Enchanter inclined her head toward him in a regal nod. Jason responded by raising his knife.
“We have no time for this,” the Phantom declared, motioning the rest of his team forward.
They came at Jason like a swarm of wasps, throwing kicks and punches at him as though they’d been born for nothing else. He evaded some of the hits—and withstood the others with unrelenting stubbornness. He’d always had a good share of that.
But whereas the blows did nothing to chip away at his stubbornness, they did their job slowing him down. One of the assailants got past him. Then another.
“Terra,” he warned.
“Ok,” she replied, pushing herself back-to-back with him as the two Elitions swung around.
Within a minute, he heard bone snap, then both men went down. Jason stole a quick glance and saw them lying on the ground, each one cradling a broken leg. Terra had done that. She certainly was stronger than he’d thought. Actually, if she could pull off a move like breaking the bone of a grown Elition, she was stronger than any child but a future Phantom.
And to break the same bone in two Elitions in under a minute made her faster than most of those future Phantoms. Granted the fibula wasn’t the toughest bone, but it was nonetheless an impressive feat for a seven-year-old girl who was already a Prophet in all but name. Prophets weren’t generally built to deal damage.
Jason’s distracted mind cost him. He took a punch to the head and nearly blacked out. Dropping to his knees, black spots dancing before his eyes, Jason glared up at the Phantom. He’d put away his sword in favor of fighting with his fists. So the sword was just for show. Whoever these Elitions were—whoever had hired them—they were aiming to capture, not kill. But that didn’t mean they were going to play nicely. Jason rolled to avoid a second blow that would have knocked him out. Instead of meeting the Phantom’s fist, he met the stone wall and his back hit the ground like wet batter.
As their assailants roared with laughter, Terra reached down to pull him back up.
His legs shook and he could hardly breathe, but he stood his ground and stayed on his feet. He lifted a hand to the back of his head and it came back dripping blood. He hid it behind his back before Terra could see. He needed her to distract the Phantom, not be distracted fussing over his bloody head.
I’ll heal soon anyway , he thought, even as black swirls slithered across his field of view. But Jason’s mind hardly lingered on this reminder of a fractured skull. What occupied his thoughts was the glimmer of the next portal fifty meters past the eight-person Elition fence. Oh, good. Broken Legs One and Two have healed and are back in the fray.
Jason wondered whether they would spontaneously combust if he sent seething glares at them long enough. That would have been a useful skill in a fight.
“Your turn,” Jason whispered, setting a head-sized rock into Terra’s hand.
She looked down at the rock, as though she were studying its contours, then in a single fluid motion, pitched it at the Phantom. His teammates scattered, but he just reached his hand out calmly and plucked it from the air as though it were nothing more substantial than a rosebud. Then he turned a feral sneer on Terra.
“Now, little girl, why did you have to go and do that?” he asked her. “That was just mean.”
Terra responded by scooping up an even larger rock and hurling it at his head. Once again, he caught it easily.
“I warned you, little girl, and now I’m just going to have to punish you,” he snarled, lifting the rock over his head. “When I’m through—”
He stumbled and fell. His rock fell with him, finishing the job Jason’s knife had started. The assailants blinked in collective disbelief as Jason walked over to their big, bad Phantom, unburied his head out from under the rock, and rolled him over. The potent fire in his yellow eyes had gone out, leaving nothing but death. Jason
“We have no time for this,” the Phantom declared, motioning the rest of his team forward.
They came at Jason like a swarm of wasps, throwing kicks and punches at him as though they’d been born for nothing else. He evaded some of the hits—and withstood the others with unrelenting stubbornness. He’d always had a good share of that.
But whereas the blows did nothing to chip away at his stubbornness, they did their job slowing him down. One of the assailants got past him. Then another.
“Terra,” he warned.
“Ok,” she replied, pushing herself back-to-back with him as the two Elitions swung around.
Within a minute, he heard bone snap, then both men went down. Jason stole a quick glance and saw them lying on the ground, each one cradling a broken leg. Terra had done that. She certainly was stronger than he’d thought. Actually, if she could pull off a move like breaking the bone of a grown Elition, she was stronger than any child but a future Phantom.
And to break the same bone in two Elitions in under a minute made her faster than most of those future Phantoms. Granted the fibula wasn’t the toughest bone, but it was nonetheless an impressive feat for a seven-year-old girl who was already a Prophet in all but name. Prophets weren’t generally built to deal damage.
Jason’s distracted mind cost him. He took a punch to the head and nearly blacked out. Dropping to his knees, black spots dancing before his eyes, Jason glared up at the Phantom. He’d put away his sword in favor of fighting with his fists. So the sword was just for show. Whoever these Elitions were—whoever had hired them—they were aiming to capture, not kill. But that didn’t mean they were going to play nicely. Jason rolled to avoid a second blow that would have knocked him out. Instead of meeting the Phantom’s fist, he met the stone wall and his back hit the ground like wet batter.
As their assailants roared with laughter, Terra reached down to pull him back up.
His legs shook and he could hardly breathe, but he stood his ground and stayed on his feet. He lifted a hand to the back of his head and it came back dripping blood. He hid it behind his back before Terra could see. He needed her to distract the Phantom, not be distracted fussing over his bloody head.
I’ll heal soon anyway , he thought, even as black swirls slithered across his field of view. But Jason’s mind hardly lingered on this reminder of a fractured skull. What occupied his thoughts was the glimmer of the next portal fifty meters past the eight-person Elition fence. Oh, good. Broken Legs One and Two have healed and are back in the fray.
Jason wondered whether they would spontaneously combust if he sent seething glares at them long enough. That would have been a useful skill in a fight.
“Your turn,” Jason whispered, setting a head-sized rock into Terra’s hand.
She looked down at the rock, as though she were studying its contours, then in a single fluid motion, pitched it at the Phantom. His teammates scattered, but he just reached his hand out calmly and plucked it from the air as though it were nothing more substantial than a rosebud. Then he turned a feral sneer on Terra.
“Now, little girl, why did you have to go and do that?” he asked her. “That was just mean.”
Terra responded by scooping up an even larger rock and hurling it at his head. Once again, he caught it easily.
“I warned you, little girl, and now I’m just going to have to punish you,” he snarled, lifting the rock over his head. “When I’m through—”
He stumbled and fell. His rock fell with him, finishing the job Jason’s knife had started. The assailants blinked in collective disbelief as Jason walked over to their big, bad Phantom, unburied his head out from under the rock, and rolled him over. The potent fire in his yellow eyes had gone out, leaving nothing but death. Jason
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