The End of Innocence: Book 3 of the Kinstone series

I hop over to where the final match is to be held. I pan around to see most of the adults and kids waiting for the match to start. One person looks down at me and smiles, stepping back, followed by the next and so forth.

I give everyone a quiet smile, but then close my eyes. I take several long and deep breathes, calming my thoughts. Alexis is going to be tougher than anything I had fought before. Magically, she is one of the more gifted users in the Coven; having mastered in a couple months what took me twice as long in some areas, not saying that I’m a slouch in my studies.

I never got the chance to face her last year due to her losing in the third round. That being said, I have no real idea of what her abilities are. Not even Mandy, our gossip queen and information specialist had any clue of what her talents were. Sufficed to say, I was going into this match blind, and that excited me.

I step pass the boundary of the barrier to see my opponent already standing in her position. I head over to her, watching as Alexis slowly turned to face me.

A gentle smile rose on her face as I drew closer, “Looks like we kept our promise to at least make it to the finals.”

My arms cross over my chest, “Yep, hope Jenn gave you a run for your money.”

She rubs her neck, “You have no idea. The little kitten really knew how to get around my spells. Was a real task just to pin her down.”

I smirk, tapping my foot behind me, “So she showed it to you?”

Alexis stretched out her arms, “Oh yeah, she did. She admitted however that she wanted to show you it in the finals. Then she realized that we still have a couple days left and has time.”

So Jenn was able to perfect it. Now I really want to see her progress from when she and I spoke back in December. But as much as I wanted for her to show it to me, I still have the match in front of me. A match that holds several meanings for the two of us here.

For me, I was now free of the notion that just because I was Rachel’s daughter I somehow was supposed to win. Hell, even being a princess held little meaning in this tournament. I had fought hard, not giving an inch to any of my opponents, and I could tell that they too didn’t care much either. Blood had been spilt, granted from cuts and scrapes, nothing too serious.

For Alexis it would be here last shot to claim top place amongst the children before she was too old to compete anymore. After this, she’d be on the sidelines cheering us on, while still watching over the kids for another year.

I lean into her, resting my head onto her chest.

She smiles, stroking my hair, “No fears or doubts? Nothing holding you back?”

I bob my head, rubbing against her chest. I felt a hand cupping my chin and raising it. I stared up into her eyes, seeing a bright loving smile on her face, “Give me nothing but your best, all right?”

I close my eyes and take a long deep breath, and letting it out slowly, flashing a grin, “You got it.”

Alexis drops back and raises her fist, “Then let’s do this Aria. Show me that even if I lose, that I can pass the mantle onto you and Jenn.”

I slam mine into hers, “Let’s show them a match worthy of the finals.” She grins.

The barrier rose around us, but was then showered in a bright light.

When it subsided, we no longer were standing in the middle of a grassy field. All around I could hear the sounds of rushing water as it flows down embankments. Tall trees dot the landscape with woods and hills off in the distance. It was as if we had been teleported somewhere else.

“Ah…it would appear that the spell worked perfectly.”

I crane my head around to see Mr. Eckerts stepping out of a portal.

My head tilted, “What spell? Is this an illusion?” He kneels down and scoops his hand into the streaming water and tosses it at me, feeling it splash against my face.

He grins, “No illusion. We are actually now somewhere in northern Alabama. I think near a small town called…“

“Madison,” I interrupt, recognizing the smell of the trees.

He shakes his head, “Your mother has always said that you possessed a keen eye. But yes, we indeed are here in Madison. Miriam and a few others ventured that we adults should attempt to spice up the final round for you children. So we came up with the idea of teleporting the participants somewhere, allowing them greater freedom to use their abilities to their fullest.”

Alexis and I both stare at him, each sharing the same look of shock and amazement. I then catch the sight of something to my right, the faint image of what appear to be long familiar apartments. My eyes grow wide as I know that place we are standing is in fact very close to where my old neighborhood was located. We of course are still quite some distance away it, but I know we were close.

“Now there are some restrictions to this spell. The field you are standing on, while larger, is still bordered and held within a barrier. We can’t have you wonder off too far from here,” motioning around him. Our battlefield was at least the size of a football field, which certainly offered us a larger area to play in. Set in corners were small statues that flicker bits of lightning or something else.

