"Hey kid! Long time no see!" comes a voice all too familiar.
"I don't want to deal with you James." Kristopher says without turning or slowing down. James was his bully. Kristopher had gotten many bruises from the boy.
"Oh! Sorry, kid! Didn't remember you being so tough!" James says as he grabs Kristopher's shoulder. Kristopher had a special resentment for James. He grew up absolutely tormented by the bully. But he had grown tougher.
"I'll give you one chance to back off." Kristopher says, stopping and turning to face his oppressor.
"Or what? You will beat me?"
"Actually yeah, I will."
"Sorry kiddo, I can't be scared that easily."
"Suit yourself" James's face turns to a painful embarrassment. He had never been talked to like this. James swings a punch at Kristopher's face. Time slows. Kristopher moves his body to the side. James had put his weight into the punch, so Kristopher sweeps his feet out from under James's. James falls face-first into the wall. Kristopher extends his arm to help the bully up, but the bully tries to pull him down. Kristopher barely moves.
Kristopher looks into James's eyes, "I've waited a long time to do this. I tried to be nice too. You wanna fight? Let's fight." James gets up and punches at Kristopher, who dodges. He hears a scream as James hits a girl. Kristopher realizes a crowd has grown around them.
James looks at Kristopher with rage, "You scum! You made me hit a girl!" The nully lunges at his foe with his fist. Kristopher just takes the hit into his shoulder. The pain was manageable.
"I didn't make you do anything. You just fight sloppy." Kristopher says as he slows time. He grabs the bully by the scruff of his neck. "So y'all might wanna back up. I only want him hurt." The crowd unanimously moves backward. Kristopher throws the boy to the floor. James gets up, bloody nose getting everywhere. Kristopher leans against the wall so James doesn't hit anyone else.
"Nowhere to run kid." James grabs the wall to the left of Kristopher's head and pulls the other back to force it into his prey's skull. He expects Kristopher to move his head to the right, so punches that way. Time slows again. Kristopher moves his head to the left and hears the bully's hand crack against the wall.
"Alright. I'm tired of you," Kristopher says as he slips behind James and pulls his arms into a lock.
"Boy! What are you doing?" Despite being almost a foot taller, he can't shake Kristopher off. "Let go of me!"
"You got it." Kristopher says as he shoves James into the wall. James lands on the wall with his face. he gets to his hands and knees, shaking with anger. He turns and tries to get up. Time slows again, this time causing jitters. Kristopher sees James pushing up with his feel and pulls them toward him, slamming James's head against the wall behind him.
Kristopher's warrior instincts make him draw his sword and point it at his aggressor's throat. "Next time, it won't be your nose that I break." Then Kristopher notices the pencil at his enemy's throat. David is the only one not taken aback by the bully's takedown. He had seen what had actually happened. He grabs Kristopher's arm and pulls him down the hall.
"You just used magic." says David
"No I didn't. I only used my warrior's gift." Kristopher replies.
"You just pulled that pencil from the floor with magic." David tells Kristopher.
"No this is m-" Kristopher trails off looking at the pink pencil with a cute bunny eraser top.
"I saw your instincts kick in and the pencil fly into your hand."
"I don't feel well. I did the warrior's gift several times. I cant stop shaking."
A teacher walks up, "There you are! I am taking you to the- are you okay?" Kristopher looks at the teacher as the tremors take him over and he falls to the floor shaking violently.
"Oh my God! He's seizing!" David cries out.
***
Kristopher looks up at the moon being really close to the horizon. He gets up and sees the tree. "Here again?"
You must return to Armada.
"I would if I could."
Have the memory of how to get there. The tree says as a light flows from the tree and into Kristopher's forehead. Think of a square broken into nine parts. first is the first square. Then fifth. Then ninth. Then second, eighth, and finally fifth again.
"Isn't that what the basketball did?"
Yes.
"And what Fenol did?"
Also yes.
"So how do I get the magic?"
The egg linked to the dragon has powerful magic imbued into it. Touching your forehead has opened your magic lock. Touch your brother's forehead and you two will become equals in terms of magic and warrior strength. But do it quickly before my spell wears off. Now wake up.
