Page 35 of Alchemy of Souls

Maggie squeezes my arm and I step forward. “What are the rules?” I ask Akari.

“I call the match when there’s a clear winner,” she says, which clarifies nothing. “Do try to make it competitive.”

I cross the circle barrier and face Pierce. He bows to me and I return the respect.

“Begin,” Akari says.

Pierce doesn’t immediately assume a sparring stance the way wealways did at the Academy, bouncing on our heels and circling each other. And his stillness throws me. He watches me, waiting. I could run at him, I guess, but I suspect I wouldn’t get very far. I don’t even know what kind of magic he possesses.

“She looks like a terrified bunny,” someone says in the crowd, and I grit my teeth.

I raise my hand to Alchemy a dagger, pulling the handle from the wooden floor and the blade from the light fixtures, merging them together. But before it’s half finished, Pierce splashes my face with ice water and my spell breaks with my concentration, the would-be dagger rebounding into the floor like a released rubber band.

There are a couple of laughs in the crowd, and I’m willing to bet the loudest one belongs to Naomi. But Pierce breaking my spell told me exactly what I wanted to know. Water—he’s Elemental, which means I need a strong shield at the ready.

Instead of crafting another precise dagger, I Alchemy a rough blade made solely from wood. A wooden blade isn’t strong, but it’s throwable. And in less than three seconds I have it in my palm and I’m hurling it through the air. I don’t bother to sharpen the edges. I don’t plan on slicing him with it. It’s just a distraction.

In the time it takes him to throw up a shield I rush him. And I strike fast and swift—a punch to his abdomen. He moves his elbow down to block, leaving his face exposed. I follow up with a quick jab, and this time, I connect. I don’t use enough force to break his nose, but more than enough to send him stumbling back a few steps.

Only that’s as far as I get, because instead of retaliating with a hit of his own, he blasts me with a wind spell that knocks me off my feet. I hit the ground on my back, the impact of the hard floor pulling a groan out of me.

I throw up a shield to block his next Elemental attack, but bythe time I do, he’s already casting again, and this time it’s an illusion. Spiders—crawling all over me. Only I don’t bat at my skin or scream; I launch to my feet. Illusion spiders don’t scare me. I’m not frightened of what I know can’t hurt me.

“Covered in bugs—she looks just like I always pictured her,” Naomi whispers, and Ivy laughs.

As the harmless spiders fade from my body, Pierce launches another wind spell, one that slams me in the gut like an unforgiving fist. The air rushes out of my lungs, and by the time I’ve stood back up, he hits me with another, this one smacking me across the face so hard that the corner of my lip starts to bleed.

Pierce hesitates, probably wondering why I’m not moving to shield or crafting a spell in retaliation. But when he lifts his hand to cast a third time, I gasp, letting my eyes drift past him and widen like I just spellworked something horrible behind him.

It works. He reflexively glances over his shoulder.

As he does, I cast a rough-and-ready spell, one that does nothing more than wobble the floor under his feet—something I’ve done a thousand times by accident while trying to learn to manipulate wood. His balance falters and he tries to steady himself. But those few seconds cost him. I close in, and swing for his family jewels—a quick and effective groin kick.

He immediately folds over, his chin jutting forward with an agonized grunt, which is when I grab him by the shoulders and slam him to the ground.

But I don’t get to pin him with the spell I planned. Not because he blasts me or lights me on fire. But because as I reach for him, something wooden wraps around my waist, yanking me backward.

In the time it takes me to register what’s happening, I shoot up into the air, my feet dangling precariously below me.

CHAPTER 21Grayson

Wrapped around Eloise’s waist is a wooden brace crafted from a damn good Alchemy spell, connected to the floor by a pole that is ever-growing in height. It doesn’t stop until she’s twenty feet in the air, trapped and disoriented.

To be honest, anyone would be caught off guard. Pierce led with Elemental and Illusion, leading Eloise to expect those spells. In fact, I’d bet she even threw up a shield designed for one. But Pierce is an Alchemist, like her. He used the other spells to throw her off that fact.

Eloise waves her hands in front of the wooden brace, but whatever spell she casts does jack all nothing. Pierce’s magic is stronger.

Even if I couldn’t scent him, his pinched expression tells me he’s pissed she bested him physically and wants to punish her for it. In two seconds flat, he crafts a dagger and pulls back to throw.

Eloise places her palms in front of her, but as Pierce releases the dagger, I already know her shield won’t block it—because he’s toying with her.

The knife rips through the air headed for her ankle. Thinking quickly, she lifts her leg and it thuds into the sole of her boot. The rubber absorbs most of the blow, but it must have drawn blood because the metallic scent of pain wafts my way.

Pierce spellworks another dagger and Eloise bites down on her discomfort, leaving nothing but challenge in her eyes. Only she doesn’t move her hands in a way I expect, extending her shield past her feet. Instead, she drops them. She effing drops her shield, and quick as lightning, pulls the dagger from the bottom of her boot.

They both throw their blades.

The entire room leans forward.