The crowd returned to the square and had grown in size. Word of the duel had got out and spread through the school. But with so many people, I didn’t think everyone showed just to see me get my ass kicked. They had probably heard about a mage picking up a witch just before a duel and wanted to see how we would fair. I wouldn’t have bet on us.

Brandi led the way. Her uniform was wrinkled and hair still a mess, but there was confidence in how she walked. It was a complete change from the gasping girl that had laid under me only a bit before. It felt strange to think of her like that as I watched her, but not in a bad way. It didn’t change the way I saw her, other than wanting to see her make those faces and sounds again. While I had never felt love, there wasn’t time for such things in the slums, I knew what I felt for her in that moment was something akin to it. The word bonding seemed a perfect term for what happened in the bedroom.

I focused on her as we walked down the sett walkway. The MBD flickered to life over my vision and a box of text hovered beside Brandi.

Name: Brandi Hasselium

Age: 20

Birth: 10/28

Alignment: Saturate

Spells: Defensive Bubble (Water), Crashing Wave (Water), Razor Spray (Water)

Seeded Magic: Mimic (Saturate), Grasping Claws (Saturate), Dark Rain (Saturate), Ghostly Pall (Saturate)

I focused on Mimic, and another window appeared.

Mimic (Saturate) (Overcharged) -

Mimic is a type of magic unique to the saturate born that have the ability to do magic. It allows the witch to take any magic spell used against her and mimic it with a saturate alignment which does poison and energy drain. The power is also increased.

I went back and tapped on the other three.

Grasping Claws (Saturate) (Overcharged) -

In the saturate a strange phenomenon has been observed by those who work the pools: hands have been seen trying to claw their way out of the thick, syrup-like substance. With this spell a saturate aligned witch can call those hands from any dark water and use them in a variety of ways, including dragging their target into the dark water until they drown.

Dark Rain (Saturate) (Overcharged) -

Dark rain is a rare occurrence over factories that process the Saturate in the abyss. When it falls everyone who has any sense finds the cover of something sturdy. What lives in the puddles of dark water is said to be the stuff of nightmares. Creates a storm that will rain down dark water in a small area. Dark water has the alignment of saturate. Causes slow and poison.

Ghostly Pall (Saturate) (Overcharged)

Causes the caster and mage to become invisible for a short amount of time. No spells can be cast during this time. Movement and sound is muffled but an astute listener could hear a user if not careful. Can be cancel early, but creates a sickness in the caster that lasts for the time that was left.

I closed out of the last info box and returned to watching Brandi. That spring that I had seen snap in the bedroom was tighter than before. Her ponytail bounced against her upper back as she stalked toward the crowd. They parted before her and allowed us into the circle before closing up behind us. It took a moment to find the redheaded teacher sitting on a stone bench at the edge of the crowd. She had a book in hand, which she closed when she noticed us entering.

“I think this may be the fastest bonding to duel ever.” She stood and put the book in the bag that sat on the ground beside her. “How are you both feeling?”

“Annoyed that we had to rush, but otherwise perfect,” Brandi said while flexing her fingers. “Where is that other guy?

The redheaded teacher made a show of checking her watch and then looked toward the building. “They still have five minutes, so they aren’t late yet. I don’t believe I introduced myself earlier. I’m Kelly.” She gave a tight smile and stepped out onto the grass. “Aidan, was it? How are you doing? Bonding can take a lot out of a mage.”

“I’m feeling great, actually.”

“Good. I’ll go see what’s taking the other two. Relax for a few minutes.” She walked through the crowd and left us as the center of attention with whispers flying through the students.

Brandi rocked on her heels, a need to release energy showed throughout her body. “Relax…” she scoffed and turned to me. “Like she would be able to relax after bonding and having her magic seeded for the first time. I just want to destroy something.”

I laid a hand to her shoulder and the corner of her mouth quirked up and she scrunched her nose. "Yeah, yeah. I know, take it easy.”

“You’ll be able to use all the magic you want soon enough,” I said and dropped my hand and tried not to look at anyone in the crowd. It was tough as all eyes were on us, waiting.

“I guess. Don’t matter really, it’s all a bit of fun from the seeding to using seeded magic. I just… I feel wired, like the magic inside is fit to burst after being seeded by you. I’ve felt nothing like it before and never heard anyone else describe it like that.” She grinned at me, and I fought to keep myself from bending my head and catching her lips. She noticed and leaned into my side.

“You best keep those leering looks to yourself, otherwise people might think you mean to take it farther than witch and mage.” A quick jab from her elbow made me grunt, and she stood straight and faced the school building again. There came a murmur amongst the students in front of us and they parted to show Kelly walking beside Lorelei. A man I didn’t recognize walked behind them, but Shawn and his witch were no where to be seen and my gut filled with a sinking feeling.

