Calm before the Storm

One week later...

“You won!” A muffled female voice piped. Derek lifted himself up and looked down at the smiling face of Five. She looked so proud. It made him feel bad.

“Yes...one hundred and one losses and I finally won with a body slam. I’m not sure if that’s something to take pride in.” Derek stood up and reached his hand towards Five. He gently pulled her to her feet.

“A win is a win, no matter how it’s achieved. I’ve trained my whole life to be a weapon. You should be proud.” Five nonchalantly stated.

“Ha,” Derek sighed and ruffled his hair. Demi clapped him on the back.

“Unless you face another shadow, you’re well prepared for anything.” Demi encouraged, but there was laughter in his eyes.

“There will definitely be an issue if we face other shadows.” Derek muttered, with an air of defeat.

“Tyler and I will be dealing with One and Two. I heard three and four died when the crown prince got possessed. I guess he’s a mutant.” Five chimed in.

“Then I hope the king was responsible enough to kill him. Are you all numbered?”

“Yes. We are ranked by ability so there’s currently only two shadows who are better than me. Speaking of which, I wonder if your highness would spar with me? Fighting you would be a good way to gage the probability of winning.” Five asked Demi with shining eyes.

“...well I guess that would be a good thing to know. Do you want a normal match or one where I use aura?”

“Please use aura. This will give me the best results.”

“If you say so,” Demi reluctantly conceded. They moved towards the clearing. Everyone followed, eager to watch the show. It’s not everyday one can witness the fight between a war hero and a shadow knight. Demi covered his sword in blue flames. “Are you ready?” Five nodded. Demi and Five moved at the same time. The sounds of clashing metal filled the air, as blurs of white and blue danced within the clearing. I tried to make out what was going on but they were both moving too fast for my eyes to keep up. Creed was beside me, looking on with delighted, mesmerized eyes. “It’s truly impressive,” Creed mumbled to himself.

“You can see their movements?” I questioned in surprise.

“Yes. His highness is bigger and stronger than Five, so he’s attempting to overpower her with brute strength. Five is trying to find an opening to attack. It’s not easy. His highness is surprisingly swift. He keeps blocking her. I’m pretty sure he’ll win but, perhaps without aura, it would be a draw.”

“But Demi only used aura on his sword?”

“Initially, yes, but once he grasped her fighting style he switched tactics. He drew his flames beyond his sword to form something like a whip, and he’s using it to block his weak spots. It’s quite clever. These two people are the epitome of what humans can achieve.” Creed explained, clearly impressed.

The fight came to an end, with Demi wrapping Five in a rope of flames. Rather than disappointment, Five expressed fascination with Demi’s flames, that bound her without burning her. Demi released her, and Five bowed. “Thank you for teaching me something new.”

“Would you like to continue? I think this would be a good group activity.” Demi smiled. I knew that smile. This was the look he gave me before subjecting me to that crazy bootcamp at the hunter’s guild. Not realizing the trap she walked into, Five happily agreed.

“Tyler, Dave, Derek and Brandy,” Demi called. “You will team up with Five. Taya and Jer, you two will be with me. You’ve made a lot of progress in the past week, so now it’s time to test your growth.”

Jer and I moved towards Demi while the others went to join Five. I was nervous. Though I had improved my control significantly, I couldn’t help but remember all the trees I accidently demolished at the beginning. I nervously looked at Demi.

“It will be fine, Taya. If either of you lose control, I’ll help the other side.” Demi shamelessly proclaimed.

“Where’s the loyalty?” Jer joked.

The lightened atmosphere helped me control my emotions. Creed declared himself the referee. “Is everyone ready? I’ll take the silence as affirmation. One. two. three, go!”

Five’s group wasted no time and immediately sprinted towards the aura users. I held two daggers, while Jer and Demi used long swords. Brandy and Five moved towards me while the boys fought each other. I was inwardly surprised. I thought Five would try and fight Demi again. Having seen for myself the speed at which she moved, I immediately formed a wind barrier around myself. I stood with my eyes closed, in the eye of a small tornado. I focused on the sounds around me and the feeling of the wind. I deemed anything that wasn’t a part of my connection as an enemy. I felt two forces, attempting to break through the wall of wind. I smiled. I let go of one of my daggers, and used wind to shoot it at one of the forces. I heard a yelp of pain as the dagger hit its target. Right as I was about to follow suit with my second blade, a twirl of white broke through my defenses. I groaned as a kick to my stomach threw me back. My concentration broke and the wind subsided. I rolled out of the way and narrowly avoided getting stabbed to death. Five relentlessly pursued me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was actually trying to kill me. Her last strike nicked my shoulder and it hurt like hell. I was in a really bad mood and I could feel my control slipping. I used wind to push her back.

“Wait a minute Five, I’m not in control.” For whatever reason, she ignored me and charged at me once more. I gritted my teeth, and sent a blade of wind flying her way. She dodged but I was truly annoyed with her. My aura reflected my state of mind, and the blade followed her like a honing device. The more agitated I felt, the more strength and speed was added to the blade. People started jumping out of the way. I tried to calm down but the crazy woman was still attempting to attack me. Sturdy arms hugged me from behind, and a large hand covered my eyes.

“That’s enough now, Taya.” Demi whispered in my ear. I felt my body relax at the sound of his voice. I heard Creed in the background, declaring the end of the match.

Demi called Five. “Why did you continue to attack when she said she had lost control? Do you know how dangerous that is, not just for you but everybody?” I stiffened at his words. Did I hurt someone?

“I apologize, I underestimated the strength of her aura. But in real life, an enemy won’t stop just because you say so.” A soft voice stubbornly rebutted.

“That may be true, but this isn’t a real fight. This is a training exercise. Are you trying to dwindle our numbers before we even face a real enemy?”

“Sorry,” a much more genuine voice replied.

“If this is the calm before the storm, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Brandy commented, putting pressure on her injured arm. I think those were the truest words she’s ever spoken.