Chapter 23: Fan Favorite

  Ambrose and Raeleq sat side by side in the infirmary on a bed, bandaged up and rejuvenated with a couple of choice potions. Like most of the matches where any real damage occurred, they were required to sit there for at least fifteen minutes.

  Ten of those had passed by in silence, and the awkwardness was like a fog, blinding and choking him. Raeleq was a famously friendly man who took his losses in stride with a smile and a laugh.

  Not today. He’d shaken his hand, but now things were weird. Bitter, even.

  Worse yet, there was nothing to do or read in the infirmary, and the healer had barred anyone not needing medical attention after a scuffle earlier in the day. It was just the two of them and the weird weight of whatever was wrong with the wild wizard.

  “It was a good match,” Ambrose finally said. “Probably my favorite one so far.”

  Raeleq scoffed. “Of course it was. You got to be cruel.”

  He blinked, turning to face him directly. “Cruel? What do you mean?”

  “What you did to Reggie,” Raeleq said. “You not only killed him in a painful, humiliating way, you turned him against me. His soul suffers for it.”

  Oh. Ambrose rubbed his eyes in frustration. “It was not intentional cruelty on my part. You have to understand, to me, cards are just cards. I don’t believe he has a soul that remembers or cares about any of this. He’s just an unlucky creature that got bonded to a wizard. Which probably says something about you, but I’m not quite sure what.”

  Raeleq’s massive hands balled into fists. He stood, wincing at some of the leftover pain from the wound he’d taken. Magical healing was hit or miss, and it often left the recipients with all the pain they would’ve felt, over a short period of time. It may have contributed to his anger.

  “You know nothing. Our people have ways of telling, of communicating with the spirits in the cards. And of freeing them, when their service is over. When I’ve fully cultivated Reggie’s strength and he grows into his final form, I’ll release him and let him start a family, live his life in the wild, a king among his kind.”

  There were times to press the subject and fight for what you believed in, but Ambrose didn’t actually care about any of this. So he held his hands up and said, “I believe that you believe it, if nothing else. I didn’t do it to hurt your stupid pet. I did it because it was the best way for me to win. You want me to apologize to [Reggie] or something?” He couldn’t suppress a smile at the thought of it.

  Raeleq paused, and then chuckled. “No, he’s not the forgiving type. It was a good match,” he admitted. “I think you might get your rematch with my sister. If you can beat Molly.”

  Ambrose stood as well. Their time was just about over, and he wouldn’t be kept a moment longer than necessary. “She’s strong, but sloppy. I’ve got better creatures now, so I’m not worried. I’m going to come out on top, which means you and Luthor are going to have to pay me a premium if I’m to join your idiotic crusade.”

  “You’re thinking about it?” Raeleq’s entire face lit up. It looked funny with chunks of his hair missing from the imp attack, but the man was nothing if not earnest. “We can do good work together.”

  “I’m weighing my options,” he said diplomatically.

  There was no chance of it, of course. Not if he took Vanderborn up on his offer to pay for school. That would be a commitment he couldn’t turn away from, and it was his best option by far. It wasn’t like he could take the Ransas up on their charity without becoming their pet. Of course, the same could be said about Vanderborn, but at least he was known to be rich, powerful, and reliable.

  The Ransas were new money, and their influence increased by the day. If anyone could offer him something comparable to working for Vanderborn, it was them. All it would cost was his pride. It wasn’t a cost he was willing to pay, and yet the idea wouldn’t leave him alone.

  They returned to the group in time to catch the very end of the fourth year match. Jessica waited for him impatiently, buzzing with excitement. “I knew that card would come in handy!” she said as soon as he sat down.

  “It was,” Ambrose said with a rare, honest smile. “And so did [Spider’s Ascent]. Looks like that was a day well spent, wasn’t it? You’re going to win today as well.”

  “You think so?” she asked, hope shining bright in her eyes.

  “You better. I have money riding on it. Best get ready.”

