Freelance Heroics by Stephen W. Gee Read Free Book Online Page A

extended a hand to Mazik. “Rysha Or’Huent. You’ve fought well so far.”
    Mazik took the offered hand and stood up. “Thank you. Can I interest you in throwing the match? I’m getting a little tired.”
    Rysha chuckled. “No, I don’t think so. Do you need me to go easy on you? I can’t go too easy, though. If this whole thing goes to a tie I have a feeling the judges will pick you in order to avoid a riot, so I’ve got to finish this before then. Sorry.”
    “No, come at me with your best. If we’re going to do this, we may as well give them a show. I wouldn’t mind a hint or two on your style, though.”
    “Sure. Just a small one though.” Rysha drew one of her daggers and slid her fingers into the grip. “I’m fast and I hit hard. You should probably dodge if you don’t want to lose immediately.”
    “That’s not very helpful,” said Mazik.
    “I’m your opponent. I’m not supposed to be helpful.”
    Mazik grinned. “Granted. Let’s have a good fight, all right?”
    “One of us will,” said Rysha.
    “Ooooo, I like you!” said Mazik, laughing. “I’d ask you out to dinner if I didn’t already have a girlfriend.”
    “That woman on your team?” asked Rysha, nodding toward Gavi.
    “What? No, uh, not her,” said Mazik. “My girlfriend is here, she’s just sitting elsewhere.”
    “Ah,” said Rysha. “Well, we wouldn’t have been able to get dinner tonight anyway, because you’re gonna be unconscious after this.”
    “One of us will be,” said Mazik. Rysha laughed.
    “And now, if the competitors will please get into position?” called the distant announcer.
    Mazik and Rysha moved to opposite sides of the inner circle. They bowed and drew their weapons, Rysha drawing both daggers while Mazik drew only one.
    “Let the fourth match between the leader of Team Kil’Raeus, Mazik I. Kil’Raeus, and the representative from Paragon, Rysha Or’Huent . . .”
    Bwaaaaaang!
    “Begin!”
     
     
    Rysha shot in front of Mazik. Her knuckledusters collided with his barriers, and his shields shattered instantly.
    Mazik gaped. He had a lot of experience getting hit, and he knew her strike, while powerful, shouldn’t have been strong enough to destroy his barriers so quickly. He also knew she wasn’t going to give him time to think.
    Mazik yelped as Rysha pressed him.
    The crowd roared as Mazik backed away, his next set of barriers shattering as soon as he brought them up. But he watched as they broke, and now he knew what was happening.
    It’s a barrier break spell , thought Mazik as he blocked one of her trench knives on his dagger. As her other fist struck, he watched as spears of deep blue mana stabbed into his barrier, disrupting his spell and collapsing it. Barrier break spells didn’t have good penetration and weren’t very effective against flesh, but they tore through barriers in an instant. It was advanced magick, beyond what Mazik could do. He knew how to deal with it, though.
    Don’t get hit , he thought sourly as Rysha stuck to him like melted gum. Easier said than done. She’s fast!
    So Mazik stopped trying. He stood and pointed at Rysha. “Back to Plan A. Mazik Blast! ”
    Fast as she was, Rysha couldn’t dodge Mazik’s spell. His mana battered her shields, but it didn’t deter her for long. She kept coming.
    Mazik kept attacking as well. Soon, a repeat of the previous bout emerged, another deadly back-and-forth with the two of them slugging it out at full power. Rysha battered down Mazik’s barriers as soon as he could raise them, and sometimes faster, punishing his exposed flesh with standard evocation spells. But Mazik was getting in shots as well, and her barriers weren’t as powerful as his, nor was she as quick at bringing them up. Soon she was taking damage as well. Their duel turned into a race to see who could batter the other down first.
    Mazik snapped his fingers, and blue fire roared between them, pushing Rysha away. To his surprise, Rysha didn’t