people were watching now, but he didn’t care. Lao might have betrayed him, but he refused to stand idly by as people spoke ill of him.
“Or what?” asked Laars thickly. “I’m the descendant of the legendary Golden Wielder. A nobody like you cannot hurt me.”
Falcon griped his fist. The gray emblem in his glove turned solid red.
Laars’ emblem turned dark brown.
“Relax, guys,” said Sheridan, stepping between. “We are all Rohads, remember? What kind of example will you be setting for the students who haven’t graduated yet?”
“I don’t care,” said Falcon. “Get out of the way.”
Sheridan gazed at Falcon. “Well, what about the fact that you two will be stripped of your Rohad status if you fight?”
Laars and Falcon stepped back from each other.
“If you have a score to settle then I suggest a tiaozhan. Me and Falcon against you.” He pointed at Laars. “And one of your buddies here.”
Laars smirked as he turned his ape-face toward Falcon. “I’m up for a tiaozhan. Are you, traitor?”
Falcon nodded. Usually he would have never taken on such a challenge. But he couldn’t simply walk away like this.
“Let’s go,” said Sheridan. They walked down the hallway and out to the garden. “Don’t ever make me do that again, Hyatt.”
“Do what?” asked Falcon, confused.
“Be the voice of reason. It doesn’t fit me.”
“Sure,” said Falcon, though he wasn’t paying much attention to Sheridan anymore. His concentration was on the tiaozhan. He had never been good at it. The precision that was required in the game was not his strong suit. He found himself wishing Aya were with him. She could surely get them an easy win.
They moved past the maze and around the castle.
Elvira’s knees knuckled loudly as they walked down the path toward the tiaozhan fields.
“You should have a doctor check that, Nord,” said Sheridan. “Your bones snapping like that is not normal.”
“Shut up,” hissed Elvira. “Mother says that’s what makes me special.”
Sheridan laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“Each team gets two shots,” said Laars as they reached the wide-open range. “We’ll go first.”
“Fine,” said Falcon. He looked up and noticed the sun had travelled two-thirds through the sky. He had to hurry. Faith could be already looking for him.
“Remember,” said Sheridan. “This is a test of precision and teamwork, so none of that super powerful wielding you’re so fond of.”
“Yes, I know,” said Falcon, sounding much more confident than he felt.
Laars and Delita stepped behind the white line drawn on the grass. About one-hundred meters ahead stood a large steel wall. It had five different animals depicted on it. Each animal held its mouth open. Inside their mouths was a hole of different size. The biggest of the holes belonged to the ox. It was about the size of two human heads, which meant it was the easiest to get an attack through, but it also was only worth twenty points.
Falcon watched in silence as Laars and Delita held their hands up.
“Hiyaaah!” they yelled in unison.
Water left Delita’s fist.
An earth spike flew out from Laars’ hand.
Falcon cursed silently as the attacks met in mid-air and combined into a single ball. A second later, the ball travelled through the second-largest hole.
“That’s forty points!” yelled Laars. His gang patted him on the back as they congratulated him.
Falcon and Sheridan hustled close together.
“So should we go for forty points too?” Sheridan asked.
Falcon concentrated, struggling to make a choice. They could go for the sixty-point hole, but that was the third smallest one in the wall. He wasn’t sure he had enough for such an attack. If it was just him, he could easily hit it. But to form a harmonious attack with another person required much more precision. After much deliberation he decided to take the easier route. “Let’s just go for the forty point one too.”
Sheridan gave him a
“Or what?” asked Laars thickly. “I’m the descendant of the legendary Golden Wielder. A nobody like you cannot hurt me.”
Falcon griped his fist. The gray emblem in his glove turned solid red.
Laars’ emblem turned dark brown.
“Relax, guys,” said Sheridan, stepping between. “We are all Rohads, remember? What kind of example will you be setting for the students who haven’t graduated yet?”
“I don’t care,” said Falcon. “Get out of the way.”
Sheridan gazed at Falcon. “Well, what about the fact that you two will be stripped of your Rohad status if you fight?”
Laars and Falcon stepped back from each other.
“If you have a score to settle then I suggest a tiaozhan. Me and Falcon against you.” He pointed at Laars. “And one of your buddies here.”
Laars smirked as he turned his ape-face toward Falcon. “I’m up for a tiaozhan. Are you, traitor?”
Falcon nodded. Usually he would have never taken on such a challenge. But he couldn’t simply walk away like this.
“Let’s go,” said Sheridan. They walked down the hallway and out to the garden. “Don’t ever make me do that again, Hyatt.”
“Do what?” asked Falcon, confused.
“Be the voice of reason. It doesn’t fit me.”
“Sure,” said Falcon, though he wasn’t paying much attention to Sheridan anymore. His concentration was on the tiaozhan. He had never been good at it. The precision that was required in the game was not his strong suit. He found himself wishing Aya were with him. She could surely get them an easy win.
They moved past the maze and around the castle.
Elvira’s knees knuckled loudly as they walked down the path toward the tiaozhan fields.
“You should have a doctor check that, Nord,” said Sheridan. “Your bones snapping like that is not normal.”
“Shut up,” hissed Elvira. “Mother says that’s what makes me special.”
Sheridan laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“Each team gets two shots,” said Laars as they reached the wide-open range. “We’ll go first.”
“Fine,” said Falcon. He looked up and noticed the sun had travelled two-thirds through the sky. He had to hurry. Faith could be already looking for him.
“Remember,” said Sheridan. “This is a test of precision and teamwork, so none of that super powerful wielding you’re so fond of.”
“Yes, I know,” said Falcon, sounding much more confident than he felt.
Laars and Delita stepped behind the white line drawn on the grass. About one-hundred meters ahead stood a large steel wall. It had five different animals depicted on it. Each animal held its mouth open. Inside their mouths was a hole of different size. The biggest of the holes belonged to the ox. It was about the size of two human heads, which meant it was the easiest to get an attack through, but it also was only worth twenty points.
Falcon watched in silence as Laars and Delita held their hands up.
“Hiyaaah!” they yelled in unison.
Water left Delita’s fist.
An earth spike flew out from Laars’ hand.
Falcon cursed silently as the attacks met in mid-air and combined into a single ball. A second later, the ball travelled through the second-largest hole.
“That’s forty points!” yelled Laars. His gang patted him on the back as they congratulated him.
Falcon and Sheridan hustled close together.
“So should we go for forty points too?” Sheridan asked.
Falcon concentrated, struggling to make a choice. They could go for the sixty-point hole, but that was the third smallest one in the wall. He wasn’t sure he had enough for such an attack. If it was just him, he could easily hit it. But to form a harmonious attack with another person required much more precision. After much deliberation he decided to take the easier route. “Let’s just go for the forty point one too.”
Sheridan gave him a
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