  At this point in the tournament, with it half over, some of the momentum was lost, and would be until the very end. That didn’t mean it wasn’t fun, and Ambrose took the time to soak in his win and enjoy watching the others. The first and second years were a good opportunity to snark about their failures and annoy the people around him, but there were two important matches he cared about.

  The first came up just an hour and a half later, with the match between Jessica and Kim. Ambrose hadn’t been lying when he said his friend would win this one. Kim hadn’t won a single match yet, and walked into the fight already demoralized.

  It was almost funny how one-sided it was. They started by both summoning creatures that fought each other, and then Jessica’s superior speed and ability with hand-to-hand combat escalated things before Kim could do much to defend herself. It would’ve been boring if the Mind Mage hadn’t been more decisive and aggressive than he’d ever seen her. A sweep of the legs and an ax-kick finished things before they drew a third hand. Ambrose cheered for his friend louder and harder than anyone.

  Jessica came back to join them, but Kim did not. David, quiet though he was, eventually got up and went to look for her while the rest of them continued watching the duels. The comradery the class shared until now became strained with each new match. The stakes rose, and it killed some of their cheer.

  Raeva, for example, still screamed with each match, but there was a fog in her eyes Ambrose recognized. Her match was one of the last of the day, and she was going over the fight in her head, and how she would beat Molly. Raeleq still laughed and cheered, but the earlier loss cut into that hope of making it to the top.

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  Only Jessica was in a good mood, now on her third victory to two losses. Luthor as well didn’t seem bothered, but then, he clearly had enough backup plans. It wouldn’t have surprised Ambrose if Luthor didn’t actually need the school anymore. He’d gotten enough experience and cards that he could make it on his own, just by putting in the work.

  They all could, really. It was an odd realization, finding he respected his classmates more than he thought he did. Win or lose, this was the first year where he felt the competition was mostly worthy and not just a stepping stone for his own success.

  “Hey,” Ambrose said, nudging Raeva with his knee.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “What?”

  “You’re going to kick her ass. Just taunt her about Girard getting beaten by Jessica of all people, and she’ll be off balance.”

  “Hey!” Jessica protested. “I know I made that joke, but…”

  Raeva’s lips twitched, but she kept a mostly straight face. “How kind of you to help. What’s your angle?”

  Ambrose shrugged, doing his best to look innocent. “I just want a fair rematch. And maybe we can go double or nothing on our previous wager.”

  “How do you go double or nothing on a date or an apology?” she scoffed.

  “Well, if you think about it, that date could end in wild-- “

  “Nope.”

  Ambrose laughed. “Fine. Instead, we go somewhere nice, and you pay. And if I lose the rematch, then I join up with you and the rest of the optimistic idiots.”

  At this, Luthor looked over at him. Raeva met his gaze, and they shared a silent conversation in just two seconds.

  “Sure,” she finally said. “Why not? I beat you once, and I can beat you again. And then maybe your ego will finally be beaten down to a manageable size.”

  “Doubtful,” Jessica said.

  Ambrose said nothing, just smiled.

  The rest of that round of matches went by quickly. It didn’t hurt that enough first and second years had been decisively eliminated not just from the tournament, but from the school itself that they were down to one fight from each class, with short breaks between each. After just an hour, it was time for Raeva and Molly to face each other.

  The audience had been flagging, but the match against two primal wizards brought everyone’s spirits high once more. By the time Professor Dietrich limped out to announce them, the screams and cheers drowned out her enhanced voice. After the first couple of tries, she cleared her throat and raised her voice. The crowd cheered louder.

  Eventually, she gave up and motioned to the two fighters. They knew what they were doing at this point, and bowed to one another. The second the professor left and the barrier went up, Molly went on the offensive.

  She cast her first spell, raising her hand up into the air only to slam it into the arena’s stone floor, palm-first. Ambrose’s stomach twisted and jumped before the earth rumbled and the environment shifted into an uneven, chaotic mess. Raeva was well prepared, and sprung off the rising stone beneath her feet.

