Spark (Legends of the Shifters) (18 page)

I
glanced at her. “Actually, I challenged them,” I replied,
grimacing.

“
Who
is it?” she pushed.

“
Niko
and Kurt,” I answered.

Her
jaw went slack, making her mouth hang open. “I don’t
understand,” she said. “You don’t really mean that
you…” she trailed off.

“
Yes,
I do,” I said.

“
But
why—“ she started.

I cut
her off. “Because I've wanted to get out of here ever since I
came.”

“
I
know that,” she said. She looked down at her hands, and then
back at me. “The best of luck to you, I suppose. I don't know
how you'll accomplish this, but I'm rooting for you anyway.”

“
Thanks,”
I said, although I knew that luck had nothing to do with beating
them. It would require skill.

Break
time ended, and everyone else seemed to be wandering, milling about
with no purpose. I remembered when I was like that, but today, I was
far from it. I had to be if I wanted to win.

I
strolled into the arena, straight toward the tall fence where Niko
and Kurt were bound to show up at any moment. Kurt showed up first.

“
I
don’t know what you’re thinking, Ivy,” Kurt said.
“Together, we can easily beat you.”

“
I
just want to try,” I replied. “I’ll do anything to
get out.”

He
lifted his eyebrows. “I don't think your eagerness is going to
turn out well for you. Don’t lose your head.”

I
wasn't wanting to listen to him now that I'd already made the
challenge. I turned away slightly. Niko showed up a minute later.

He
had put on the leather padding that the guards stationed around the
campus wore. He took in my choice of attire, which was just the
usual. “Not one for protecting yourself, are you?” he
asked.

I
shrugged. “I didn’t know it was allowed.”

He
smiled crookedly, “It is. It’s just that not many people
have access to it.”

I
looked back at Kurt. He was a guard himself, and yet he hadn’t
bothered to wear padding.

Mrs.
Scarls came forward, her sharp eyes taking us in. “You three
are going to come after this first challenge,” she said with
her commanding voice. “I’ll call you up when it’s
time.”

I
consented like Kurt and Niko, although I dreaded the prospect of
waiting longer. It just set my teeth further on edge. The fight was
between two boys that I didn’t know. One was tall and one was
broad. The first one to get cut was the broad one. He took it well, I
think, barely even acknowledging that it was there. Then, he took a
chunk out of the tall one with his knife. I winced as he then punched
the guy in the nose and pushed him to the ground, pressing the knife
into the guy’s forehead until it drew blood.

Mrs.
Scarls called the fight to an end.

The
tall boy was as stunned as the crowd.

The
wound that had been inflicted upon him first was gushing blood. It
made my stomach hurt to see it, and I worried about what injuries I
would be given. Is it possible that I'd die today?

The
two boys stepped out of the cage, and I noticed that the tall boy was
stumbling to the infirmary, as if his consciousness was fading
already.

Mrs.
Scarls called us then, and I shuddered. Niko smiled smugly at my
nervous twitching.

We
walked to the center circle. Mrs. Scarls placed me so that my back
was to the weapon table. I think she did it on purpose because she
felt certain that I wouldn’t win anyway. It put me at an
obvious advantage. The first thing I wanted to grab was double
swords. Two people, two swords to defeat them with. It might even
things out a little.

I
knew it was important to keep the memory of my parents in my head for
the entire time. I didn’t want Niko to mess with my mind.

I
was already picturing her green eyes, and her curling dark hair, her
kind smile. My father with his red hair and brown eyes, and my
brother, who had dark hair. I was caught off guard by not remembering
what color my brother’s eyes were.

“
Go!”
Mrs. Scarls yelled.

I
snapped out of my thoughts. Niko and Kurt were fast, sprinting
forward to collect their weapons. I turned and sprinted to the table,
grabbing the swords and retreating to
the
side. Kurt chose a staff and Niko picked up two knives. I
was
struggling to keep thinking of my family and not my fighting.

My
senses were stronger in half-form. I had learned that in the caves.
It would mean focusing my mind on yet another thing, but it would be
essential for concentrating on two things at once for the entire
challenge. I changed, causing a few gasps to sound around the arena,
but then, something horrible happened. In the short amount of time
that my mind was focused on something else, Niko had frozen me in
place. He lunged forward and sliced my arm open with his knife,
causing blood to sizzle out of my wound, glowing at first, but then
seeping into the normal, deep red color. I couldn’t move. I
struggled to think about my family now that I was hurt, and Niko
moved in for another cut.

I was
utterly surprised when Kurt smacked Niko to the ground with his
staff. I got a hold of my memory in the distraction, and was able to
move around once again.

Kurt
jumped back. They eyed each other. I noticed that Niko had a wound
where Kurt had stricken him, and watched as Kurt inflicted another
wound by deflecting Niko's knife and smacking his other hand away.
The splinters at the end of the staff must have penetrated his skin,
because my half-form eyes focused on blood. One more hit and Niko
would be done for. I used that to my advantage. I crept behind him,
the double swords gripped tightly in my hands. Just as I was about to
reach them, the ground in front of me seemed to swallow my foot with
its mud. I struggled to wrench my foot out of the mire, but it held
tight as my opportunity to wound Niko evaporated.