“What’s going on?” Brandi asked as she took a step back to stand beside me.

“Shawn called for a duel under misinformation,” Kelly said and gave Lorelei a disgusted look. Lorelei stood there grinning at Brandi and I. “So, that being the case, I’ll release you both from the contract of the duel and we have punished him with a loss of three hundred Mage points.”

Brandi’s disappointment washed over me and mixed with my own. It was strange to have two sets of feelings at the same time and it made my head spin and ache as I tried to combine them.

“But, as you have bonded and I’d hate if you felt like you did it all for nothing, I have a proposal.”

“Which is?” I asked and tried not to clench my teeth. I did anyway.

“An exhibition match, you two vs my mage and I. It has been a long time since I could demonstrate proper duel etiquette. With your permission, I’d like to start the duel.”

I turned to Brandi and could guess her answer right away. I glared at Kelly and then shrugged. “That’s fine, but we want something in return.”

“Which is what?” Kelly asked.

“We want you to give Shawn back his points and we want a witch’s skill point for all our trouble.”

Kelly stared at us for a moment, her green eyes shifting between me and Brandi. She turned and looked to Lorelei, who gave a curt nod. “Okay. That shouldn’t be a problem, but know that we won’t go easy on you.”

“Ooh… please don’t,” Brandi said and bounced on the balls of her feet again, grinning ear to ear. I wasn’t sure how to take her new hyper energy and it made me feel uneasy.

Kelly rose her hand and did the same strange motion to create a flare in the sky. “All duels or school battles must take place under a dampening dome. Any magic used outside of the dome or classes without explicit permissions will be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly.”

She turned to the crowd and when she seemed satisfied that they got the hint, she returned to us. “Duels are a respectable way to solve issues. For a duel to take place, both parties must put up points. The witch and mage can decide independently, but it is best that everyone is on the same page as to avoid delays. There is no name calling or other abuse allowed. Doing so after two warnings will cause a forfeit.”

“Yeah, yeah, we already know this,” Brandi said under her breath. She had her arms crossed and was looking down at her feet, though she was turned toward me.

“We agreed to it,” I said in the same way. “Just take it easy, it’ll start soon enough.”

“Speaking of which, you okay giving me orders? I’m not saying I’ll always follow them, but you have more information about the battle than I do once we’re in it.”

I laughed as Kelly continued to drone on about the other rules. “You listening to anyone would surprise me.”

“I listen just fine,” she said, but her arms tightened around her.

“Finally, a duel will continue until either the witch or mage call it off, or until the witch is incapacitated.” She said these words a little louder and drew our attention. She stared at me, annoyance plain on her face. “We can begin when you’re both ready.”

Brandi reached up and tapped the MBD on my temple and then touched her own.

‘Can you hear me?’ Her voice echoed in my head. I would have toppled over in surprise if she didn’t have ahold of my arm. ‘Figured you were dumb enough not to know about this. Take it easy, we’re just using the bond to send each other information.’

‘Like mind reading? Can you read my thoughts?’

‘Yes and you need to remove that image of me from your mind before I beat you over the head to make you forget it,’ she said and snarled at me.

I didn’t know what she meant until an image of her on the bed when we bonded floated up in my mind’s eye. ‘Why? You look cute when you finish coming.’

‘Jackass,’ she said and there was a slight tinge of red to her cheeks. ‘You need to focus here.’

‘So how does this work? Can I share specific information or do you get whatever I’m thinking? If that’s the case, you’re in for an awful time.’

‘You decide what I get to see and what I don’t just as I can with you,’ she said and an image of myself standing above the viewer with my zipper open, my body lax and laying against the back of a loveseat, came to me. ‘Like that.’

‘Guess that’s a good memory for you too,’ I said and she shook her head. ‘How do I stop from sending things to you?’

‘Shouldn’t be hard. Now that you know what’s going on I can’t see anything unless you are trying to send it to me. It should keep the insanity limited to just in your head.’

“Is everything okay over there?” Kelly called and we both turned with a start.

“Give us a second, it’s the first time either of us have used our BDs. I have to explain a few things,” Brandi said and Kelly nodded.

“Good thing he has someone like you to tell him what we already covered in class,” Kelly said.

I shrugged, I had a few other things on my mind and paying attention seemed pointless when I had no witch at my side. Now, however, I wished I had.

“Yeah, it is,” Brandi said and stepped away from me. “We’re good. Are you?”

Kelly looked back at the man that stood behind her and just inside the circle. They were talking using the link and when she turned back, she had a wicked smile on her lips. “Would you like to start us off?”

