Waging War | The Amber Duology #1

31 | The Absolute Worst

Kai Smith had dealt with stubborn trainees before, and that included his own sister. However, amongst all the reasons he's heard, most of them wanted to get out of the fight he was training them for. He'd never experienced a situation where they willingly threw themselves into battle.

Yet, here he was.

Adjusting the special headset that Zane gave him in order to tell Skylor what to do without giving Lloyd the advantage, Kai gripped the metal barrier that kept the spectators from falling off the second floor in case they got too drunk or was clumsy enough to trip over their own feet.

His plan was simple: let her tire the boy out and wait until Skylor could punch him.

He'd seen her fight during the battle on the Scarlet Fields. Although he didn't actually have an opportunity to inspect her moves, he knew that she was capable of defending herself when she needed to.

Just like last time, volunteer. He thought, bouncing on his toes. Please don't die.

When the horn blew, Lloyd Garmadon entered the arena dressed in his bright green tank top and jeans. His hands were in the air to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd before sinking into his hair, combing away the stray tufts of blond.

From the other side, Skylor pushed past the fabric that served as a door and immediately searched the crowd. Kai had to raise his hand in the air in order for her to spot him. And when she did, they locked eyes again.

Why do we keep doing that? He was the first to pull away, choosing to focus his attention on the boys placing bets behind him before he could think about it any further. Focus, Kai. You got this under control.

When Lloyd ran for her, Kai realized that he didn't have the situation under control after all.

"Move!" He yelled into his communicator with wide eyes. And to his command, Skylor immediately jumped out of the way but Lloyd kept running. "He's not going to stop, you need to deflect his attacks."

"How am I supposed to do that?!" Skylor shot back, her voice louder than his.

"Let him catch you!"

"What?! He's going to kill me!"

"Skylor, if you don't do as I say, I'm going to kill you."

At his words, Skylor came to a halt and Lloyd tackled her to the ground. While the rest of the crowd cheered, Kai winced. That's gotta hurt. When Lloyd's fist came up in the air, he immediately focused on his communicator.

"Grab his wrist as hard as you can." He called as fast as he could, moving around the first row of bleachers to get a good look at what was happening next. "Good. Now give it a good twist, it should be enough to get him off of you."

Skylor did what she was told, following his instructions down to the last detail and soon enough, the boy moved over in pain. Kai took this in, she was strong but Lloyd was not one to give up.

"What now?!" Skylor's panic echoed through her words as she stood up. Lloyd was back on his feet too.

"Dodge left and right. Lloyd's punches are fast but they hurt, try to avoid as many as you can." Kai said, running around again to check what was going on. He wasn't fast enough with his instructions but it wasn't like he could predict Lloyd's moves.

Before he could say anything else, the boy pulled off a swift kick to her chest, knocking her right into the mud.

Skylor placed a hand over her chest. "What was I supposed to do after that, genius?!"