Chapter Thirty-Four

 

Irina came at Pandora like a windstorm of blades. Each block took every inch of her skill to survive, and on the final blow, one that should have taken her head off, Pandora twisted away using a combination Push and Pull.

"You're no match for me," said Irina with the sword at her side. "If there were no stones, you'd be dead already. Your sapphire will only delay the result you know is coming."

Pandora stayed in a crouched ready position, expecting a renewal of attacks at any moment.

"I don't know how you expect to win. I've seen you fight countless times, I know your tendencies, your flaws—"

Irina leapt forward, another flurry of strikes which had Pandora using her sapphire in concert with her blocks to survive. She'd so far declined to use her opal, fearing her inexperience would only lead to a fatal mistake. But on the other hand, if she didn't find a way to surprise Irina, it wouldn't matter. The conclusion of the fight seemed inevitable, even to Pandora.

Before Irina could move again, she hit her with a heavy Push. The instructor returned with a Push of her own, the forces nearly equal, but as they strained against each other, Irina forced Pandora backward, sending her sliding through the rocks until they collectively released their Pushes.

"You can't beat me with your sword or your stones. Your best move is to run. Flee the Undercity, never show your face here again. Better to survive than die for a cause I know you don't believe in."

Pandora risked a glance backwards at Brazio, who was leaning against the wall, barely managing to stay standing. If it were just his life, she'd probably have let Irina have him already, but the Razor warleader provided the best opportunity for the two clans to make an alliance and if her family in the Drops was going to survive they needed more than what they already had.

The next attack came as a mix of high and low strikes. Pandora sensed she was being set up and used a Pull to yank herself away when Irina came for the killing blow.

"You can't run from me forever. Eventually you'll make a mistake. You fight like you're mad at the world. Have since the first day in my Academy. It might help you against those without much skill, but those of us with real quality, like Brazio or myself, you must learn to fight with stillness. Without fear."

The lessons were meant to mock her. To remind Pandora that for all her instruction, she'd still not mastered the higher arts that made the difference between student and instructor. Feeling like she had nothing else to lose, Pandora allowed herself to relax at the same time she encouraged her opal. The addition of the stone made her muscles hum with background vibration.

The next attack from Irina came after a heavy Pull, then a Push on her legs to trip her up. Pandora was knocked to her knees, but managed to snap the blade into a high block as Irina smashed down with a two-fisted overhand strike.

Pandora kicked out, surprising Irina and forcing her to Pull a retreat. She spat on the ground.

"A lucky block."

But they both knew the truth. Pandora had moved with speed. Without the opal, the sword would have sliced her in half. Irina's expression betrayed her concern as she tried to figure out how that had happened, because her former instructor had no idea that she was the owner of an opal.

Pandora shifted to her feet, then relaxed into a ready stance, breathing with purpose, meditating on the hum of the opal.

Irina advanced again under a cloud of Pushes and Pulls to keep Pandora off-balance, but that was one area that she was better in than her instructor. She countered the attempted interference and was ready with her blade when Irina made her attacks.

This time, the blows were not only one way. Pandora managed to make a single attack for every four of Irina's, an irritating surprise for the instructor, who was still trying to understand what had changed.

When they broke off, a melodic laughter from the back of the cavern had Irina scowling.

"Shut up, old man. I'm coming for you next."

Irina attacked next with a ferocity that had Pandora defending with everything she had. She barely remembered the exchange as thought was too slow and only reflexes, training, and the speed of the opal saved her.

At the end of the exchange when their swords no longer clashed, Irina stalked away, swiping through the air and glancing back at her with supreme annoyance.

"When did you get an opal?"

Sensing an opportunity to get under her skin, Pandora replied with a grin. "Duro gave it to me."

The sliver of fear in her eyes was all Pandora needed. Irina knew that Duro had somehow unlocked the opal to perform superhuman feats, a practice she'd not yet learned to accomplish despite sharing the same stone. While Pandora was moving at a fraction of the speed that Duro could, it was enough to overcome the imbalance of skill in the scrap.

"It won't matter, whatever you think," said Irina.

When Irina attacked again, she came like a hurricane. Sword and sapphire. The combination had Pandora nearly tripping over rocks as she was forced backwards.

But once she recovered from the initial assault, finding the rhythm in the swings, she saw an opportunity. There was a hole in Irina's technique, a place where rage and skill didn't quite meet. She'd overextended herself to end the fight. Pandora saw it coming long before it happened.

High block. Sidestep, kick. Parry, parry. High block. The pattern went on for another ten moves, but Pandora knew what was coming. She knew because it was a strategy she'd used against her classmates and now Irina was using it against her. There was a chance it was a setup, but she suspected that Irina had forgotten where she'd learned it.

When Irina attempted to use a Push/Pull twist, Pandora Pulled herself backwards with a jump and then when Irina attempted to chase, she immediately burst forward using the opal with her sword low. The arc of Irina's leap left her midsection exposed.

Pandora brought her sword tip up.

The curved blade would open her up from thigh to breast. Irina was too slow. There was no way she could block it. The corners of Pandora's lips creased with victory as the blade hit flesh—

And bounced off as if it'd hit steel.

The implications had barely ricocheted off her mind before she threw herself forward. Irina's blade sliced across Pandora's arm, sending a spray of blood in a wide arc. She rolled forward, coming up on her feet with her sword out as Irina casually turned around, skin shimmering with hardness.

"I believe I have you to thank for my gift," said Irina with a smirk.