I hit Dan's arm, and he let go of my leg. He glared at me, fire even dancing in his eyes.
I had never seen my best friend's brother like this. He was practically in a feral state of mind.
Dan back up a few steps, and joined his hands together, murmuring. Knowing getting close again would only hurt me more, I held my Shortsword defensively and locked my knees. Aaron had told me to turn defensive when in trouble.
"Fira!" Dan pulled off the glove on his left hand, and held his palms out at me. A spiral of blazing fire flew out at me.
I changed the position of my sword. The blade deflected the fire, up into the sky where it disappeared. After a second, I could see the iron glowing red-hot from the magic.
Dan stopped the attack, dumbfounded. "What?" He put his hands down, mentally disarmed.
I grinned. Dan wasn't all "psycho fire-warrior" anymore; the flame was gone from his brown eyes.
"Finish him, Matt!" Jack squealed excitedly.
I nodded. My muscules were aching; I had been in engagements all morning, starting from the moment Aaron had taken me to train. I was ready to be done.
Dan stood for only another second before he tried to attack again, but he had burned himself out. Nothing but sparks from his fingertips.
I slammed the flat blade of my Shortsword into Dan, slamming him hard in the stomach. Dan fell on his back, and I heard a loud crack. He didn't get back up.
After waiting almost half a minute, the crowd in an uproar, the announcer exclaimed, "Dan is out! The winner is Mateiu, of Clan Mind!"
I could hear Jack going wild, and Aaron and Rhet, too. I looked around the crowd, hefted my sword up to my shoulder.
Then, the world went fuzzy. I couldn't see the straight. In the (pun) heat of battle, I hadn't gauged how badly I'd been burned.
Both my shins were angrily red and blistered, along with my chest and arms. The fire had completely burnt away a spot on my shirt, just below my left shoulder, and the chainmail under had barely held under the heat. Every part of my body hurt.
"Matt...Matt! Somebody go up there and get them!"
I had barely heard Jan. Dan still hadn't gotten back up. My vision went black, and I crumbled to the ground.
That Evening.
"Kyn said he would be better once he woke up...just calm down, Jannie."
"I won't calm down! My showboating brother could've killed him today because of your incompetance!"
"Little girl, you won one engagement today. In the seven years I've done clanwork, I'd won thousands. Who should be yelling at whom? Besides, Dan wasn't showboating."
When I came to, I heard Jan and Aaron arguing. Jan was angry about what had happened. My whole body had something waxy covering the skin. There was a bitter, waxy taste in my mouth.
"Urrrgh..." I groaned, turning on my side. Nothing but a dull pain, considering what I'd expected.
I opened my eyes, and saw I was in my bedroom. Aaron was sitting in a chair next to my bed, and Jan was pacing around. A lit lanturn on my desk illuminated the room.
Jan jumped. "Matt!"
"Great," Aaron laughed, pretending they hadn't woken me up. "Hey, how do you feel?"
I sat up, and popped my back. "Like I got fried. What happened?"
Jan pushed Aaron out of his chair. "You passed out when they declared you winner," She told me. "You were in pretty bad shape, but Aaron's friend Kyn used a Cureall and healed you right up. God, you and Dan were at it!"
That explained why I felt so waxy. Aaron glared at her.
"Yeah," He agreed huffily, standing up. "Kyn and Rhet are at the pub. Even Rhet was worried, imagine that?"
I laughed. "I'm almost touched."
"Okay, Matt, you missed an incredible engagement!" Jan filled me in on the final bout. "Okay, Kyn and Aaron have their backs to Rhet, and he's firing off arrows at the Camoa Braves. Disarmed one of the Bangaa in the first shot, and Kyn blinded the other one while Aaron took that battle-scarred leader head-to head. Nearly got an arm hacked off! And meanwhile, Rhet took down the White Monk in one shot and tag-teamed the Warrior with Kyn backing him up. Whole thing took about only fifteen minutes, with them working together! Even Drew said he couldn't have won so single-handedly!"
