And I controlled those channels.
With an exultant shout, I activated the Thief of Souls vessel and ripped the jinsei out of the constructs I’d bonded. Those still on their feet collapsed into heaps, and I pushed the power I’d stolen back into the vessel of the Army of a Thousand Eyes to reach out to even more constructs. Finally, I triggered the Thief’s Shield vessel, and my aura hummed with vampiric hunger.
I waded into the fight, my eyes burning black, my techniques at full power. The stolen jinsei in my channels hardened my fists into devastating hammers that shattered constructs with every blow. Eric fought right alongside me, laughing as he danced and dodged around our foes, pulverizing their heads with well-aimed open palm strikes.
Abi used his power to keep us from being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, while Clem’s and Hagar’s techniques shoved enemies into the killing ground between Eric and me. Nothing that went into that gap came out the other side whole, and soon the floor was littered with chunks of our shattered enemies.
The last of the dragon constructs charged in from my right side, and I snatched it off the ground with one hand around its wrist. I spun it over my head and threw it into the nearest wall, where it shattered into a dozen sparking pieces.
My medallions were warm against my skin, but they didn’t burn it. They were strong enough to absorb far more jinsei. Finally, something was going my way.
“That’s all of them?” Eric shouted. “I was just getting warmed up.”
“Arrogant,” Trulissinangoth snarled from across the arena. Her team had dealt with their attackers, too. “Anyone can defeat training constructs.”
Despite her words, it was easy to see the dragons had used a huge part of their jinsei to win their fight. If they were pushed again, they might reach their limit. That would leave them weak, nearly defenseless.
My Eclipse nature hungered for their cores.
I forced it back, and drew a deep, cleansing breath. This wasn’t the time.
Soon, though...
“We’re confident,” I said. “As are you. There’s no shame in that. Let’s find the next challenge.”
“It’s already here,” Clem said.
More sets of circles appeared in the air above us. This time, lines glowed between the circles. The black feather was connected to the trident. The ax and wolf’s head were also connected, as were the serpent and the scale.
“This is just like the first one,” Abi said. “Which circle should we touch?”
I thought fast. If this was the second piece of the challenge, choose your enemy, we had to choose very carefully. The Heron Blade Academy had been the ringleader of the opposing teams, so there’d be no help from them or the Atlantis team they’d allied with.
If I chose Tochi and the Jinsei Institute, I might be able to convince him to fight with us against the dragons. But his team was allied with the Bright Lodge, and their leader had been anything but friendly toward me at the meeting we’d had. Aesgir wouldn’t hesitate to attack me if he got the chance.
Still, Tochi was my best chance at pulling this off. If I chose him, though, Trulissinangoth would insist we take the Herons and Atlantis just out of spite. It was time for some reverse psychology.
“The Heron Blade Academy hates me too much.” I shook my head. “I won’t pick them.”
“Of course,” Trulissinangoth scoffed. “You represent everything they despise. You are an impure abomination. That is why we should pick them.”
“If you pick them, you pick Atlantis,” Clem said. “And if you think humanity’s strongest enclave would side with dragons, you may be more foolish than even I thought.”
“We have a compact with these teams.” The dragon team’s leader shrugged. “You can see they are waiting for us to make the first selection. That is proof they are following the plan, even after your feeble attempts to disrupt it. None of the other teams will betray us.”
“And we didn’t think all these teams would betray every other human, either.” It was my turn to shrug. “Did you ever think the Atlantis leadership only wanted you to believe they were your allies?”
The dragon team suddenly seemed awfully nervous. They looked to their leader for reassurance, and she turned her eyes away from my black stare.
“That’s nonsense,” she started.
“Is it?” Hagar gave her a bloody-toothed smile. “Or are you too arrogant to realize that the leaders of humanity might have played you? Because while they didn’t want Jace to win, those priests don’t want you to win, either.”
Trulissinangoth considered that for a long moment. Hagar’s lie was so convincing I almost believed it myself. The Inquisition were hateful monsters willing to sell out their own kind to the dragons. But that kind of ally could also become an unexpected enemy, and Atlantis was the face of the Inquisition.
“Humans have no honor,” the dragon growled. “So I will choose the school least likely to be involved in any counter schemes. We choose the Bright Lodge of Frostmir.”
“Fine.” I scowled and hoped the dragons didn’t realize they had played into my hands. “We accept.”
The Coopetition
THE ARENA CHANGED AGAIN the instant we selected our enemies. The enormous cylinder unfolded into an equally large hexagon. The gargoyle-like creatures descended from their perches on the walls far above our heads and alighted on six-sided pillars that rose up from the floor to