I chuckle, shaking my head, “Y’all are nuts you know that?”

He saunters towards us, baring a hearty grin, “We aim to please. The field is also set to revert any damaged caused from your match upon its conclusion. So you are allowed to go all-out if you so wish.”

Alexis chuckles, “Awesome.”

Finally, aside from death matches or even sparring sessions, I could really cut lose and use everything I had. Plus I didn’t have to worry about any lingering damage or fear of discovery by outsiders.

I have to chuckle a bit at the last thought, “outsiders.” I’ve become so engrossed into this new life that I’d sometimes forget that I was adopted into it rather than born. It’s kind of funny how one can so easily forget that.

My gaze turns towards the east, knowing that some very old friends still lived close by and I sort of want to see them. Of course they’d never believe that I was someone they once knew but as a different person.

A sigh slowly come out with a smile as I could still remember this area quite well, and all of the years spent here. But that is all in the past, and I have to push it all out to focus on the present.

Mr. Eckerts holds out his arms to us, “Are you both prepared?”

Alexis and I turn, meeting each other’s gaze, both sharing the same smile. “We’re ready,” speaking in union.”

He takes a short leap backwards, carried along by the wind, landing some distance from us, “Then take your places ladies.”

I hold my fist to her, “Once more onto the breach we go.”

She slams hers into mine, “To where we fight and shall know.”

“The truth of where the path may flow,” speaking in unison.

We grin, taking several steps back, and stare down each other. The wind whisks around me, hearing the sounds of trees swaying against it. The smell of pine and cedar filled my nose, along with the soothing aroma of streaming water. The air is humid, yet surprisingly cool for a northern Alabama summer afternoon.

I slip off my jacket and toss it to the ground, letting the breeze gently kiss my sweat-laden arms. My opponent plants her feet onto the ground, and take a few short breaths before raising her hands. Magic quickly fills the air, becoming thick, almost palatable.

Our eyes lock into a steely glare with the wind whipping itself into a frenzy around us. This is a fight that neither of us wanted to lose, both desiring to push on forward and stand in the final round.

My eyes close, feeling power coursing through my body as I transform into a kitsune. All eight tails swish around me, sensing my fox ears twitching as the wind blows into them. I open my eyes, seeing Alexis still standing there, prepared to fight.

Time slows to a crawl as it always does before the start of something. Our focus becomes absolute. I stare into her eyes and clench my fists, then releasing them. We were ready.

“Let the final match…begin!”

Neither moves for a moment, neither’s breath betrays any inkling of thought, something that might give away intent. The tension grows exorbitantly, with the magic surrounding us becoming heavy as it flows around and from us. I take one long breath and exhale slowly, reaching out to the nearby stream.

Before I could make a move, Alexis is already within two or three paces of me with her hand pulsating in a deep yellow glow. My body instinctively dodges to the right, shoving my own into hers, deflecting the incoming strike further away from me.

She then stamps her foot into the ground and angles her palm downwards, sending a blast of wind from her hand to spin her body around. She moves so quickly it seems as though she is a blur. In the corner of my eye, I catch the faint image of a closed fist streaming in from my right, aiming for my temple.

I duck low, wrapping a tail around her wrist and pull it away from me. I then discover yet another open palm staring me in the face. It glows brightly as what appears to be a shockwave beginning to emanate from it.

My face starts to contort as I could feel it pushing against me. I had little time to fully react, just barely to pull in enough water to shield my body as the full might of her spell impacts against me, sending me flying back a few yards.

My body tosses and rolls on the ground before digging my fingers into the hard Alabama clay. The tips ache and throb, remembering just how hard the soil is around here.

I rise to my feet, shaking away the grass from my shirt. My body feels as though I had been struck by a swinging wall. Joints pop and burn, it had been a long time since I had been thrown that hard. Even during sparring sessions with Silvi, she never landed a blow like that.

I gaze up at Alexis, who already is standing at the ready, prepared from my counterattack. While I do possess a keen eye for detail, and could analyze anything set before me, I lack the ability to fully discern someone’s full strength or completely predict their actions.

What I did have was a slow working and steadily evolving knowledge of an opponent, and just need time to figure out how to counter them.

I crouch low and launch myself at her, arms outstretched, and pulling water out of the stream. My hands clench into claws, instantly separating the water into four distinct bands, and slashes them at her.

