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“Don’t get hit by that fire of his,” Midori said as she rolled out of the way of a volley. Three fireballs narrowly missed her head and based on what she had seen happened to Arimus, there was no way she was going to survive even one making a direct hit.
“Okay, Ms. Obvious,” Pascal said, maintaining his distance. He had his daggers in hand, but he wasn’t yet moving in. Midori was taking all of Warrior Two’s attention as she dodged his constant barrage of fireballs.
“I’m just saying,” she shouted as she pivoted and narrowly missed on hitting her leg.
“Well, of course I know not to get hit by fire,” he said.
“Can you help me please? Or do you want to see us get killed?”
“You know what I’m doing.”
“Well, hurry up.”
“This takes a lot of time and concentration.”
“Well, concentrate harder! I get hit by one of these and I’m finished.”
“I know, I know,” he muttered. He wanted to close his eyes, but he knew it was a bad idea. Another roar from James in the distance broke his concentration and he took another deep breath and started over.
He didn’t like revealing his ability.
But it was the only thing preventing them from being killed.
“Done!” he shouted, and then his body went limp and he fell on his face.
“Then why am I still being pelted by fireballs?!” Midori screamed as one grazed her ankle. It burned the fabric around it.
“Sorry,” Warrior Two said, putting his hands to his side. “Ew, this guy hasn’t taken a bath in weeks!”
“Don’t waste time, let’s finish this,” Midori said, cautiously approaching him.
“I have him. He’s waking up in my body now though. Hurry up.”
“Got it,” Midori said, unsheathing her blade and placing it to Warrior Two’s throat. “Leave on three?”
“Yeah, and it better be on three or you’re going to have to go out with whatever the heck Warrior Two’s name is.”
“We’re not going out.”
“Whatever. You count.”
“One. Two. Three!” Midori cut off Warrior Two’s head and his body fell to the floor.
“So scary!” Pascal yelled, back in his own body.
“The body switch worked?” Midori asked.
“Yeah,” Pascal said, touching his nose tenderly. “My face hurts really bad though.”
“That’s because it’s ugly,” she laughed. James cried out again and Midori ran to his side. With her sword she carefully cut away at the flesh that had the burrowing fireballs stuck to it. James fell onto his back in exhaustion as his wounds slowly closed up.
“Are you going to be okay?” Midori asked, patting him on the shoulder.
“I don’t have a whole lot of energy left...but I’m alive.”
“Hey guys!” Pascal yelled. Midori and James watched as a couple of the warriors on the wall came over to clean up the mess of their fallen. They took Warrior One’s two halves, and Warrior Two’s head and body, and placed them in a corner.
“Bring them back!” James shouted once he was able to finally stand to his feet.
Ten glanced over at the mysterious raiser and nodded.
James watched in awe as Catherine, Arimus, and Ronan’s wounds were healed, as if grafts were being placed on their skin by invisible hands and their wounds were being closed up by invisible surgeons. When the color returned to their faces, they all started coughing and clawing at the floor, still feeling as if they were being consumed by fire.
“I thought I lost you for good,” James sighed in relief as he came to Catherine’s side.
“It was different this time,” she whispered while keeping her eyes closed. “I didn’t feel myself dying. It was like time was standing still.”
“We keep all of our dead in suspended animation,” Ten shouted. “My friend here by my side takes care of that.”
“He sounds invaluable to the Knights, “Arimus said, coughing one more time to clear his lungs.
“That wasn’t fun,” Ronan muttered. “That won’t happen again.”
“How did we win?” Arimus asked.
James proudly turned to Pascal and Midori. “It was them. Midori distracted while Pascal used a very interesting ability.”
“I can switch bodies with another,” he said. “But it takes time. Once I got control of Warrior Two, it was all over for him.”
“How are you able to do that?” Catherine asked. “That seems impossible.”
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“For you to be able to switch someone’s essence like that, then we must have a soul,” Catherine said. “We have to.”
“This world is complicated,” Ten said. “And much of it will be revealed should you survive. But considering most of your team didn’t in that last round, and you’ve revealed Pascal’s ability, I wouldn’t count on it. Warrior Three, you may proceed.”
“I think I’ll target the girl named Midori first,” he said, cracking his knuckles. He was built like a brawler, with hulking muscles and a buzz cut for hair. He had a goatee that was twisted down into a little ponytail and he was wearing a tank-top that was stained in blood.
“You stay away from her!” Pascal yelled at him as he approached them.
“Thank you for saving us,” James said to him and Midori. “But, I think we’re going to be handling this one. It’s time that we do our part too.”
“Yeah, no more mistakes,” Ronan said.
