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Aleah’s glance met mine in evident synergy. We had a real chance this time. We were just waiting for Mama Claire’s flame signal—
—which came on the next heartbeat.
Mama Rae and Mama Claire held their wands up, preparing their first spells.
But we stayed still.
I laid my hand in the middle of Aleah’s back, focusing pure water magic into her. The cerulean glow that flickered into existence around her grew and flared into navy, and Aleah brandished her sword, channeling some of the magic into it. Water seemed to cover its entire blade, as if waves rushed forth from it, eager to strike their foe.
I dropped my hand. This was only possible now because we had talked and come to an understanding. Our failure at the final practical exam would not repeat itself. We were prepared and confident.
Mama Claire’s flame disappeared high overhead, and Aleah rushed forward while I took a right. The sea stared back at me and I prepared a quick mobility spell, conscious that my time was limited. Mama Rae would certainly keep an eye on me, but she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to bring down Aleah immediately. It was a bit of a gamble, but we had backup plans and Aleah was more than capable.
Using an Airstep spell to hurry above the waves, I made it far enough to be out of reach. I had, at most, four minutes to prepare. I let myself drop in the sea, using a simple bubble channel to allow myself to breathe. I sank to the depths.
I couldn’t see the fight like this, but I didn’t need to. I had my role, and Mama Rae should be unable to leave Mama Claire alone with a water-empowered Aleah.
I felt the strength of each wave rushing past me, swelling with ambition.
Can you take this on, Mothers?
...
My feet slid across the beach. It was just like skating across ice. The movement had come naturally then, but this required further concentration. With each leg stroke, I funneled some of May’s water magic under my feet, allowing me to make grand strides toward our mothers.
Their earlier shocked expressions still had me in a fit of giggles. They’d definitely never seen anything like this.
It was quite fortunate it had disrupted their focus. A few more seconds bought.
Mother Rae’s sand walls came and went as she tried to surround me, but I was much too fast, smoothly switching up my feet and weaving in between them. Mother Claire’s mixed barrage of flame bullets and arrows were more of a threat, covering large sections of the beach in a rain of fiery flames. But with a swing of my sword, I slashed through the hazardous ones, leaving clouds of hot steam behind.
My gaze met theirs, sending thrills down my arms and spine. They were just getting warmed up, but so was I. And more importantly, they were properly distracted.
I rushed past Mother Claire, heading straight for Mother Rae, successfully completing phase one. Her surprise was only momentary, but it still allowed me closer. That’s right. Water made them think we wanted to out Mother Claire first, but that was bait. The real threat to our plan was Mother Rae. I couldn’t let her counter May’s spell.
“Rae! Quicksand!” Mother Claire shouted behind me.
Quicksand? What a weird choice…
But as I closed in, ignoring the sandy whirlpool that would not stop my high-speed skating, I started to lose traction, almost stumbling in the process. I dared a glance down only to find my water vaporizing as it touched the beach. Mother Claire was channeling her fire through the moving sand?! Pushing as much water under my feet as I could, I hastily shifted and kicked off toward the sea.
Reaching the edge of the beach, water rushing across my hot feet, I turned to find our mothers grinning. I couldn’t help but think there was some truth to the exaggerations still circulating among the students. Together, they really were a couple of leviathans.
Flame arrows and rock shards created a threatening curtain ahead of me.
Hm. That suits me just as well.
Switching to a low one-handed stance, I gave it my full attention. Every projectile had a path, every attack a tell. Being a swordswoman in the age of magic meant recognizing those patterns and counteracting them.
I slashed at a fire arrow and bent over a volley of rocks, using the momentum to kick at another while letting my body follow and spin. I was only halfway through my reserves of water magic; I used it to turn faster, slashing at a whole storm of bullets. The water pressure and torque my pivoting produced pulverized the incoming curtain. Only, there was another one behind it.
I couldn’t let a single one touch me. My ability to absorb magic was just like the sword in my hands: double-edged. It worked perfectly well against most casters, but as soon as more than one attribute came into play, I had to exercise caution. Even a tiny amount would disrupt the natural flow of magic in my body, which caused all kinds of sensory problems.
