Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Bastian pushed the earth wall back into the arena. “Good. That was better than I’d predicted. Roses are dangerous not just in the initial explosion, but also in the lasting effects of the debris. The latter was the real reason they were banned.”
Kerrigan swallowed and looked to Audria. “Your leg?”
“It’ll heal.” She gritted her teeth and came back to her feet. “I won’t let it happen again.”
Bastian nodded. “And our final artifact for today.” He removed a white square from the bag. It looked delicate. “Did you read about this one? It’s slightly less common.”
Kerrigan shook her head. “I didn’t get to that. Have we seen those before?”
Audria gulped. “I don’t think I have.”
But Roake had gone pale. “I saw a man felled with one at Lethbridge while in battle.”
“What did it do?”
“Made everything go white. I was several paces away, and still, my ears rang from the explosion it created. The male had blood coming out of his eyes and ears. Those around him dropped to their knees, screaming.”
“Indeed. Rarer, but also more dangerous. This is called a blanc. They emit a noise so loud as to burst your internal organs on impact. Those who are not directly in contact with them suffer with hearing loss and blurry vision, as you described.”
Roake swallowed. “You’re not going to throw that one today, are you?”
“How would you counter something like this?” Bastian asked instead.
Kerrigan looked at him blankly, and Audria just went pale. That meant he was going to use that thing today.
Bastian laughed softly. “You asked for this. These artifacts have been put away for good reason, but if you want to get better, we have to go up against our own nightmares. I am not here to hurt you.” He gestured to the white square in his hand. “I am here to train you.”
“But how can we train against exploding internal organs?” Audria gasped.
“Air helps,” Bastian said. “You block your ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, so the white smoke can’t get inside your body, inside your brain. Then, you push outward with the air to dispel it. The good news is that it doesn’t travel like a noir or roses. It might hit a handful of people around the target, but it is more a singular weapon. Another reason you won’t see them often.”
They spent the next half hour working on using air to dispel the smoke and to block access to their minds. An internal hemorrhage was a terrifying thought. Kerrigan was starting to understand why the artifacts had been safely tucked away.
When Bastian finally threw the white orb, the three of them were several yards away, prepared for the onslaught. It still hurt, like her brain was rattling around in her skull. Even with pushing back against the smoke with her air magic, it was awful. She couldn’t imagine how anyone could survive that up close.
“That’s all for today. You all look worse for wear,” Bastian said. “We’ll train twice a week in between your other apprenticeship work. Kerrigan, I’ll expect you to finish the book this week and make reports on the various artifacts in the vault and the ones you are most likely to encounter in battle.”
Kerrigan couldn’t do much more than nod as she grasped the book in her hand and walked off the arena floor with her friends.
Audria shot her a look. “I don’t know whether to thank you or hate you for inviting us to this.”
“I have never been so glad to be working on regulatory law,” Roake grumbled.
“We’ll appreciate it the next time we need it,” Kerrigan said. “Even if it sucks right now.”
“And it does suck,” Audria groaned and then headed down to the baths to clean up.
Roake followed after her.
Kerrigan had too much work to do. And still, she couldn’t keep from smiling that they’d actually done it. They could go up against magical artifacts.
36
THE ILLUSIONS
With how busy Kerrigan was, she almost forgot what day it was until she felt the pull from Tieran.
“Scales,” she groaned and hauled herself up to the aerie. “Is it already the full moon?”
I am insulted that you could forget, Tieran grumbled. After you forced me to carry that horrid female on my back for two straight days, you could remember that I exist.
“I remember you exist,” Kerrigan said with an eye roll. “You’re so dramatic. I started magical artifact training, and once I get the basics down, we’re going to need to train together. I’ll always have you with me.”
Fine, Tieran grumbled.
“What’s with you today? You haven’t copped this much attitude in a long time.”
Tieran huffed and blew a hot blast of air into her face. Then, his face fell. It is the anniversary of Risa’s death.
“Oh,” Kerrigan whispered. “I am so sorry. Do you need to skip tonight? I can enter the spirit plane alone.”