The Prodigy Read online

  The girls all seem to be in good spirits, while Tristen’s lagging behind, his face, flat and emotionless.

  “You really killed it out there, Aiden!” Summer smiles. “You ended it with a bang.”

  “Literally,” Kaci laughs.

  “I...it...wasn’t really all that special,” I confess. “He had me beat.”

  “Hey now, don’t be modest. I could tell that you were just warming up.”

  “Warming up? Ha. I wouldn’t go that far,” I respond to Summer while rubbing the back of my neck. “That last attack of mine took a decent chunk of my energy and it barely put a dent in him. All of these guys were strong.”

  “I know. Seriously, it’s amazing what they can do,” Clarissa says. “As a whole, they aren’t that far ahead of us, but the way they fought was crazy.”

  “I don’t know why you’re hyping them up so much. It shouldn’t even matter,” Tristen says, stepping into our circle. “We beat them...well, most of us.” Tristen and Kaci lock eyes, but he averts his gaze back to me. “They’re third-rate.”

  “Don’t sweat it, Kaci,” Summer says. “Tristen’s just a touch more irritable than normal because he realizes that our precious pyro got beat senseless by a guy who throws mud.”

  “Please... If we had to go another round, he wouldn’t last five minutes.”

  “Ugh. I’m too hungry to stick around and watch these two argue,” Clarissa says, treading backwards. “Can this wait until tomorrow or something? Maybe we can set up an unofficial, official match or something so you guys can finally duke it out. Kaci, you want to grab a bite with me? I’m feeling pizza. We deserve it. Let’s hurry and get it before the cafeteria closes with this schedule they’re running today.” Clarissa takes a few more steps back and pauses. “Don’t make me reel you in. I’m starving.”

  “Yeah, that totally sounds like a good idea, just give me a second.” Kaci holds her hand up, signaling for more time. “I’ll catch up.”

  “Okay...”

  “Aiden, whe—” The arena begins to quake, and I look up to see three people hurtling towards us on a massive spire of stone. “Crap! Guys, get out of the way, it’s an attack!” Kaci stretches out her hands and immediately projects a barrier on the stone’s projected track.

  What?! There’s no way she can hold it off. That’s too much for her, even when she’s fresh.

  “Ah!” Just as Kaci falls to the ground, I quickly funnel my energy into my palm and hurl it towards the rock, the three people on it jumping off right before it collides with my attack. My energy combined with the fallout from the blast incinerates most of the spire, and a force yanks us back as if on a thread before the remaining mass smashes us. I glance back to see Clarissa on one knee, breathing heavily with one arm stretched towards us with the other gripping her forearm for support. She detaches her emerald threads from us but stays grounded.

  “Looks like we’re not done just yet.” Tristen scowls.

  “Students, stick together! Kaci, ensure that the other teacher gets down here as quickly as possible!” Mr. Hoover yells as he rushes back to the stage. “Kite!” Mr. Ferris jumps from the stands on blind faith and leads Kaci’s projections by hopping until he lands in front of us.

  “How’s it going, champ?” Mr. Ferris asks, his back turned to us while he stares at our enemies. “You doing okay?” The air’s ripe with tension, and there’s a coldness to his voice even though he’s trying to put me at ease. I notice the two curved daggers gripped in his hands and realize that he fully plans on killing them... I completely understand.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Good. You did a good job neutralizing that attack. You all did... These guys mean business, so I need you all to find a way out of here while we settle this. I don’t want you guys getting hurt.” Mr. Hoover rushes to Mr. Ferris’s side shortly after his proclamation, both of them standing in front of us as a buffer.

  “You know these guys?” Mr. Hoover asks after sinking into his battle stance.

  “No...I was hoping they were friends of yours,” Mr. Ferris responds. “Two against three, eh? I like our odds... It’ll be just like old times.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “I guess I’ll make the most of it... You guys wanted to fight, right? Then come on out and show us what you got,” Mr. Ferris says with that same coldness from before. “There’s no use hiding.”

