The Monsters Within

Chapter 4

Very few knew of Veronica Madrigan's past; her life before her status as a proctor, and later as Madame of Elym school.

Veronica had taken extensive measures to keep that period of her life a secret lest it endanger her current position. 

She'd been a harlot. A street dweller forced to succumb to heinous acts to survive the hardships of the underprivileged in Elym's society.

She'd been discovered and rescued, much as she'd done for Krin, and brought to Elym school. The only difference in their stories was that Veronica had been several years into adulthood when she was first found.

With the strength of her water affinity, and her secondary spirit affinity, her entire world had changed over the course of a year.

But she never forgot her life as a street whore and the particular skills and instincts she'd acquired during her many years of survival.

It was the remembrance of those skills, the muscle memory and the awareness of danger, that alerted her to the assassin's silent blade streaking towards the nape of her neck.

She had just enough time to turn her head to the side and angle it away from the blade, which sliced a fine line down the side of her throat rather than piercing her spine at the base of her skull.

The blow would have been fatal.

Veronica cried out as the flesh of her neck parted, but she managed to fall from the chair to the floor. She rolled several times, away from her would-be killer.

The movement bought her several seconds to think. While she did, she felt her spirit affinity spark and knit together the slashed skin of her neck.

She looked up just in time to see the assassin, draped in black cloth, flying through the air with the knife outstretched. 

Without thinking, Veronica raised her hand and a wrist-thick column of ice flew out and struck the assassin in the chest, halting his forward progress and sending him careening back into the wall.

Her strike had lacked enough power to be fatal and the assassin rose, shrugging of the blow.

He brushed away several chips of ice that had formed on the front of his clothing and took two cautious steps towards her. 

Veronica's mind raced through her options.

The assassin was too close to allow her enough time for another strike. She needed to buy herself just a few precious seconds to accumulate the needed power.

Sending her power down into her feet, Veronica froze the moisture of the stone floor.

A thin, transparent layer of ice appeared, though the assassin seemed none the wiser.

Tensing to strike, the assassin lunged again for Veronica.

She anticipated the blow and dodged to the side, but not fast enough.

Though the assassin was on unstable footing, he accounted for her dodge and adjusted his strike. 

Veronica felt the blade bite deep into her side just below her ribs.

Her spirit affinity blunted the initial pain down to a strong pressure, but she could feel a warm stream of blood soaking through her blouse.

Using her momentum from the dodge, Veronica turned and rammed her shoulder into the assassin, taking advantage of his poor footing.

The man grunted as his feet went out from under him and he cascaded to the floor.

Leaping at the opportunity, Veronica turned and lurched towards the door.