Partisan - Book II

Lose the Game

Ruben gets her up early in the morning, before the suns have properly risen in the sky. They go over the Nature Skilling forms for some time, and then he has her practice dodging the cold lash of water that he pulls out from the nearest basin.

When the strand of liquid fruitlessly hits the wall beside her she skids to a halt, a stitch in her side, dust drifting around her ankles.

"Lei," Ruben says suddenly, and he straightens up out of his crouch. "It is good of you to join us this morning."

Allayria turns and, sure enough, the lieutenant is standing by the double doors, his appearance very neat and crisp in comparison to the rumpled, sweaty look of master and apprentice.

"Why don't you come work with us?" Ruben invites. "I am sure Allayria is quite tired of me as a sparring partner. Perhaps you could take my place for a round."

Lieutenant Lei looks over and their gazes lock.

"Of course," he answers, and his fingers make quick work of the clasps on his jacket. Beneath it is a white, sleeveless shirt, also pressed and smooth. He sets the jacket on a bench and then walks to the spot where Ruben had stood, twenty paces from Allayria.

His gaze finds hers again, and she knows he's measuring her—the great Paragon, who went and got herself nearly killed, who sent the world spiraling into open war. Well, let him evaluate. She knows a few tricks.

He settles down into fighting stance and she does the same, holding a hand out in front of her. She is tense, waiting to see what he will do.

At first, he seems to have the same strategy. Then, in a brief second, his eyes narrow and he switches tactics. His back hand flows up, sharp and quick as she had expected, but with surprising gracefulness. The whip of water follows suit, and he is fast, much faster than she had even anticipated.

She side-steps the lash, and then tries to take advantage of his extension by shooting off a quick pellet of rock, but his other hand follows up and the rock turns to harmless dust that mists past his arm.

Allayria takes the offense now, sending a spray of water at him, then a stone disk immediately after. He flings away the water with ease, but is surprised by the disk, sending it off with a sharp jerk of his arm. And then he sweeps his hand back around his head and Allayria's disk comes back for her, but he's moving again as it speeds at her and she feels the subtle tremors in the ground beneath her.

She jumps, catching the disk with her Skill and spreading her hands out. It flattens into a wide, vertical plane just as ice shards pummel into it. The ground is cracking in earnest now, and when she peeks below she sees a spray of roots shooting up.

Gods damnit.

She leaps back, sending her rock wall crashing down onto the grasping limbs. She pulls water out of the basin without much thought and only freezes it just in time to slow down the darts of stone that hurtle her way.

She's panting and her hands are slick, but peering at him through the shards of falling ice, she sees Lei isn't even sweating. The back of her neck grows warm and she hurtles the shattered ice at him, dodging back to another spot as quick as she can.

Keep moving, she tells herself, and her teeth grit together. Don't let him anticipate you.

The slab of rock skims past her cheek; she had stood still for too long.

But she had stood still for too long—he had had a clear view of her and with his incredible speed it would have been enough time for him to get an accurate shot. He should have hit her.