, while many were in front of her, pointing towards deeper passages in the ruins. Meredith didn’t care about those, more interested in grabbing her tablet. The squiggles that were the ancient writing on it immediately made it identifiable. She reached down and grabbed one, letting her eyes track up.
The artwork before her gave her pause.
It was like an epic was being woven before her, something she’d only read in novels or in the myths taught through history class. She had never been particularly interested in anything outside of the Corps’ history, yet this tapestry seemed so much greater. From the bright green light at the bottom, flowing upwards in streams and wrapping around what looked to be a woman that faced a man. There were armies and war, and a great cresting light in the sky connected to seven small dots. Splitting the tapestry down the center was a weaved sword, vaguely familiar in Meredith’s eyes.
Then there was the buzzing voice, sharp and loud. One of her eyes closed, her head hurting from the ringing. Just as the core had split her mind wide open, so too was this new sound invading it, accompanied by footsteps.
Meredith swiped two of the tablets, fingers grinding into its surface from the pain. It was as if a connection had been opened and was now attempting to force its way in. But she didn’t want it to and pushed it away. Her nails began to hurt. She set her gaze upon the entrances she’d come from, and was unsurprised by the person she found walking through.
“How wonderful. The grease monkey is here.” Her head already splitting from the pain, Meredith’s lips became a scowl, glaring at Vivian. The girl stopped, staring at Meredith with looks that could kill. For what she could muster, Meredith tried to smirk at her rival.
“Did I actually beat you here?”
“It’s the last time you ever would, but the trial’s not over yet,” Vivian said, her nose upturned at the very thought of Meredith’s presence. She walked swiftly to the tablets. The voice reached its crescendo, calling her name, invading her mind. With Vivian’s back to her, Meredith threw her head around wildly, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Her eyes landed on the weapon nearby; the one on Vivian’s back, right above her canteen.
Meredith’s hand reached out. Similar to the core, it was an unbidden and unconscious effort. It called to her, piercing into her, like the very key that could unlock what she’d been searching for. She just needed to touch it, hold it.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Vivian’s hand snapped out, batting away Meredith’s and jerking her back into the present. The voice she was hearing muted itself, her name no longer on its tongue. “If I wanted to be assaulted by filth, I’d have said so.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“What’s with your weapon?” Vivian became stock still. “It’s not normal. I can tell it’s…” Meredith tapered off, unable to find the words to articulate what she wished. She couldn’t explain it, how she knew that weapon was different, or why she was drawn to it. Yet there was something knocking at the confines of her soul as she was in its presence.
“It’s none of your business!” Vivian said, her face taut. Both of her hands flew out and pushed Meredith back. The black-haired girl stumbled but did not fall. What the action did do was bring her back to a clear state of mind, one without voices and connections. Now it was just her and Vivian and the race building between them. That became obvious when the blonde had pulled her bow out and pointed right at her. “You’re not fit to touch it. You’re not even fit to be at this trial. The Corps doesn’t need someone like you in their ranks. You’ll only drag them down.”
“Funny,” Meredith said, placing both of the slabs under her arm, “I was thinking the same thing about you, Viv.”
Vivian fired. This time, Meredith was more than prepared, rolling to the side. The impact missed, hitting one of the entrances. Pieces of it broke off, crumbling to block one of the exits out. As Vivian turned to recover, Meredith grabbed her sword and swung outwards, slicing into the canteen on her opponent’s waist. It began leaking, causing Vivian to pull her attention away.
“You little bi-”
“We can interfere with our opponents, right?” Meredith winked at Vivian and dodged around her, right for the exit she’d come through. “Next time, don’t interfere with me.”
Meredith kicked off, sprinting headlong for her exit. Vivian recovered before she could, firing the arrow of energy right for her. She barely turned her body in time for Vivian’s shot to miss, sailing into the wall. The girl wasn’t far behind. Meredith planned to never give her an inch. Another shot soon fired, this one cutting the edge of her own canteen and causing water to drip on the floor. Meredith didn’t look back, but she could imagine the smugness on her rival’s face.
“Now we’re even!” Vivian yelled out as she pursued Meredith down the hall. The black-haired teenager increased her pace, breaking out into the bridge area. Vivian remained in hot pursuit. “You think you’re someone special? You got one lucky hit against me!”
“Then I’ll keep getting lucky.” Another shot. This one whizzed past her ear, petering out and falling to the chasm below. Meredith jumped on to the bridge and dashed, trying to find where the dividing line for the bridge connection was. Her feet didn’t take long to find it, but Vivian was nearly on her heels. At the other end, Meredith saw Eddie. “Eddie, step off, now!”
