Trees parted as the drake emerged from the forest. Emerald green scales covered its body from head to tail, and a column of jagged spikes ran along its back. The creature had the mouth of a crocodile and the body of a raptor.

A ‘raptor’ that was over twenty feet tall.

She’d seen drakes in movies, but movies didn’t do them justice. No amount of suspenseful music or camera angles could recreate this feeling. Her legs shook as she met its yellow eyes, and her head spun with a sudden sense of vertigo.

The ground shook as it took another step toward them. Fire sparked between its front claws, and the creature released a flaming Missile.

Talek. That thing was wider than a boulder.

Akari froze in place, but it had nothing to do with her lack of combat experience. She wanted to run, but Relia had kept them alive so far. Better to stay close to her.

The other girl spread her legs in a wide stance, hands loose at her sides. The Missile reached them a heartbeat later, and Relia thrust her right arm forward. Pale blue mana flowed out from her palm, forming a protective shield in front of her. The Missile struck the shield in a flash of bright light, and the sound that followed was like a clap of thunder.

Akari shielded her eyes from the light. When she opened them again, the drake’s Missile was gone, and so was the shield.

“What was that?” Akari blurted out.

“Oh, that’s right.” Relia gave a small laugh. “You guys haven’t seen the Construct video yet. Well, I’m not my master, but I guess now’s a good time for a crash course.”

The drake took Relia’s shield in stride, conjuring another flaming Missile between its claws.

“Rule number one.” Relia spoke in a calm tone, like a teacher in a classroom. “Most Constructs start as Missiles. That’s the best way to get the mana outside your body.”

To demonstrate her point, Relia shot a slow Missile from her hand. It stopped a few inches in front of her, then it stretched wide like a dinner plate. “You have to push and pull at the same time. Then it has no choice but to flatten like this.”

A second fire Missile closed in like a falling meteor.

Relia’s Construct grew wider in response. “Rule number two—your Construct should have more mana than your opponent’s attack. Otherwise it won’t hold.”

The drake’s Missile hit her shield, but it didn’t budge.

“Here’s a slightly weaker one,” Relia said as the next Missile closed in. “Might wanna step back.”

Akari and Kalden followed her advice, needing no more encouragement.

Relia’s first shields had formed directly in front of her palm, but this next one appeared five or six feet away. The drake’s Missile struck the surface, and the Construct flew toward them like a tidal wave. Relia dug her boots into the snow as she struggled to hold it back.

The ground shook again as the drake stepped closer, firing more Missiles.

“Rule number three.” Relia still didn’t sound winded. “Constructs break when they’re damaged, but more mana can keep them alive.”

The drake abandoned its ranged attacks and charged up the hill.

Relia spread out her hands in a pose Akari didn’t recognize. Mana poured out from her palms in two streams of pale blue light. At first, these came out narrow like Missiles, then they flared out at the ends, turning to vapor in midair.

Slowly, that vapor crystallized around them, forming a transparent dome.

The drake slammed into the dome a second later. Still, the Construct held over the next few seconds, and she recharged it with her outstretched palms. That single technique probably had more mana than her and Kalden’s combined reserves.

“How do we take this down?” Kalden asked as the drake shoved its body into the shield.

Relia’s expression turned solemn, and her shield lifted several inches off the ground. “Remember what I said about life mana, and how it’s more versatile than other healing types? Here’s why.”

A stream of green-gold light emerged from her left hand, drifting toward the ground like falling ribbons. Relia lowered her center of gravity, directing the Missiles beneath the dome, then up toward the drake’s face.

“Fire artists don’t just make fire,” Relia said. “They’re the best at opposing it. It’s the same with other aspects.”

Her techniques settled around the creature’s neck, then its body collapsed like a massive rag doll. A cloud of snow struck the shield, but there was no blood or broken bones. It didn’t even cry out in pain as it died.

“Talek,” Akari muttered. “What the hell was that?”

“I’m no expert,” Kalden said, “but I think she broke its spinal cord.”

“What he said.” Relia pointed a finger toward him. “It’s the quickest way to kill most animals.”

Including people, Akari thought. She was all for killing mana beasts quickly, especially if it spared them the pain. But she shuddered to imagine what else Relia could do. Could she make someone drop dead of a heart attack? What about a stroke, or cancer? Would it look natural?

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The shield faded around them, and they stood in silence around the drake’s massive body.

“Is this aspect legal where you’re from?” Kalden asked.

Relia winced at that. It was the first time she’d looked uncomfortable all day. “It’s not illegal to use life mana. But it’s also not the best way to make friends. Schools don’t teach it, so you need a private teacher.” Her eyes darted back and forth between them. “Before you ask—no. I’ve never killed another person before. Not even here.”

That was true. The news kept talking about how dangerous the Fugitive was, but no one had actually died against her. Just a lot of hurt feelings and broken bones.

The three of them set to work removing the cores, which took the better part of the afternoon. Raptor hide was even tougher than ordinary leather, and Akari’s hands ached from sawing through it with her knife. Even Relia had a hard time with the drake’s core, and her blade had metal mana sigils.

They chatted more as they worked, mostly about Constructs and how she and Kalden could take the first steps toward forming them. Apparently, you needed over fifty mana points to make one with any real combat utility. That meant that Kalden could start any time, but Akari would need to wait until Silver at the very least.

“But you’re off to a good start,” Relia told her. “For now, keep working on your shaping exercises. Constructs are all about moving mana outside your body. The better you can do that, the better off you’ll be.”

