Avenging Amethyst (Immortal Eyes) (15 page)

I blocked a
punch, hit Riley in the stomach, lunged at her when she stumbled and dragged
her down to the ground. She tried to force herself on top but I had tired her
out and she wasn't as strong as she was a few moments earlier. It wasn't easy
but I pinned her to the ground, accidentally causing her head to slam on it.
The blow caused her to pause for a minute and her eyes spun in her head.

"Riley? Are
you okay?" I asked, still holding her down.

She blinked a
few times then focused on my face. Her breathing was heavy. "Yes. I think.
Just a little dizzy. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to
actually fight back. That was amazing."

"Can I let
you go now or are you still attacking?"

"You can
let me go. I need to breathe for a minute before the next round starts."

I groaned a
little and let Riley free. I stood up and helped her to her feet. She was still
a little dizzy but kept swearing she would be okay. She said worse had happened
to her.

I felt almost
guilty. She was bruised and tired from the fight but I was perfectly okay. I
hadn't been hit once and even though I was a little out of breath I
wasn’t nearly as bad as Riley. She had used her full force on me the
entire fight and I only used a small portion of my energy on her.

Riley sat down
on one of the benches in the gym to catch her breath and recover. I tried to
convince her that she didn't need to try to fight anymore but she ignored me.
She had a plan and she was going to see it through to the end. I kept glancing
at the supply room door, waiting for one of the boys to come running out at any
minute. My guard was up now and I wanted the next fight to go quickly and
smoothly.

The burning in
my gut returned and I looked at the supply room but no one had come out of it.
I spun around to the main gym doors just in time to duck to the ground when
Felix's fist came flying at me. During my fight with Riley, he had managed to
sneak out of the supply room and go to the front of the gym. Either that or
there was a back door to the gym he snuck out of.

My goal had been
to make this fight short, sweet and to the point but I knew that wasn't going
to happen when Riley joined back in. She and Felix were attacking me from both
sides and even though I was fully concentrating on using my power, it was tough
to land any hits. I managed to dodge a hit from Riley and in the process spin
around and knock Felix's feet out from underneath him. While he was down I
punched Riley in the middle of the face, which made her stagger back. I punched
her again in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Deep down, I felt bad for
beating up people I now considered my friends but I knew it was what they
wanted.

Felix had
managed to get back up but before I could go after him a loud whistle erupted
from the corner of the gym. My head shot up and I saw Axel standing by the
supply room with a smug look on his face. It was just enough distraction to
allow Felix to punch the side of my face.

I remembered
Carson saying my power wouldn't work if I was suddenly distracted and I would
be vulnerable. Well, he was right. Felix had punched me so hard I almost fell
to the ground. I didn't have much time to complain about the pain in my face
though because my senses kicked into over-drive.

Now that it had
been tested if distractions would cause me to hesitate, Axel was joining the
fight. All three of them were surrounding me and I was ready to try to take
them down. I went after Riley first, who was the weakest at the moment. She was
already tired from the first fight and it was easy to knock her out. I was hit
a few times by Felix and Axel in the process but I did my best to ignore the
pain.

While I was
trying to take Felix down, Axel started using his power on me. I could feel
heat rushing by me but I was able to dodge everything he threw at me. I wasn't
sure if he was really aiming for me but I did not want be on fire.

By the time I
managed to get Felix to stay down, I could feel my energy dwindling. I was
panting now and I could feel my body throbbing in parts that had been hit. Axel
looked nearly as tired as I was but we both continued to fight hard. Even
though it was only one on one this time, he still managed to land some hits on
me. I was mentally exhausted as well as physically and that was weakening my power.

I still had some
juice left in me though. Just when I thought he was going to take me down
first, I used one final burst of energy and threw him against a wall. He hit it
hard enough to cause him to slide to the floor and stay there. I felt the
burning in my gut fade away and I looked around the gym.

Riley, Felix and
Axel were all slumped on the ground. For a moment I thought they weren't
breathing and I had somehow managed to kill them but when I got close to them I
could see them all breathing. They were just passed out at the moment.

After I
reassured myself that they were all alive I fell to the ground, too. Every inch
of my body and mind were tired. Sweat was dripping down my face and burning my
eyes. My lungs burned from panting and all I wanted to do was sleep. I closed
my eyes, wondering how I managed to do everything I just had, before I drifted
off into unconsciousness.

The fighting had
exhausted me so much that I hadn't been able to put up a mental block in my mind
before passing out. I could tell the darkness was excited to enter my mind and
send me torturous nightmares. It decided to use what had just happened against
me.

In my nightmare,
my vision was blurred by a dark haze. I could see dark shadows all around me
but I couldn't tell exactly what they were. My gut was burning and I prepared
for the threat. Then, a weird feeling washed over me. I was excited to attack
what was threatening me. I wanted to take them down. I had some kind of weapon
in my hand and I used it to go after the shadows.

Adrenaline was
pumping through me and with every shadow I took down, my satisfaction grew. I
took them all down without hesitation and without effort. When all of them were
gone, the haze in my vision started to clear. That menacing laugh that often
accompanied my dreams started. I blinked a few times and my excitement was
replaced by fear.

I was in a once
completely white room that was now drenched in blood stains. I looked at my
hands and saw blood splattered all over them. I took a deep breath and looked
at the bodies on the floor.

"No,"
I cried and fell to my knees. "No, no, no."

All of the
people I considered to be good friends or allies were lying in front of me.
They were torn apart and bloody and their blank stares were all pointed at me.
I had just brutally murdered a good portion of Lovac.

