Chapter 39

Following the excitement of their first win, the two teams stepped out of the arena, Nick’s team in much better condition than Marks.

“Alright, everyone remove your gauntlets and heal up.” Nick noticed Keith had already removed his, and he quickly followed. The moment he did, he drew in his full power, letting it burn away his previous fatigue and injuries.

“Great job out there everyone.” Keith looked at Tiff and smiled. “I knew I could count on you.” She blushed, and the other two first years clapped her on the back.

“Good job Tiffany.” Nick offered her a smile, and for a moment, all three first years stared back at him, dumbstruck. After a second, she smiled back, sheepishly.

“Thanks.”

“Now that that’s out of the way, everyone good for round two?” Keith nodded towards the arena, and Nick could see Rasha’s team preparing for their match. It seemed there wasn’t going to be any rest between the matches, and Nick was grateful he had enough energy to completely recharge himself.

“Same plan as last time?” He asked Keith as they walked in, and Dagr was already taking flight back over the arena.

“More or less.” Keith looked over the group. “The three of you need to move completely as a group, Rasha is going to handle this match differently than Mark did.” The first years nodded. They were hesitant, but Nick could feel the excitement in the air. Scatterball was a lot of fun.

“What does she do differently?”

“She is rather skilled at fighting multiple enemies. So she is likely going to send a group of three after us, while she stays with her chosen point scorer, which is likely Trent.” That made sense to Nick, since Trent had shown promise at scoring.

“So, are we going after her and Trent, or the other three?” Nick really wanted to go after Trent, he was still mad at the first year for the way he acted towards Nick.

“I’ll leave that up to you buddy, this is your tryout, and you make the call.” Keith winked at him, and Nick suspected Keith knew exactly what was going through his head.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

The horn sounded the start of the game, and Nick took off, Keith on his heels. Overhead, Dagr spied Rasha’s team doing exactly as predicted, three first years taking off on their own, while she and Trent headed towards one of the game balls.

“Guessing you’re hoping we find Trent and Rasha first, eh Nicky?”

“You know I wouldn’t pass up a chance to remind him which of us is better.” Keith laughed at Nick’s comment, though for a second, Nick thought it sounded a bit off. Was he worried about fighting Rasha?

“You going to be alright against Rasha?”

“Ah come on Nicky, give me some credit. I’m obviously the best there is.”

“Under Naomi.” Nick couldn’t help it, and they both laughed at the comment.

“Yeah yeah, but hey, I don’t mind being under Naomi.” Nick almost stumbled at Keith’s comment, and his mind started racing. Something, jealously perhaps, rose up within him.

He pushed the emotion aside, and scanned the arena. He was leading them directly towards Rasha and Trent, and luckily, it seems the other first years on her team weren’t having any luck navigating towards Nick’s team. He could only imagine how difficult navigating this course without Dagr would be.

A flash of light lit up the arena, and Nick glanced up, seeing that Trent had just scored a five point shot. The ball shot back directly towards where Trent and Rasha was. He took that as an opportunity to make his move, without giving Keith any suspicions. His move the previous game could be called luck, but if he pulled it off twice in a row, he was certain questions would be asked.

“Over that wall?” He motioned where the ball had just flown, and Keith nodded.

“Seems like that’s where they’re shooting from.” Keith leapt towards a side wall, propelling himself off the wall high over another wall, directly towards Rasha and Trent. Nick easily followed, sword in hand, excitement coursing through his body.

“Well, look who we have here.” Rasha was standing lazily next to Trent, who was staring at Keith and Nick, a ball still in his hand.

“Keep shooting pretty boy.” Rasha shoved Trent backwards, a wicked smile on her face. “I can handle these two.” Trent looked at Rasha, and then at Keith and Nick. Then, turned and started to run away, likely deciding it was better to listen to Rasha.

“Don’t do it Nicky.” Keith whispered, but Nick didn’t listen. The moment Trent took off, Nick started to chase him. He got about two steps before he felt something wrap around his ankle. Suddenly, he was airborne, and being flung towards a wall. He smashed into the wall with enough force to crack ribs, and stone. He could hear Trent laughing.

“You should learn to listen to your master.” Nick staggered to his feet, feeling his energy healing his ribs. The dust around him cleared, and he could see an energy whip in Rasha’s hand.

“I did warn you Nicky.” Keith had his axe in hand, and was starting to circle Rasha carefully. The way he was watching her, Nick could tell Keith was worried.

“I thought you were the best there is.” Nick spit out some blood, and picked his sword back up. He knew they would need to beat Rasha, if he wanted to get to Trent.

“Oh, Keith is definitely good when he has all of his power. He’s just too fast for me then.” Rasha cracked her whip, and winked at Keith. “But on equal terms, there isn’t any one in this arena that doesn’t submit to my whip.” The amount of confidence she spoke with sent shivers down Nick’s spine. Suddenly, his decision to hunt down Rasha and Trent seemed like a terrible idea.