The sun had already set by the time they made it back to White Vale. Fortunately, the core processing plant didn’t close until midnight, and she and Kalden dropped off their findings for the day—one drake core and thirteen raptor cores.

Relia had tried giving them a zylusk core before they parted ways, but Kalden shot down that idea.

“You tried selling these to other hunters?” he’d asked when they reached her hiding place.

“That’s right,” Relia said.

“And what if they told their friends? What if word got out that a strange girl is selling A-tier cores beyond the wall?”

“I already thought of that,” she said, “but I wore a disguise that day. They won’t have enough to track me down.”

“Still, I’d bet the Martials are watching zylusk cores, waiting to see who sells them. And you can’t get much more suspicious than a couple of high-school students.”

Akari gave a slow nod. She wouldn’t have thought of that, but it made sense. Kalden had his cover story with the mercenaries; he’d even paid a small group to give his mother a paper trail. But that story wouldn’t hold up in a Martial interrogation.

“Okay.” Relia deflated and tossed the core back on the ground. “Point taken, I guess.”

By the time they’d processed all the cores, their total came to seven goldnotes. Or seventy silvernotes, depending on how you looked at it. Most of that money would go to Relia, but Akari would get three silvernotes for the raptor she’d killed. That would easily buy her enough liquid mana to reach Silver before her sixteenth birthday. Between that and the videos Relia had promised them, things were finally looking up.

Unfortunately, the processing station could only exchange one set of bounty tokens for another. They’d need to visit the office tomorrow morning to cash out, and that meant spending the night in White Vale.

~~~

“Bad news,” Kalden said as he stepped across the lobby. “All the apartments were booked.” In hindsight, he should have reserved a room before they’d left. They’d packed spare clothes just in case, but they hadn’t known how long they’d be here.

Akari frowned at the keycard in his hand. “What’s that mean? Is that different from a hotel room?”

He nodded. “Depends on the place, but apartments normally have multiple bedrooms, plus a living room, kitchen . . .” He trailed off, holding up the plastic card. “This only has one room.”

“And one bed?” she asked.

“No, it has two.”

Akari rolled her eyes “Then what’s wrong? Doesn’t live up to Gold standards? Can’t sleep without fountains and waterfalls?”

“No, I’m just saying—we’d have to share a room.”

“So?” Akari crossed her arms, clearly eager to get moving. “We’re staying one night. Not like we’re hunkering down for the winter.”

“It doesn’t bother you at all?” Kalden asked as he led the way toward the elevator. “You were timid as a squirrel when we first met.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t trust most Golds.”

They stood side by side in the elevator as the steel doors snapped shut. Glass walls surrounded them on three sides, giving them a clear view of the snow-covered parking lot. As the elevator car lifted, that view expanded to include all of White Vale.

“Why?” Akari asked as they climbed the first few floors. “Does it bother you?”

Kalden coughed as he considered his next reply. He’d never actually slept in the same room with a girl his age. Not even Maelyn. She’d slept over before—so had Emberlyn—but his family had more than enough guest rooms.

Akari must have taken his pause as a confirmation because she let out a small laugh. “You’re such a girl.”

Kalden met her gaze in the reflective glass. “That’s sexist.”

“Can’t be sexist against myself, can I?”

“No, I’m pretty sure you just did.”

She raised her eyebrows as if to say he’d proven her point.

“And no,” Kalden said, “it doesn’t bother me. But it’s different for Golds. Our lives are more public, so we have standards for propriety.”

“That’s because you all backstab each other.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong about that.

“Don’t worry,” Akari said, “I’ll tell everyone your virtue is intact.”

“Perfect,” Kalden said. “And if they pry further, we’ll say you tried to seduce me, but I nobly resisted.”

She rolled her eyes at the last comment, but her cheeks colored as she turned away. Well, served her right for picking on him.

The room was about what he’d expected. The sink and mirror sat in the entryway across from the bathroom, which contained only a toilet and shower. Two master-sized beds sat in the larger room beyond, along with a TV and a slider door that led out to a balcony.

They tossed their backpacks on the beds, and Kalden opened the room-service booklet on the nightstand. The restaurants were still open downstairs, but they’d both agreed this was better. This had already been a long day, and public appearances were always a risk. He didn’t expect someone to recognize him here, but you could never be too careful.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Akari said as she pulled some fresh clothes from her backpack.

“Wait.” Kalden gestured to the menu. “Do you know what you want?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Whatever you’re having.”

“Really? How do you know I’m not getting chocolate?”

Akari gave him a flat look. “Chocolate for dinner?”

“Alright.” He shrugged. “As long as you don’t have more allergies I don’t know about.”

She shook her head as she headed into the bathroom. “Just the one.”

Kalden ordered the room service, and Akari emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later wearing a black tank top and sleep shorts. Kalden watched as she leaned in front of the mirror and brushed the tangles from her wet hair. She was actually kind of cute when she wasn’t glaring or snapping at people.

On second thought, she was still cute when she was glaring.

Kalden’s heart threw itself against his ribcage, and he averted his gaze. Funny how it did that sometimes. He wasn’t into Akari as more than a friend, but sometimes his body disagreed with that choice.

Someone knocked on the door, causing Akari to jump and drop her hairbrush in the sink.

“Must be the room service,” Kalden said as he hopped off the bed. But when he opened the door, he didn’t see a hotel staff member like he’d expected.

Instead, he stood face-to-face with Emberlyn’s father, Zedall Frostblade.