Way of The Wand
Chapter 29

Tomi tried to hide her nervousness, but as usual, her compulsion to twirl her braids when she was anxious gave her away.

“You’ll do great today; we’ve practised.”

Timi’s voice gave an extra dose of confidence, but it wasn’t enough.

Tomi thanked Timi with a weak smile, then urged him to go take his seat, leaving just her and Jira standing in the arena of the courtyard.

Arron had yet to show up, and Zaria was nowhere to be seen either.

Upon their arrival, one of Arron’s assistants had informed Jira and her students to go on ahead to the courtyard and wait there for Arron, promising he would join them in a matter of minutes.

It’d been almost a half hour since then and Arron was still a no-show. Arron’s absence gave Tomi some hope that maybe training wouldn’t hold today.

Jira on the other hand was getting impatient. She tried not to show any grievance, hiding her annoyance at being made to wait under a plain face.

The rest of her students were chatting in whispers on the surrounding benches, eager to see how today’s sparing match would go.

Tomi let the time pass by getting lost in the sights. The old Tartian house banner that had been torn off the pillar in her last battle with Zaria had been replaced. Everything she and Zaria had destroyed in their last spar had been updated with new versions.

The stock of weapons, the cabinets, even the chipped columns. Everything looked better now than it did before.

The door finally opened and Arron came in with not one, but two wizards in training: Zaria, and another dark-skinned boy with short hair.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” he apologized, his voice peachy and lively like it didn’t occur to him making people wait for almost an hour was more than rude, especially when he was in the same building.

“Oh and um, I’m sorry to say my mother won’t be joining us today.”

Tomi’s heart deflated with relief. That wasn’t news to apologize for, it was one to celebrate. At least she could fight without the old hawk’s eyes watching her keenly to point out her every mistake.

Arron gestured to the boy to his left. “This is Haruna. He and Zaria will be facing you today Tomi.”

Tomi’s cheeks folded into a frown. She didn’t have to utter a word of protest as Jira quickly covered that angle for her.

“You want her to face not one, but two wizard opponents?”

“Two wizard opponents that put together, don’t hold a candle up to your sister.”

Arron went on, gesturing to Tomi. “She needs the push. She does. You know this as much as I do Jira.”

Jira turned her head to the side to look at Tomi, who gave a subtle nod to show she understood.

“Are you sure?” Jira pressed. Something about Tomi fighting against two opponents didn’t sit well with her.

“Yeah, I can do this. Don’t worry about me.”

She meant it. Timi had given her a few lessons at home. They’d even practised. He thought her proper stances and everything, so that this time when she fired a spell, she wouldn’t be rocked back by the recoil.

Jira left with Arron to sit on one of the surrounding benches, leaving Tomi, Zaria and Haruna alone in the fighting pit.

Zaria and Haruna took up their battle stances, ready to begin.

Tomi slipped the crystal wand Arron had gifted her out of her pocket, and as she got ready, the heavy clouds moving in the sky drew her eye.

The rains were coming, and for some reason, it eased her spirit.

Tomi set herself into a ready position, taking deep breaths to keep calm. If she stayed in control, just maybe, she wouldn’t be embarrassed like the previous time.

“Go!” Arron’s booming voice sounded the instruction for the fight to begin, like a distant alarm call.

Tomi reacted slowly, biding her time to watch what her opponents’ play was going to be. She couldn’t afford to be rash here, not when she was up against two opponents.

When Haruna manifested two flaming whips in his hands, and Zaria conjured up her flaming boomerangs again, Tomi realized her only chance of winning was to separate the fighters and face one first before the other.

She pointed her wand to the floor, and saying “Rift,” watched with satisfaction as a mould of jagged rock sped from one end of the courtyard to the other, passing right between Haruna and Zaria and partitioning the fighting pit in two.

Tomi looked up at Haruna, who was momentarily taken aback by the wall of rock that had separated him from his partner.

She capitalised on his shock, firing off a blast from her wand.

Haruna toppled backwards but recovered quickly.

He lashed out his fiery whip at Tomi’s legs, and when he missed, curved his whip around again for a second shot.

Tomi slid out of the way, feeling the scorching heat of the flaming whip as it whooshed past her body.

She realigned herself, set to fire off another spell at Haruna when the rift of ragged rock beside her was rocked with an explosion.

As blocks and chunks of rock came at her, Tomi levied her wand against the incoming bits of rubble and cried “Melt!”

The mass of rubble turned into mush and slicked to the floor, saving Tomi from being crushed.

Taking her eyes off Haruna cost her, as, when she returned her attention to him, he’d already sent a block of rock her way.

Tomi ducked, escaping the projectile by a hair’s breadth and heard Jira gasp in shock. Her teacher must be anxious and worried, but she didn’t have the time to concern herself with that now, especially as Zaria just crossed the huge hole she’d made in the rift and joined Haruna on the other side.

Tomi had no choice but to face both at once after all and desperation made her think hard and fast.

As Haruna and Zaria set themselves in front of Tomi, ready to wage another bout of attack, Tomi came up with an idea, a drastic idea.