Either he saw Vivian’s crazed pursuit or had actually heard her, because Eddie stepped back. The mobile part of the bridge began to raise up, turning into a slide that Meredith leaned into.
Whoosh!
The sound of the energy arrow being fired didn’t escape Meredith’s notice, especially when it was followed by the bridge rattling and freezing in place, having barely changed position. Meredith continued sliding down the shallow incline, but took notice of the supports: the mechanism moving the bridge had been busted up by one of Vivian’s shots.
Meredith scowled and glanced up once she’d reached the bottom. Vivian jumped over the small gap and aimed another arrow. She hated to admit it, but Vivian was skilled. Plus, she seemed to have a vindictive streak, aimed right at Meredith, herself. The black-haired girl grabbed one of the tablets as she reached Eddie. “Here’s yours.”
“Thanks,” Eddie said, but he refused to move while she ran past him. Meredith stopped her flight, clasping to her canteen to prevent it from leaking anymore. Vivian fired, the shot aimed for her.
She wasn’t the only one aiming.
“Burning Arrow!” Eddie said, manifesting an arrow of fire. Like in the previous room, he took aim and fired. The two arrows clashed in midair, sending a heatwave over everyone there. The room rattled and when the smoke cleared, Vivian’s mouth was parted. “Get moving, Mera! Use the room I came through, to the left as you leave. The way I left it should make it easy to cross.”
Meredith considered disobeying him and staying to help fend off the girl, now sliding down the bridge, but his formation of wind pockets told her that he was planning to buy her all the time he could. She continued on. “Thanks, Eddie!”
“You’re not beating me!” Vivian said, her voice growing louder with every step. Another shot whizzed past Meredith’s ear, hitting the wall. A different shot was deflected by the compressed air that Eddie sent its way. He sent another globe of air towards Vivian. Meredith passed through the door before any attack could connect, but the clinking noise, followed by a loud grunt didn’t spell good things for Eddie.
Meredith’s hand tightened on her blade. She continued her run, less and less water spilling from her canteen. The hall grew brighter, back towards the magic core, and someone was standing near it. The room appeared a bit soot-blackened, but all it offered was friction under Meredith’s feet when she skidded into the room.
“Oh, Mera, there you-” Emil said, but Meredith rolled to the side in anticipation, cutting him off. The arrow fired, blasting into the flames and exploding.
“Gotta run! Help Eddie!” He got the message from the second shot.
“Out of my way, Emil!” Vivian screeched, tearing down the hall. Meredith scrambled through the suggested hallway. Vivian fired another arrow of energy, but this one barely even damaged the walls when it missed. Her attacks weren’t being enchanted as strongly. Knowing that, Meredith pushed forward and ran in a straight line down the hall. Vivian was right behind her, but she wasn’t firing anymore as the two reached the next room. “Stay back, trash.”
Meredith felt the edge of her cloak being pulled on, and Vivian tossed her to the ground. She began to get the head start on her, but without so much as a glance to the opponent she’d left behind, Meredith was able to lunge forward and tackle Vivian around the legs. The blonde was also brought to the ground. Their weapons and tablets clattered to the colored floor that indicated Eddie’s solved puzzle, and the two girls began to grapple.
“Get off me!”
“You started it!” Meredith’s grunted words turned into a wheeze as Vivian kneed her in the stomach. The black-haired girl held fast and elbowed the side of Vivian’s face. A light, stippling bruise formed on her cheek, but the brunt had been protected against, as indicated by the light-blue glow around Vivian. “I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m not giving up just because you tell me I don’t belong.”
“I really don’t care what you do. I just want you out of my way. You’re a pest!” This time the knee really hit home and Meredith was pitched backwards. She clutched to her chest as her butt hit the floor, while her free hand searched for her discarded items.
Vivian was breathing heavily as well, crawling along to grab her things. This time, when she’d finished, she didn’t bother with assaulting Meredith. She just sped for the exit. Meredith gripped her own things, chest smarting from the pain, and took off in pursuit. The two were neck-and-neck once more by the time they entered the hallway. Vivian bumped against Meredith, and she bumped back, each driving the other into the wall.
As a result, when they reached the end of the room, where Meredith’s first puzzle had been, they tumbled forward. Vivian rolled on the ground, and once she was upright she was aiming her weapon again. Meredith’s breath caught; with the spikes still present, she had no place to run to, especially on the thin path of the energy conduits that remained. Vivian’s victorious expression said it all.
“I’m done playing around. I should have just crushed your dream back at the oasis,” Vivian said. Meredith backed up, nearly against one of the spikes as she stared down the end of the rippling arrow. “You’re beneath me, but you just keep popping up. I won’t have you standing in my way to be the best. Now, goodbye.”