  While Molly finished her spell, Raeva flung her [Singe] at Molly, setting the start of the ramping damage. The flames hit the redheaded wizard and she took a step back from the descending Ransa, who landed light and charged, summoning her [Obsidian Spear] as she went.

  As much as she was known for her offensive capabilities, Molly surprised her with the next spell, which exploded the rocks nearest to them, and then the rubble and debris flew around her to form a layer of armor over her skin. It covered everything but her eyes and nose, and she caught the head of Raeva’s weapon with her hands.

  At first, she was pushed back by the force of the thrust, but she dug her heels in and shoved back. After several strained seconds, she twisted, and the spear snapped in half and faded.

  The only sign of distress from Raeva was a grimace, but she ducked Molly’s stone-covered fist as it went through the space her head had just been. It would’ve been the perfect time to counterattack, if it wasn’t for the rock armor.

  The two continued their dance, Raeva retreating and Molly chasing after. The dark-skinned pyromancer was more graceful than Ambrose had ever seen her, moving like liquid flames against her clumsier, but possibly stronger opponent. It was like she didn’t need to see where she was going as she jumped from one uneven rock to another, always a step ahead.

  He could practically feel Molly’s irritation as she chased. “C’mon,” Ambrose muttered to himself, “you’re going to get a new hand first. Punish her!”

  He wasn’t wrong. Two seconds later, Raeva flicked her wrist, and a red summoning circle showed an avian figure forming inside. Molly responded in kind, with a much larger circle bringing forth a bulky, humanoid figure.

  The spells took only a second to start, and then a few more to finish, but even a single second could be enough to disrupt one’s rhythm. Molly recovered first and caught up to her opponent and managed to swing her rocky fist into the wiry woman’s stomach. To her credit, Raeva stayed on her feet, but it cost her when the next swing went right into her chin.

  A collective “OOF” went through the audience, and Raeleq winced at the sight of his big sister being laid out.

  Molly stomped with all the extra weight, but Raeva rolled out of the way in time. Before the stone-clad wizard could attack again, Raeva’s [Hatchling] took flight and spat flames at her. The rocks absorbed the heat at first, but enough heat would cook her one way or the other.

  “Go go go!” Ambrose called out as the two fighters parted.

  By then, Molly’s [Rocky Ruffian] finished filling in. The earth elemental was vaguely humanoid, made of dirt and rock, about five feet tall. It was exactly the kind of pain in the ass creature Ambrose or Raeleq would be able to handle, but Raeva specialized in damage to soft, vulnerable targets.

  She spat a curse as the elemental surged forward like an angry avalanche. It was slower than her, but it just needed to get lucky once. Raeva fell back, luring it to the edge of the arena, where it tried to crush her. She got out of the way in time for it to collide with the barrier. Then she stepped off on it and launched herself into the air, hurling another [Singe] at Molly.

  It hit the spot her [Fiery Hatchling] targeted, blasting a section of rock away from her chest, exposing… well, a lot more than anyone expected. The crowd went wild, screaming and pointing. For any lesser fighter, it might have been enough to falter.

  Not Molly. She turned away from the flames and gathered her strength. She threw a punch at Raeva, who landed from her jump, ten feet away. The stone attached to her fist went flying, along with the rest of the armor in all directions.

  It was the perfect timing. Having just hit the ground, Raeva couldn’t get out of the way as the stone first hit her in the chest. Her mouth opened soundlessly and her entire body jerked with the impact. She crashed into the ground, and a second later the [Rocky Ruffian] caught up with her and pinned her against a rock.

  As strong as Raeva was, there was no moving a living boulder. Molly sauntered up, having shot the [Fiery Hatchling] out of the sky with rocky shrapnel. She planted her foot on her creature’s back and pushed.

  Even over the roars of the audience, Ambrose heard Raeva’s shocked cry of pain, and the way it cut off as suddenly as it started. The match was over.

  Molly was the only undefeated person left in the class. And if she was bothered by her damaged clothing or being exposed to the audience, she didn’t let it show. Instead, she raised both fists to the sky and roared a primal challenge for all to hear.