“Come here, big guy,” James yelled at him. “We have something to tell you.”
***
“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING about?” Chloe asked.
“Our friends,” Kyran said, while sitting on one of the couches in their living room. “I wonder what they would think of us.”
“I didn’t know you cared so much.”
“We are all separated,” he said as Chloe took a seat beside him. “And I must expel the thought that we are still on the same page. Should we meet up with them, we cannot hold back on our convictions. Unless we discover a fact about Delilah that greatly contradicts our own, we are Delilah.”
“I know,” she said, rubbing a hand down his back. “This won’t be easy. But...what made you think about this? Was something said? Or the thought just came up on its own?”
“We’re being sent on a mission to Allay,” he said. “Tyuin is working with the Delilah against anyone’s knowledge and they’ve captured Marie, Daisy, Talia, and Scarlet. As a show of our loyalty, we are to escort them here for imprisonment.”
“Why? What did they do?”
“It’s not what they did, it’s what they will do. They are idealists and they serve no one. Essentially, they are wild cards.”
“I see,” she said, falling into her own thoughts.
Kyran began rubbing her back. “There, there,” he said with no emotion whatsoever.
Chloe laughed and her spirits picked up. “We’ll do this,” she said. “It’s not like they’re going to be executed.”
“And if they are?” Kyran asked. “What are you going to do?”
“You’re the one that knows more about what life is like in the shadows,” she said. “I’ll follow your lead.”
“Thank you,” he said, and he gave her a peck on the lips.
***
WARRIOR THREE HEADED toward Pascal first, but Ronan was able to intervene. He jumped on their enemy’s back and pulled at his neck, causing him to strain against Ronan’s strength. Ronan eventually pulled him enough to force him to change his course. He reached up and tried to grab Ronan but he leapt off, took out his axe and started swinging.
He couldn’t even cut through Warrior Three.
“It’s really tough!” Ronan yelled, then he was backhanded by his opponent. He went somersaulting along the ground and his axe went flying out of his hand.
“We’ll treat this like we did Gideon,” James said to Arimus. “Remember?”
“Yes,” he said. “Catherine, once James gets a cut started, you’ll need to push it forward. Don’t worry about his eidolon being destroyed.”
“Okay,” she said though she didn’t like the sound of the plan.
“One after the other,” James shouted. “His strength is his natural armor. We break through that and we’re good.”
“You better change tactics, Warrior Three!” Ten shouted from above. James glared up at him. Why was he giving him advice? Was that fair? Didn’t Ten want to remain neutral and see how it would all play out?
“Now!” James shouted. He sprinted forward, narrowly dodged one of Warrior Three’s fists and then summoned his black eidolon. With all the energy he could muster, he slammed it into Warrior Three’s abdomen. It barely nicked him but the impact was enough to stop him in his tracks. A second later, Catherine followed with her multi-colored eidolon, slamming into James and pushing his eidolon further into Warrior Three’s. Arimus responded in kind next. Then Midori. Then Ronan, and finally, Gwen used the vines coming up out of the ground to grab all of their hilts and pull them in toward Warrior Three’s midsection.
He bellowed in agony as he reached down to grab James by the neck. James dodged it swiftly, willed his eidolon to vanish and then ran to the head of the line. He summoned his eidolon once more and slammed it into everyone’s. He didn’t put a lot of strength into it, but it was enough to send Warrior Three onto his back.
James leapt into the air, readied the blade, and brought it down upon Warrior Three’s midsection just as everyone got out of the way.
Their enemy was cut in two.
“There you go,” Ronan laughed.
“Impressive,” Ten said. “Most warriors who come here try to take him down one by one. But it appears you have already faced an opponent with similar defenses. It doesn’t matter. Your luck will run out. I assure you.”
“Do you want us to win?” James asked. His voice echoed off of the walls so everyone had to have heard him. “Seriously. Why did you give advice to Warrior Three back there?”
“I have my reasons,” Ten said. “What does it matter? We could have had you face twenty warriors in a row. I could have had you face me. Whatever you deem fair in this battle, it is not for you to say. This is on our terms.”
“Fine,” James huffed. “Then bring your next warrior.”
“Warrior Six, go!” Ten shouted.
James scowled and glanced back up at Ten. Why was he skipping to such a high number?
“If Six doesn’t finish us, Seven will,” Arimus said low enough for only their group to hear. “That’s the plan.”
“They don’t want us here,” Catherine said. “It’s clear.”
“Our best bet is to pass this ridiculous trial,” Midori said. “But we should also look for a chance to escape.”
“I don’t know,” James said. “We’re finally here. I don’t know if I want to go. I think we can do this. It hasn’t been too terrible so far.”