Meredith’s muscles twitched. Vivian fired.
With just a split second between survival and pain, Meredith moved. She rolled to the side, staying upright. The arrow hit the nearest spike. Its energy tore through it and those next to it, leaving a wide-open path. From her new position, Meredith charged, headbutting the soft flesh of Vivian’s stomach and hitting her back. Despite the taunts, Meredith didn’t taunt back and made straight for the gap. She slipped through and began to run along the thin yellow path that was available to her.
While she ran, Meredith’s body braced for a shot that never came. Upon reaching the center dais and changing tracks, she realized why. For the time being, Vivian had given up on attacking and was instead crossing the room, herself. That gave Meredith all the room she needed to navigate to the blue power strip. She ran the rest of the way, jumping over the slight gap and over to the now open exit. Vivian was right behind her, the victory-obsessed girl already preparing another volley. She fired the second they were in the final hallway.
This time, Meredith stood her ground. Her blade flashed out the moment the energy fired at her, the air pulsing with its violent intention. She dropped her tablet and slashed forward with both hands, breaking the weaker attack with ease. Vivian kept firing, each successive enchantment of the air getting larger and larger. Meredith batted them all aside until the last one was too large to easily deflect and strained against her blade.
Crap, just like before…Meredith cursed in her mind. The energy arrow kept pushing her back, but with more than sand as her brake, she was able to dig her feet in. Inch by inch, she drove her blade into Vivian’s attack, while the pitter-patter of footsteps behind Meredith alerted her to other candidates beginning to complete their trials. Beyond the haze of the attack, Vivian’s twisted, satisfied smile and flick of her hair were visible.
“Not this time, Vivian!” Meredith yelled. She slashed with all the power she could, and the projectile was sent hurtling backwards. Vivian turned her body, the deflected attack soaring past her and colliding with one of the walls there. Sand dusted the hall. Meredith snatched her tablet as swiftly as she’d dropped it. Neither girl stopped to look at the devastation wrought behind them and ran for the goal line of the trial.
Sure enough, other candidates were retreating from their rooms to make their way for the goal. They weren’t aware of the battle and chase approaching them, and Meredith didn’t have the time to tell them to get out of the way. Another arrow was fired, which Meredith ducked to avoid. It crashed into the ground, sending sand and stone flying, obscuring everyone’s vision for a moment. Meredith pressed on, only to feel the familiar white-hot energy flashing past her sides just as the goal was within reach.
The very sensation made her stop. Vivian hadn’t been aiming at her. She hadn’t missed her target. Judging from the screams, she’d hit her targets quite well. The dust rolling off confirmed that, revealing those candidates that had come close to finishing sprawled on the ground. Meredith’s fingers clenched around her blade, her body starting to shake as her eyes sent daggers towards the sprinting Vivian.
Her thoughts fled from her head, and as soon as Vivian had reached her, Meredith tackled her, the stone tablet driving into her rival’s back. The two girls tumbled forward. Sand plumed into the air, dirtying both of their clothes from their rolling. Vivian squeaked in surprise. Meredith held on, driving her rival’s face into the sand and receiving some in her own mouth for her troubles. They continued sliding across the sands as cheers filled the air from the stands.
Friction soon pulled them to a stop, and Vivian snapped her head back, removing Meredith from her back. They both strained to get up, and at the edge of her vision, Meredith could see Masters coming forward to mark their cards with the same stamp as the previous trial.
“Congratulations, Meredith Childs, Vivian Lacroix, you have passed the Trial of Desert!” His triumphant declaration was offset by the two girls scrambling for purchase against the sand. When they were upright, they glared at each other with scowls that wanted to melt the other’s face off. Meredith couldn’t stop shaking while Masters approached, taking the stone tablets from where they’d dropped them and checking their canteens. He also took their cards before speaking again. “A more raucous ending than expected, but an admirable performance.
“As administrator, I award you both A-Rank.”
“What?!” Vivian’s screech was deafening. Meredith suppressed her trembling to grin at the girl. They’d been brought down to the same level, their scuffle at the oasis erased. The shock extended out to her supporters in the stands, surprised at the lower rank. Others were interested as well, if the man leaning forward in the shadows was any indication.
Masters folded his arms, glancing down to her, and said, “While you and Miss Childs finished first and within a reasonable time frame, half of your canteen is emptied.”
“It was damaged,” Vivian argued, her eyes wide as she rounded on the commander.
“Yes. Nevertheless, that means a lack of anticipation at your surroundings and failure to hold on to your resources. I cannot award you S-Rank.” Masters’s decision was final. Now, it was Vivian’s turn to shake with suppressed rage and a bit of embarrassed shame both. “You both performed admirably. Take pride in that. Just as these candidates should!”
