died, he dropped like a rock. Before he was ten feet down, the duo set out for their next target.
Keryn and Iana leaped through the air like felines, pouncing on one cadet after another. Their prey reached slowly to the new paradigm shift, suddenly facing two targets, not one. Many faced Iana, as she flitted past, only to be struck down by Keryn’s brutal attack from behind.
Slowly, the pair picked apart the tradition of the aerial joust, degrading the more-honorable conventions of the Academy’s mainstay. In its stead, they created a barbaric battlefield.
For the first time since she arrived, Keryn began to feel at home. The weaving, serpentine strikes were familiar. The bloodlust of battle burned in her veins, as cadet after cadet dropped to the net, then to the lake. As they fell away, Keryn reveled in the disbelieving looks that remained long after realization of defeat dawned on those souls. The idea of teamwork in the aerial joust was too foreign for them to grasp, even after witnessing it firsthand.
After eliminating another pair of cadets, something strange happened to Keryn and Iana. Someone offered them a truce. Much as Keryn did for her roommate at the start of the joust, a young male Lithid named Malyster holstered his pistol and sheathed his knife as they flew toward him. Raising his hands, he requested amnesty.
“I want in,” he said bluntly. “You’re decimating the other students, which leaves me little doubt which side I want to be on.”
“What’s stopping us from just shooting you now?” Iana growled, her pistol aimed at the Lithid.
Keryn placed a hand over Iana’s weapon and pushed it down, as the trio hovered in midair. “Because, correct me if I’m wrong, we’ll need the extra help.”
“Everyone knows about your rivalry with Sasha,” Malyster admitted. “If you want to get through her lackeys and have a chance at taking her out, you’ll need my help.”
“Welcome to the team,” Keryn said with an evil smile.
Over a dozen more students were eliminated by the group before the others realized what they were doing. Suddenly, even confident competitors flew away, when Keryn’s team approached. The space around them cleared of potential targets, as the remaining half of the class alternated their attention between current battles and the unexpected group.
Disappointed by the lack of prey, Iana pouted. “Now that they’re on to us, what do we do?”
Keryn shrugged. There were aspects of her plan she never took into account. She hadn’t foreseen other cadets joining them, nor had she planned on others realizing her strategy and avoiding her team altogether. They were at an impasse until they could figure out their next move.
To Keryn, only one person existed who they needed to hunt, a prey who wouldn’t run if attacked by her team. In the distance, hovering at an altitude just below, Keryn spotted the cadet she wanted. Her eyes narrowed with unbridled hatred, as she pointed at the distant figure.
“There’s our next target.”
Iana and Malyster saw the female Avalon and her cohorts attacking a smaller group of cadets.
“Sasha?” Iana asked. “You think you’re ready for this?”
“I've been waiting for this chance a long time,” Keryn said. “I’m not about to miss it. “
“All right. What’s the plan? How should we play this?”
Keryn turned toward their Lithid teammate. “It’s time we put Malyster to work.”
Sasha smiled, as yet another cadet dropped into the net. The four friends flying around her assured her a victory, just as they had the previous day. Their strength in numbers left her with little concern about opponents, knowing no one could withstand five attackers simultaneously.
A disturbance on the far side of the field had been catching her attention for some time. Though she found it hard to believe, there was another group working together, eliminating students at nearly the same pace she was. There was marked fear and worry among the single cadets, whenever that trio came closer.
Before attacking the most-recent pair of cadets, Sasha lost sight of the trio. The commotion they caused faded. Disappointment replaced her curiosity, as she realized she wouldn’t have a chance to meet the other group and prove her superiority in the air. Instead, she relegated herself to searching for her next prey, as her four friends hovered protectively nearby.
A laser blast cut through the late-morning air, catching the female Avalon above Sasha just below the chin. She jerked, as her suit constricted, leaving her paralyzed. She fell with pleading eyes, lost to the net and the lake.
Spinning with hatred in her eyes, Sasha searched for the arrogant cadet who dared attack her. To her right and a little below, she saw the perpetrator moments before she fired again. Dodging quickly to the left, she watched the laser blast slide harmlessly past and strike the leg of one of her friends. Growling with anger, Sasha watched, as Keryn turned and flew quickly away like a thief in the night.
Sasha dropped into a dive, and her friends struggled to keep up with the determined Avalon. Though Keryn was the victim of Sasha’s ridicule, it was Sasha who felt most insulted. The thought of a Wyndgaart, a savage, living and flying side-by-side with her, nauseated the Avalon. To be able to embarrass Keryn in front of the class seemed a fitting finale to the derision since arriving at the Academy.
Quickly outpacing the three remaining members of her entourage, Sasha grew closer to the fleeing Wyndgaart. She wouldn’t require her friends’ help. She never had. Their friendship hinged on their establishment as a status symbol.
For Sasha, the more people around her, the more important she was to those upon whom she looked down. They were unnecessary, however, when it came to dealing with a savage. Sasha looked forward to reveling in the kill. Frowning softly, she realized how much she wished the knife would do more than just stun Keryn.
Keryn led her on a wild chase, weaving in and around several battling cadets. Her wings spread wide, Sasha glided easily past the obstacles, as she narrowed the savage’s lead. By the time she reached a comfortable distance to try shooting her with the pistol, there was a considerable gap between Sasha and her friends.
When it was wide enough, Keryn spun and flew backward without looking where she went. To Sasha’s surprise, Keryn raised empty hands, closing them into fists before extending the middle finger on each.
As the Avalon watched, her pistol momentarily forgotten, the tanned skin and colorful tattoos on Keryn’s skin began to run. Flesh hung loosely on her skull before being slowly absorbed like water into the oily, black skin beneath. Keryn’s features disappeared, replaced by a Lithid’s blank, oval face.
Even without a face, Sasha could tell the Lithid was smiling and mocking her. She howled in rage at being tricked, as she raised her pistol.
Keryn and Iana dived behind Sasha’s friends, as they lagged behind. In their eagerness to catch up to the Avalon, they failed to pay attention to threats around them. Before they knew there was danger, Keryn body- slammed the back of an Uligart female, driving her knife deep into her. Over her shoulder, Iana placed two well- aimed shots at another Avalon and froze her in place. Before the third friend could react, Keryn leaped from her perch on the paralyzed Uligart, spun in midair, and fired down, as the last of Sasha’s friends tried to track the Wyndgaart’s movements. The laser blasts struck the girl’s shoulders simultaneously, while Iana’s shots hit her fully in the chest. Stunned, her suit seized, as her two companions plummeted to the net.
Beyond Keryn and Iana, they heard laser fire and looked away from the three they just defeated in time to see Malyster fall toward the gossamer webbing after being shot and eliminated by a vengeful Sasha.
Keryn knew she should’ve felt remorse over having him eliminated after he served as bait, yet she didn’t. Malyster was useful and put her in a position to exact her revenge against the Avalon. She would feel guilty only if she fell to the net, not Sasha, and there was no way she’d let that happen.
Turning in the air, Sasha saw the two hovering nearby. Even from a great distance, the hatred on her face was apparent. Screaming obscenities that were barely audible over the gulf separating them, Sasha launched herself toward Keryn and Iana.
Iana dropped into a fighting stance, but Keryn placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Watch if you want,” Keryn said, “but Sasha’s mine.”
Dejected, Iana sheathed her knife and flew a safe distance away to observe. If necessary, she would intercede before Keryn was eliminated.
Once Iana was clear, Keryn launched herself at the charging Avalon, eager to meet her halfway. Her breath was quick and rough in her throat, as adrenalin coursed through her system. With their jetpacks at full throttle, the