I knelt on the
ground in the middle of them all and started crying. I was a monster. I was
just as bad as the demon and Zhulik. If I used my power it would take over and
I would kill anyone I ever cared about.

Then I heard
movement. The dead bodies around me were reaching towards me and trying to take
me down with them. They kept repeating my name, over and over again, in a dead
voice. Felix's body was the first to grab me and I started to scream and fight
my way out of his grip. Riley and Axel were the next to get a hold of me. My
screaming and thrashing intensified until I finally woke up.

I was staring
into Felix's eyes. Eyes that were full of life and concern for me. I stopped
thrashing and looked around. I was back in the gym. Felix, Riley and Axel were
all surrounding me on the ground. They had been trying to wake me up. To their
surprise, I hugged them all.

"Thank
God," I muttered. "I thought I had killed all of you."

"You were
just having a nightmare," Felix told me gently. He took hold of my hand to
comfort me.

"Yeah,
we're all still alive. Just a little bruised," Axel said, rubbing the back
of his head where he hit the wall. He was smiling though, which sent some relief
through me.

"How long
have we been passed out?" I asked. It felt like I had been lying there for
days.

"Only a few
minutes," Riley said. "You really got us good but I think you took
the most beatings. We were going to let you sleep longer until you started
twitching. We didn't want you to be stuck in the nightmare you were
having."

I sat up fully
and felt my head spin a little. I was still tired and my body hurt even worse
now that it wasn't distracted by the fighting.

"How did I
do?" I finally asked.

"Amazing,"
a voice said from behind Felix. Rema stepped into view with the group of
council members trailing behind her. I recognized the Lovac council members but
the Nesmyr ones were with her as well, including Gladys.

"You were
watching?" I wasn't the only one surprised by this. Felix, Riley and Axel
were all shocked to see the council members there.

"Yes,"
Rema said. "When I mentioned that you might be ready to start taking jobs
at our council meeting, they wanted proof."

"We stood
outside of the gym to watch shortly after Felix came running inside,"
Carson said. "What we saw was more amazing than anything we could have
imagined. You took every hit like a champ and kept fighting until the very
end."

Carson was
smiling like a proud father and it made me blush. I knew him and Rema believed
in my power but it felt good to actually show it off to them. The awed looks of
the rest of the council members made me feel good, too. Even Nia had an
impressed look on her face.

 "You
really were impressive," Riley told me.

Felix and Axel
nodded in agreement.

"I've never
seen anyone fight like that," she continued. "I pride myself in being
lightning quick but you were still able to dodge all of my moves. I'm actually
kind of jealous."

"You were
all amazing, too," I said, feeling the need the comfort them. I was sure
they were okay about losing to me but I felt bad for beating them at their own
game. "I've only ever seen people fighting on TV shows and movies but this
was nothing compared to that. It was actually kind of thrilling."

"It does
give you an adrenaline rush," Carson said. "But that doesn't mean you
should enjoy it. When it comes to fighting actual dark creatures, it's not
nearly as satisfying. Fighting someone to train and fighting someone to kill are
two completely different things."

"He's
right," Felix said. "When it comes to the real thing it won't be
anything like this. Actually, it will probably be a lot quicker. You won't have
to make sure you keep the enemy alive. You'll be fighting to kill them."

"I still
don't know how to do that," I said.

"The
concept of it is pretty simple," Carson told me. "You'll be given a
fairy enchanted stake and in order to kill your enemy it needs to penetrate
their heart. Decapitation is another way to kill them but that takes a lot more
energy."

"Does it
have to be a fairy enchanted stake or can it be anything sharp and
pointy?"

"In theory,
it can be anything," Carson said, "but the stake you will be given is
a symbol that you have graduated and are part of our ranks. If something
happens to your stake, any sharp object will do. The enchantment on the stake
makes it a little bit easier to get the stake into the chest though."

"So, when
do I get one?"

"Well,"
Carson said. "Normally you would have to go through a final exam to test
your fighting abilities but from what I just saw I don't think that's
necessary. What you just did showed a lot more talent than any of our tests
could. Of course, the council will need to continue our discussion about you
and have a vote to determine if you are ready to start taking jobs but I don't
see that being a big issue."

"You all
look like you need a nice long rest," Rema said. "I suggest you take
the next few days to recover. We'll let you know when we come to a decision and
if we have any jobs available for you."

We all agreed
that some rest sounded nice and we stumbled out of the gym after the council
members had left. I was starting to feel the pain from all of the hits I had
taken and my body was aching from all the energy I had exerted. The others were
moving just as slow as I was.

Once we made it
up the stairs to the Lovac floor we all parted ways. I almost followed Riley to
her room, but insisted I needed a shower before getting some sleep. She left me
at my own room and said she’d leave the door unlocked if I wanted to stay
there.

Once in my room,
I decided a bath was a better option. My legs were shaking and I didn’t
think I could stand for a whole shower. I turned the taps on to hot and went to
grab a change of clothes. I was drenched in sweat and the clothes I had been
wearing smelled horrible. They were also torn and I could see some singed spots
from Axel’s fire. I normally didn't care about clothes but since I had
only brought a few items with me, losing a good pair of pants and a shirt made
me sad.

I was wondering
if there was anywhere nearby I could go shopping when I slipped into the tub.
The hot water almost burned my skin but it eased the ache in my muscles. Steam
was already filling the bathroom and I closed my eyes, trying to imagine I was
in a sauna. I sank back into the tub and rested my head on the cool tile.