Akari’s Missile wove through the trees, leaving pale blue streaks against the dark forest.
She’d come to Phoenix Park to train, but also to escape the Cliftons. Mazren had just returned from another trip, and he’d bombarded her with a dozen questions about her weekend.
“Where were you?” he’d asked once they sat down for dinner.
“Oretin Falls,” Akari lied.
“What were you doing there?”
“Hunting,” she murmured into her glass. Oretin Falls was nothing compared to White Vale, but it still bordered the Contested Area, even if the Guild outpost was no bigger than this room.
Mazren slammed down his own glass. The table shook, and Akari flinched back. “You went beyond the wall?”
She shrugged, and the conversation was mostly one-sided after that. Mazren lectured her about mana beasts, and how he’d seen his workers dismembered and killed by raptors.
Most days, she liked him better than Noella; he almost always took Akari’s side when she got into fights at school. But then he had those annoying moments when he pretended to be her real father. Akari could have lied about the hunting, but why sugarcoat it? If they planned to kick her out in Tresember, they should face the cold hard truth.
“And who are these friends you went with?” Mazren asked. “I don’t even know their names.”
“You never asked.”
He ignored that. “Even if I did, you’re only fifteen. You can’t spend the night out of town without telling us first.”
This last lecture was inevitable. Her meetings with Kalden had flown under the radar, but she couldn’t hide a two-day vanishing act. His blue eyes bore into her, and she almost felt a tinge of guilt.
Almost.
“And when I’m sixteen?” Akari asked. “Then it’s cool if I join a brothel or a street gang?”
His brow furrowed, looking more confused than angry. “Of course not.”
“What’s a brothel?” Elyna asked through a mouthful of salad. Needless to say, her foster sister wasn’t the sharpest chopstick on the table.
“Nothing,” Noella snapped, shooting Akari a glare.
Oh sure, but Mazren could talk about death by raptors, and that was all sugar and peaches? For Talek’s sake, the girl was thirteen, not three.
Akari sat up straighter, turning back to her foster father. “Well, that’s why I’m hunting and saving money now. Keeps my options open.”
Mazren stared at her as if she were speaking Shokenese. “What brought this on? You want to leave?”
“That was our agreement.” This time, Noella kept her voice calm and sensible. “She stays until she’s a legal adult.”
Mazren massaged his left temple, looking like he had a headache. Talek. He seriously didn’t remember this talk?
When Mazren looked up again, his eyes darted between his wife and Akari. “We’ll talk about this later. In the meantime, I don’t want you taking any more risks. I promise, we’ll work something out.”
Noella raised her wine glass to her lips, glaring at her over the rim. Naturally, this was all Akari’s fault, and she’d probably pay for it later. As if she didn’t have enough to deal with.
Focus. Akari gritted her teeth, pushing back the day’s memories. Tonight might be her last training session. She had to make it better than her last memories of Kalden.
“Take the deal,” he’d told her. “Make the smart choice for once in your life.”
Well, screw you too.
Her Missile flew back from the trees, straight toward her open hand. She stepped to the side, pushing and pulling the mana until it reached equilibrium. The Missile swung around her body like a moon orbiting a planet, and she used the momentum to hurl it back toward the trees.
He’d called her impulsive many times. And reckless, and short-sighted. Hardly a stretch to call her stupid after all that. But he didn’t understand—he couldn’t.
Akari lowered her center of gravity, and the Missile grazed the snow’s icy surface. She stiffened her channels, and the mana grew more stable as it carved a trench.
A week ago, that mana would have shattered from the impact, turning to vapor in midair. Most artists wouldn’t bother making their mana this strong; if Kalden’s Missiles broke, he could send out fifty more.
For her, every molecule mattered.
Unlike this training, said a voice in her head.
Akari rose from her crouch and pulled the mana back.
You’ll always be a Bronze. Nothing will ever change that.
She sidestepped again, and the mana orbited her body, completing several circuits as she held it in perfect balance.
Once again, she tried to force the feelings back. The Grandmaster’s last videos had given her more than enough to focus on. Not just theory, but actual combat techniques. Her brain felt like an overfilled bucket, and her body struggled to sample everything on the platter.
The Missile lost its delicate balance, breaking from orbit and crashing into a nearby tree. Fragments of ice and bark erupted into the air, and Akari sank to her knees, exhausted and covered in sweat.
She forced herself to her feet, then stumbled over to the tree stump and pulled out a pint-sized bottle of liquid mana. She took a good long swig, feeling the cool mint flavor on her tongue. The taste always reminded her of that first afternoon in Kalden’s basement.
Sometimes she wished she’d never met him. Each memory was like a flame—filling her with warmth, then burning her before she could pull away.