Aaron laughed. "It wasn't all that great," He amended. "I could have easily dodged a couple Body Slams. Facing a Bangaa Warrior, what else could I expect?"
It wasn't too much longer before Jan had to head home. She told me Jack was at her house, because Aaron hadn't wanted him over at ours worrying.
I waited until she left to bring it up. "Is Dan okay? I think he hit his head pretty hard when he went down. And, uh, what was with that whole fire show thing? Just touching his skin had left some pretty nasty burns."
Aaron sat down down, crossing one leg over his knee. His smile faltered, but only for a second. Almost a twitch.
"Kyn tended to him, too," Aaron told me. "No need to worry yourself, Matt. Nothing permanent. You didn't kill the kid, anyway. And for crying out loud, get that frown off your face. You're a champion."
Something still nagged at me. "But, Aaron, that was some pretty unstable magic he had going on...is there something you're not-?"
"Matt." Aaron used his sternest leader voice. "If something was going on or wrong, I would tell you. Okay? Drop it."
"Fine." I didn't want to drop it, but I knew he wouldn't let me continue.
I laid back on my back again, and sighed. Aaron tapped his foot almost impatiently.
"I'm sorry," He blurted out.
"What?"
"You got hurt because of me and I'm sorry," Aaron apologized again. "Jan was right, I am incompetent. I feel so guilty. I invited you to join us so fast, I forgot-"
"Forgot what?" I demanded. "And, I can join you? What?"
Aaron ran a hand through his hair. "The reason clan members don't die every day is because of a judge," He explained. "As long as you follow the mission's laws, then you can't die from a simple swing of a sword or, in your case, intense burning. Stuff like poison still could, but..." Aaron sighed. "I'm a shitty leader. I forgot to have you swear allegience to our judge. I'm sorry. It was eating at me."
I sat back up. "Hey, calm down, man," I tried to soothe him. "It's okay. But, I can join you?"
Aaron seemed to calm himself again. "I talked over the idea with Rhet and Kyn..." He grinned. "But, yeah. Even Rhet couldn't argue. You have potential to be a Paladin, a Fighter, Ninja...hell, even a Parivir!"
"Is that what you are?" I asked.
"We're leaving tomorrow afternoon," Aaron continued, ignoring me. "And, I'll come by and wake you up, and if you decide you want to join Clan Mind, you'll be fully welcome to come with us to Grazton. I'll train you myself on the way, but by the time we reach Grazton, you'll be ready for your first real mission."
"Wait, what about Jack?" My heart pounded uncomfortably. "I can't leave him. Dad never comes home. He'll die on his own!"
I didn't want to turn this down. It was literally the offer of a lifetime. But, I had an obligation to take care of Jack. That was reason two for why I steal...
Aaron held his hands up. "I talked to Jan's mom. She promised to take him in if you agree, and that he'd never go hungry. Jack would be safe."
I still felt uneasy. It was my dream to live within a clan, but...this was too good to be true...
"If you still don't feel you could leave him, I understand." Aaron stood up, putting the chair back at my desk. "I know what responsibility is. Think about it and talk to me in the morning, okay, kiddo?"
I nodded. "Okay. G'night, Aaron..."
"Night." He left, closing the door.
I looked around my bedroom. On my desk, by the lantern, was the Camoa Cup trophy and the prize: a sword called the Victor Sword. Given to those who win the tournament. Aaron must have given them to me.
That night, I didn't sleep much. I spent all night torn; Jack, or Aaron?
Aaron's Viewpoint.
I hope I'm not too late.
I'd spent too long with Matt. If Jack had lost complete control, if Dan couldn't contain him...
Jack had been worried like crazy for Matt. That was the real reason we'd isolated him; because Dan was back up and kicking, and I couldn't dare try and contain Jack.
I slipped into the house, hurrying upstairs. I could hear Jack howling from Dan's room, but nobody else in the house responded; they knew what was going on.
"Dan...owww...Dan, it hurts...! Dan, make it stop, make it stop!"
It was an icy hell when I entered Dan's room. I quickly closed the door.