I batted away some more rocks, smaller, more predictable. Mother Rae was moving. I kept an eye on her.
I often trained with her now, working on my muscle memory and spontaneous recognition. My body easily followed through each deflection. Coupled with my sword classes and fitness training, my speed had gained tremendously.
I launched myself back and gave two high kicks, using the water that sprung forth to deflect two chunks of rocks. Where I had been standing were two short earth spikes.
“That’s all you have, Mother Rae?” I shouted only to feel the smallest disturbance in my flow, immediately eating my words. That was all it took for another succession of quick fire bullets to coalesce into my body. She’d distracted me!
Mother Rae rushed in close and swung a wave of sand at my legs, making me stumble backwards and fall in my dizziness. She approached me prudently and confidently—I tried to hastily push myself up and stopped in my tracks, hearing the roar of success.
“Mother Rae,” I started. I probably had never grinned this widely in my life. “You might want to look up.”
“I’m afraid your plan was obvious from the start, Aleah. I will applaud your ingenuity, though. Muddy soil.”
My body sunk in the sand until only my head remained above ground. Mother Rae was as collected as ever as the tidal wave crashed all around us. She was using her own water magic to create a bubble of air for us. With expert control, the water of her spell rushed past in tandem with the billowing wave before cycling back through the sand.
“You’re sacrificing Mother Claire?!”
She shrugged with a bit of a smile that faded in and out through her composure. “Your mother can handle herself.”
“She can’t swim, though?!”
She chuckled. The sound reminded me of Mother Claire’s future wrath. “Well, if she doesn’t make it, I can always give her mouth-to-mouth later.”
“Urgh. Mom!”
Suddenly, she held up her wand and used the flowing sand to form a large dome around us, blocking all water, all light, all sound.
“You’ll have to do better than that if you want to beat us, girls. I thought we taught you to fight together?”
“You’re saying that as if you didn’t just abandon Mother Claire!”
There was a reverberating blast as the hardened sand surrounding us cracked but did not break.
“Here’s your sister to the rescue.”
I could only watch as she prepared another spell. While Mother Claire excelled in tactics, Mother Rae’s strength lay in strategy. In her mind, this fight was already won. It was a really frustrating thought, but May wouldn’t be so easily bested. She had to be aware of that.
Another booming hit struck the dome.
...
“Mama Rae! I can’t believe you just let Mama Claire get struck like that!”
I sent forth another light but quick combustion spell, watching as a series of explosions ripped the air apart along its track, forcing our mother back.
“Oh, is she out?”
“Look for yourself!”
“Ah, but I can’t let you free your dear sister.” Her teasing tone morphed into a longing sigh. “My love will have to be patient for a moment.”
I kept myself mobile to avoid Mama Rae’s water and sand grappling at my legs and quickly uplifted a pillar of sand from under Aleah, pulling her out of her prison in one smooth shot. But Mama Rae was precise. She had been aiming to keep me from moving too much. The instant I slowed to focus on freeing Aleah, she seized the opportunity to capture me. With a jolt of the frigid winters, I felt both my ankles lose all poise.
I gasped.
Too cold!
The extreme temperature difference had me falling face first into the sand. I hurriedly looked up, blowing sand out of my face to see whether we would lose right then and there.
But it was two-on-one now.
Aleah, body and swimsuit covered in wet sand, jumped down the pillar, striking down at Mama Rae.
Her sword only met a quickly cast rock shield. Mama Rae’s reaction speed was incredible and her choice perfectly adapted. The coin-size shield was all it took to stop Aleah’s attack. She grinned and cast yet another spell. Aleah didn’t have time to recover from the fall and chase her; sand stormed upwards in a sharp and broad vortex all around her. The fact that Mama Rae was using earth magic to achieve the same result a simple wind spell would have was not lost on me. Her spells had always been awe-inspiring.
With a solid grip on her sword, Aleah walked over to me.