It
was magic, but I knew it couldn't have been Niko. His back was still
turned to me as he got farther away with each strike. I looked at the
sidelines to see January smiling.

Mrs.
Scarls followed my gaze. She snapped something at the guards, and
January was hauled away. I was finally able to get my foot out of the
mud pit she had created, but unfortunately, the distraction had given
Niko enough time to turn his attention to me once again. All three of
us eyed each other warily.

I
hated January right then. Niko could have been out of the picture
right now.

He
was the first to attack again, but the attack wasn’t for me.
Sheer dark hatred gleamed in Niko's eyes as he threw one of his
knives, aimed at Kurt’s chest. Kurt dodged, but the knife still
nicked his arm.

I
took that time to finally do away with Niko. I slammed my sword into
his other knife, disarming him before he could throw the other knife
at Kurt. With my other sword, I grazed the back of Niko's knee, where
the armor failed to protect him.

He
gasped in surprise, and fell to the ground.

“
Pause!”
Mrs. Scarls called from the sidelines. Kurt and I stayed put as she
came in and shepherded a seething—and limping—Niko out of
the fenced area. His eyes spoke murder.

It
was down to Kurt and me. I knew he had been on my side when Niko was
still present, but I also knew that he wouldn’t just allow me
to win, either. He would want me to earn it.

“
Go!”
yelled Mrs. Scarls.

Kurt
held his staff horizontally in his hands before coming at me. I
dodged just before he struck me, and countered the attack, whittling
away a sliver of the wood in the process. Quick as lightning, he
delivered a series of blows, each one pushing me further and further
back. I remembered what he had said about not getting cornered
against the fence. It was exactly what he was trying to do to me, and
the way he was fighting didn’t give me much choice. Even when I
was in half-form, Kurt was a tough opponent.

Not
seeing any way around it, I retreated and began to change fully.
Before I lost my human arms and legs, I climbed partway up the fence
and launched myself in the air, catching myself on a cushion of wind
with my wings.

Kurt
shook his head and chuckled to himself, throwing the staff to the
side. Then, he began to shift form. His feet and hands shaped into
lion claws. His nose and mouth formed into a hooked beak. Lean
muscles lined his golden lion body, and large, powerful wings
outstretched to take flight. Wings that were three times my wingspan.

One
downward push and he was at my height. I twisted away before he had
the chance to slash me with his claws. He was big, and fast, but I
was faster. I dove in and tore his shoulder with my talons before
shooting into the sky.

I
thought I had gotten away, but Kurt acted quickly. He reached out and
batted at my wing, snagging it. My vision became blurry as he threw
me to the ground. I tried to regain my flight, but his force was so
strong that I landed heavily on the ground in a heap.

It
felt like my wing snapped. I cried out in pain. I was useless like
this, I knew it, so I changed back into half-form. I clutched my hurt
arm and dove for the nearest discarded sword. Kurt landed in front of
me, folding his wings tight against his back.

His
green slitted eyes looked cat-like, but somehow still noble. I
watched them as he changed back into first form, and suddenly I was
reminded of my mother.

The
grim expression on my face turned into one of bewilderment when I
remembered all the information I had gathered about Kurt. Kurt had
been an orphan, picked up off the streets by the headmaster when he
was nine. His hair was dark brown, like my mother, and like my
brother in my memory.

“
Kurt,”
the name sounded bitter on my tongue. “
Kuris
.”

I
focused on him. His face was screwed into a scowl. “Don’t
say that name,” he said.

“
You’re
Kuris!” I whispered.

He
clenched his jaw, his eyes blinking wildly. Before I knew it, he had
me on the ground with a shallow scratch dug into my arm, made by his
fingernail.

I had
lost. I had lost because my
brother
had beaten me. He had cost
me my freedom.

I
glared at him as I got to my feet, making sure not to help myself up
with my hurt arm. Kurt—
Kuris
—was already walking
away, toward the gate, his mood dark.

Confusion
and anger welled up in my heart. How could he do something like that?
He was my brother!

I
fumed silently. As soon as I was out the gate, Mrs. Scarls was there,
and so was Liana.

“
Go
to the hospital tent,” Mrs. Scarls instructed. “Your arm
is probably broken.”

Liana
put her arm around my shoulders, knowing that I was struggling with
my emotions. She guided me to the right tent and led me to a cot.

“
It
really would’ve been something if you had been able to beat
them both,” she said, giving me a comforting smile. “I
say that because you have, after all, only been here for a little
more than four months. It is amazing that you did what you did. You
took down Niko and had two strikes on Kurt.”

I
shook my head. “I only got them both once, each. I could’ve
done so much better if I hadn’t been distracted.”