Shit!
He’s not done yet…
“But then we realized that you’d be at an advantage, having seen them fight—such as it was—so it was decided it should be three.”
“Of your choice,” Cadmael added.
When no one said anything else, Clive nodded. “I see.” He looked over the four fighters and said, “I mean this as no disrespect to your superior skills, Wei, but as it will take time for your knee to heal, I’ll not ask you to spar with me.”
She looked pissed off—at her knee, not Clive—and nodded her acceptance.
“Fine,” Sebastian said. “Noab, Amir, and Salvador, please take the mat. And go.”
Salvador hit the ground immediately, writhing in pain. Unlike Ava, Clive didn’t need eye contact to control others or deliver excruciating pain.
The other two fanned out, smiling at Clive.
Clive lifted a hand, curling two fingers in a come-here gesture, and I laughed, knowing he’d done it for me.
Noab moved, disappearing from sight, but then he was flying through the air and crashing through a stone wall. It felt like sections of a film I was watching had been cut out. Noab was ten feet away and then half his body was through a wall. They were too damned fast for me to track.
Clive spun and I got dizzy. Amir was already there, his arm around Clive’s neck. Clive reached up and broke the bone, but when he tried to heave Amir away, Amir spun around and swept Clive’s legs.
The film jumped—and I was going to hurl—and then Clive was behind Amir, his hands around Amir’s neck.
I though Sebastian would call it, but then Clive was the one flying through the air and crashing through a wall.
Clive!
I’m fine, he said, waving a hand in front of his face to waft away the cloud of mortar dust engulfing him. My fault for not realizing Noab was up.
“I want to play,” Wei grumbled.
“Next time,” Clive assured her as he rose to his feet and returned to the mat where the other two were waiting.
“How’s the arm?” Clive asked.
Amir shrugged one shoulder. “I can fight with one arm.”
Clive turned to Sebastian. “Are swords available?”
When Clive turned his head, Amir leapt forward, but Clive had already moved as well. The movie skipped again and Amir was standing where Clive had been. Clive, though, was now leaning against the wall beside Cadmael.
I relaxed. This was clearly playtime for them.
Clive walked back onto the mat. “So, that was a no on the sword question, was it?”
“No,” Noab said. “I’ve seen you with a sword. I like my head where it is.”
Chaaya, the South Asian Counselor who was judging, asked, “Are we concerned about that one?” She pointed at Salvador, still writhing on the floor in pain.
Clive shook his head. “I already released him. I believe he’s hoping we’ll forget about him so he doesn’t have to fight me.”
Salvador popped up with a grin. “This is so.” He walked over and leaned against the judges’ wall. “Now I can watch properly.”
“Coward,” Noab said.
Salvador smiled wider. “No, please, tell us about being embedded in a wall. Was that fun?”
