Jinxed

Chapter twenty-one: the boss

twenty-one: the boss
I don't own fablehaven

Bracken was done thinking. That's what his sisters always told him: he didn't think enough. Bracken just did things differently from them. And he was about to break every training lesson he had ever received.

Bracken ducked low and turned. Tanu's wrist broke off and Bracken thrust an elbow into Tanu's stomach. That would have gotten him eliminated from a duel. Tanu grunted, stumbling back. Bracken went for a punch but Tanu caught his fist in his meaty hand. Tanu twisted Bracken's arm behind his back, sending a sharp pain up it. Tanu sent Bracken to his knees.

Gritting his teeth, Bracken tried to calm down. Tanu would have been frowned at—if it was still a duel. Bracken shook out of it. He couldn't keep comparing fake fights to real ones.

Bracken sucked in another breath and sent his magic into his arm. He blocked out everything except for the warmth that filled his arm. He'd be fine if he didn't die.

He pushed up off the floor, reaching his uninjured hand to his waist. It grazed nothing but air and fabric. Bracken frantically patted around. No horn. He didn't have a single one of them.

Bracken's pause had given Tanu enough time to react. He tripped Bracken with a shove to the back of his knee. Bracken sprawled forward, rolling to soften the blow. How had he let Tanu get the jump on him? His skills were worsening. First the Sphinx, now this?
Someone rammed a boot into Bracken's stomach. He stopped rolling to retch over to the side. Another person picked up his boot and it caused his head to slam against the floor. His vision swam. Bracken wasn't built to fight groups of people. Not by himself anyway. He had...had...backup. Where were they by now?
Eyes flickering open, Bracken saw Seth standing over him. He felt a jolt of hope. Seth! The magic Bracken had already released, had faltered from lack of concentration, but with Seth here, he allowed it to worm to the rest of his body, blooming outward. His focus came back. Seth wasn't on his side. He couldn't be.

Bracken raised a forearm in defense. He arched back, jumping to his feet, and spinning around. He grabbed a knife from a surprised witch. She growled and tried to tackle him. Bracken danced backward and got out of the grasp of anyone who tried to place a hit on him.

His back against the wall, Bracken's watched his enemies circled him. Most of his assailants didn't seem to have anything better than a few crude weapons. The kind a desperate person would make from stones they found. Those were more dangerous; they got caught.
Alright then, Bracken thought. Stall for time. He didn't have to beat all of them here; he had to take care of the jinn and get help from the others. Once they were normal again. Perhaps...

Someone socked Bracken in the eye. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't open all the way. He shut it fully, focusing on everything he could see from his right eye. That was a problem. Everything was shifted slightly to the right. Which meant people would be out of true perspective. Bracken ducked under another onslaught, swinging his left leg out to trip any who passed by. Only one of them got caught up. The witch fell on one of the others—the kind Bracken couldn't tell the race of. Both screamed and some of the witch's skin began to sizzle.

With this new knowledge, Bracken attacked. He grabbed the witch's fallen knife, twisting to stab a goblin. The goblin crumpled and Bracken picked up his bony arms and threw him into someone else. The startled goblin curled into a ball and knocked down a few in the crowd like bowling pins.

Someone from behind grabbed Bracken's ankles and lifted his leg from the ground. Another pair of grimy hands grabbed his other leg. Two more grabbed his arms and spread him out. Bracken tried to struggle, but they pulled his muscles taught. Stretched out, he didn't have much use of his strength.