Page 125 of Rebirth Of Order
“Hey, Alex,” Horus whispers, “what gifts is she referring to?”
“Nothing, now prepare yourself; she’s coming for blood.” I turn and follow Kyra’s path, disregarding his mumble. “I love a challenge.”
The other students are locked in combat when Angie throat punches Ryan for swatting her hand away, which has him plummeting to his knees and gasping for air. “I’m trying to help!” she yells while Alise has another student curled into a ball.
The visions she renders must be horrid based on the emitting screams, and I chuckle. Alise uses her blood magic on those bold enough to try her, so this decision did not go well.
Horus and I move to where Kyra watches, and I stop a few feet shy. “If you’re ready, we should get started.”
“As always, Alex, don’t announce it, just attack,” she says, facing us the second her body coats in a sparkling, ruby glow. My smirk matches hers, and I witness an armor of dragon scales seal Kyra from neck to toe. Every inch is layered with red, transparent plates.Beautiful.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her magic used in such a way. A second skin. During our sessions, her shields are the dragon wings I’ve grown accustomed to, but this sends tingles spreading along my arms, marveling at the intricacies of her mind. The resiliency and depth she reaches in obtaining perfection has a sensation pinging around my core. Her mind truly is fascinating.
Horus flashes his dimples, removing his blazer and tossing it aside. He retains Kyra’s attention, not shying away for a moment’s tick, rolling up his sleeves, which allows us a glimpse of the ink coating his arms. Thick, raven-like dye slithers down and detaches with a twitch of his fingers, transmuting into a trident, rivaling Poseidon’s, the sea God. A weapon made of stygian darkness. His aura ignites. Flutters of metallic orange drift down its stalk, intertwining with the natural black essence to form luminous, intricate designs. Like shimmering symbols on obsidian parchment.
Kyra peers with amazement glossing her vision. More than shock, she is enthralled, and I’ll admit, Horus’s magical hue resembles a fleeting sunset darting across the sky. An artistic clash of midnight and dawn.
She regains her composure, and the moment’s gone. “You’ll need more than a weapon to beat me, Russ.” A tug pulls at my emotions, seeing her enjoying this, but another truth hides behind it. An unfamiliar awareness.
“Let’s test this theory, shall we?”
He retracts a few paces, extending the distance between him and her, and I remain rooted about four feet away. Far enough to evade yet close enough to strike without harm if she turns her attention upon me.
Responding in kind, she creates a crimson, bladed dagger foreach hand and grins before darting towards him. Her speed reveals the essence of our training as she reduces their space with ease, catching Horus off guard and rendering his smugness to a more defensive take.
She strikes for his chest, then spins on her heels before he is able to evade. Kyra’s first attack is only a diversion. Rounding towards his back, she aims the next assault for his shoulder, but he meets her strike with a backwards swing of his trident, deflecting as he turns and faces her.
“Damn, Kitten, you almost had me.” He chuckles. “Almost.”
“Is that so?” she questions, nodding to his rear, and I find myself smiling. He peers over his shoulder, discovering a crimson, glowing blade aimed at the nape of his neck. “Youalmostevaded my attacks. Almost.”
She struts past him in my direction, and Horus’s laugh booms across the room. He is as equally impressed as me, and Kyra catches my gaze, winking with a smile of her own. Or I deduce she is winking.It must be a mortal expression to do it with both eyes.And I’m left wondering how and when she learned of such an attack.
“Holding back is off the table, besides, I’m still waiting to see how sharp…” Kyra vanishes in an instant, leaving her sigil fading from existence. “Shit, where’d she go?” Horus wonders as two sigils manifest on either side of him, and I study her tactics.
Had she not whispered, “I got your Kitten,” before vanishing, I would have missed it myself. Each night we spend the last thirty or so minutes training and understanding her sigil: if it works like mine, and what uses she can get out of it during combat. We learned not all sigils are the same, and in fact, hers and mine alone can-do different things, which Horus is about to find out.
Before inserting myself into this group activity, it’s best to observe her, knowing she has been hiding her close-quarters combat.
“To your right!” I shout as she reappears in a blink, swiping her dagger across his stomach. But he is quick on his feet and able to dodge. He leaps back, mouth gapped and brows raised. An oppositeexpression to the one Kyra gives briefly before fading into her second sigil.
“What the hell kind of attack is this?” Now on alert, Horus swivels in every direction except the right one. She is playing a game of cat and rodent, and it’s obvious who is who.
“Above you!” my voice warns, though smiling this hard makes it difficult to speak. She enters from high above, grinning with her weapon aimed in truth, targeting his head.
“Shit.” He jumps back, bringing his trident up to block, but Kyra maneuvers midair, rotating her body and landing with an elegant form. I see now why he gifted her the name ‘Kitten.’
She drops a red metal dagger and says, “Boom,” before vanishing again, and my vampiric speed carries me to Horus within a heart’s beat, grabbing him and entering a sigil of my own. Thankfully, his attention was on the weapon dropped at his feet, making my natural order go unnoticed.
We emerge beyond the explosion, realizing there wasn’t one, and I find her standing with folded arms and an annoyed declaration.
“Stop taking it easy. I won’t save you again. Now let’s go,” I scold Horus.
I bound towards her, hearing his last words of, “Did one of her daggers get stuck up your ass?” and my palm jerks with magic flowing around it. Summoning a sickle, I toss it at my opponent. Grinning, Kyra deflects it with ease, meeting me head on with an attack of her own.
She is nimble. I aim to grab hold of her as she dissolves her weapons, but she avoids my reach by ducking under it and sliding to a complete halt. A quick glance to Horus ensures he hasn’t moved. Her leg strikes for my stomach, and a grasp around her ankle ceases the movement.
“Faster,” I demand, and on cue, Kyra lifts her other leg with a rounding kick, forcing my release. “On your left,” I warn her as Horus jumps in. She spins in haste, capturing him in her gaze andleans back while taking hold of his arm. With another kick, Kyra hits his ribs, but without enough force.
