to bask in his almost-compliment though. He shed the heavy coat and the scarf he usually wore and walked away from her.
“Let’s start with unarmed combat. This should be enough space for that.” He stated as he looked at her.
Selissa placed her bag on ground and started to pull her sword sheaths from her shoulders. As she slowly placed the swords next to her bag, she took a moment to study Alassane.
He definitely didn’t look like someone who would be any threat in a hand-to-hand fight. Without his coat he looked even thinner than usual. All the bones stood out clearly in his face, and his tall, sinewy frame looked like it might break in two if you hit it. He was literally nothing more than skin and bones.
But if there was one thing she had learned in the last few weeks, it was that appearances could be deceiving. And she was not going to underestimate him a second time.
“What do you want me to do?” She asked when he did nothing but watch her.
“Attacking me would be a good start.” He scoffed.
Selissa clenched her jaw. She knew very well that he was only trying to get her riled up. And the worst thing was that it was working.
She refused to let him get to her though. She clenched her fists and lunged at him, aiming for his face.
She was rewarded with a kick in the stomach, which sent her toppling backwards. Unable to regain her balance, she hit the ground heavily.
“Just because your opponent is unarmed doesn’t mean you can just leave yourself completely open, girl.” Alassane said as she rolled to her feet. “Try again.”
Sneering, she went for his side this time. Again she was sent tumbling to the ground.
“You have to do better than that.” He said simply, not even bothering to comment further on her lack of success.
The embarrassing routine repeated itself until Selissa was practically spitting nails. She was beginning to think he just enjoyed humiliating her. She was not learning anything, if he didn’t tell her how to improve!
‘Calm yourself.’ She stilled immediately at the whisper. That voice again…
‘Face him and place your left leg behind the other, then relax your stance.’
She barely noticed what she was doing as her body slid into the attack stance almost on its own. It was like she could see in her mind exactly what she was supposed to do. She relaxed her body and realized how much easier it was to balance her weight between her legs.
Selissa frowned in confusion. She was not used to this stance, but still it felt comfortable and familiar.
The voice sounded again, but this time so low that it almost blended with her own thoughts. ‘Raise your hands to your face and keep your elbows close to your body.’
For some reason she trusted it. She knew she should be scared, terrified of the fact that she was hearing voices in her head, but somehow it made her feel safe. She couldn’t explain why, but still she raised her arms before her. She could feel energy pulsing through her body and suddenly she felt more confident.
Making sure to hold her stance she pushed off the ground and ran towards Alassane. Her greater balance caused her to move faster and Alassane actually had to throw himself to the side to avoid her strike.
He grabbed hold of her arm and used his leverage to fling her away. Selissa stumbled briefly, but managed to regain her balance.
“Better…” He said, obviously caught off guard by her sudden change in technique. “But that doesn’t say much, of course.”
She knew it was what he aimed for, but she still felt her temper flare. Sliding back into position, she pondered her next move.
‘Strike from his blind angle.’ Her body moved on its own, somehow knowing exactly where the blind angle was.
Instead of running directly at Alassane, she aimed slightly to his left. Just as she came up on the side of him, she turned and sent a punch towards his jaw.
He didn’t have time to turn towards her, before he was sent sprawling to the ground.
He was quick to get back on his feet, but the shock was evident in his eyes.
Selissa couldn’t help the rush of victory she felt. Deciding not to give him too much time to recover, she charged at him again. However, he seemed to have adjusted and quickly dodged the incoming attack.
Her attempts at getting into his blind angle also failed, as he now moved around too fast to allow her to get behind him. However, spoiling her attempts also hindered him in getting a proper hit in himself.
Going by instincts she didn’t know she had, she swirled around trying to get him to make an opening.
‘Kick him at the back of his leg.’ By now she didn’t even question why she was hearing the voice, she just obeyed without hesitation. She sent a kick flying to the backside of Alassane’s knee and his leg collapsed under him.
He rolled to the side as soon as he hit the ground, to get out of her reach. In a matter of seconds he was standing once again, his trademark smirk on his face.
“You still have to do better than that.” He taunted. Selissa clenched and unclenched her fists in an attempt to calm herself.
She could still feel the presence of the voice in her head, but that wasn’t all. She could feel a strange energy flowing through her. Like cool water filling her veins and flowing through every nerve in her body.
‘Use it.’
It was almost as if her body weighed nothing. Her legs carried her with surprisingly ease and in no time at all, she had reached Alassane.
He dodged in the nick of time and Selissa avoided his returning kick with ease.
Kicks and blows flew through the air, and Alassane and Selissa danced around each other. Every once in a while one of them would get a hit in and send the other stumbling back, but just as soon they would have to avoid the next blow sent their way.
She felt the energy pulse through her veins, begging to be released. Both she and Alassane were now breathing heavily, but somehow she didn’t feel tired.
“Come on, little girl!” She heard him taunt. She no longer thought about how she moved. It was like she had always fought like this. She faintly heard Alassane taunt her again, telling her to get serious and hit him.
She let the energy flow freely. Let it flow through her arms and into her fingertips. With a single punch she released it all.
The only thing she registered next was a blinding white light as Alassane was sent flying into a tree.
20
Selissa splashed her face with water in an attempt to calm down. She shuddered as the cool water hit her skin and started running down her face and neck.
She had fled Alassane’s presence immediately after the incident and had come across a large lake. Confusion, shock and fear raced through her and she couldn’t face him right now.
She looked at her hands, dripping with water. The strong white glow had faded away now, leaving no traces of the powerful magic that had coursed through them only moments before.
Fear clawed at her throat. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart was hammering so hard she thought it might burst right out of her chest.
She gave up trying to hold herself up and slumped against the grass.
All this time she had wondered what the Demios was… What Alassane was. But she had never stopped to wonder what she was…
She looked at her hands again. They were trembling.
She shouldn’t have been able to do that… She had never in her life showed any magic ability. Why now?
By now her entire body was shaking. Quiet sobs raked through her body and she felt hot tears starting to run down her face.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried.
All the fear and frustration she had felt ever since she had first met Alassane suddenly overwhelmed her and she wanted to scream. But despite her tears, not a sound crossed her lips.
For how long she lay there she didn’t know, but she was vaguely aware of the sun beginning to set.
The trembling had stopped, but tears
still ran down her cheeks and into the already wet grass.
“Who are you?” She whispered in the air. Silence was all that answered her.
ℓ
Darkness had fallen over the lake and her body was chilled from lying on the ground. She slowly pushed herself up.
The tears had long since dried on her face and she leaned over the water to inspect herself.
Her face was pale as death, and her eyes were red rimmed. The paleness of her skin and the silver of her eyes made her look like a ghost.
She sighed and brushed a tangled lock of hair away from her face. She was just about to get up, when a strange sound made her freeze.
She sat completely still and listened intently. It was very faint as if it came far away, but Selissa was sure it wasn’t something she had imagined.
The sound rose slightly and she could now hear it clearly.
It sounded like someone was singing. It was a sad, melancholic song without words.
Against her will, Selissa felt herself rise from the ground. She felt the song draw her in, and she slowly started moving towards the place it was coming from.
She had only moved a few steps, when someone grabbed her arm and caused her to stop dead in her tracks.
“Don’t.” She turned her head to see Alassane’s eyes burning into hers. The warning look in them broke her from her trance-like state.
“What is that?” She spoke quietly. The song continued, beautiful and eerie at the same time.
“Trouble.” Alassane said, just as quietly. Whoever was singing, it was clear that he didn’t want them to hear them.
He stood completely still, his hand still gripping Selissa’s arm. Every