  I watch as the others emerge, one by one, from behind the massive assortment of rocks that one of them used to launch their assault. Of the three, there’s two men and one woman, all of them outfitted in jet-black suits that look far superior to our own. The man in the middle steps out in front of his comrades, casually, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He doesn’t look very built, but I know looks can be deceiving, especially when dealing with our kind. There’re still too many unknowns. We only know one of their powers, and it has something to do with earth. For all we know, they can be plotting something as we speak. “Hiding?” the man says as he walks closer. “Playing cat and mouse was never our intention. We have more serious matters to attend to.”

  “If you have beef with the academy, then we’ll handle it, but leave the kids out this!” Mr. Ferris scowls.

  “On the contrary, I prefer it this way. It’ll make things easier. Besides, you’re in no position to be calling the shots, are you?”

  “I’ve seen what you can do, and if you think it’s enough to beat me, then you’re sorely mistaken,” Mr. Ferris fires back.

  “Hmph... Well, you’re probably right about that. I’ve seen you move, and those daggers you’re holding imply that your ability is suited for swift, close encounters. You’re a killer...and a resourceful one, at that. However, my associate here can provide more than enough for a challenge for you. Allow me to introduce, Dupe. He’ll be dealing with you from here on out.” The man adjacent to the ringleader steps up and snickers. He then splits his body into four copies of himself—all of them looking just as intimidating as the original.

  Mr. Ferris sinks into his fighting stance, tightening the grip of the hilts in his hands. He slightly slides his feet back, keeping his form, and glances over his shoulder. “Aiden! I thought I told you guys to get out of here!”

  “That might not be the best option, Kite,” Mr. Hoover says. “With a guy like that on their side, there could be other copies roaming the area. Given the circumstances, they’re better with us.”

  “And we can fight too,” Tristen says. “We’re not just some helpless kids. Like hell we’d just sit back and let these guys try to kill us.”

  “Ha. I like your attitude. Fine then, you can help, but stay safe. Protect each other...survive. You’ve all had recent fights, and hard ones at that... You’re not at full strength. When I’m done with my guy, I’ll sweep around and clean up the rest. Same goes for your teacher as well. I don’t know how strong these guys are, and we’re outnumbered, so you might have to fend for yourselves for a while.”

  “They’re competent. They’ve trained for this. Have faith.”

  “I do...now let’s settle this before they cause any more trouble. Give us an opening and we’ll split up from there.”

  “Got it.” Tristen nods. “Consider it done.”

  “Oh, so the children are fighting too, now? Well, won’t it be fun to see what the youth of today have to offer. Allow me to introduce myself,” the ringleader says nonchalantly. “You can call me Ridge, and this lovely lady to the right of me goes by Viral.”

  “I don’t care.” Tristen snarls and a blazing ball of fire emerges in the palm of his hand.

  “Oh, but you will...I guarantee it.”

  “We’ll see about that!” Mr. Hoover and Mr. Ferris split from in front of us and rush forward, creating a window for us to attack while they engage with the others. The second he has a clear shot, Tristen hurls his ball of fire at Ridge, but he blocks it by erecting a pillar of rock from below the foundation of the arena. Tristen summons his energy to fire another, but the pillar dec
onstructs by shooting jagged spires of rock in our direction.

  “Tristen!” Kaci extends her hand in front of her and the spires crumble once they meet her wall, but break once Ridge rams through it while surfing on top of a massive wedge of earth.

  “Pathetic!” Ridge jumps from his wedge just as Summer shoots her ice. He counters by overwhelming her with spires he summons from the ground to protect him as he hurtles towards us.

  “He’s fast!” Summer proclaims as she shields herself from the barrage.

  Ridge lands in front of us, slipping past our defenses, but Tristen charges him, noticing the gap. Without hesitating, he pulses his hand and a hammer made from rocks forms. He swings it at him, and it launches Tristen into the seating section, causing a massive crater to form from where he’d made impact.

  “Tristen!” I focus my power and unleash it in a violent burst of flames. Summer joins in, simultaneously blasting him with her ice. Just as our attack reaches him, he forms a dome of stone, encasing his body to protect him from harm.