Akari shoved the glass bottle back in its hiding place and followed the frozen river toward the parking lot. There, a single payphone waited beneath the street lamp. She reached in the front of her backpack and pulled out three copper coins. She also found Sakara Trengsen’s card in the pocket of her jeans. By now, it had crumbled in a hundred different ways, and a web of white cracks broke up the perfect black surface.
She stood in front of the phone for several long moments, still panting hard from her training. If she did this, she could never take it back. Sakara Trengsen had a hundred ways to ensure her compliance, even without a soul oath. Bribes might have been her first resort, but threats would follow.
Despite all her dark thoughts about Kalden, he was right. Taking the deal was the only logical choice. She couldn’t fight Clan Trengsen by herself. Especially not while she was homeless with no job and no money.
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Akari picked up the phone, slipped her coins into the slot and raised her fingers to the cold metal buttons.
Light flashed on the nearby trees, casting long shadows on the snow. Akari spun around, blinded by headlights as a black car pulled into the parking lot.
Kalden? Her heart leapt at the possibility.
The car stopped at an angle, taking up three full spots. The backdoor opened, and a flash of golden hair glimmered in the street light.
Akari stiffened, still clutching the phone in one hand. Her mana pulsed against it as she cycled.
“Zeller.” Emberlyn Frostblade spoke her name as if it were a curse. The girl stepped away from the car, and her long jacket billowed in the night wind.
Fight or surrender?
With Kalden’s mother, the choice had been an overwhelming puzzle. Here, with a real enemy standing in front of her, the choice was clear as glass.
Akari doubted anyone would care if she died. But if people told her story, let them say she never gave up. Let them say she risked everything to advance, and she’d done it in a place where no one else could.
People could call her impulsive and short-sighted all they wanted. Safety wasn’t the same thing as freedom, and this world would never change if no one fought back.
Akari hung the phone back on the receiver and faced her enemy. At the same time, two boys emerged from Emberlyn’s car. One looked like her metal artist friend from the tunnels. She didn’t recognize the other one at all.
The pair stopped behind Akari, trapping her in a wide circle.
“What’s the matter?” she said to Emberlyn. “Too scared to fight me alone?”
“I see you still haven’t learned how to talk to Golds.” The other girl shook her head in disappointment. “Then again, we wouldn’t be here if you knew your place.”
Akari didn’t reply. She only cycled her mana, preparing for the attack.
“They’re here to stop you when you run.” Emberlyn took two steps forward, and her palms shone with pale blue light. “Kalden’s pet might have claws, but I don’t need help to put her down.”
Then she lashed out with two ice Missiles. Akari struck back with her own attack, moving her hand in wide circles so the mana flew in a corkscrew pattern. This knocked both her opponent’s Missiles off course and closed in.
Emberlyn raised a hand, and a wall of solid ice mana formed between them—just like the ones her father had used to trap Relia.
Akari leapt to the side, pulling back her Missile before it shattered. Her mana grazed the Construct, but it didn’t break.
Thank Talek for today’s practice session. She’d seen the Martials waste hundreds of Missiles against Relia, but she couldn’t afford to be so careless.
No sooner had Akari recalled her first Missile than she launched another blast of mana to the left of Emberlyn’s ice shield. The first shield vanished as her opponent raised a second.
Akari pulled the mana back, letting the pressure reach equilibrium until both her Missiles orbited her body. The Grandmaster had called this the Cloud technique, and the name fit. It reminded her of two electrons revolving around a nucleus.
A Bronze couldn’t make true Constructs, but this was the next best thing. Emberlyn launched several more Missiles, but they ricocheted off her Cloud, fading into the forest like fleeing snakes. The girl’s face was unreadable past the swirling blue lines, but Akari imagined her shock.
The two exchanged several more blows. Akari hurled her Missiles outward and pulled them back into orbit. Emberlyn fell into a similar rhythm with her attacks and shields.
Still, something felt wrong here. Emberlyn had shown up in a storm of bravado and undisguised rage. Now, her movements were slow and methodical—almost as if she were holding back.
Another trap? Like that day in the computer lab?
More likely, the girl was biding her time. Akari couldn’t outlast her. No matter how efficiently she made her Missiles, they still took energy to move. Every exchange drained her mana a little more, tipping the scale in Emberlyn’s favor.
Time to switch things up.
Akari released both Missiles from orbit, hurling them forward at maximum speed. Then she launched another Missile to either side of her opponent.
Predictably, Emberlyn raised an ice wall to defend herself.
Kalden had once taught Akari how to play crowns, and he’d explained the difference between amateurs and masters.
“Amateurs get tunnel vision,” he’d told her. “They worry about direct attacks—defending their pieces or moving them to safety. This makes them easy to control.”
