Page 21 of Tears of Tungsten
But both Brendan and Pollux could take care of themselves. With a sharp grin, I faced August and said, “We haven’t done this in a while. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you because you almost died.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Knox. In fact, I’d be insulted if you tried something like that.”
I doubted that was true, because it took far more than something so simple to insult August. These days, the easiest method to do that was insulting Charybdis or Selene.
“All right, students,” Welton said. “On the count of three. One, two… Begin!”
The deceitful countdown didn’t take me by surprise. August and I lunged at one another at the same time. I made a grab for him, but he ducked, taking advantage of his slimmer build to avoid me.
Fighting August would be a challenge. We knew each other’s moves well and understood all our strengths and weaknesses. After that first attempt, August could have tried to tackle me. But that would have ended in disaster for him, since no one but Brendan—on one of his good days—could physically overpower me. Instead, he shot to his feet again and directed a roundhouse kick at my shoulder.
I blocked the blow, but the strength behind it still jarred me. Had I been anyone else, it would have probably dislocated the bone. For us, it was just the beginning.
I caught his ankle and flipped him around, trying to toss him to the ground. He freed himself at the last moment, avoiding a grip that, in a regular fight, would have snapped his leg and incapacitated him. It still made him drop his guard and gave me the opening I needed to lunge at him.
We fell together on the mat, with me on top of August. He wasn’t deterred. His hand landed on my shoulder and clutched me so tightly it hurt. And that was when things got really interesting.
For Chimera Warriors, sparring was more than a mindless brawl. It involved both physical violence and tachyon manipulation, although the combination between the two depended on who you were actually fighting.
A talented fighter could reach into another Chimera Warrior and extract the tachyon particles running through his blood.
Of course, this was a practice some trainers frowned upon, since it meant absorbing someone else’s tachyons into yourself. But August had always excelled at it and used it often when we sparred. Today was no different, and yet, it felt like something had changed.
His touch felt crueler, more vicious. When he lashed out against me, I felt as if I was facing Charybdis herself, not my friend and lover.
I was standing in front of a black hole that threatened to absorb me. My light, the power I wielded with such ease, was drifting away.
Weakness invaded my limbs and August rolled us around, pinning me down to the mat. The match should have stopped there. But he didn’t let go, and his eyes still burned me.
I took it in stride. I had no idea what was up with him, but I’d never backed out of a fight, and I wouldn’t do so now. Besides, even if I’d wanted to, Cerberus wouldn’t have allowed it.
At the back of my mind, my chimera snarled in anger.“Get away from my pup!”
As Cerberus attacked, a tachyon blast emerged out of me, striking August in the chest. He landed easily a few feet away, looking unharmed even if his uniform was smoking. “Ow,” he said simply.
It was more than I could say. The whole incident had shaken me. We might not have hurt one another, but for a moment there, August had come very come close to it.
Welton and the other students seemed unaware that anything was wrong. The rest of the sparring sessions had stopped, but the others showed no sign of panic, only curiosity.
Welton approached us and shot us an exasperated look. “Flight Lieutenant Cavallero, Flight Lieutenant Alexander… We appreciate your display of advanced techniques of sparring, but maybe next time, try to keep it a little more sedate. Our yearly budget for fixing walls is limited.”
“Yes, Sir,” August replied calmly. “My apologies. It won’t happen again.”
Brendan walked up to him and helped him up, his lips twisted into a tiny smile. “We really should spar more together. We’re losing our touch.”
Pollux let out a low chuckle. “Hardly. Knox doesn’t have a scratch.”
“What can I say?” I drawled. “It takes a little more than some tachyon manipulation to bring me down.”
Our words and expressions weaved a careful and elaborate lie, a mask hiding the wrongness of what had just happened. Brendan didn’t show his disquiet. Pollux suppressed his panic. August didn’t freak out over losing control of his powers, and I shoved Cerberus back.
Our efforts were at least partially successful. The other students lost interest and returned to their sparring. Brendan and Pollux’s former partners teamed up, and Lord Welton left us to our own devices.
Brendan dragged August away for a second sparring match, whereas I was left with Pollux. Nothing of note had really happened, but as Pollux and I faced one another, dark questions drifted into my mind.
Just how much had August lost to the light of the sun that day, when he’d been adrift in space? Could we ever help him get it back?