  “You’re not going anywhere!” Summer yells. The density of her beam thickens, and within seconds, the dome’s completely frozen.

  “Perfect! Now, let’s finish this! Everyone, get back!” Clarissa projects her enhanced threads around the hinges of the jumbotron and coils her fingers as we all begin to put distance between us and Ridge. “Aiden, Kaci...help me out!" I harness my energy and sling an orb at the support wires of the boxed screen, incinerating the cables. When I lower my hand, I feel the void in my stomach grow, but ignore my mounting fatigue. We’re all exhausted, but if we stop here, then we’re as good as dead. “Good job!”

  Clarissa and Kaci drive the jumbotron into the ground, and it’s a direct hit on Ridge’s fortress. A cloud of dust and gravel kick up into the air and we all shield ourselves, careful not to let it impair our vision.

  “Is it over?” Kaci asks between breaths. We all look on in quiet speculation at the towering pile of metal and debris.

  “I don’t think so.” The ground begins to rumble and Summer sinks into her battle stance. “You and Clarissa need to save your strength for whatever’s coming next. Work on giving me and Aiden an opening so we can finish him off, for real this time. Don’t worry about us...we can protect ourselves with our abilities. If Aiden or I get one clean shot on him, we win. Focus on making that happen.”

  Summer’s right. If we can land a direct hit and do enough damage, he won’t be able to defend himself, but that’s easier said than done. He’s faster and stronger than us...more experienced, too. I don’t want to use Flux Form unless I have to, but it doesn’t seem like I have any other options. Mr. Hoover and Mr. Ferris are still dealing with the others, and once we’re done with this one, we’ll have to give them our support. Mr. Ferris is holding his own against Dupe and his copies, but I don’t know how long he can hold out before he gets overwhelmed... If I use Flux Form beyond my limit, I could die, but we’ll all die anyway at the rate this is going. Tristen’s in bad shape, and everyone else is running on fumes. If it means saving everyone, I may have to take that risk. I just need to make it count.

  The pile of debris scatters along with a barrage of pointed rocks from Ridge’s dome. Summer makes a shield, while I combust my energy against the spires on my trajectory. I disintegrate most of the shrapnel, but some slip by, ripping through my suit and piercing into my arms and legs. From the corner of my eye, I see a spire clip Summer’s calf, and she falls to one knee while hiding behind ice.

  This isn’t good. At this rate, we’re going to die before we can even get another attack off. If only Andre and Abel stayed a little longer.

  Ridge emerges from the rubble with a spherical set of boulders orbiting around him, only appearing slightly injured. He must have reinforced the dome the second he realized that we were going for something big. “I’m impressed by your teamwork. It must be disheartening to know that it wasn’t enough.”

  A ball of fire shoots through the air towards Ridge, but he blocks it by summoning a pillar without even looking at the direction of the attack. He then flicks his wrist, and both of the boulders orbiting around him slam into the crater where Tristen is.

  “Tristen!” Kaci screams.

  “Hmph. Your teachers must be quite pathetic if that’s the best you can manage.”

  I...I don’t have a choice...Tristen’s... “Summer, protect Kaci and Clarissa until they recover.”

  “Aiden, what are you talking about? We’re all in this together.”

  “Summer, I still have that technique the one that I haven’t perfected, but it’s our only shot. There’s a chance I can die if it doesn’t work out, but I’m willing to risk it... You guys are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t want to lose anyone else. If I can defeat him, maybe we can buy Mr. Hoover some time to...help Tris—just please, let me do this.”

  “Okay...I trust you.”

  “Thank you.” Summer freezes the injury on her calf, and stands, careful not to put too much pressure on her wounded leg.

  “I’m going to see if there’s anything we can do about Tristen.”

  “Okay, and I’ll be sure to make him pay for what he did.”

  “Aiden, don’t die.”

  “I won’t, I promise.” The second Summer retreats behind me, I tense my body and begin to bring my power to the surface, careful not to burn through it all too quickly. A fiery aura washes over me, encasing me within a thin layer of my own flames. My body aches all over, and I can already feel the strain that my flux form brings. I can also feel its power.

