‘You’re right,’ I said, rolling up my sleeves to let him see the flat, lifeless inks of my own six tattooed bands. ‘So you’ve got to ask yourself, why would I challenge you now?’
Tennat hesitated for a second before he said, ‘Maybe you’ve been having death-dreams and you know I’m the best person to help usher you into the grey passage and end your suffering.’
‘Could be,’ I conceded. ‘But let’s say for the sake of argument that it’s something else.’
‘Like what?’
I had a whole speech planned about how I’d banded myself with shadow – the seventh and deadliest of magics, the one forbidden to us all. If that didn’t scare him I had a different bit about how the truly great mages among our ancestors could wield the high magics without sparking their bands at all. Just as I was about to speak though, I saw a falcon flying overhead and decided to switch tactics.
‘You don’t need to spark your bands if you’ve found your power animal.’
Everyone looked up to see. Tennat’s smirk was just angry enough to tell me he was getting nervous. ‘Nobody bonds with familiars any more. Besides, how would someone with as little magic as you ever attract a power animal? And a falcon? No way, Kellen. Not in a thousand years.’
I noticed the falcon was about to swoop down on a smaller bird. ‘Dive, my darling,’ I whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. There was a sudden nervous intake of breath all around me as the falcon’s claws took merciless hold of its prey. It occurred to me then that I might have made a decent actor if it hadn’t been a forbidden profession among the Jan’Tep.
‘All right, all right,’ Osia’phest said, waiving his hands in the air as if trying to cast a banishing spell on all our nonsense. I was fairly sure the old man knew I hadn’t acquired a familiar, but I guess it’s bad form to reveal another mage’s secrets, even when they happen to be lies. Or maybe he just didn’t care. ‘I recognise that it’s traditional for there to be a certain amount of … posturing prior to a duel, but I think we’ve all had just about enough. Are you ready to begin?’
I nodded. Tennat didn’t bother, as if the implication that he might not be ready were an insult.
‘Very well,’ Osia’phest said. ‘I shall commence the counting.’ The old man took in a deep breath that was probably excessive given that all he said next was, ‘Seven!’
The breeze picked up and my loose linen shirt flapped noisily against my skin. I dried my hands on it for the tenth time and cleared my throat to get rid of the tickle. Don’t start coughing. Don’t look weak. Whatever you do, don’t look weak.
‘Six.’
Tennat gave me a wide grin as if he had some big surprise waiting for me. I would have been more scared if I hadn’t seen him give every opponent that same look prior to each duel. Also, I was already as terrified as I could possibly be without collapsing to the ground.
‘Five.’
The bird swooped overhead again so I looked up and winked at it. Tennat’s smile wavered. Evidently he was capable of simultaneously believing I was a weakling and yet had also acquired a power animal. Moron.
‘Four.’
His left hand formed the somatic shape necessary for his shield spell. I’d never seen him prepare the shield before the sword. He looked down at his hand to check the form. Tennat was just a little worried now.
‘Two.’
Two? What happened to three? Pay attention, damn it. Tennat’s right hand made the somatic shape for the iron attack spell we informally call the gut sword. His fingers were perfectly aligned to cause the maximum pain in his opponent. His head was still down, but it was starting to look as though he might be smiling again.
‘One.’
Okay, Tennat was definitely smiling. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea.
‘Begin!’ Osia’phest said.
The next thing I felt was my insides screaming in pain.
Like I said, magic is a con game.
Mostly.
To an observer, it wouldn’t have looked as if anything was happening. There was no flash of light or roar of thunder, just the early evening light and the soft sounds of the breeze coming from the south. Iron magic doesn’t create any visual or auditory effects – that was why I’d picked it in the first place. The real fight was taking place inside our bodies.
Tennat was reaching out with his right hand, carefully holding the somatic form: middle fingers together making the sign of the knife, index and little fingers curled up – the shape of pulling, of tearing. The horrifying touch of his will slipped inside my chest, winding itself along my internal organs. The pain it created – more slithering horror than anything blunt or sharp – made me want to fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Damn, he’s fast, and strong too. Why can’t I be strong like that?
I responded by letting out the barest hint of a laugh and smiling effortlessly. The look on Tennat’s face told me I was creeping him out. I was probably creeping everyone out, since confident smiles weren’t exactly my customary expression.
I let the corners of my mouth ease down a bit as my gaze narrowed and I stared straight into Tennat’s eyes. I thrust out my hand as if I were stabbing the air – a much more pronounced gesture and by all rights much too fast for an initiate like me to do while holding on to the shielding spell. Where Tennat’s hand formed the somatic shape with care and precision, mine was looser, almost casual, something few would dare because of the risk of breaking the shape.
At first nothing happened. I could still feel Tennat’s will inside my guts, so I let my smile grow by a hair – just enough to let him see how sure I was that he was completely screwed. The painful pulling at my insides began to subside just a little as Tennat’s gaze lingered on me for several agonising seconds. Suddenly his eyes went very, very wide.
That’s when I knew I was going to win.
The other reason I’d chosen iron magic even though I couldn’t wield it myself was because when a mage uses the gut sword to attack, he has to use a second spell – the heart shield – to protect himself. But it’s not a shield the way you might think of a big round thing that acts as a wall. Instead, you use magical force to maintain the shape and integrity of your own insides. You have to picture your heart, your liver, your … well, everything, and try to keep them together. But if you start to panic – say, if you think the other mage is beating you and nothing you’re doing is working – you can inadvertently compress your own organs.