The Trial

Chapter 5

Mason was a good fighter. he was nothing in comparison to my brother, but he was still pretty good. we spent about half the hour learning each other's strengths and weaknesses, but he was more determined than ever to land just one hit. I was being careful not to let him hurt himself in the process. his irritation and pride were beginning to blind him, and it was making him make poor choices.  

"fight back already." he spat, when I ducked out from under his quick strike. 

"I am." I replied as calm as I was at the beginning of the fight. 

"that's not fighting. you're just moving out of the way." he all but growled as he lunged yet again. 

his wide open arms left me very little room to move, so I chose to go over him instead. as I leapt forward, I placed my hands on his back, using him and his momentum to basically do a cartwheel over the top of him. this also pushed him off balance, making him crash to the ground for the third time in a row. 

his frustrated groan showed just how irritated he was getting. as he shot to his feet and spun around to glare at me, he snapped "how are we suppose to fight together, if all you do is evade?!"

"maybe, I can help show you how evasion works in many ways." Ares half laughed as he came toward us, making me swallow hard. 

"it's a useless tactic." mason spat, squaring off with Ares, and I shook my head. this wasn't going to end well. k doubted Ares would be watchful and careful enough to keep mason from hurting himself. 

"if you have more than one opponent, you need to strike and evade in the same movement." I sighed, knowing poor mason was about to get his pride crushed even further. 

"what do say, mason? shall we try to pin her?" 

the shock that raked through was more than just surprise. it was bordering on fear, but I kept my heartbeat and breathing as even and calm as I could make it. Mason's blatant happiness was short lived, as Ares stepped up beside him and challenged "first to strike or pin her wins." 

Mason's expression dropped. it was obvious that he had been thinking the same thing I had. that the two of them were going to team up against me. now, I had two separate opponents; one far more skilled at this than mason or I or even my brother. I'd need to be more cautious of Ares than mason, but I'd also have to calculate where and when and how mason would strike. I didn't want to hurt him or let him hurt himself, and the same went for Ares.

I knew mason would move to strike first, so I kept my eyes on Ares but watched mason out of the corners of my eyes. when Mason's body tensed, my eyes flickered to him for a fraction of a second, but that's all it took for Ares to start his attack too. they both shot at me like bullets from a gun. Ares would no doubt reach me first, so I calculated which foot would be closest to me. 

when he was two, long strides away from me, his body language told me he was going for my throat. instinctively, I dropped to my knees and tried to quickly calculate where mason would strike after seeing that I'd moved. as Ares' body brushed over mine, I pushed his legs up as they started to pass, quickly rolling forward to counter Mason's strike. 

he was coming down at me, so I pushed to my palms and the balls of my feet. I had barely moved into position, when I felt Ares moving behind me. he had recovered much quicker than I had anticipated. now, when I evade mason, they'd collide. I couldn't let that happen. mason would end up hurt. 

I needed to rethink my evasion. my best option to avoid anyone getting hurt wasn't going to be easy, but it was doable. as mason reached me, I grabbed his wrists and let his momentum roll me over backwards. as his body hovered above mine, I used my legs to push him higher into the air, so he would go over Ares, who was about to grab my arms that were still extended.