Jack stood in the center of the room, his feet frozen to the hewn stone floor, up to his knees. His arms were likewise frozen; he was slowly encasing himself in a cocoon of child was terrified.
Dan tried to deflect the frozen, whipping whirlwind that Jack had conjured away from his face. "Aaron! Gods, how's Matt?"
Jack let out a screeching howl. I steeled my nerves, and touched his arm. Ice creeped up his elbows.
"Matt's okay." I spoke directly to him. "Made a full recovery. Matt's safe, Jack. I promise."
Jack relaxed his muscules a little. "Matt's...okay...?" He quietly sobbed out. The blizzard died down slowly, as I told him about our conversation, leaving out about taking Matt with me.
Dan put his arms down, away from his face. "He is? I didn't burn him to a crisp?"
I nodded. "Everything's okay, Jack. Everything's safe. Don't fight it. Let Dan melt the ice. You can't fight him. You need to calm down."
Jack nodded. Streaks of past tears glittered on his pale, frosted cheeks. My words worked, as always. Dan finally managed to grab his enchanted Blaze Robe; it would thaw Jack out in mere minutes.
Dan draped the robe over Jack's shoulders; it was so long, it pooled at his feet. I could feel the heat from the cloak from such close proximity.
Jack sniffled. "I-I'm sorry..." He whimpered. "I'm sorry, Dan...I fr-froze your room..."
Dan kneeled down in front of Jack, a kind smile on his face. He put his hand against Jack's leg, a small flame in his palm, to aid the defrosting.
"Hey, don't apologize," He told Jack. "Look at me." The nine year old looked at the teenager. "Never apologize for your Gift. Look at me, sixteen years old and a respected, popular clansman. Do you see the word ' sorry' on my tongue just because I could become a human torch?"
"Yeah," I chimed in. "Neither of us. You have to embrace it..."
The two of them broke my heart, if I had one. So young, but they had to control some very powerful magic. Heaven knows how Dan mastered his fire on his own.
Jack shuddered. "But...it's so...cold...I wanna go h-home..."
Dan took Jack into his arms. "I know. I know, it's cold. But, you're special, Jack...we all are. You can go home in the morning. I promise."
I didn't have a powerful, magical Gift like either of them; only cold, statistical military strategy. Mine could benefit me without the risk of killing me.
Jack fell asleep in Dan's warm embrace. He had to have been more tired that his brother; he was too young to use any sort of magic without draining himself. I put him on Dan's bed; Dan would have to see about rooming with Kyn at the pub.
I wished I could be there more often for Jack. I visited mostly for the boy, to keep sure he didn't freeze himself in his sleep. Matt had no idea.
Matt would have freaked, knowing Jack was a Heritor, even if he didn't know what that meant. We all kept it secret, even Jan. It must have killed her to keep so much from her best friend.
That night, I decided that Dan would have to take Jack up to old man Lezaford before long, if his magic grew too strong too fast. What scared me was that I wouldn't be there to check up anymore.
Everything was planned. I took Matt into my clan, to train him to fight. Dan would take Jack and make sure he learned to control his ice.
"Aaron?" Dan watched me carefully, eyes peeking out from his wild, dark hair. "I think tomorrow, I'm going to have to give Jack a pair of gloves."
I nodded. "Alright."
I sighed heavily, putting my hand on the hilt of my Flametongue. Information passed through my mind, bits and pieces too fast to sort through easily. I closed my eyes.
A line Kyn had once told me caught my attention. His slow, resonating voice echoed in my mind.
A son of war will always walk alone. It sounded like a prophecy, or something. There were always rumors, but...
"Aaron, I'm leaving. Come on."
I snapped back to reality. Dan had extinguished the lantern in his room, holding a small ball of fire in his hand for light. He was at the door.
"Alright," I responded. His warm, brown eyes were full of worry.
Dan and I had kept our secret little world safe for years. If Jack messed it up, if he couldn't control his ice...
Stop that. Dan lead me through his house, stepping lightly. We went out the front door, me closing it behind me.
"Aaron...are you you? You're usually quiet."
"Nothing's ever usual, Dan. I'm tired. Let's go."
