Immortal Coil by C. I. Black Page A

strike would only incapacitate him for a minute, maybe a little more. She had to finish him now. Take his head. It was the only way.
    Strike again, he yelled, but she couldn’t hear him. He was too far away.
    Her magic crackled just under her skin, pulsing with her heart. Her breath gurgled and the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth. She dropped her sword and grabbed Welkin’s face in both hands. Blue fire, called by instinct and desperation without gesture or incantation, burst from her fingers. It raced over his body and he wailed as the flames devoured his too-human flesh. Black smoke billowed around them and the acrid reek of burning skin washed over her.
    The powerful magic of the arena medallion flared to life, blinding Hunter, even from his distant vantage point, trapped deep in Anaea’s mind.
    And then it was over.
    The crowd burst into a thunderous cheer as Anaea sagged to the arena floor beside Welkin’s charred and soulless corpse. The front of her T-shirt was stained with both her blood and Welkin’s, but her wound was already healing, the tissues knitting back together.
    She coughed. Her mouth filled with blood and she spat it onto the arena floor. Let’s not do that again.
    He could have laughed. Mother of All, he was so proud of her. An unblooded warrior taking on a drake with lightning.
    The thought was sobering. She should never have been put in this situation in the first place. He should have minded his own business and let her jump off that bridge.
    Of course, then he wouldn’t have gotten to know what a strong woman she was. She was a warrior and he had to find a way to get her body back to her. She deserved at least that much.
    You’ll never have to do that again. I promise.
    She shuffled back to the double arches where she’d entered. Now I really deserve that shower. A few stitches. A panicked giggle escaped and she bit her lip. How in God’s name am I still alive?
    That’s long and complicated.
    Of course. And let me guess, it involves magic. Eventually all this will bite you in the ass. She sighed and leaned against the arch at the edge of the darkness. I guess that would be my ass. Since my ass is currently your ass.
    And for a moment he wished her ass was his. He shut that thought down fast. It was completely inappropriate given the circumstances and he couldn’t afford to think of her that way.
    Since we’re on the topic of magic, I thought you said Welkin wouldn’t have any.
    I thought we were talking about your ass?
    Don’t avoid the question.
    Fine. If she wanted to know, he’d tell her. One of the side-effects of my people’s… condition is magic. The magic, or rather energy, is everywhere, and it’s particularly in our spirits.
    You mean your people’s spirits are magic?
    Yours is, too, but not to the same extent. We call it spirit magic. But what you have that we don’t is a connection to an external magic, earth magic.
    Earth magic?
    The ability to do things like create gates, or make lightning or fire. It’s dormant in you, and only about twenty percent of you have the connection, but our spirit magic can waken it.
    So I could do anything I wanted?
    At the moment he really wished she could. They wouldn’t be in this predicament if he could cast spells like a true sorcerer. No. We can’t cast spells, only true sorcerers can. Usually we can only do one or two things, and often that second thing is being able to open a gate between dimensions. He checked the connection within her but it remained thready , as if she could only access her earth magic when desperate. Your connection is still developing and I wouldn’t consider it reliable.
    So no making a magical gate and getting the hell out of here.
    No.
    Lovely.
    As soon as I take care of business here, we’ll leave.
    Promises, promises. She pushed away from the arch and stepped into the darkness of the corridor. A hand seized her and shoved her against the wall. Her head hit the stone and lights danced across