Alexis throws up her hand, still glowing from before and thrusts it into the bands, shattering them.

I then appear right below her, hands pull behind my back, in my right was an orb and in my left, three floating kitsune-bi. I stomp my foot into the ground and hurled the kitsune-bi at her first, temporarily blinding her.

I then follow up by shoving the orb into her. Unlike before where the spell would normally just pass through her, the ball of magic crashes into her body with the same force as a physical blow.

My opponent’s body lifts off of the ground, as I press harder and harder into her. The orb finally passes through her body, and then quickly falls back onto her, slamming her into the grass.

Everything suddenly goes quiet, as a slow ringing echoes in my mind. I stagger back a moment, completely dazed and confused as to what just happened. My eyes glance up to see Alexis standing some feet away from me with her hands up and glowing.

Crap…somehow I managed to get caught in an illusion created by her.

The ringing in my ears grew louder and louder as she takes a step towards me. My thoughts rapidly race through the opening moments, trying to figure when exactly the illusion had been cast.

Her hands then clap together, sending another round of ringing through my mind, forcing me to drop to a knee. The noise grows in intensity, making it harder to think properly.

With a second clap of her hands, the ringing turns into a cascade of roaring thunderclaps, each building upon the last, and growing stronger in intensity.

My body rumbles and rocks, feeling more like glass on the cusp of shattering into a million pieces. Wind…she’s a wind mage, I finally was able to think, pushing through the never-ending roar. Sound is carried through the air of course, but even more so through water.

Not only is Alexis a wind mage, but also a sound mage. This meant the moment I erected the wall of water to shield me from her attack was when she placed me under the illusion. I was locked in a prison made of sound as her attack transmitted the spell through the water and then into my ears.

I bit hard into my lips, focusing solely on the pain, driving my mind and thoughts into it. Once I was able to hone in on a singular point, I reach out to it and took hold, pulling myself hard. Energy envelopes my body as it begins to become lighter, slowly losing its connection to the physical world around me. My legs then push upwards, propelling me forward and through my opponent.

As I phased through her, I could hear the roaring thunder slowly becoming quieter, its grip loosening on my mind. I spin in the air as I emerge from her. Fire and water both are then summoned into my hands, clapping them together, creating a miniature tornado, blasting her away.

Alexis staggers for a moment, and then spins around to thrust her palm into my chest. The blow harmlessly glances off of my face, while I fly into her once more, launching little bolts of energy at her.

She staggers once, and then claps her hands, sending a shockwave of sound which threatens to pull me out of my spirit form and yank me back into the physical world.

I dive and Rush towards the stream, landing hard into it. I am then immediately met with a blast of wind as it presses me hard into the creek bed. I lose my concentration and revert back to my physical form. Water rushes around my face.

She walks towards me, hands resting at her side.

My hands then flare out, instantly heating the water, causing it to steam, forming into a mist which steadily panned outwards, concealing me. I stood up in the water, knowing that I didn’t have that long before she’d just send a gust of wind to disperse the fog.

My mind ran through a few short ideas, before I couldn’t wait much longer. But then had one idea, a gamble, but one that could work if executed properly.

I place my hand into the water and send a small amount of magic into the creek bed. My body then instinctively ran towards the woods. I peel out of the fog, catching some of it with me.

A gust of wind then shoots past my head. I turn back to see her running after me and then flying, using the wind to propel her into the air.

My eyes flare wide; oh you have got to be kidding me.

I enter the woods, feeling at home amongst the trees, and not only because I used to live here. My light frame then leaps deeper and deeper into the trees, making my movements as random as possible, using my tails to grab hold of trunks and branches to instantly change my direction.

Another blast of wind erupts past me, now an actual blade made of wind. It slices into the tree branch that I was aiming for.

I use some of the humid air and condense it. The accumulated moisture quickly freezes into a platform, to which I then use as a springboard, leaping back towards my pursuer. My body then reenters its spiritual state as I rush at her, blasting Alexis with a couple of bolts. The young woman is knocked off of her course and is flung into a tree.

I use this brief moment to use another Rush to reach the forest floor. I hold out a hand near the base of a tree, forming an orb. Once it could sustain itself, I conceal it with another spell. Not wanting to linger too long, I make a dash for the mouth of the woods.