  Stay calm. Stay in control. Endure the pain. Win.

  I recite the words to myself as I stare down Ridge, taking in the sheer amount of destruction he’s caused to my friends and the academy.

  “Oh, what’s this? You still think you can win? I’ll be sure to teach you a lesson after all this is over.”

  “Shut up.” I kick off the ground and rush towards Ridge. He shoots his spires my way, but I’m able to navigate through them without breaking my stride. The movements Mr. Ferris taught me are sharper in this form, and whatever I can’t dodge, my aura neutralizes their effectiveness. I begin to close the distance between us and pull my arm back once I’m in range to strike, my palm overflowing with the wild energy leaking from my body. Ridge erects a lance from the ground, and I adjust my trajectory, allowing it to only glance me instead of being impaled. My ribs scream in pain, and my flesh burns from being exposed to the elements, but it’s too late to stop now. “FLASH TOUCH!” I thrust my hand forward, and once it connects, I release my energy in a burst of a flames that propels him into the remains of the disfigured jumbotron. I follow up my attack by throwing a concentrated ball of my energy into the remains, causing a torrent of my flames to rise from the wreckage and feed off the scraps. A sharp pain courses through my system, and the flames coursing my body begin to flicker. I lurch forward, and tense my muscles, pulling deeper into my reserves, refusing to power down. No...not yet...just a little bit longer. Come on! Every inch of my body is in pain from using my flux form when I’ve already expended most of my energy, but I can’t let that stop me. I have to win.

  The ground beneath my feet begins to shake and a set of rocks coil over my extremities and wraps around my waist. “That really hurt!” Ridge emerges from the rubble, surfacing towards me on a slab of earth. He stops on the pointed stone, only a foot or so away from me. His suit is battered and almost completely destroyed in some spots, but he doesn’t appear to be too injured. He must have found a way to protect himself before the point of impact—that or I no longer possess enough energy in my system to be effective against him. “We aren’t really supposed to kill students, but after what you did, I’ve had a change of heart. I thought one was enough to get my point across, but it looks like there’s going to be more bodies I’ll have to add to the list.”

  “No!” I attempt to gather my remaining energy into my palms, but spires from my restraints stab through my hands, causin
g me to drop out of my form.

  “Listen. You never had a chance. You don’t have the strength, the speed, or the endurance, but most of all, you lack the skill. It was always going to end like this... Now be a good boy an—”

  “No!” Something awakens in my core, and I feel my flames resurrect, giving me the strength for one final push. The rocks snaked around my body corrode, and Ridge is vulnerable, stunned by my sudden surge of energy. This is my last chance to do anything—Ridge won’t drop his guard again, and my body’s too hurt to do anything else. It looks like I have no choice. Even though I’m running on fumes, I have to do it...my strongest move...even if it kills me. I’m sorry. “ETERNAL UMBRA!”

  I thrust my hand forward against his chest and my energy envelops him in a swarming current of rampaging flames before exploding violently from the center of my palm. The force of the explosion launches us in opposite directions, and as I fly, I notice my flames completely fade from my body. I skid across the ground until I come to a complete stop, battered and completely out of energy. I press my arms against the remains of the arena to push myself up, and realize that I’m still bleeding from where Ridge stabbed me through my palms. The wound on my side from dodging Ridge’s lance isn’t fairing much better either.

  I collapse under my own weight, not willing to exasperate my injuries and watch on as Mr. Hoover and Mr. Ferris continue to fight against Viral and Dupe. Dupe seems to be losing despite having multiple copies, while Mr. Hoover and Viral appear to be at a stalemate.

  The rubble in front of me begins to shift, and I see Ridge struggling to emerge from the destruction. Even though it was a direct hit, he survived. I can only do that attack while in flux form, and even then, it wasn’t enough. I used too much energy beforehand, and the bit I had left couldn’t finish the job.

  I try to stand, but my body fails to respond. I’m completely out of energy, and my ongoing adrenaline is the only thing keeping me from passing out.