Waters of Lethe, Book 2

16. Sting

I slowly walked to the middle to meet Alex.

"Here we go," Johnston commented. "You've all worked hard, but not hard enough. Unless you're one of the two people standing in the middle of the floor right now."

"Does that make you feel good, El?" Alex asked quietly, but loud enough so that only I would hear.

"Ask me after I beat you."

He smiled. "Awfully cocky, aren't we?"

"Ready?" Johnston asked, his voice loud. "Go!"

Neither of us moved.

"I said go," Johnston urged.

"Go," I told Alex.

He stared at me, his smile fading. "Why couldn't you fight Piper at first?"

"What?"

"What are these two doing?" Johnston asked to no one in particular.

"Why couldn't you fight Piper?"

"Could you fight her?"

That seemed to stop him, but he still bounced back. "Yes."

I was appalled, but part of me already knew that Alex would hurt her if he had to.

I involuntarily put my hands on my hips. "Well, then, show me what you'd do to Piper."

His blue eyes stared me down.

As the others stared at us in confusion, I was getting heated. If I was going to get fired up enough to beat him at this game that was ultimately his, I'd have to have incentive. Knowing firsthand the ways that he would defeat a seven year old kid was motivation enough for me to take this prick out.

Alex sensed the new found determination in me, saw it in my eyes, and lowered his stance so that he was crouched slightly. And then he came for me.

He swung at me, the blows I escaped or deferred each time. He was quick, but so was I.

I found that I knew a thing or two when it came to being tactical, though I didn't know where the strategies I used came from. They came from the past that I couldn't remember, making me angrier.

After a series of attempted hits from Alex, I broke his pattern by getting off one hit which led to my own string of hits. I clipped his hard jaw once, and then he stopped me by grabbing my balled up fist. I saw his free hand fly toward my face but stopped it with my free hand.

"Nice," Alex commented as we tried to break our hands away from each other's grasp.

I smiled, the anger giving me confidence. "Is this the way you'd fight Piper? You'd be taking it pretty easy on her."

I jumped up and threw my left leg out to kick him in the stomach. He didn't let go of my hand as he flew back so that he took my with him. He swung me around by jerking on my arm, and tried tripping me. I jumped up, only one of my legs finding clearance before Alex's foot swung under me.

I fell to the floor. Alex was on me before I even saw him coming.

It was his turn to straddle me. He pinned my arms above my head.

"Did you really think," he told me, both of our chests heaving, "that you could beat me? I wouldn't do this to Piper. Because we're on the same team. Plus, I actually like her. If you think this is the extent of what I can do, you're mistaken."

"Get off me," I said through gritted teeth.

"Not until he calls it," Alex told me, causing me to look over at Johnston.