faster than I'd anticipated and grabbed my leg just below the knee, twisting it and pulling me off the ground with ease. He launched me across the pit, and I slammed into the concrete wall on the far side.

All the air left my body in one rush, as my ribs and back screamed in pain. I fell to the ground, causing my ribs to yell once more. For the briefest of moments a voice inside my head said, you can't win this. I shook my head again and got back to my feet, but an instant later Randal was beside me, raining down kicks and punches as I dropped to my knees and tried to avoid or block what I could.

When one punch sailed past my nose, I grabbed his wrist, using his momentum against him and slammed his face into the concrete wall.

I smashed my elbow into his knee, and he cried out in muffled anguish. Another shot to his stomach, caused the air to rush from his lungs and he dropped to the ground in pain as I got back to my feet.

Randal wasn't finished. He shoved me away with enough force to lift me from the ground and dump me a few feet back. I rolled with the impact and came back on my feet in time to watch Randal get back to his. Blood trickled from his nose and he wiped it with one hand, leaving a bloody smear across his face.

And he charged me again.

I didn't roll. I barely moved until the very last second, when I stepped aside and caught Randal by the elbow, bending the arm up and back until it was past his head. Gravity did the rest when it took him off his feet and slammed him head first into the wooden floorboards, which cracked from the impact.

'Give up,' I said, locking Randal's elbow behind him. When he didn't reply, I placed one foot on his shoulder, and wrenched until it popped. Only then did I let go.

Randal screamed in pain, his left arm totally useless. But still, he wouldn't give up. Instead, he rolled to his good side and forced himself back to a standing position.

'I was worried this would be hard,' I said with a smile, which faded as Randal grabbed his arm and forced it back into the socket with a grin.

He sprinted toward me, and caught me with a punch.

It wasn't that I didn't defend. I'd put myself in the position to block the punch, but the power behind it lifted me from my feet and almost spun me in the air before dropping me back onto the ground with a thud that look my breath away.

As I tried to get back to my feet, Randal kicked out at my elbow, and it buckled from the blow. A kick to my head put spots in my vision and I moved as fast as possible to get away, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid a second kick which glanced against my shoulder.

Randal grabbed the back of my shirt and hoisted me to my feet, pushing me up against the concrete wall and punching me in the jaw. My vision was too fucked up to defend myself properly.

Randal's punch to my solar plexus dropped me to my knees as I fought for breath. I desperately wanted to tear him in half with my magic.

'You're going to die in here,' he whispered into my ear, as the crowd directly above us roared its approval. 'You won't be the first. I've taken people in here before to teach them lessons. Sometimes they don't make it out, but if they do, they always remember. You're going to be one of the unfortunate ones.'

The pain in my stomach had subsided enough for me to speak. 'You're a fucking idiot.' I head butted him on the bridge of the nose with everything I had.

Randal staggered back, holding his face which streamed with blood, and allowing me to get back to my feet.

'Don't ever taunt someone you have at your mercy,' I said, and slammed my fingers into his exposed throat.

He immediately dropped to his knees and struggled to breath.

The thought of those Randal had murdered in the very place where I stood sent a cold anger flowing through me.

Randal spat on the floor and pulled himself upright, his breathing still laboured. And I caught him on the jaw as he stood to his full height.

I'm pretty strong, certainly stronger than any human, but there was no way I should have been able to knock down a werewolf with one punch to the jaw without the help of magic. Randal crashed to the ground like a sack of bricks, and the shouts from above died immediately.

I stalked over to my opponent as he shook his head free of the cobwebs, and I pulled him back to his feet by his collar, slamming him into the concrete behind us, much like he'd done to me only moments ago. Unlike him, I wouldn't give him time.

I kicked his knee out, dislocating it, and immediately smashed my own knee into his stomach, and then into his face as he dropped. His jaw broke, but he refused to go down. Another punch to his eye ended his fight, and probably his ability to see anything.

He tried to shove me away once more, but I kicked his arm aside, rolling him onto his back. And then I started punching him, over and over again, starting on his stomach and working my way up his torso. The punches came with inhuman speed; each one breaking bones and tearing ligaments until I reached his face, where I destroyed what remained. And when I was finally finished, I stepped back and looked up at Elijah.

'Is that what you wanted?' I shouted at him as the rage inside of me screamed for me to kill Randal, to send a message.

I turned back to my prone opponent, to find him darting toward me. I dodged too late and he slid a knife between my ribs, before he crashed back to the floor.

Someone above me screamed. I had no idea who, the wound took all of my attention. The knife had been silver and the metal caused my insides to feel as if on fire. I dropped to the ground, and the black marks on my chest came to life. Not too long ago there had been six of them, each one a blood magic curse designed to do things long since hidden to me. Two of them had vanished, one's use was still unknown to me, but the other had uncovered a hidden depth of power which I'd been unwilling to tap into. Until now.

Blood magic glyphs flared, the dark marks covering my arms and chest. More screams sounded from above and then all I felt was calm as my magic went to work healing my wound.

The pain subsided in seconds, the wound closing soon after. I had no idea how I'd managed it, or how it was even possible to heal a silver wound that quickly, but I didn't care. The blood glyphs left me, and glyphs of pure white crossed up my arms, taking their place. I got back to my feet, and glanced over at Gordon who was screaming at Elijah about Randal being a cheat. Randal was getting back to his feet, his face a mess of ground meat.

I created a sphere in my palm, using my fingers to cause it to spin rapidly as I placed more and more air magic inside it. When it contained enough, I ran at Randal and drove the sphere into his chest with everything I had. And then I released it.

The devastation was total. The magic that engulfed Randal whirled and roared, it swallowed whatever screams might have escaped Randal's mouth. And by the time the magic had dissipated, there was nothing left to suggest he'd ever been standing there. The unleashed magic had destroyed everything behind him, including both the concrete wall and solid earth for twenty feet, leaving a five foot wide trench between two groups of spectators above.

No one moved, or spoke. I'm pretty certain there wasn't even any blinking, as every single pair of eyes was aimed right at me.

Elijah broke the silence. 'Cheat,' he shouted. 'A sorcerer.'

Noise exploded above me once more, only ending when I did something stupid. I removed my t-shirt and unleashed my magic. Orange glyphs replaced the white as two whips of fire were created, one from each of my hands. I walked the length of the pit the noise and smell of burning wood tailing behind me as the whips dragged along the floor, until I stood beneath Elijah. 'If you think you'd like to continue where your boy failed, you're more than welcome.'

Elijah looked pale. 'You are no human,' he eventually seethed.

'You never asked,' I told him. 'That's no one's fault but yours.' I walked back to the centre of the pit. 'Anyone who wants to step in here with me, I created an easy access for you.' I pointed to the crater and the wolves' eyes followed my hand, either transfixed or wondering if they really could take me.

A thud from behind me took my attention, and I turned ready to strike, but found only Tommy walking toward me.

Вы читаете Born of Hatred
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