Magi’s Path (Aether’s Revival Book 3)

Gin and Chen’s fights were amazing to watch. Chen declared he’d only be using his sword with no aether, as he wanted a real test. The resulting best-of-three went all three rounds— Gin was gasping at the end of it, but won the last match, sealing his victory.

Mindie was quick to rush out to help him, and Gregory frowned. The entire time he’d been beside her and Klim, Mindie had seemed stiff and their conversations had been stilted, as if she was suddenly uncomfortable around him.

“I’ll be watching this next part with interest. Don’t let me down,” Klim said.

“What’re you talking about?” Gregory asked. “You know why I wasn’t supposed to change?”

“Yes. It was a concession for us to have our students go early today,” Klim grinned.

Mindie made it back to them, not looking Gregory’s way. “They want you back out there,” she told him.

“Yeah, okay… uh… did I upset you?” Gregory asked awkwardly.

Mindie blinked, finally looking at him. “Huh? No.” The relief on his face made Mindie smile.

“Okay, good. It just felt like I’d done something wrong. I’m glad I didn’t. Sorry to bring it up, Mindie.” Giving her an awkward smile, he headed toward Chen.

Mindie watched him go and touched her chest.

“So maybe a one-sided interest?” Klim asked her from a few steps behind Mindie.

Mindie inhaled sharply. “What? I was just checking my medallion.”

Klim didn’t call her out for her obvious lie. Instead, she stepped up next to Mindie. “He’s going to be someone the empire knows in time. I can feel it. His skill with the naginata alone would catch attention, but with foresight on top of it and with the full backing of his clan, he will become very well-known.”

Mindie frowned, her shoulders hunching slightly and her fox ears lying flat. “Yes, he will.”

“And he doesn’t care if someone has eurtik blood,” Klim added, watching Mindie from the corner of her eye. “One of his wives has snow owl eurtik blood, and the other is part dwarf. Some of his friends include a part lioness eurtik and a part squirrel eurtik. Most of the higher magi and some of the clans will detest him just for that. He’ll need strong people who have his best intentions at the forefront to help him.”

“Yes, he will…” Mindie whispered, clearly not seeing herself as strong.

“And maybe a healer, as well?” Klim added.

Mindie’s ears rose and she glanced at Klim, then away, her ears going back down. “I’m sure a healer will be beside him, one who can be useful to him.”

“A healer who cares about his health and isn’t tied to a clan already,” Klim said, nodding. “Can’t be many of them out there, now can there?” Without waiting for a reply, she walked out of the hall after Gregory.

Mindie blinked slowly. “But… I’m not good enough…” she whispered, watching the other healer walk away. Her ears twitched in agitation. But if they don’t have a healer in their clan at all… The thought trailed off as she saw a tall, broad-chested, older man step onto the arena floor.

As he walked out of the tunnel, Gregory wondered what the last surprise for the day was going to be. A moment later, he had his answer when Egil walked out of the far tunnel with his helmet in one hand and a naginata in the other.

“Our last bit of fighting today is two bouts. The first is Armsmaster Egil Magi-killer against Apprentice Pettit, with no aether being used. After that, it will be Pettit against myself, Armsmaster Watashi, and Armsmaster Magi-killer, with only Pettit allowed to use aether,” Chen announced.

Everyone in the crowd stirred at what Chen stated. Mindie felt her heart go into her throat at what were very clearly one-sided fights. She expected Gregory’s wives to say something, but when she looked at them, they were clearly discussing the upcoming fights and not objecting.

“Armsmaster, it is an honor,” Gregory said, bowing to Egil.

“I want everything you have. Hold nothing back or we might have a worse outcome than the last time we fought,” Egil said, stone-faced. “Understood?”

Feeling the bloodlust coming off Egil, Gregory stiffened, and he bowed formally. “I will do my best to win, sir.”

“Good,” Egil said, donning his helmet. “I want to be tested as I haven’t been in years.”

Gin stepped in between them. “Fighters, bow to the audience.”

Gregory bowed as required, and was set by the time Gin called for the fight to begin. He was glad he was ready, as Egil was on him almost immediately. High block, low block, jump the sweep, counter high, block low… Gregory kept a running tally in his head as he fought, looking for an opening to take the lead.

The fight stretched as they clashed time and again, neither gaining an advantage long enough to win. Egil was wearing a smile the entire time— his blood sang in his ears and he felt alive. Gregory’s lips were upturned, as well, as he had to give everything he could to just match the older man.

The mud on the arena floor had been slowly freezing since it had stopped sleeting. A small patch of ice caused Gregory to misstep, much as Klim had in the mud. Egil’s naginata caught him in the calf, thigh, then ribs as Gregory slipped.

“Pettit, out!” Chen called.

Mindie was there before Klim could get there, putting her hands on Gregory, who was wheezing. “Bruised calf and thigh, one broken rib.”

Klim nodded. “I’ll take care of the bruises.”

Egil pushed his helmet up. “I did not like that ending the way it did.”

“I didn’t know ice had formed already…” Gregory hissed as his rib knitted together.

“Well, you will know better for the next fight,” Egil said, pulling his helmet down and backing away.

“For this fight, Magus Klim will adjudicate,” Master Chen said. “Magus?” Klim stood up and walked over to stand in the middle of the arena. “Again, a reminder that footing can mean death. I doubt Pettit will misstep again with his foresight up.”

“Why are you doing this?” Mindie asked softly as Gregory sat up.