“Speak for yourself,” Ronan groaned. “Dying sucks.”
“James!” Ten shouted from above. “I think it is time that I explained a truth to you. Warrior Six, hold!” Warrior Six, a toned average looking man with two swords in his hands halted his approach.
“What is it?”
“You are the only one that we want,” he said, and James’ eyes widened.
“Why?”
“That is for us to know at this time, but you must realize that we will not allow your friends to join our ranks. We won’t allow them to pass the trial.”
“So if we pass as a team, you won’t let them in?”
“No, we will, but it will be after a great deal of reluctance. What I am doing now is offering you an out. A chance to save their lives. If you decide to join us right now, then we will end the trial, and your friends will be free to go. But if you continue, with the hope that all of you can join, they will be killed in the trial.”
“We do this together,” he declared, then he turned to his teammates. “Right?”
“I want this,” Ronan declared. The rest nodded. They hadn’t gone on this journey for nothing.
James looked to Ten. “We’re going to keep going.”
“Warrior Six, proceed!” he shouted in response. Warrior Six rolled forward and sprinted toward them as if he was on a time limit to complete his mission. James intercepted him first with both eidolons in hand, but Warrior Six quickly parried both blades and then sliced him across the middle and then roundhouse kicked him in the back of the head. James fell onto his stomach as he heard Pascal cry out.
Pascal had been stabbed in the middle of his chest while Warrior Six’s other blade had gone through his head. Midori tried to slice Warrior Six’s arms off while he was preoccupied but he let go of his blades, still in Pascal, and started punching at Midori.
Arimus came from behind and tried to take out his head, but it just ended up hitting Midori as Warrior Six dropped down onto all fours. Arimus backed off once he saw what he had done but Warrior Six took advantage. He grabbed both of his blades from Pascal’s corpse and stabbed Arimus through the stomach and Midori in the neck. He ripped both blades from them and ran at Ronan who swiped at him with his axe. His enemy barely got his swords up in time to block the blow.
The swing was strong enough to send Warrior Six onto his back but he jumped back up and ran back at Ronan. He rolled under Ronan’s next swing and then slammed both blades up under Ronan’s chin, killing him instantly.
James nicked Warrior Six’s shoulder as he swiped at him with his arm turned blade. He hit him again on the right forearm and Warrior Six gained his composure. He started slashing away at James and James barely kept up the speed. Turning both hands into blades, he stayed on the defense, blocking the flurry of attacks that came his way.
Catherine came from behind and jammed her blade into the back of Warrior Six, having taken her time in getting to him. He growled and elbowed her in the face. She didn’t let it faze her. She took the hit and just put more strength into twisting her sword. Warrior Six lost a great deal of strength as James jammed his blades into his enemy’s midsection.
“You think this is it?” Warrior Six whispered.
Suddenly, it was as if he was renewed. He chopped down and broke James’ eidolons in half. He leapt up into the air and kicked James in the chest with both feet. Then he reached back and grabbed Catherine’s head. On the way down onto his back, he flipped her over him so that she ended up on top of him with her back on top of his front.
He rolled out from under her and grabbed one of his blades. Catherine jumped to her feet to combat him but he had already thrown his sword right into her chest. She went flying backwards onto the concrete.
James tackled Warrior Six to the floor and punched him in the face with his blade, slashing his face in half. Breathing heavily, James looked around at the dead. His friends. His family. All of them taken from him. And all because he hadn’t tapped into his full strength from the beginning. He was still being too conservative. He thought they could all do it as a team, as a unit.
His reservations had only gotten them killed.
James didn’t even have to yell at Ten this time, however. Before his eyes they were slowly being revived.
“Some of them can’t afford to be killed again,” Ten said. “But I’m sure you’re aware of that.”
James didn’t say anything. He was too busy staring at Warrior Seven. The man standing against the wall with his arms crossed was not impressed with anything he had seen, and the power emanating from him was so impressive that he was literally glowing. A dark purple aura emanated from him and he yawned in boredom.
“Go ahead, Seven,” Ten said.
James watched as he stood himself up from off of the wall and walked toward them slowly.
“Get back!” James shouted to his family and friends behind him. “All of you!”
“James, we have to help you!” Catherine shouted but he refused to entertain the thought.
“You already died twice,” he said. “You can’t participate.”
“That’s not up to you to decide.”
“Please!” he shouted. Seven appeared in front of James as if he had teleported. He punched James in the face so hard that when his head hit the concrete floor, it cracked the surface. He grit his teeth as he held onto consciousness, but it eluded him.
His greatest fears were realized as he saw Warrior Seven approach his family and friends, and his vision went black.