Akari’s first two Missiles shattered against Emberlyn’s Construct in flashes of bright light.
“But if you’re playing not to lose, you’ve already lost.”
Akari danced to the left, pulling back the Missile on her right. Then she mirrored the movement, recalling the left Missile. Both attacks slammed into Emberlyn’s flanks, and her Construct flickered out.
Akari charged forward, kicking up snow and seizing the girl’s other weakness. Emberlyn was a decent artist, but school tournaments were a gentlemen’s game. She knew nothing about real fighting. She’d proven that in the school bathroom.
Three more strides and Akari closed the distance. Emberlyn was still regaining her balance when Akari threw a punch at her right eye.
Emberlyn staggered back into a combat stance. She raised her left hand for another Missile, but Akari closed in again, catching her arm and redirecting her palm. Then she hooked her foot around Emberlyn’s ankle, slamming the girl into the snow.
Movement flashed at the edge of her vision. Akari spun to see a flash of glowing silver mana.
Clearly, she’d gone off script with that last stunt. Now it was three against one.
Akari dropped to her stomach, letting the Missile pass over her head. The metal mana rang like a bell as it rebounded off Emberlyn’s car, smashing into the payphone behind them.
Emberlyn pushed herself up, readying another ice Missile in her palm. Akari threw a kick at the girl’s chest, and she doubled over again.
Two more Missiles closed in—one metal, the other ice. Akari sprang to her feet, and they smashed into the ground with an explosion of dirt and snow.
Talek. What she’d give for a proper Construct right now. Her Cloud technique was great when it worked, but it took far too long to set up.
Akari cycled her mana, feeling her reserves. Just over half full. No room for mistakes.
She launched a Missile at the metal artist, and he raised a Construct in response. Unlike Emberlyn’s ice wall, this looked like a shield of transparent steel.
Akari lowered her center of gravity, pushing her mana up and over the shield. She pulled it back just as it crested the top, and it curved down to hit the boy in the forehead.
Should have worn a helmet, Akari thought as he staggered back.
She hadn’t known she’d be ambushed tonight. What was their excuse? Keeping their hair nice?
The Silver attacked with another ice Missile, but his aim was off by several degrees. Akari stood from her crouch and let the mana pass harmlessly by her face. Then she thrust out her palm and shot a Missile of her own.
The boy tried to dodge her attack, but he was a split second too slow. Her Missile took him in the solar plexus, and he doubled over with a groan.
Akari forced the mana to hold its shape, and she brought it back toward the metal artist. She didn’t wait to see if the blow landed. Instead, she turned back to Emberlyn. The girl had regained her footing, and a thin river of blood flowed from a gash in her forehead.
Despite her injuries, Emberlyn took on a graceful stance and released two more Missiles. Akari tried to counter with a corkscrew pattern, but her opponent released a second pair of Missiles. Then a third.
Akari’s attacks grew wilder as true panic set in. Her channels screamed in pain as she pushed her mana past its limits.
A Missile struck Akari’s right shoulder, but her hoodie absorbed the blow. The next attack caught her left ear. Bursts of icy pain shot through her skull, and half her face went numb. She slammed back into the snow, losing her glasses as she fell.
Another ice Missile coiled around her wrist like a snake killing its prey. More numbness followed.
Move, she told herself.
Even as the numbness spread through her body, Akari forced herself to stand. The others were dark blurs, and she bolted past them in a random direction. Snow crunched beneath her boots until she felt something hard, hollow, and slippery.
Emberlyn shouted something as she ran, but Akari couldn’t make out the words.
Another Missile struck her spine, and she staggered forward. The mana wrapped around both arms, securing them close to her sides. Akari hit the ground, and her cheek met the frozen river.
Her right knee punctured a hole in the ice, plunging into the water beneath. More water pooled around her cheek, and a dozen cracks formed beneath her body.
Finally, the surface shattered like a glass window, and the water rose to engulf her.
Akari struggled to break free from her bonds, but Emberlyn’s mana gripped her body like a vice. Some primal part of her tried to scream, and water filled her lungs as she sank deeper.
Her boots found the river’s bottom, and she kicked off with all her might. It was barely five feet deep at its widest point. She could probably—
Her head struck more ice when she tried to emerge.
She struggled for several more heartbeats, looking wildly in every direction. She could have felt the opening with her hands, but the ice mana kept those pinned at her sides.
More water poured into her lungs and stomach until breathing lost all meaning. Her insides burned like lava despite the cold.
Was this what dying felt like? Had her mother felt this helpless when they’d suffocated her?
Akari fought back against her bonds, slamming her forehead against the ice ceiling. She wanted to scream, but she had no voice. She wanted to unleash her power, but her mana was gone. The pain and panic reached a crescendo inside her, and the world faded to black.