I continue walking forward, and my body is overcome with a staticky sensation. It feels like every muscle in my body simultaneously fell asleep, and is now in the process of waking up. I take a second to shake out the buzzing in my limbs, and then I step into that shimmer in the air to find complete chaos on the other side.
The outbreak of action all around me, where seconds ago there was nothing, is disorienting. I stand frozen in place as I take in the melee. I’m surrounded by people…fighting. I look around, and recognition sparks through me when I realize that one side of the battle involves the entourage of the guy I just fought.
There are seven of the big burly men against four other middle-aged men I don’t recognize.Five,I realize, when I spot a guy standing off to the side, separate from the others. He stands there with closed eyes and his lips move like he’s talking to himself.Well, if Iamcrazy, it looks like I have company.
One of the men from the entourage sprints with alarming speed, heading right for the solitary guy, a glint of metal flashing in his hands. He bears down freakishly fast on the mumbling man, who doesn’t seem to realize that danger is coming for him like a freight train.
My internal power perks up, eager to answer my call. The strange markings that showed up all over my body on my sixteenth birthday begin to tingle in anticipation. I call on the energy in the markings that line the bottom curve of my butt cheeks and throwing knives become solid in my hands.
I wait a few seconds to see if the chanter will respond to the threat, but when he doesn’t even open his eyes, I spring into action. As the attacker brings up his knife, I throw my own at him. He roars out in pain and then drops to the dirt, blood flowing freely from the dagger that just landed cleanly in his throat.
The mumbling guy’s eyes fly open, just as the body of his attacker skids to a stop a few feet away from him. The man’s gaze lands on me, but instead of the look of gratitude I expect, his eyes narrow in irritation. He starts walking towards me, the constant movement of his lips never ceasing.
A man’s shout of pain fills the night air, pulling my attention from the chanter. I focus on a man who looks to be almost seven feet tall, with long red hair that falls past his shoulders. He pulls a knife from his side, and blood seeps through the seams of his fingers as he applies pressure to the wound. He continues to fight off a man in front of him, oblivious to the threat that creeps up behind him.
“Aydin, watch out!” the chanter yells to his friend.
I run towards the man creeping up like a coward behind the ginger giant. I laugh at the look on his face when I pop up out of nowhere, fucking up his clear shot at the ginger giant’s back. A flurry of punches and a quick twist of the neck has the big, burly coward face down in the dirt and out for the count. I turn to check on this Aydin guy and watch, completely gobsmacked, as a ball of fire floats above his hands.
His large frame and the loose auburn strands of his hair are alight with the glow of flames, and the ball of fire he’s somehow creating swells between his palms. He throws it, and the man in front of him erupts into flames. The pain-filled screams snap me out of my shocked inaction, just as a whirring sound comes towards me. I reach out and catch the hilt of a knife, stopping it before it’s embedded in my chest.
Holy shit, that was close!
I scan the fighters, looking for the dead man who just threw a fucking knife at me. I turn in time to see a dagger sink into the shoulder of the guy who’sstilltalking to himself. He lets out a surprised yelp and grimaces against the pain. His mumbling stops, and suddenly two of the big burly fightersexplodeinto gigantic fucking Grizzly bears.
What in the furry fuck?
4
Idon’t even try to make sense of what the hell just happened. Instead, I focus on a man from the Colossal Douche’s entourage who’s trying to surrender. He’s on his knees, crying and staring up at an older guy who has a bright ball of who-the-fuck-knows-what, pulsating between his hands.
What the hell?
You don’t kill someone who’s surrendering. Isn’t that like a rule or a code that fighters are supposed to live by? I run past the man on his knees and slam into the magic ball wielding asshole. Thank fuck the glowing orb doesn’t connect with me, or the man on the ground. I yell at him to run. I don’t look to see if he listens because the guy I just body checked, jumps back up, and he’s pissed.
He’s tall with dark hair and furious green eyes. Something about his face seems familiar, but I don’t have time to think much about it before I’m dodging and evading his attack. I don’t fight back, because I’m not sure if I should. After all, when I invitedmyselfto this party, I took the side of this guy’s group. They were outnumbered and fighting big dudes with knives, and it seemed unfair.
Then I went and switched sides by helping the surrendering enemy. Moral of the story: I need to learn to mind my own fucking business. I don’t let the angry green-eyed man get in any hits, but he’s relentless in his attack, and if I’m honest, I’m enjoying the challenge.
His eyes flit over my shoulder for a fraction of a second, giving away that someone’s about to come at me from behind.Oh come on, green eyes, you should know better than that.I reach over my shoulder and stroke one of the lines of markings on my back, and a staff solidifies in my hands.
I feel a shift in the air behind me, and I twirl the staff, aiming for the body I know is closing in on my back. The green eyes of the man in front of me widen in shock at the sudden appearance of the weapon in my hand. I make contact with whoever’s behind me, just as a third guy comes at me from the side.
It’s three against little ol’ me now, and I’m no longer questioning which side I should be on. The answer ismine. Three against one is bullshit, especially when I saved two of their posse from getting gutted. Bunch of ungrateful assholes.
The three assholes start grunting with exertion as I stop merely defending myself and start attacking. I rotate blows between them and continue to dodge their hits. The tattooed asshole, who joined the fight last, miscalculates a move, and I swing my staff hard towards his unprotected head.
I see the moment the tattooed guy realizes he’s about to get seriously fucked up. Something about the sad resignation that bleeds into his expression compels me to let go of the energy that keeps the staff solid. It disappears from my grip just before it would have delivered a crushing blow to his skull. Surprise replaces the resignation on the tattooed guy’s face, and he stiffens with shock.
I deliver a brutal kick to his chest, which knocks him out of the fight. I turn to block the fist aimed at my face. It’s clear the two remaining assholes I’m still fighting don’t give a shit that I just showed their buddy mercy by not bashing his skull in. I’m starting to get seriously pissed, and my power rises with my mounting anger. Orange and fuchsia bolts of energy move over my skin and someone around me swears.
The green-eyed asshole forms another one of those glowing orbs and lobs it at me. It sails unerringly fast towards me, and I have no idea how the hell I’m going to keep it from touching me. Images of that other man going up in flames flash in my mind, and for the first time in a long time, I’m scared.
Right before the orb connects with my shoulder, a blue convex shield explodes out of the markings on my arm. The glowing ball hits the shield, sparks and then fizzles out. I have no idea what the hell just happened but I repress my astonishment. I’ll have to explore this new ability later, when I’m not about to fuck somebody up. I turn back to the green-eyed asshole’s stunned face and glare at him.
This fucker just scared the shit out of me…let’s see how he likes it. He watches tensely as I reach behind my back. Instead of calling on the staff again, I stroke the markings for my sword. I’m not fucking around with these pricks anymore.
He steps back and produces another orb. My whole body lights up with crackling energy in response. My markings start to glow, and I feel the source of my power completely open up, ready to be called on. I clap a hand against the hilt of the sword that flashes solid in my palm, and it splits in two.