“Are you okay, May?”
“Yeah, just a bit of cold,” I replied, healing the frostbite and heating my ankles up to ambient temperature.
“Mother Rae is ruthless.”
“Yes.”
She really was. In her classes, she was as easy-going as she was at home—unless someone decided to try their luck—but when she held duels and mock fights, she didn’t do us any favors.
Having treated both my feet, I looked up and let out a short giggle. Aleah was still completely covered in sand. Pushing the water behind us over my head, I washed it off her body as well as mine.
“Oh, thanks.”
“What now, plan C?”
“I thought we were way past that one. Let’s just wing it, May.”
She held out her hand, helping me up to my feet.
“Hmm… okay. Let’s stick together.”
“Yes. Give me anything you can spare.”
“I don’t have that much left, but they can’t have much more either, right? This’ll come down to you and Mama Claire in the end.”
I laid my hand against her back once more.
“Wind, huh?” she whispered, sensing my magic.
“We need speed. That’s our advantage over them.”
Stability was the essence of Mama Rae’s fighting style and Mama Claire’s was centralized firepower. We couldn’t beat them at their own game. The tidal wave had proven that.
“Alright. Strike and adapt.”
“Yes.”
We turned to our mothers, both imposingly standing where a large rock formation stood in opposition to the sea. It worked as a defense and an impossible retreat. Stability. Too high to climb. Magic running out.
“Aleah. Do you think you can get me close?”
“Idea?”
“Idea.”
“Alright. I can do that.”
“Let’s go.”
We ran in.
They held their fire.
From behind Aleah, I shot at Mama Rae, spacing my bullets with the sole intent of wasting her magic. She intercepted them easily but this kind of shielding would probably only hold as long as my own magic pool. Meanwhile, Aleah used the wind pressure her Spell Sword produced to bat Mama Claire’s arrows away and even split through a whole flame lance. I felt the rush of heat as we pushed forward, drying our hair in one fell swoop.
Seeing as we were at a stalemate but quickly growing closer, our mothers looked at each other and nodded. I knew what was coming. The question was, which one?
I would have my answer in the next moment as they both pointed their wands high and let loose their distinct spells, combining in a crude but effective way. Rocks fell from the sky—on fire. Some were even melting so hot Mama Claire’s flames were.
“May?”
Aleah wouldn’t be able to cut through that.
“Split!”
We split up, but we kept our objective. I headed for our mothers regardless. This was a large-scale attack. It was our chance as long as we could avoid—my legs shook as the rocks started hitting the beach. I cast a quick body fortification spell, just robust enough to sustain the tremors, and continued forward. I caught a glance of Aleah, deftly cutting through the center, weaving through the falling chaos without any hint of hesitation or shaking. In her stride, there was still the thrill of achievable victory. I followed suit. I wouldn’t squander this.
We made it through the heavy shower at about the same time. Both our mothers purposefully aimed at Aleah, but they were both breathing heavily. As they let loose their respective spells, I smirked and prepared my own. I watched as Mama Rae’s water ray and Mama Claire’s typical flame lance became a scalding wave of steam, visible so hot it was. Aleah cut through it with one massive slash of air, while I finished my cast.
“Pitfall!”
I had used almost all of my remaining magic, keeping only the bare minimum to stay standing. In exchange, this was probably the deepest hole I had ever dug—and the quickest.
Mama Claire screamed as she descended. I didn’t hear anything from Mama Rae’s end.
Aleah stared at me.
“May. You’re a genius.”
“Thanks, I owe it to Mama Rae.”
She chuckled and headed for Mama Claire’s pitfall. I made my way over to Mama Rae’s, noticing the formation of the beach’s layers. The sand was completely soaked down to the underground layer and below that was rock all the way down. I looked at our mother, grinning.
“Alright, you got me!” she shouted from far, far down there.
“This is not over!”
My head snapped to the other pitfall. My eyes popped out at the sight. That was fire under Mama Claire’s feet! She had propelled herself out of the pitfall just like that?!
