Taken

Luna rose and walked to the starting lines. Her curse lashed and twisted around her, and it looked pissed off. Over the crowd I caught a glimpse of Anne and Variam watching closely. Anne looked worried. Variam just looked like he was enjoying the show.

“Ready?” the arbitrator said. “Fight!”

Both Luna and Natasha started more cautiously this time, neither wanting to risk an attack that might leave them open. Luna attacked first, her whip flicking out to glance off Natasha’s shield. Natasha struck back but this time Luna’s whip met the attack head on, slashing into the lance of water and erasing it in a flash of light before it could reach her. Natasha pulled away.

Luna began to advance. This time instead of big slow swings she kept the whip in front of her, slashing at Natasha with quick strikes that didn’t leave her vulnerable. Natasha backed off as the whip cut into her shield, the impacts landing left and right and left again. Luna kept advancing, eyes narrowed in concentration, and it became obvious that Natasha didn’t have an answer for the steady beat of attacks. Experienced battle-mages can shield and strike at the same time but Natasha didn’t have the skill. Natasha kept backing away, flinching. Left, right, left—and then Luna changed the pattern. Instead of going back to the right she flipped the whip handle through a complex move and the whip reared up behind Natasha like a striking scorpion, stabbing through the back of her shield where it was weaker in a flash of brilliant white.

“Point, right. Two-one. Places.”

Luna backed off. She was breathing hard but she looked satisfied. Natasha didn’t.

“Match point,” the arbitrator said. “Ready?”

Luna nodded.

“Ready?”

Natasha gave a tiny nod.

“Fi—”

Natasha struck with overwhelming force, sending a pillar of blue light at Luna with bone-crushing power. But Luna’s curse saved her again, her sidestep taking her just far enough away. The whip licked out without Luna even swinging it and the silver strand hit Natasha squarely in the face. The conversion field couldn’t stop it all this time and through the brilliant flash I saw a tendril of mist stroke Natasha’s cheek, soaking into her.

“Point, right,” the arbitrator said. “Match. Luna Mancuso wins three-one.”

The crowd started to applaud. Natasha just stood there, staring at Luna. Luna’s curse can’t be felt when it hits. To Natasha it would have seemed as though Luna had won without even touching her. The mages at the back of the piste released their spell on the azimuth focuses and the shields winked out. Luna turned her back on Natasha and marched down the piste, holding the handle of her whip high in triumph. She looked for me in the crowd, grinning. “Alex!” she shouted over the applause. “Did you—?”

Behind, Natasha’s face twisted in sudden rage.

“Luna!” I shouted.

Dark blue-green light streamed from Natasha’s hand and this time there was no azimuth shield to stop it. Luna had started to turn and the movement took her partly out of the line of the spell but not quite far enough. It splashed across her side and lower back.

Luna hit the floor with a shriek. A second later the arbitrator grabbed Natasha, dragging her off the piste. I was running for Luna but as I reached the piste I checked myself. Luna was writhing on the floor in pain and her curse was active and uncontrolled, twisting and striking blindly. If I came any closer—

Then Anne was there and she didn’t hesitate. She dropped to her knees beside Luna, pulling Luna over onto her front. Luna screamed again and as I saw her back I drew a breath in horror. Natasha’s spell had eaten through Luna’s clothes and skin, revealing red muscle and white bone. And as Anne touched her, Luna’s curse jumped into her, tendrils wrapping around Anne and soaking through her skin. If Anne was aware of what Luna’s curse was doing she didn’t show it. She placed her hands on Luna’s back at the edge of the horrible injury and concentrated.

Soft green light flared up, linking the two girls together. Luna arched her spine, but she wasn’t screaming anymore. The blood soaking from the wound stopped flowing, and as I watched the ruined muscles began to regrow, interlacing and rebuilding themselves before my eyes. White bone disappeared beneath flesh and the flesh disappeared beneath a new layer of pale white skin. It was over in seconds. Where Luna’s back had been a ruined mess, now it was bare and flawless. The only sign of the wound was the ragged hole in her clothes.

Anne tried to get to her feet, staggered, and nearly fell. Luna’s curse was still streaming into her and I jumped in and drew her away out of range. Luna sat up on the floor, but she was obviously dazed and didn’t know what was going on. The hall was filled with shouts and noise. I held Anne up and an instant later Variam was there, supporting her as well. I could see the silver mist of Luna’s curse glowing around Anne—