Crimes of the Vault

Chapter Twelve

"Again!"

Tempest lunged forward, the armour of the Fae in front of her glinting in the sunlight of the spring morning, deflecting the sword that had swung her way with a swing if her arm, the metal bouncing off the tensed air that dressed her arm with a bang that reverberated through the arena.

The Fae was facing was a shorter woman, dainty wings attached to her back keeping her elevated off the ground, twisting around Tempest's land-bound figure, the sword in her hands singing through the air in a constant wave.

The sword perhaps wasn't the best choice of weapon for the woman, as it was nearly as long as she was, but she seemed to be handling herself well, especially considering it was her first real fight. Semi-real anyway.

Tempest stepped back, deflecting another strike of the sword, bringing her own arm up to counter the attack, her knife clashing against the Fae's armoured side, sending her careening off to the side. The Fae recovered quickly, charging forward with a shrill cry, the sword bearing down to Tempest's left side.

There was no hesitation, no worrying. They had all been warned to not be concerned about their Queen, to never worry about hurting her during training sessions. It would only result in their defeat.

Several people had decided not to fight their Queen, the idea seeming to make them sick with disgust, though they had been happy to fight Mac or Reed. It was rare that someone outside of the Circle would step up against the Warlock Queen, and even rarer was it that they would win.

For all that she had been small and frail, Tempest had learned much from her Nana about Warlock magic, and even more from Reed about physical combat. The years of knowing each other had done them good, consecutive morning after morning spent in the arena learning and practising.

Tempest stepped in toward the Fae's attack, dodging slightly to her right in order to avoid the sword, but jamming her shoulder into the space between the chest plate and the torso. The Fae's stilled, wings stuttering in the air as she fell to the ground, the sword falling out of the hand, skittering several feet away.

She followed her down, falling to her knees over her opponent's body, knife pointed to her throat. There was slight fear in the Fae's eyes, but Tempest got up and offered her hand out, giving the woman a comforting smile.

"Well fought." Tempest complimented as she tugged the Fae up off the ground.

The woman brushed the dirt from her armour, wings shaking the rest away. "Thank you, My Queen."

"Do you understand what you did wrong?" Tempest questioned as Reed stepped up to their side, his trained eyes scanning over the Fae to make sure that she hadn't injured her.

She hadn't, of course. While the fight had been real, Tempest knew how strong she was, she knew how strong Warlock magic is, and knew what would be too much for other people to handle.

"I left my right side open." The woman admitted softly, words coming out through heavy pants.

Reed handed her a skin of water, letting the Fae gulp it down for a moment before answering. "That's exactly what you did. Had it been a real fight, you might be dead right now. Keeping yourself guarded at all times will save your life."

The Fae nodded, water dripping down her chin as she handed the skin back. "I'll remember that next time."

Reed nodded once, letting the Fae fluttering off with one last smile to the two of them as she disappeared into the side-lines. They stepped out of the middle of the arena as Reed motioned for another group to join up and start their spar.