People gasped. Finally, a reaction. The worst reaction was from Vexen's father.
The Chief leaned forward, bared his fangs, and snarled at his son.
Vex snarled back.
“Enough!” I shouted, startling everyone again. “I will accept your terms if you honor mine.”
The Chief blinked. Straightened. Stared me down. “What are your terms?”
“If I can't use my strongest weapon, then neither can your champion. He cannot shift.”
The crowd murmured, but it seemed to be in approval. The Chief glanced around, grimaced, then nodded. “That is fair.”
“And I require a sword. Your man is twice my size. I will never win in hand-to-hand combat without magic.”
The Chief's lips twitched. “You have courage at least. Very well, Lord Ember, you will have a sword. No magic. No shapeshifting.”
“I swear I will not use magic,” I vowed.
“Smart,” Air said. “Youwill not use it, but that doesn't prevent us from helping you.”
I couldn't reply, so I hoped he knew to make that help subtle.
“I swear I will not shapeshift,” my challenger said. Bale. That was his name. He was big. Bigger than Vex. But at least he didn't look angry.
I held out a hand to him. “It's an honor to fight you, Bale. Thank you for agreeing to test me.”
Bale blinked, then shook my hand. “And you, Wraith Lord.”
“All right, let's get on with it,” the Chief grumbled and waved Vex out of the circle.
“Take him down,” Vex said to me, his stare steady. “Fast.”
I nodded, understanding the implication. Bale was stronger, but I was quicker. And the hardness in Vexen's stare told me to go for the kill.
I really didn't want to kill a man after shaking his hand.
Then Vex was gone, and I faced Bale alone. Well, not entirely alone.
“I don't want to kill him,” I whispered. “Can you hinder him and make it look natural?”
“No problem,” Water said gleefully. “Have I mentioned that people are sixty percent water?”
“Yes, we all know,” Fire drawled. “Have I mentioned that fire is what makes their hearts beat?”
“Please, do not stop his heart,” I said, leaning my head down so Bale wouldn't see my lips move.
“Relax,” Fire huffed. “What do you think we are—amateurs?”
“Your weapons!” the Chief shouted as a man ran into the ring holding two swords.
I was offered the first pick. I chose the smaller one.
There was no announcement for us to start. As soon as the man was out of the circle, Bale swung. But I saw his body move before his hand did, and I spun out of the way. There was no cheering for my quick maneuver. Nor did Bale seem impressed or irritated. He was calm. Expressionless. The only sounds were the movement of our feet, our harsh breaths, and the clicking of the bones in his hair.
It was the weirdest fight I'd ever been in. And I'd been through some strange battles. But none of them had been silent.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vexen standing beside his father, arms crossed over his chest. But I didn't look at him. I knew better than that. Once, I'd been terrible at swordplay, but I'd been trained by the best fighters on the planet and even though I wasn't at their level, I had learned a few things.