“No, elders first,” Brandi said and Kelly’s brows narrowed.

‘You think provoking is a good idea?’ I asked through the mental link.

'I’m hoping she’ll us her more powerful spells first. You know, shut the smart mouthed girl up quickly.’

‘And why would we wan—oh, you want to mimic it?’

She giggled in my head. ‘Maybe being your witch won’t be so bad after all. Hopefully you’ve seeded my magic well enough that I can do some kind of damage.’

‘I hope so too. Get ready, she’s doing something.’

Kelly had taken up a pose, her right hand was high in the air and her left stayed about chest height. Her head faced down and I could see her lips moving quickly, mouthing words that I couldn’t make out. She looked up and her hands switched position and in that moment there were four of her around Brandi.

It took a second to get over the shock of it and it was just long enough for Kelly to have her next spell ready. Large spikes that looked like they could skewer a fully grown man came up from the ground in three directions. Brandi was caught off guard and only by luck was she able to put up her shield. Still, one made it inside and sliced a long cut across her shin. The blood was brilliant on her pale skin and the pain she felt washed over me.

“Well done, that usually finishes most new bloods.”

“You trying to kill her?” I shouted and one of the Kelly’s looked over and canted her head.

“The dome dampens all magic, if it was at full power then using it would have probably killed her. For that, and as I have full control of the spines and illusions, there was no genuine danger.”

‘I’m fine, don’t get distracted.’ Brandi’s voice echoed again through my head. She watched me with a pained expression. It hurt to watch the blood trail down her leg and I wanted to do something, anything, to make her pain go away.

It started as a slight glimmer at her knee and I watched in surprise as it traveled down and followed the cut. As it passed, it left behind only blood smeared skin. The cut had healed. I looked around at the crowd. Then the other mage in the dome and finally to Kelly, looking for who had healed Brandi. They all looked as confused as I felt.

Kelly’s hand rose up. “I’m calling a time out,” she said as she stared at me, her eyes fierce and bright. Her clones disappeared. “No one move.”

We all froze as she stalked over. She stopped and crossed her arms as she appraised me. Her frown deepened and then she sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “Was that you?”

“Was what me?” I asked and felt more and more confused by the second.

She turned to the crowd and pushed a few strands of her short hair back behind her ear. “I saw it, but I didn’t want to believe it. I will never hear the end of this from Lorelei.”

“What the hell are you going on about?”

‘Hey, what’s going on over there? I can’t hear what she’s saying.’ Brandi said, but I didn’t answer as I was too caught up in trying to figure out what I was missing.

“You fully healed your witch in the middle of combat, in a dampening field, and without using a spell to focus the energy,’"she said in an annoyed tone as she seemed to believe my confusion. “To make things even more concerning, you didn’t even realize you did it.”

“I still don’t get if this is a bad or good thing,” I said.

She looked like she would hit me if not for all the witnesses. “It’s a dangerous thing now. If you’re doing this, then Lorelei is correct, you are a mage that will cause us all a lot of trouble here and perhaps all across the sections of the abyss. Once the other cities and academies catch wind,” she shook her head and looked back to her mage and then at Brandi. “It’s a good thing I went first, a witch seeded with your power… I don’t think we need to show that off today. I doubt the dome would have held it.”

“Meaning what?” I asked.

‘Stop being an asshole and tell me what’s going on or I will attack her,’ Brandi said in a growling tone.

‘I’m trying to figure that out, okay? She’s not making a lot of sense to me.’

I looked up to find Kelly watching me again. “Tell her that everything is fine,” she said, and I sent that to Brandi.

Kelly then walked a few feet from me and with a quick motion of her right hand, the dome disappeared. There came surprised mutterings from the crowd.

“What the hell is going on?” Brandi shouted as she rushed across the field to step in front of Kelly. “Why d'you take the dome down? I didn’t even get a chance t—”

“You’re too weak,” Kelly said flatly. “And we’ve done what we set out to do so no need to continue the match. Hopefully next time you two will both be stronger.”

“Stronger?” Brandi asked as she bristled. “You haven’t seen anything from us—”

“We forfeit. You get your points,” Kelly said and faced the crowd. “I want this place cleared out in three minutes or I’m writing everyone up.” No one moved. “That mean’s now, people.”

The crowd broke apart, their voices mixing in the chilled autumn air, but I paid little attention to it. My focus was set on the redheaded teacher who was giving me and Brandi a very concerning and distrustful look.

She turned on her heel and headed toward where Lorelei stood. “Miss Lintz, a word with you in half an hour in the head master’s office, if you please.”

Soon, Brandi and I were the only ones still standing on the grass.