Will snapped himself out of his daze and pulled himself together. His friend was in trouble, he was going to help her. The path was illuminated by the flames shooting from the desperate girl, appearing from the height of the flat blocks as a flickering candle. And that candle was about to go out. Will screwed the cap back onto the vodka bottle and took a few steps back. He composed himself, took a few deep breaths and ran towards the end of the block of flats. The bitter wind slapped him across the face as he built up his momentum. Holding his breath, he leapt off the side of the building and plummeted towards the pavement. He bent his legs as gravity pulled him towards the ground below. His speed rocketed as he plummeted, and his breath became short. He'd never tried this before; it was going to be interesting.
'Calm yourself down.' He repeated in is head, over and over. He didn't even know if this was going to work, but if he intervened a different way he'd just be killed anyway. The pavement became closer and closer, wider and wider, flatter and flatter. Will could feel the energy building up from his descent, and focused it into his feet. This was it. No second guessing.
The geomancer hit the ground with great force. As the energy from his feet was forced into the ground, a shockwave erupted from the landing site and pulsed its way across the street floor. Several of the soldiers collapsed over, unable to keep their footing from the surprise attack. A few fell straight onto their backs; Will saw one fall to the side and crack his head against a wall of the alley. He wasn't getting back up any time soon. The adrenaline took over, and as Will charged out of the metre deep crater he raised his arms, causing a pillar of earth to break through the pavement and create a barrier between Catherine and the soldiers. The pyromancer had been knocked on her feet as well, but Will grabbed her arm and pulled her up as quickly as his body would allow. Their eyes met for a brief moment before they both retreated back into the flat block. The earth had cracked from the impact; there was no way the government would be able to cover this one up.
"Cathy! Cocktail!" Will shouted as he tossed the bottle of vodka forward at the door. Cathy punched forward and released a fast moving fireball towards the chained door of the flat block. The fireball hit the vodka bottle, and the strength of the explosion blew the door straight off its hinges, and it collapsed in a singed heap on the dusty marble flooring. The two friends didn't stop running as they entered the neglected flats, and headed straight for the fire exit. Will forced the door open as he charged into it with his shoulder, there was a loud clack as the rusty hinges groaned against the power of the hit. Stood before the mancers was a whole army unit, led by a soldier in a blue camouflage suit. Apparently it wasn't that easy to escape the army. The leader of the army unit took a step forward with his hands behind his back. He looked maybe in his mid-twenties, and not very confident at all. His breath was quick as he stepped forward, advancing towards the two teenagers who were now in very big trouble.
"My name is Captain Aquis. I have been sent to reprimand Catherine Foster for her clear and illegal assault of a civilian using forbidden pyromancing techniques. And now I will also reprimand you," the captain's gaze shifted to Will; he glowered into his eyes, "as both an accomplice and for causing irrevocable criminal damage to this street. As a hydromancing captain of the government's army I am arresting you both," Catherine's eyes widened. She'd found an exit clause. Bingo. "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence and anything you do mention may be given in-"
Catherine didn't let him finish. She'd heard enough. They were in enough trouble anyway, in her mind there was only one way to solve this. "I call upon the Agni Kai act. William and I challenge you to a fight. And if we win, you let us go and do not follow us." The girl was now burning with confidence, her lips turning up into an arrogant smile and her eyes narrowing. "If we lose, we'll go with you." There was a murmuring amongst the soldiers behind their captains. Several of them nudged each other and whispered in their peer's ears. This was probably the most exciting thing they'd seen in their entire time of service to the army. Things like this didn't happen every day. Things like this never happened. Will turned his head slightly and looked at Cathy out from the corner of his eye. 'How on earth did she find something like that?' he asked himself.
The Captain calmed himself down. "I accept your challenge. It seems I don't have a choice. You're a clever girl, Catherine. I don't know where you learned about that act but it's not exactly common knowledge." He stepped forward through the broken door into the flat block, pointing two fingers indicating the two challengers to enter with him. "Not a single guard is to enter this block. No matter what happens. Do you understand me?" There was a resounding and simultaneous response of 'Yes, Sir!' from the soldiers. Aquis proceeded into the block, flipping a light switch as he entered.
"Told you the light switches would still work." Cathy teased as she followed their opponent into the now illuminated entrance hall. Aquis stopped and turned to face the two youths, cracking his knuckles and his neck and limbering his shoulders. Cathy stood with her feet apart and her left fist forward in front of her right. Her playful manner disintegrated; this was serious. This was a fight for freedom. Will's breathing slowed as he tried to calm himself. He'd never fought anyone this way before; or at all really. His only experience with fighting was sparring with his partner. The captain stared down his opponents, waiting for them to make the first move. He looked prepared, ready to take them down. He was looking at them like they were a meal. The tension was broken as Cathy thrust her right fist forward, shooting a thin bullet of flame at the captain. He dodged to the left and raised his arms towards the ceiling, forcing a thick jet of water to burst through the floor; 'That's why he was waiting for us to attack' thought Will, 'he was looking for water in the pipes.'