Gregory blinked, pushing his mask up to meet her eyes and feeling his throat go dry. Mindie’s eyes were dual-colored. The center of her irises was colored a blue so pale, it was almost white. About halfway out, they became a deep red and the divide was nearly star-shaped.

Clearing his throat, he finally answered her, “Because this will push me to be better. The hardest paths make the best magi, and I need to be strong.” He gave her a smile. “And thankfully, you’ve been kind enough to help me keep going. Thanks.”

Mindie blinked slowly, her ears twitching. She looked away abruptly. “I’ll do what I can.”

“I appreciate it, Mindie. They do, too,” Gregory said, motioning over to where Yukiko and Jenn were sitting. “All three of us do. We respect your position and the fact you have to be neutral, but if we can do anything and not break the rules, please let us know? We’d like to repay your kindness.”

“Okay…” Mindie whispered. She looked over at Yukiko and Jenn and saw them watching her with smiles, giving her a wave. “I will.”

“Glad to hear it,” Gregory said, standing up. “Time to face down three of the scariest fighters inside the walls… Then, maybe, they’ll let me clean up.” He looked down at her, as Mindie was still kneeling, her gaze locked on Yukiko and Jenn. “Looks like you could use a cleanup, too. This mud gets everywhere.”

Mindie’s eyes went wide and her face turned scarlet. Jerking her gaze away from his wives, she looked up at him, her mouth opening and closing. When she saw his puzzled expression, she blushed harder and lurched to her feet before rushing away.

“Ugh, what did I do this time?” Gregory sighed as Mindie fled.

“Pettit, are you ready?” Klim asked.

“Yes,” Gregory said, turning back to the others.

Taking a deep breath, Gregory faced the three dangerous men. Exhaling, he felt his nerves die off. He bowed when told to. His aether was only half of what it should be because of fighting against the Hardened Fist earlier, but even reduced, he felt good about his chances.

When Klim backed away, Gregory triggered his foresight and let the first few seconds of the fight play out for himself. He found two points where he could change things easily, and looked down each of those paths briefly before Klim’s hand came down and the fight started.

Gregory let himself flow in the combat, following his foresight and going with the future or onto a different path as needed. Chen was the first one out— he was good, but as he wasn’t an armsmaster and wasn’t using aether, he was the weakest of the three. It took Gregory nearly a minute to separate the three enough so he could manage to eliminate Chen.

Chen grunted as the naginata slipped past his block and caught him in the neck. Hacking, he raised an arm and backed away as Klim called him out. As he walked backward to keep his eyes on the fight, he replayed the scene in his mind— he’d managed the perfect block, but at the last instant, Gregory shifted the naginata. He twisted the haft so the spine of the blade caught Chen’s sword, riding his block to guide the point into Chen’s neck.

 Mindie rushed to his side, finding the damage already well underway to being healed. “I’m surprised you were out first, sir,” she said.

“No, he picked me for good reason. If I’d been able to use aether, he would have gone for Gin first,” Chen said, his eyes focused on the fight. “You might not fight, but you should focus on this. Two of the best wielders of a naginata in the empire are before you.”

Mindie looked back in time to see Gregory go from trying to balance the fight between Egil and Gin to going all out. He pushed at Egil hard for a second, which brought Gin in. Digging his foot down fractionally, he flung mud at Egil and turned on Gin. Egil turned his head as the mud came at him, but that delayed him coming back into the fight, even if it did guarantee he wouldn’t be blinded.

Gin grunted as Gregory spun on him. The moment their weapons crossed, Gin felt the difference. Gregory hesitated at times during their sparring, as if he was still finding his way, even if he was always in the right spot at the right time. Right now, there was only power and certainty behind Gregory’s attacks.

As Egil rushed to come back into the fight, Gregory spun again, throwing the naginata at Egil before a barrier appeared behind him, stopping Gin’s attack. Egil had not expected the throw, but he managed to stop it from hitting his heart. It still hit him square in the shoulder and staggered him back a step.

That delay allowed Gregory the time to spin back on Gin, a second barrier forming to stop the armsmaster’s next attack. Gin tried to backpedal, but he was too late— Gregory was inside the weapon’s reach. Hands grasping, he caught Gin and threw him, taking a glancing hit on a shin with the flat of wooden blade as he did.

Egil let go of his naginata with his right arm, acknowledging that he would’ve been crippled if Gregory’s weapon had been real. With his naginata clutched in his left hand, he’d taken a single step when his friend came flying at him. Both older men had to let go of their weapons or risk impaling each other before they collided.

Gin rolled off Egil and was reaching for the haft of the naginata closest to him when a boot caught him under the chin, and he went spinning away. Gregory dropped to a knee long enough to punch Egil in the throat before grabbing a naginata and standing again. Rolling to his feet, Gin blinked as Egil raised a hand in the air, staying on the ground and trying to breathe.

Seeing Gregory stand with a weapon, Gin laughed, weaponless. “I surrender,” he said, raising his arms.

Gregory started to relax before throwing himself to the left. Gin hissed in disappointment when the throwing star he’d plucked from its hidden pocket went sailing harmlessly past Gregory.

Gregory turned back to Gin, and Gin dropped to his knees, lowering his head. “This time, it will be my life,” Gin said.

Gregory nodded, stepping forward and lightly tapping Gin on the back of the head. The moment he did, he pulled his helmet off, looking at his wives with a bright smile before falling to his knees.

Gin caught him and snorted. “Exhausted?”

“Had to push to make sure you meant it that time…” Gregory mumbled.