The Darkest Souls

Ten- Do Over

As Novellia fell to one knee, Eli saw his chance and rushed her. She was still too dazed to move out of the way, and the two collided. They rolled for a few seconds, but Eli ended up on top, his hands pressing hers into the dust. She was pinned, but wiggled and kicked around, desperately trying to get free.

"You should probably stop trying that," he said, magic rushing to his fingertips.

She paused briefly, and Eli relaxed his grip a bit. A mistake, as it turned out. In the brief moment that he let his guard down, Novellia brought her leg up and kneed him in the stomach. The world seemed to roll as a sharp nausea overtook him. He still didn't let go, however.

He felt Novellia move to try again, but before she could he allowed his lightning magic to flow into her body. She cried out in pain before going limp under him. Eli panted, not quite trusting her yet. When she hadn't moved for a solid minute, he made to move off of her.

That would prove to be another mistake. A nearly fatal one. As Eli leaned backwards, a sharp, sudden pain engulfed his stomach. Had her kick been more powerful than he thought? No, when he looked down, he saw a shaft of pure light emanating from his stomach. Blood leaked from the wound, down his stomach and legs and onto Novellia. As he looked at her face, she saw her eyes were open, and she was staring at his stomach.

Eli suddenly felt woozy and weak. He swayed for a second for two before falling forward onto Novellia. He heard an "Ohf!" as he landed, and the last thing he saw was Novellia's eyes closing before they both passed out.

* * *

"Talk to me, Nova," Armand said as he leaned back in his chair. "You've been quieter than usual."

It'd been a week after her battle with Elijah. It'd taken both of them a few days to recover, and they hadn't talked since then. Nova could constantly feel his presence, however. Sometimes, it felt as though he was trying to talk to her through their link, but she'd pushed him away every time. She wasn't quite ready to face him, yet.

Nova looked at her father and shrugged her shoulders. "What's wrong with being quiet?"

Armand gave her a pointed look. "Nothing, but this silence of yours isn't normal. It's obvious something's wrong, and I think I have an idea what it might be."

Nova shrugged again. She did not  want to be having this conversation right now.

Armand sighed and rubbed his temples. "I remember when you used to tell me everything."

"I'm an adult, Father."

"You used to call me 'Papa,' remember?"

"Father, please."

Armand laughed, and Nova couldn't help but smile too. The two rarely saw each other anymore, and she did miss their closeness. Armand was the one who taught her the basics of swordplay, and had tried his hardest to be a father to her.

Armand suddenly quieted. "It's the fight, isn't it?"

Nova's eyes darted away, the heat of shame filling her cheeks. She nodding, not saying a word. Tightness gripped her stomach and chest, and she found it harder to breathe.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Nova."

"I failed. Miserably." She murmured, trying to hide the shake in her voice.

"I will remind you that the fight was declared a tie."

"He should've won."

"And why is that?" Armand asked as he learned forward, his chin resting on his intertwined fingers.

"My performance was... It was terrible!" Nova sat up in her chair, moving her hands as she talked. " I'm ashamed of myself. I-I choked and messed up and I was just terrible."

"Why did you choke? You've fought humans before, so why was Elijah different?"

"He-... I-... I didn't know anything about him. I had no idea what kind of person he was, or what he'd do, or how he'd react, and I was scared. With the other people I've fought, I had a basic grasp of who they were, I had intel. But not with him. He's a wild card, and that scares me."

Armand smiled. "Well, it's a good thing you'll be getting to know him, then, isn't it?"

Nova nodded, but still felt unsure. "When's the mock fight?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'd better go find him," she said as she stood up. "Thank you for talking with me."

"That's what fathers are for," Armand said as he stood and opened the door for her. As she left, she quickly embraced her father, then made her way down the brightly lit hallway.

* * *

She found Elijah in the dining hall, sitting and laughing with another Savior. The dining hall was longer than it was wide, and filled with long wooden tables. Younger Saviors bustled around with huge plates, replacing food and beverages as needed. Large crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, friendly glow over the room. The windows in the hall provided a beautiful view of the surrounding forest. Even in the early morning, stars shone in the sky.

Elijah looked up at her as she approached, and pointed her out to his friend. The other Savior turned and waved at her. Feeling awkward, she smiled and gave a polite nod. "It's good to see you, Novellia," Elijah said as she stood next to him. "It's been, what, a week?"

"Yes," she replied, not quite sure what to say.

"I had fun during our fight," he said, beaming up at her. "You're pretty good."

"There's no need to flatter, me, Elijah."

He scoffed at her. "Trust me, it's not flattery. You got me pretty good." He patted his stomach, where she'd stabbed him through with her magic.

"Uhm, sorry... about that."

He laughed. "Don't worry about it. I should've seen it coming." He then turned to his friend and grinned. "Novellia, let me introduce you to my friend Danny. We've been friends since we were kids."

Danny was around the same height as Elijah (yet another Savior taller than Nova), but his hair was shaggier and longer. His eyes had an unearthly blue glow. Danny gave her another wave, smaller this time, as his blue eyes met her silver ones. "Your magic is incredible. Everyone went insane watching you make that force-field and throw those... spear things. And when you stabbed Eli here-" Elijah rolled his eyes. "They lost it!" HIs grin was wide, revealing a set a pearly white teeth.

"People, uh... People were watching?!" Nova felt her cheeks heat up for the second time that day. How many people had watched her fail?

"Yeah. Someone had set up this huge speculum for everyone to watch through."

Speculum were the bowls of water used by Saviors for scrying. Any Savior could use one, but they were one-way, and un-ideal for communication.

"Great..." Nova sighed.

"Anyway," Elijah said, clearly sensing her mood. "What brings you here, Novellia?"

"I wanted to prepare for the mock battle tomorrow with you. We'll be going up against a much more advanced team, and it never hurts to be prepared."

Elijah nodded. "I'd be happy too." He turned toward Danny. "I'll catch you later."

Danny shot him a look, not a angry look, but certainly one Nova couldn't decipher. "Tell me how it goes."

Eli gave a knowing smile and  nodded before standing and joining Nova. As they walked out the doors, he said to her: "You can call me Eli, by the way. Everyone does."

"Well in that case, Eli, you can call me Nova. I understand that my name can be a mouthful at times."

"You can say that again!"

Together, they walked toward the training rooms, and Nova found herself smiling and laughing the whole way there.