The captain's figure twisted as he retracted his extended pose and pirouetted on his right foot. The huge jet of water rushed from behind him, over his head and towards Will. The geomancer bent his arms and raised them from waist to shoulder height, pulling up a thick pillar of earth before him. The water jet collided into the barrier and spread out to the sides. Catherine sent a flurry of punches, ejecting balls of flame at her target who backflipped and pulled more water off the lightly flooding interior of the flats. The water froze into a thin sheet of ice which countered the first two fire balls, but was shattered by the third, resulting in the destruction of both the ice sheet and the projectile. Will punched the earth barrier, shooting forward a chunk of rock heading for the torso of the captain. The hydromancer rolled to his right, firing small bullets of water which froze into tiny ice needles towards Catherine who tried to run out of their line of fire but was struck in the thigh by three. She grimaced in pain as she ripped them out, a thin layer of blood staining her fingers. She tossed the needles onto the ground and extended both of her arms.
"These are my favourite jeans!" She yelled, half angry, half joking. She gathered the flames around her hands and stepped forward on her left foot. The angry pyromancer knelt forward and brought her hands together at her front, shooting a continuous stream of flames towards their opponent. Aquis' hands criss-crossed as a shield of water formed rapidly around him. As the stream of flames collided with the shield steam from the collision filled the room. Will lifted a chunk of the marble flooring in front of him and tossed it towards the shield; the marble rocket passed straight through the delicate water shield and impacted on the captain's left hip, almost effortlessly forcing him out of his shield. Will dropped to his knees and placed his palms flat on the damp flooring. A small arch extended over each of the hydromancer's hands, locking them into the ground. He struggled onto all fours against the entrapment and tried to pull himself free to no avail.
The marble flooring, controlled by Will, began to creep its way up the body of the captain, first arching over his legs, pushing his thighs into the ground. From there his torso and his shoulders until he was lying face down in the ground with nothing but his head sticking out from the surface. He was grunting and yelling obscenities at the two victors. "Okay, okay you win! Let me out of this and you can go! Just get me out!"
Will took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A fissure cracked the flooring from his hand to the marble casing over their opponent, splitting it right down the centre and then splitting off. The hydromancer pushed himself to his feet, brushing the rubble from his uniform as he did so. His beret had fallen off and his shaggy dark hair was thick with specs of earth-dust. "Go through the back door. You've won for now, but I'd leave if I were you. Take your families and go. Just because I won't pursue you it doesn't mean the rest of the army and the police force won't. You've been granted a reprieve, not immunity. Now get out. GO!" He yelled. The two victors nodded and advanced towards the back exit of the flat block.
The soldiers whispered amongst themselves as the two mancers emerged from the flat block, having bested their captain. A few of them elbowed their fellow soldiers with satisfied looks on their faces, and a few even passed money to each other. "Have they been betting on who would win?" Will whispered to Catherine as they turned a corner into an alleyway in order to stop and catch their breath.
"Probably. They're probably going to get a new captain now. They probably enjoyed watching a group of mancers slug it out and beat the shit out of each other, it's not something you see every day, even as a shoulder." The wounded pyromancer sighed as she pulled out a packet of cigarettes. "Only two left, shit." She pulled them both out of the carton and tossed it on the ground empty. Cathy passed one to Will and put the other in her mouth, then generated a small flame from her finger which both used to light the cigarettes. Both took a drag on their cigarettes and exhaled deeply, a wave of relief washed over them both; even if it was superficial.
They stood in silence as they finished their cigarettes, pulled up their hoods and then disappeared into the night, heading back to Will's home.
Commander Flynn sat at her desk, her office lit by nothing but a few candles. There was a porcelain cup on the corner of her desk containing a few dregs of coffee, and she had a cigarette in her hand. She took a drag and tapped the ash onto the floor. She stubbed it out on the table and dropped it into the cup.
"Your report, Captain Aquis." She demanded. "I won't ask you again, what happened and where is the fugitive?"
"Well Ma'am, you see…"
"Spit it out, captain. I'm an incredibly busy woman. I do not have all day to listen to your trifles. Where is the fugitive."
Aquis' adam's apple sank and raised as he swallowed saliva, trying to clear his dry throat. He was shaking mildly and sweating profusely. "She escaped ma'am."
The Commander slammed her fist on the table, causing Aquis to flinch slightly. He'd seen her angry before; not at him though. People died when she was angry. She rose to her feet and took a steady walk towards her captain. She stopped directly in front of him and stared up into his eyes as if she was going to tear out his very soul. "And tell me, Captain." There was disdain in the last word, "How did she escape?"
"She knew about the Agni Kai act. There was nothing I could do, if we arrested her and that came up in court I could lose my job." He tried to sound confident, but he wasn't. In reality, the captain was absolutely terrified, his muscles now convulsed as he trembled and it had become an effort for him to just stand upright. "And it wasn't just that, she had an accomplice, a geomancer. Together they defeated me in an Agni Kai and I had to let them leave."
Flynn sighed. "Why didn't you just kill them?" She sighed again. "Get out of my sight, you have been deemed as sympathetic to mancer fugitives. Somebody will arrive tomorrow to replace you. It's a shame. I liked you." As the captain turned to leave the office, Commander Flynn changed her mind. "In fact, I'll save the executioner the trouble." The commander tilted her head to the side and pointed two fingers at her disappointment of a captain. "Just die." She exclaimed as a bolt of lightning shot from her fingers straight through the skull of the captain. He yelled in pain as his muscles tightened, and then her office was silent again.
The Commander returned to her desk and pushed a button on her phone before lifting it to her ear lazily. "Hello, Maria, it's Commander Flynn. Could you please send a cleaner or two to my office, Captain Aquis had an accident, thank you." She hung up, lent back in her chair and rested her thick, steel toe capped boots on her table. "What a mess."