The Art of Rebellion

The Spider's Web

(Ry's POV)

The man pulls the icy blade out, and I fall to the ground, clutching the wound with my arms. Great. Once again, I'm completely useless.

"You fucker!" En yells, jumping toward him, but he blasts her backwards with a ball of water.

"You - you're another one of his experiments?" I manage to say, incapable of raising my voice all that much. Still, it's enough for the man to hear me.

"You really don't know a thing, do you?" he asks. "I am Akira, you foolish gir-" I throw my knife at him before he can finish, and it pierces his head. Instead of blood, water flows out of it, and he turns into a puddle, which drips all over me. En takes one of the men down while Leo distracts the others, incapable of using offensive magic. I stay still and let my body recover. Man, we're really embarrassing ourselves here. Corwin takes out numerous knights, then forces the rest to retreat, and what does the Rebellion do? First Kol gets kidnapped, then uses up his magic healing his friend. En was drunk the entire time, and all I did was fight off a few animals.

The puddle beneath me starts moving like a wild river, stirring with more water than was there before. I try to crawl out of the way, but I still get encased in a sphere of water. I manage to get one fist through the surface, but the water is spinning and not letting me escape. I think I can see En fighting to get to me, but the men are in her way. The blood from my wound pours out faster as my body starts writhing, attempting to catch even a small whiff of air, but the only thing filling my lungs is water.

Just as my eyes start closing, Leo bursts into the sphere and pushes me out. I fall to the ground, coughing up the water, holding my stomach. Before I can recover completely, the water surges toward me, but is evaporated by a blast of fire. En knocks the last of the men out, then sits on the ground, clearly hurt and tired. Slowly, I turn my head around and see Corwin and Arnold, both looking worse for wear. Corwin especially seems weaker. It's like his magic power is only half of what it used to be.

"Are you alright?" the black haired man asks, and I follow his gaze, then realize he's talking to En.

"Ye," she replies, but it's a lie. None of us are alright. "That thing you blew up was Akira, by the way. Thanks."

Corwin nods, then gestures toward Arnold, who scoops me up in his arms and starts carrying me. "Then we're done here. Our mission was a suc-" Corwin starts to say, but another blast of water knocks him off his feet. Arnold whirls around toward the source of the attack, allowing me to see Akira, not a scratch on him. En rushes to get back to her feet, but his water is faster, and she's knocked on her back, too. Finally, he sets his sights on me and Arnold.

"Your assumption was correct, by the way," he says. "I did experiment on myself. Those of us born without power have to claw our way through the path toward it. I was born with nothing, and amazed that fool Gerald with my intelligence so much that he wound up adopting me. Now that I had money, authority, brilliance and men power, all I lacked was magic." A spear of ice appeared in one of his hands, a shield in the other. "Now I have that, too, and yet I'm still not satisfied. Any idea why?" I can tell by the look in his eyes that he's not just screwing with me. It's an actual question; He really doesn't know.

"Try gettin' laid," En spits at him, and I involuntarily chuckle, making my wound hurt that much more. I'd never admit this out loud, but I'm actually jealous of her. When I was her age, I was too nervous to even say hi to strangers, let alone go to bars and partake in poker nights. Kol likes her more, too. He'd never admit it, but he's more open around her than he is around me, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. That's what I get for agreeing to be fuck buddies. I should've known I didn't have the heart for it. All the way back when I was a little girl, I used to take in stray dogs and cats, and hide them from my parents.