Accessory Wars

Chapter 18-Felisa

            I lied. I lied to myself often but this time I lied to the point I fooled myself into thinking I'd be able to walk away unscathed. To say I got my ass kicked was an understatement. Kami and I barely stood a chance. As the first round of fights finished up, we returned to the eighth floor to start the next round. I noticed some new faces in our queue room and some returning ones. The blonde girl who went first in the first round returned and I hoped she went far. She managed to win her fight in less than two minutes without a single injury. I think I stared at her the entire time until she left the queue.

During my wait time, I stretched and Kami watched the other fights with her usual blank expression. From here on out, the fights only got tougher so we needed to be on our toes at all times. Our next competitors were a pair of young women and this was their sixth tournament. What worried me most was their molten attunement. I caught a glimpse of their first round fight on the TV. They covered their twin swords with a layer of obsidian, glowing veins of lava churning beneath. Any contact melted armor or caused serious burns.

I wondered what my opponents were doing. Did they already have a strategy in place? I know I didn't. My fight with Jeremy seemed like a cycle of good luck. And what useful information I learned I didn't get to use. I glanced at the television again, checking the updated bracket before it started to switch between the cameras. I saw Kami and I's name next to Kaiella and Mikki, our next fight. From what I recalled, both were a little older than Kami, which made me feel young. I was nineteen and Kami twenty three in a couple months. I used to be the youngest of my class, as my birthday wasn't until the end of summer, but I felt like a child in a building full of adults. It left me feeling naïve and idiotic.

Our time to fight arose and we stepped out. I equipped Kami once again and I looked over at Mikki as she stepped out onto the platform. Also donning black armor, she looked slim and sleek. Instead of highlights of color, there were veins of glowing lava flowing within the armor itself. Her head was covered in a helmet with a grilled visor in front of her face. At her hips sat her swords, single edged blades with black pearls embossed on the pommels. Kaiella sat as an amulet around Mikki's neck, a pair of red eyes glowing within some sort of face carved upon it. The molten user unsheathed her blades and they burst into flames before turning black with obsidian.

"Easy, love. We'll get through this just like the last one," Kami said to ease my nerves. I set my jaw and took a deep breath, releasing some of the stiffness in my fingers as they held the umbrella in a death grip.

The buzzer sounded and Mikki rushed me. I tried to catch her in a Spider's Nest but it burst into flames as she passed through. Kami took me by surprise when she stole control, sending me into a cartwheel to the left when the floor turned in to a vat of lava in front of me. I ended up right in front of Mikki and she hit my side and my thigh with her swords. My body flailed around as the momentum sent me flying and I hit a wall of obsidian.

Fiery chains wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides. I struggled to do something but I couldn't break free. Mikki yanked hard on the chain, making me stagger forward, and she charged towards me. She kicked me in the gut, sending me flying upwards, and she pulled hard on the chain. Her blades flashed and both hit me in the chest as I came back down.

Pain erupted in my torso as I went flying and I clipped the edge of a different tier as I tumbled downwards, hitting the water like a stone. In my daze, I forgot I didn't know how to swim. Luckily, staff fished me out of the water before I sank too far. They helped me onto a small boat, towing me off to a retractable dock. Someone else hit the water as medical staff helped me out of the boat. I staggered inside the first aid room and sat heavily on a cot.