As I exit, Alexis drops over me, sending yet another series of wind blades towards me. My body instantly reacted, dodging and weaving my way through the bevy of attacks. She then lands and proceeds to thrust her open palms at me.

I deflected many of her strikes, which became increasingly more precise and quicker.

You can’t begin to imagine how lucky I am to be a kitsune right now. I once more draw upon my training from Yukari, allowing my body to weave through every arm thrust and palm strike she throws at me. But for every three dodges I make, one lands home.

My body aches with every blow as if I were being punched repeatedly wherever she landed a hit. I would counter each of her strikes, feeling them growing heavier, using my tails as springboards and to quickly change my direction on the field.

I have to keep moving, kicking and punching past her constant offense and attempting to break her defense.

We danced around the field, leaping from place to place. I then shot out two more orbs at her, the first she dodged, actually destroying it as it returned. The second disappeared without her notice.

My feet then land into the creek bed, where I hold out my arms to gather up water and send it flying towards her. The water engulfs her body, pushing her downstream.

I see a smirk form on her lips as she claps her hands again, causing her prison to disperse. She then caused a small maelstrom to form, combining her wind magic with the water, finally shooting it towards me.

I feel my body getting swept up into the torrential storm. It was hard to think the more I spun around, becoming dizzy. The stream then crashes me onto the ground, some distance from the creek.

The wind then shifts as she lands a few feet from me, a broad smile rose on her face, “Is that all you’ve got hunny?”

I smirk, flipping back onto my feet, “Not quite,” enveloping my body on magic and Rushing at her again, sending another series of bolts into her body.

After staggering for a moment, she counters by twirling in her heel, and brings down a wind-infused kick, striking me in the side. My body then explodes into a puff of smoke, revealing a leaf floating in the wind. Her hand quickly rises up to catch an incoming kick to the head.

She smiles, slowly turning to look at me, “Nice try sweetie.”

She then yanks me towards her and lands a palm strike square into my chest, sending me flying towards the creek. I bounce a couple yards, landing hard. Alexis appears before me. I was slow to stand up, coughing slightly, trying to catch my breath.

“Feeling all right?” she asks, still walking towards me.

I finally manage to fully get to my feet, giving a short couple bobbles of the head, “Yeah…I’m good. Just need a moment to catch my breath.”

She places a hand onto her hip, “This has been a lot of fun Aria. A lot more than I ever thought.”

A grin rises on my face, finally steadying my breath, “Oh yeah, definitely agree with you on that.” I raise my head and gaze at her.

Just a little more, I thought, just need a little more time.

I unfurl my tails, summoning little kitsune-bi at their tips. I sweep my right foot back and begin to have them orbit around my body. My opponent’s smile grows brighter, clearly showing that she indeed has been enjoying out match, so am I.

This tournament absolutely is exactly what I need to drive out whatever lingering fears and doubts I’ve been having over the past few weeks.

I’m also fighting for my personal pride, not worrying about upholding the honor of my family or protecting those I care about. This is all just meant to be fun, and spend time with some of the closest friends I ever made in my life.

I tap the ground with a tail, launching myself at her, hurtling several tiny spectral balls of flame, which I follow up by Rushing, tapping my tail into the ground, sending another orb into the ground as I send bolts of magic and kitsune-bi at her.

She brushes away several of the attacks, countering by actually grabbing for me with a wind-infused palm. I pass through her, stomping my foot into the ground, twirling around and rushing back into her, shooting her with another series of bolts, several hitting their mark.

My opponent again counters by grabbing the air, and hurls it down on me. My body bounces hard off the ground, but then rolls out of the way as she then brought yet another strike onto me.

Even in my spirit form, her attacks were really hitting me hard, and if it wasn’t for my barrier, I’d be in a great deal more pain and possibly suffering from more severe injuries.

Not to say that I’m not hurting, because oh Lord am I in pain. My muscles are aching to the point where I thought they were about to rip themselves apart. My joints screamed in agony, wanting to lock up on me rather than continue fighting.

This match is far and beyond anything that I would experience during any one of my sparring sessions while at home. But there still is also the fact that I wasn’t even fighting more my life. There is an end to this, and it was hopefully coming up soon.

I tumble back onto my feet, launching another kitsune-bi at Alexis, while drawing up more water from the creek, shielding a retaliatory strike from her. The impact creates a shockwave that knocks us both back.

