Of Soul And Spirit

Chapter 4: How Does One Fight?

Sora did indeed have power over shadows; Briar couldn't see anything out of a two foot radius around herself. Briar decided that staying in the same place would just allow Sora, Opal and Narissa to immediately find her.

She dashed to the right, trying to stay as silent as possible, while straining to hear the others approach. There was no sound to be heard other than her own footsteps and the pounding of her heart.

Eventually, she reached a wall. There's no way I'm getting cornered, Briar thought as she set off in a different direction. She figured her best chance was to find the door and escape.

As Briar carefully made her way through the shadows, she fought to keep her fear under control. She had little idea of what to do and knew nothing of fighting beyond what she had read in her many books. A thousand questions fought for ground in her brain, but she pushed them away; they would not help her get through this. For once, Briar would not let curiosity screw her over.

To the left of her, Briar saw the glow of light, peeking through the shadows. She found it odd till she noticed the silhouette of a woman. It had to be Narissa.

Briar made sure to give her a wide berth, knowing she couldn't last in combat, and continued her search for a door once she couldn't see any more light.

Briar heard a rustle to the left of her. She jumped, about to run like a startled animal, when Opal jumped at her from the shadows.

Miraculously, Briar managed to dodge the attack, but Opal knew where she was going to land and tripped her. God damned future vision.

She barely managed to roll out of the way of a punch, and began to panic. Briar knew that if the fight lasted much longer, her luck would run out. Why hadn't Briar agreed to take that stupid self defense class?

She scrambled to her feet, ducking out of the way as Opal tried to grab her arm, and dashed back into the embrace of the shadows.

Briar ran in loops and zigzags, praying that she wasn't being followed, praying that Opal's future vision wouldn't allow her to be found.

When Briar felt she could run no more, she finally stopped, tense and alert. When no one jumped out of the shadows, she calmed down, struggling to control her breathing. Her heart was beating so hard, even the crowd must've heard it.

Thinking of the crowd made her think of her grandmother and all the questions she had, and if she thought about that, she'd forget about survival. She pushed the thoughts from her brain.

The faint noise of movement signified someone approaching, so Briar started to slowly back away, hoping to evade them, but she had no such luck. Sandra, Opal and Narissa stepped from the shadows and started to advance upon her.

She couldn't fight them all. Heck, she could hardly fight one of them. So Briar did what any logical person would do. The only thing she knew how to do.

She ran.

Briar ran until she reached a wall. She whipped around quickly to run the other way, but they had surrounded her. Briar's face drained of color as she realized there was no escape. She was trapped, and there was nothing she could do.

***

Naalmi sighed as she watched the shifting shadows on the floor of the arena. She supposed having Sora fight was to give Briar chance, but it sure did make it boring for the spectating Vendarin, or half angels.

It was probably what the second Tri-Wizard event had looked like to the onlooking wizards in the Harry Potter series. Watching a lake, seeing nothing.

Naalmi liked to read. When no one really cares about you, there's not much else you can do but to escape into other worlds.

When Thania had lied when she told Briar that all Vendarin had power, and Naalmi couldn't help but give a bitter laugh, though the withering glare from her mother had shut her up quickly. Not all Vendarin were that lucky.

She shook her head sadly. Briar would probably get her powers. They all did. Except Naalmi.

Naalmi was useless. She had nothing. Forever she would wilt in her sister's shadow.

When Opalina was born, their mother, Iseult, had still lived in a small, secluded tribe in South America on a mission from the Psychi. Due to Opal's odd and strange iridescent eyes, most the villagers decided she must either be a goddess or a demon. Iseult and their father had practically worshipped the ground beneath Opal's feet, and was utterly devoted to her. The natives, unfortunately, had agreed with the latter, and had chased them out of the town, and they were forced to withdraw. Opal was raised with all the love her parents could offer, without the scorn of the villagers.

So when five years later Naalmi was born completely normal, they held out hope, waiting for her gifts to reveal themselves.

When their father died, Iseult brought them to Greece, returning to her post in the Psychí. She sought protection for Opal and answers for Naalmi. Opal was loved, cherished and trained, and possessed one of the highest ranking powers in the organizations.

Naalmi was rejected and told she would never have powers. That she was a useless excuse for a half-angel. The Archangels had fated her to live in her sister's shadow forever.

But there was no use to think about that. It would only put Naalmi in a bad mood. Well, a worse mood than she was usually in at least.

Naalmi tried to keep her attention on the shadows, but there was only so long one could watch essentially nothing.

She was surprised when suddenly, the shadows dispersed.

Briar had her back to the wall, her hands splayed against it, slightly trembling. Her face was chalky white with terror, making her vivid red hair seem even brighter. She was completely surrounded with no hope of escape.

Interesting... thought Naalmi. Nothing had manifested yet. Then Briar leapt up into the air, making the whole arena gasp in awe.

***


Briar panicked, her mind going blank, unable to think of any escape. The words trapped just kept repeating in her head over and over again.

What were they going to do with her? Were they going to hurt her? Kill her? She was trapped what could she do?!

Something snapped in her mind. She felt a tug in her gut, and her instincts took over her completely. She willingly gave the control, her mind unable to think of an escape.

Jump, a voice within her said.

Briar closed her eyes and gave in to the instinct. When she opened them, she noticed her perspective was off. Maybe she hit her head? She didn't remember being hit though. The blow she was expecting never came.

Now that Briar thought about it, she didn't remember her feet hitting the ground after jumping either.

The people in the stands were staring up at her, shocked. She was flying! Thania seemed smug again.

How the hell was she flying? Briar flailed around, and caught a glimpse of blue feathers. Feathers! Reason. There had to be a reasonable explanation. Could she find one? No. All her experiences in Greece had defied everything she had ever learned her whole life. Weird people, disappearing people, people trying to kill her, her grandmother trying to kill her. And now she was flying.She knew she couldn't stay up in the air forever, so she cautiously attempted to fly lower to the ground. She mumbled curses under her breath as she slowly descended. When Briar was a couple feet from the ground, she tripped over some invisible barrier and fell to the ground. Apparently, she was as good as flying as she was at walking. Great.Briar threw her arms around her head as she landed, expecting people to rush at her and attack her once again. Instead, all she felt was a hand resting on her shoulder. She looked up to see Thania smiling down at her. "You showed some great potential!""I...... what?" Why weren't they attacking her? 

Sorry this one is kind of short. Was putting Naalmi's viewpoint in there too choppy? Hope you are having a fantabulous day.