Blade West: Book 1

Chapter 7: Combustion

     Flight or fight? Which will it be today? "Um, HELLO?" The stranger said. "WHAT WAS THAT! DUDE! THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" A slightly toned, chocolate skinned fellow stood in front of me. His mohawk consisted of loose spiral curls with orange red tips. He was wearing a black t-shirt with grey joggers. His eyes were a deep chestnut brown and the guy made me feel slightly uncomfortable; his childlike smile confused me. Who was this guy?

     "Oh...I didn't know I was being watched. Who are you and how do you know me?" I asked him. He frowned and said, "What makes you think I know you?" "Well, you approached me and said, and I quote, "I knew you'd be incredible, but that was unbelievable". So, once again, who are you and how do you know me?" His eyebrows went up and he made an I'm Impressed face. "I am Ace Fenrir. I'm from Aveila so that's how I know about you. Plus, I'm best friends with Ven, whom I think you've already met." I probably should've relaxed a bit, but I didn't budge. "Nice to meet you Ace. I'm -" "BLADE! THE AWESOME GUY WITH MASSIVE POWER!" He said, well yelled, at me returning that eager facial expression. "Um. Yes. Blade, Blade West. Where did Ven go?" He rolled his eyes and said, "Ven went to fetch food and left me to watch over you until he returned. I really loved your air bubble." I must've looked as awkward as I felt because he started laughing. 

     "Lighten up dude! I'm just teasing you! Your power is seriously incredible though. How long have you known about your power?" "Truthfully, a few hours." I said. "Wow. That's astonishing! I'm glad you're on our side. They knew what they were doing when they picked you." His positivity and excitement were overbearing but it kind of boosted my confidence. Too bad he didn't know that I actually lost control earlier.

     "Speaking of Ven though, how long was I out? Where were you earlier?" I said. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Well. This morning Ven got the notice that you were here and we were supposed to come TOGETHER to get you. (Big emphasis on together). But then, I ordered breakfast and my breakfast arrived late. Then, I couldn't decide what to wear. Jeans? Shorts? What do you wear when you're about to meet the interim King? The struggle was real this morning. By the time I finally ate breakfast, Ven was long gone. I had a decision to make: do I pursue Ven or do I do other things. I chose to do other things, which is why I wasn't with Ven earlier. But maybe 30 minutes ago, Ven came back to the house scrambling through the refrigerator looking for food. I asked him why he was in such a rush and of course he explained to me the adventures he had for you today and how he awkwardly left you here alone. Because we hadn't gone shopping in awhile, he asked me if I could come find you out here at this waterfall to make sure you were okay. By the time I made it out here, you were drawing circles in the grass with that fancy bubble of yours. So. That's a little bit about my day thus far, tell me about yours!" 

     My first impression of Ace was that he was a little eccentric yet very personable. He kind of seemed like the kind of guy who had plenty of friends, you know? I suppose opening up to him wouldn't hurt. "Today has been a roller coaster for sure." I explained to him the events of the day: the dream I had, me being attacked at my school, the portal opening up, Ven and I talking and sparring, the fact that I had1 year to learn everything, and me discovering my Talent. There were a lot of "WOW"s, and "OMG"s, but I made it through my spill pretty okay. 

     "Hmm. Well. Now that I know a little bit about you and what you've gone through today, is there anything you want to know from me?" He asked me crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow. Was there anything I wanted to know? Well I guess this question is a start: "What is your Talent? What kind of weapon do you use?" 

     He gave me one of those crazy smiles again. He held out his palms at me and they began to glow a bright orange/yellow color. Suddenly, his palms exploded in a burst of flames and smoke. I fanned my face to get some of the smoke out of the way and when my vision cleared, I saw that Ace had two chilling black pistols in each of his hands. He held them turned sideways and they were pointed at me. "My weapon? I wield artillery but my default are pistols. My Talent?" He raised the right pistol into the air. When he pulled the trigger, a flaming bullet ascended into the sky and exploded in a flash of massive heat and light. It was so bright that it looked like a flash bang and was so hot that the grass around us wilted a little. "My Talent is Combustion. Explosions are my specialty. All of my bullets are made out of my power and explode on impact, rather than pierce. I was immediately classified as a Tier 5, but who cares about that! The important thing is that I GET TO MAKE THINGS EXPLODE!"