She waved her wand in a circle above her head and uttered the word, “Float,” switching off the gravity in the courtyard.

Haruna, Zaria and even Tomi herself floated slowly into the air, along with all the pieces of rocks scattered all over the floor.

The cabinet of armour and the platform of weapons rose into the air with the trio, the only things not affected being everything and everyone outside the boundary of the fighting pit.

While Haruna and Zaria were grappled with what was happening, Tomi pointed to the top of one of the surrounding pillars and whispered “Rope.”

A length of rope shot out of her wand and wrapped around the pillar, and Tomi followed up that move with another spell, “Fall.”

Gravity returned, and everything that had floated into the air crashed down and hit the ground with force.

The cabinet of armour broke open, spitting its contents across the pit while the knives, swords and axes from the platform of weapons spilled everywhere, adding another dangerous element to the battle.

Haruna and Zaria had their breaths knocked out of them as they collided with the hard ground while Tomi stayed in the air, hanging tightly onto the rope suspending from the pillar.

Zaria, weak on the floor but dead-set on not letting Tomi win, closed her fists and brought down the pillar.

Tomi yelled as she careened to the floor.

No one got up for a full minute.

Then, Tomi forced herself back up when she spied Zaria helping Haruna to his feet.

She pointed her wand at them and tried to say “Blast,” but Zaria manifested a flaming boomerang and threw it at her.

As Tomi contended with the burning boomerang, trying to dodge and destroy it, Zaria and Haruna used the opportunity to assemble the scattered parts of armour together, then enchanted it so that it could move on its own.

The enchanted suit of armour picked up a sword from the floor and charged at Tomi, who had but a second’s warning to flee its path.

The armour took another swipe at Tomi, and she fell back to dodge, her eyes wild with bewilderment.

She jumped back a little farther to put some space between herself and the attacking enchanted suit.

If she dissembled it with a spell, she could go back to confronting just Zaria and Haruna who seemed to have gone back to relaxing.

She flicked her wand at the armour and said, “Disassemble,” and sighed with relief and the suit crumpled back to its component parts again.

She turned away from it to face Zaria and Haruna only to see them making gestures with their hands.

“Tomi watch it!” Jira screamed.

Tomi whirled her head back at the warning.

The suit had reassembled and bloated several feet in size.

Before Tomi could do anything, the giant suit kicked her and sent her flying across the fighting pit into the wall.

That ugly hit made Jira fly from her seat. “Tomi!”

Tomi was unresponsive, even as Jira shook her aggressively.

“Tomi!” Jira’s voice quivered. When Tomi remained still wouldn’t move, Jira dipped her hand into her pockets and brought out a healing potion.

She put the bottle to Tomi’s mouth but could only get a few drops in.

She heard the motion of people converging around her, Arron and her pupils, all beside themselves with concern.

Jira waited, praying silently for the potion to work. Thank the Gods she’d gone out to buy a new cauldron just the day before. Healing potion brewed from her old cauldron would certainly not be effective enough to reverse an injury like this.

There was a collective sigh when, after several heartbeats, Tomi finally drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Jira slid her arm under her pupil and cradled the younger lady against herself.

“I’m okay,” Tomi coughed, trying to ease the worry so evident on Jira’s face. She tried to squeeze her way out of Jira’s grip, but Jira only hugged her tighter and pressed the bottle of potion into Tomi’s hands.

“Drink up.”

A few drops might have done the trick, but to make sure no further complications developed, Jira wanted Tomi to drink it all.

“But I’m alright,” Tomi protested and got shot a look, not only from Tomi, but the entire class, that “no” wasn’t an option.

Tomi obeyed and drained the blue liquid inside the bottle halfway.

Jira raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied. “Finish it.”

“It tastes like crap,” Tomi protested again.

“Finish it.” Jira’s voice was sterner this time.

Tomi put the bottle against her mouth and drained down the rest. To prove she’d swallowed it all she opened her mouth and twirled her tongue from side to side.

Satisfied, Jira collected the empty bottle from Tomi and helped her to her feet, only for Timi to push past Jira and enclose Tomi in a hug.

“I’m fine,” Tomi said, answering the question he’d asked with his crushing embrace.

He wouldn’t let go of her until Zaria’s voice broke out from behind them.

“We’re sorry.” The wizard girl apologised on behalf of herself and her partner.

“Yeah,” Haruna agreed, “we went too far.”

No part of this was their fault and Tomi didn’t want them blaming themselves for an accident they couldn’t have seen coming.

“No, no, you didn’t. This is on me. I really need to stop getting distracted in battle.”

She hoped taking responsibility in that manner would at least make the wizards feel a little better about the accident. They didn’t deserve to return to Thatchel wrought in grief, especially since the only reason they were here in the first place was to help train her, to help make her stronger. If anything, they ought to return to their school with her gratitude and not guilt or blame for any of this.

Arron clapped his hands together, his face setting into an easy smile. “Well, safe to say that’s enough sparring for today.”

He squeezed Tomi on the shoulder. “But rest assured. We will try again, and again, until you become strong enough to defeat Daila.”

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