While hurtling through the air, I tap onto the ground, sending another orb into it while also using it to flip me to where my feet are behind me. I quickly freeze some of the water that still lingers in the air and Rush once more towards her.

My body passes through Alexis’, firing one more series of bolts at her. My opponent counters one final time with a concentrated windblast to my back, pulling me out of my spirit form and sends me flying a few yards while she herself lands in the creek.

I flip on the ground, landing on my stomach, knocking some breath out of me. I was spent, my shield flickers a deep red, meaning not much remains.

“Looks like the match is decided kiddo.”

I crane my head up to see Alexis kneeling in the water. “I know you can only use your Rushes a certain number of times before you start to hurt yourself, and they have been your trump card in this match. But we both know this has to end. Your shield is low and it won’t take much to finish it off.”

My heart pounds heavily into the ground, pulling my hand out in front of me. I could feel that I have very little magic left in me, basically on fumes. My body is equally as exhausted if not more so. My golden eyes peered into hers.

Her shield also glows with a soft reddish hue, meaning she was at least at 20% or less.

Alexis then staggers to her feet, right arm holding her left. She stares at me, a soft tender smile adorns her face, “You fought hard hunny, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. When this is over, I promise to take you out for something sweet.” She drops her arm to her side, “But this match is mi-“

She stops mid-step and struggles to move. Her gaze quickly shoots down to see her arms and feet encased in ice. Her head then lifts to see that an icy vein from where she is standing and follows it all the way back to me.

My hand is enveloped in an icy mist, forming a direct connection along the frozen path. My eyes were half-open from exhaustion as I lay there on the ground.

She smirks, “Hunny, you know that this isn’t enough to hold me and time is about to run out. With your shield as low as it is, you will still lose.”

I sit up to my knees and pull my right hand from the ice, “I know, but I needed to find some way to keep you still.”

Alexis looks around her, seeing a small circle of light starting to glow just a few yards from her. She pans around to see another and another. Her eyes grow wide as the revelation sinks in.

A bright, shining grin rises on her face, “Oh you conniving, clever little fox.”

Wind then begins to swirl from within her bindings, causing the ice to crack. I hold up arms, causing the first circle to revealing the very first orb I placed into the creek.

Soon the scattered orbs begin to emerge from their resting places from around the field. Her bonds crack even more, threatening to shatter. I clap my hands together, sending the first orb into her, followed by the next and then two more.

Each orb strikes her and then flies back, hitting her a second time. With each attack, her body lurches, with her shield flickering redder and redder, almost teetering on collapse.

My opponent finally is able to free herself from her frozen prison and fell into the water. She raises her head, panting heavily, but baring a massive smile, “You…You are truly something hunny.”

Wind then forms around her, slowly at first but steadily growing stronger, “But this isn’t enough.”

I rest back onto my knees, “I know…that’s why I left a fifth one back on the woods.”

She tilts her head, as a pale blue light begins to shine in the corner of her eye. Before she could react, the final orb races towards her, striking into her body once and then a second time, instantly shattering her shield.

The sound of hands clapping echoes over the field as Mr. Eckerts emerges from wherever he disappeared off to. “The match is over, the match is over. The final winner of this year’s tournament is, Aria Edge.”

I collapse back onto the grass, panting heavily as my own shield finally shatters. My body aches and refuses move at all. The sounds of trampling grass draw closer. I crane my head up to see Alexis hobbling over to where I am.

She kneels down beside me, resting a hand onto my shoulder, baring a tired grin, “You are just something else. How far back did you plan that?”

I muster what little strength I did have left and rolled onto my side. My head then plopped into her chest, feeling her wrapping her arms around me. “About when you slammed me into the creek that first time.”

She lets out a tired chuckle, holding me close, “You silly little fox.” I roll my cheek into her still damp shirt.

Mr. Eckerts walks over to us and kneels down, “We’ll be teleporting back real soon, so hold still,” speaking softly as the field around us begins to glow in an intense bright light. The two of us nod slowly.

I look up towards the hill, now seeing the faint sight of the bottom cul-de-sac of Jarret Lane. I knew that roughly a quarter of a mile north of where we were was my house. A soft smile rises on my lips, seeya Madison. The field then goes completely white.