His words were a slap to Vivian, whose shaking increased, about to reach her boiling point. Masters didn’t notice, or didn’t care, and walked over to approach those that had finished the trial behind them. It came as no surprise to Meredith that one of them was awarded an S-Rank, having not lost any water, but she was glad enough to have vastly improved her own rank. However, as she stared at the seething girl before her (a seething that got worse as Masters handed out ranks), Meredith stepped forward.
“It’s no surprise you only got an A-Rank,” she said. Vivian’s growl preceded the glower, but Meredith still addressed the issue that left her with angry tremors. “You attacked other candidates without warning. They weren’t a part of our issue. There was no need to drag them in.”
“I acted in accordance with the rules,” Vivian hissed, the sound traveling through her gritted teeth. She took a step forward, too. “We were allowed to interfere with our fellow candidates.”
“Sure, but what you did was a cowardly attempt to win, and you still ended up with only an A-Rank,” Meredith said. The two girls were flinging scowls at each other by this point. Vivian’s party even muttered about it in the distance. This increased when Vivian grabbed Meredith’s clothing and pulled her close.
“I only got that A-Rank because of you. Don’t think you’re Miss High and Mighty. You attacked me just the same.”
“I’m not you. Last I checked, I wasn’t a selfish ass who needed to be perfect and damn everyone else.” Meredith threw her hands forward, pushing Vivian back. The blonde looked ready to kill, though the pair was interrupted by the arrival of more trial candidates, including Eddie and Emil, with the former supported by the latter. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to be the best, but I hardly think attacking fellow candidates just to get ahead qualifies you as the best.”
“Oh, shut up, trash,” Vivian said. She drew herself to her full height, matching Meredith with the melting intensity of her stare. Murmurs in the crowd continued, and both girls took another step. “You clung to me that whole time, knowing you wouldn’t stand a chance if you didn’t. You’re no better than in the oasis: a pathetic trash girl with trash mechanic skills who has a loser for a boyfriend hanging on her every second.”
Meredith’s blood ran cold. Her free hand dropped to her side as her stare became as dead, while her other hand, her sword hand, lifted higher to point at Vivian. Things around them went quiet. Masters turned away from ranking Eddie and Emil, hand on his rapier for the confrontation that was set in motion.
“Take that back.”
“Take what? I only said the truth. Your boyfriend is a loser. Look at how he’s clinging to Emil, of all people. He can’t do anything on his own, just like you.”
Meredith’s lip trembled, her other hand gripping to her sword, as well. Eddie stepped forward in her periphery, stumbling off Emil’s hold.
“Mera, she’s not worth it!”
“Like hell!” Meredith said, the snarl making her words like the roar of a beast. “You can insult me all you want, but I will not let you insult my friend. He’s a better person than you’ll ever be, and if you say another word, I’ll show you a side you never would have seen in the oasis.
“You’re don’t deserve to be a Guardian, Vivian!”
A collective gasp was heard around the chamber.
Eddie stepped back.
Vivian’s face rippled with rage, more than Meredith would have ever thought. Then she whipped her bow out, mechanically changing it into a sword. Neither girl had much thought in their heads, and as Vivian took the first swing, Meredith blocked it. The clang resounded through the hall, causing the Guardians to draw their weapons. Masters, however, removed his hand from his own.
The two girls separated. Vivian’s weapon glowed blue, showcasing her enchantment magic at work again, and then she struck. Remembering the previous result, Meredith, too, lunged into her attack. There was a flash between them as they attacked each other.
They didn’t connect.
A metal sword and a blade of light had stopped them both, sending out a current of energy that rippled through the area.
“That is enough, ladies.” Meredith’s body jerked, heaving with breaths from her roiling rage. She looked up, ready to snap, mostly at Vivian, who was just behind this man. Except now she got a good look at him, confirming her previous observations: strong jawline, short-cut hair, and magnificent yet functional armor.
More telling, though, was the crest on his breastplate, one signifying his vaunted position above all others in the room. Without realizing it, Meredith dropped her sword. Vivian did likewise. They stepped back in shock, their observations confirmed by Masters bowing.
“Marcus, your presence is as powerful as always, though I admit I did not expect you to get involved.”
“It’s fine, Royston,” the man, Marcus, said. “A leader always needs to take care of his subordinates. I’d be a piss-poor leader of the Corps if I didn’t.”
And with those words, Marcus turned, causing the girls to drop to their knees in reverence. Before them was none other than the leader and Chief Commander of the Guardian Corps, himself.