Familiar Magic by King DB

Author:King, DB
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

While Alec and Trystara had been talking, the rest of the class arrayed itself to watch. Alec couldn’t easily see Eleira and Jolenta, as another two students he knew by sight but not name had taken the middle-most trench in the center of the field. Any moral support he could have given either girl or their familiar would only have been overlooked, so he turned his attention to his opponent.

Trystara’s right, he thought, eyeing the student up and down. He’s a strange one. Alec didn’t think he had any classes with the student—he certainly would have remembered someone like him. His baggy robes fit him like a blanket someone had left in the dorms, hiding the details of his frame from casual eyes. Despite his youth, he wore a heavy beard, and a pair of glasses with lenses thick as those on Maimonides’ telescopes sat on his face.

“Alec, you’re up against Wendell,” Olivia said, nodding at the oddly attired student. “Wendell, you and Abraxas will spar against Alec and his familiar, Trystara. Remember, the purpose here is not to wound. You’re to circle, strategize, and try to score hits without being hit yourself. And at first blood, the fight stops. Got it?”

“Got it,” Alec said.

Wendell nodded, his thick frames rocking back and forth dangerously on his face.

Belatedly, Alec realized he’d heard nothing from Trystara. “Do you understand?” he asked the demoness.

Trystara scoffed. “I understand I like a fight,” the demoness said, flicking her claws open and closed. Already, a trace of her demonic nature showed on her face, stretching her smile a touch wider than it should have been. “I don’t know whether I feel like taking orders from you, given the circumstances, but don’t worry, Alec. I’ll put on a good show. I’m not afraid of this overgrown fire-spitter.”

“Alright,” Olivia said, stepping over the fence separating the rest of the field from the students. “Begin!”

“Trystara,” Alec said, trying to fill his voice with a hard tone of command. “I want you to fake left—”

Too late. Far too late.

Wendell raised stubby arms in his baggy robes, and the red dragon struck. It made Alec’s heart skip a beat to see how fast Abraxas unfurled, wiggling back and forth in the air like a ribbon as it shot over the earthen rows. Before Trystara had time to spit out a clever epithet, the dragon’s broad snout hit her between her chin and her breastbone, sending her sprawling on the dirt.

“A point!” Olivia said, stepping over the fence with a worried look on her face. “Alright, both of you back up! No hurting each other!”

She needn’t have bothered. Abraxas was already flittering back to the other side of the field, retreating to its master. Trystara lay staring up at the clear blue sky, clearly disoriented.

“Did anyone count the number of cattle in that stampede?” the demoness grumbled, getting to her feet. “Gods, I knew the dragon had a bit of experience, but ugh! I feel like I’ve had an airship land on me…”

Olivia took the remark to heart.

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