I coalesced the last of my magic through my wand and sent a water ray at her only to have it completely brushed off.
Oh, we were all in for it, weren’t we?
I fell back as I lost all strength I had in my limbs. Ah, right. No more magic. I wasn’t moving for the next hour.
Fortunately, my head fell to the side, so I would be able to watch Aleah fight off Mama Claire. But it wouldn’t be much of a contest. If Mama Claire got close, it was over. Her martial arts would ensure that. And she did just that. Aleah was fast, but she would need to get close as well to strike. And as she maneuvered to do so, Mama Claire reached out to grapple her—however—Aleah suddenly disappeared. At least, that’s how it looked in that instant, but the soft tea green glow around her had faded away as she held her blade at our mother’s neck. There were deep tracks in the shifted sand.
Mama Claire was shocked, but she soon laughed.
“I yield,” she said, holding up her hands.
Aleah lowered her blade and glanced at me. I was also grinning.
“We did it!” we both cheered loudly.
If I were able, I would have rushed over, but Aleah did so instead, kneeling and picking up my upper body.
“Good job, Aleah.”
“Good job, May.”
Our smiles matched. Aleah picked me up in her arms. It felt like we hadn’t had such a deep connection and understanding in a long time. This victory meant a lot more than simply beating our mothers or taking revenge for that landslide of a practical exam.
“Thanks.”
“Back at you.”
Distantly, I heard Mama Rae’s shout. “Can you tell May to help me out? I’ll be out of magic if I do!”
Mama Claire answered all too sweetly, “May’s out already. You’ll have to stay there or submit, Rae.”
There was no answer for a moment before a low rumble could be heard.
Leaving our mothers behind, Aleah brought me to the spot where they had set up our things along with two beach chairs and a beach umbrella. Thankfully, the tidal wave hadn’t reached that far, so everything was safe. She set me down in one of the beach chairs, and we both waited and looked on as Mama Claire did the same with Mama Rae.
“Thanks, Claire.”
She didn’t answer. A foreseeable outcome.
“Can we get a review?” I tentatively asked.
My question seemed to trigger some real excitement out of Mama Rae, though.
“You both did amazing! Great use of your environment and excellent magic application. That water-skating was absolutely genius, too. You get full marks from me.”
Mama Claire continued, “Yes, that was some good spellcasting. As your mother said, using water to skate is an ingenious way to apply your abilities, Aleah. And May, that tidal wave was staggeringly powerful and well executed. However… you two need another lesson in safety. I’m aware you both wanted to prove yourselves, but you shouldn’t push your bodies this hard for a simple spar. May, you shouldn’t run out of magic. And Aleah, I’m fairly certain you took on way too much magic at the beginning.”
Aleah and I looked at each other. Our victory grins had yet to disappear. It was a bit more than that for us, but Mama Claire didn’t need to know that.
“They both have always had a pretty big magic pool, Claire.”
“I’m sorry, Rae. How much magic do you think it took for Aleah to constantly put out water attacks to fight us? And did we see the same tidal wave? Most of the beach was completely washed! Do you have any idea how much of my magic pool I had to use to keep myself from drowning because you didn’t help?!”
“Actually, how did you survive the tidal wave, Mama Claire?” I asked, deeply curious.
“Heat.” She turned to Mama Rae. “And ire.”
That was… so extreme. She had just vaporized the water as it came into contact?!
“I was a bit tied up.”
“You know I can’t swim!”
“I knew you could do it, Claire!”
Mama Claire abruptly turned to us, smiling.
“Girls, how about some ice cream?”
“Oh, yes!”
Aleah turned to me. “What do you want, May?”
“Choco-mint! Thanks, Aleah.”
“I-I get one too, right?” Mama Rae chuckled meekly.
“I’m a bit tied up right now, Rae. But you can stand up and get your own, can’t you?” Her smile curled wickedly. “I know you can do it, Rae!”
She then took the lead, which Aleah followed.
Beside me, I could hear a longing sigh I had heard countless times. Mama Rae was beyond help, wasn’t she?