The Art of Rebellion

Inferno

Ry does what she does best and explains the situation to them. She's as respectful as ever, something I wouldn't be able to do. If she calls me little crow one more time, I'll probably mouth off and get killed.

"But you've not done much to oppose the corrupt leadership of Shura," Drusilla replies, a bored look on her face. "We, the Dead Poets, have lead hundreds of raids on the militia. We've freed thousands of slaves, killed thousands of knights. You - you've only dabbled in minor operations. Assassinate a politician here, convert a knight to your cause there." Her eyes go from Ry to me. "Why, pray tell, should we trust you to be capable of waging war?"

"M'am," Ry starts ", it is because we haven't been flashy that we've managed to assemble a strong opposi-"

"Not you, girl," Drusilla interrupts, eyes still locked on me. "I want to hear it from him." Unexpected, but ok. Most people don't wanna talk to me more than they have to, but ok. I'm gonna flip my shit and insult her, but ok.

"We didn't wanna lose fighters on small scale missions," I tell her. "That's not what will bring Aro down. The slaves you've freed have been replaced by newer slaves. New knights have taken the positions of the slain ones. You'll never be able to touch Aro if you keep wasting men."

Apparently, that was considered rude, because a spear made entirely of flames appears in Efreet's hands, and he throws it at me. I jump to the side to avoid it, but then a rock slams into me, sending me down to the ground. I look up to see who did it, and see a tall, well built guy around my age next to the throne, position so he and the fire wielder are flanking their leader. He must be Golem.

"Now, now, boys," Drusilla scolds, but she's clearly amused. "I'm a big girl. His words don't insult me." She's quiet as I get up, and proceeds to stare at us silently, clearly pondering what to do next. Her eyes go from En to Ry to me, and then she smiles. "Prove yourselves," she says, and I tense up. I know where this is going.

"What do you mean, m'am?" Ry asks, her voice laced with uncertainty. "Prove ourselves how?"

"Combat, of course," the woman replies. "For a start, anyway. If you want us to accept you as our allies, you have to prove you're worth the risk. Your first test is simple; Kill Corwin."

What? Is she serious? She wants us to kill one of her own?

The man in question doesn't seem to mind. Instead, he glares at me with eyes full of burning intensity. Lovely, he's the type that takes everything seriously. They're a lot harder to take down than dumbasses who goof around.

"You're shittin' me?" En takes a step forward, an angry look on her face. "You'd let your own friend die?" She waits for a reply, but turns to look at me upon realizing she won't get it. "Let's get outta here. We don't need psychopat-"

"You may start," Drusilla says, and Corwin throws a spear of fire toward En. Ry pushes her out of the way just in time to make the attack miss, and I already have two knives out, ready for a fight.

"En, the usual. Ry, try not to die," I tell them as a ball of fire erupts from Efreet's palm and flies toward me. Instead of jumping to the side, I attach a shadow rope to the ceiling and fling myself over it and directly toward the man. I throw a knife at him, but he hurls himself into the air with a blast of flames at his feet. I throw the second knife, but he uses another blast, this one from his left hand, to move aside, and then a third one, now with his right hand, to fly back at me. Just before he can punch me, my rope pulls me above him as I bring my knees to my chest. Then, once he's completely below me, I slam my feet into him, sending him toward the ground. He hits it hard, which means the fight is over.

Wrong.

A robe of fire surrounds his body, and he stands up, then throws another spear at me, which I block by creating a shadow shield in my left hand. I undo the shadow rope and start falling toward him, creating a shadow sword to strike down with. Instead of hitting him, the blade meets another blade, this one made of fire, and I'm thrown back a bit. As soon as I land, Corwin launches himself at me, and now it's my turn to deflect his attack. We forgo typical magical combat and start fighting like knights instead, each one doing his best to push his opponent back. He nicks my cheek and shoulder, cutting them instead of burning, as one would assume. Great. Solid magic, the thing that usual gives my shadow weapons an advantage.