Luther's Pride Part 35

Helena struck first, but without the use of her arcana. She stepped forward with her stance and leveled a solid blow at Luther’s core, which he quickly sidestepped as he cast his spell, trying to regain that sense of meditative peace despite his surroundings. 

While he had plenty of experience casting and fighting simultaneously, his tricks were short, effortless castings that he’d developed beyond their normal limits. His new arcana was a longer process, which took more focus than the few seconds he usually devoted to such things. 

If this were an actual fight, he should have started with one of his wives’ arcana already active. Lesson learned. As it was, his constant dodging of Helena’s mundane attacks kept him off-balance. Tracking her movements, moving to avoid them, and trying to focus on reaching that spiritual pool between them were too many balls to juggle. 

Helena pressed her assault, jabbing at him with a right punch and ending that attempt with her left knee, lifting it into Luther’s stomach as he moved to dodge her fist. She knocked him back a step, but not enough to knock him over. She kept her guard up, but Luther didn’t counterattack; he kept his stance evasive and shifted away from her as much as possible. 

“Come on!” Helena said. “If you’re going to use an arcana, use it!”  

He understood her point, but it was easier said than done. 

Helena cast her spell, and her eyes flashed red. With her increased speed, Luther was lucky he’d picked the appropriate direction to spin. Her shoulder met the open air, and Luther grabbed her wrist, planted his hand on her back, and continued his spin as if to send her flying forward, but she was immovable. Unlike in the sparring session, she left her spell active, and she easily tossed him aside. 

Luther knew he was in trouble the moment his feet left the ground. He landed on his back and rolled, narrowly avoiding Helena’s follow-up kick. She stomped after him as he continued his roll as though he were tumbling down a hill. 

At the last moment, he launched himself into the air and struck, kicking her in the midsection. His heel landed against her stomach, but her hands clasped his ankle and held firm when he tried to pull away, causing him to stumble. Her enhanced strength meant he had no escape. 

“Your leg’s broken.” Helena said, as if bored. “And now your ribs are.” She moved as if punching him directly in his core, though she moved slowly to demonstrate her point. She could crush his ankle and still hold him one-handed with her enhanced physique. Meanwhile, he was in her power, and if this were a real fight, he’d be dead. 

“Come on.” Helena said. “I know you can beat me. You’ve done it before.” 

“I wasn’t trying to cast my arcana last time.” Luther said. “It’s easier.” 

Helena ended her spell and shoved him away, making him hop for a step before he got his foot under him again. “You need to cast faster.”

“I know that.” Luther said. “Repeating it doesn’t help me cast it any faster, you know. You can’t expect me to go from a slow, meditative process to a quick, combative one in five minutes or less.” 

“I expect you to try!” Helena said, punching her palm for emphasis. “Come on. And try to connect to one of the others’ arcana. I want to see if distance plays into the effect.” 

Luther held up a finger and tried for a moment, focusing on the connection he felt to the pool of energy, and following the streams there to Eira’s spirit. Everything seemed in place, and as accessible as before. 

“The connection appears to be a spiritual one, rather than a physical one. I’m not sure geographic distance affects it, or if it does, we aren’t far enough away from each other for me to feel a discernible change.” Luther said. 

He cast his spell, slipping into Eira’s spirit, and casting Foreshadow. He opened his eyes to see Helena and the shadows overlaying her. Hopefully, this would let him predict her movements, even with her enhanced speed. He felt the drain on the pool of energy at a slow and steady trickle, and he took up a fighting stance for Helena. 

“My plan this time is to try and switch directly from one connection to another.” Luther said. “Right now, I’m using Eira’s arcana. Hopefully, that will give me enough time to make the change.” 

Helena nodded. “Smart choice. If you’re going to start a fight with one of our arcana’s, though, and I recommend you do, it should probably be mine. Invulnerability will let you shake off a lot, so you won’t have to worry about maneuvering as much, and speed will let you create distance.” 

Luther nodded. The advice was sound, and he respected it. Still, any of their arcana was a significant advantage over none. 

Helena and Luther took up their stances, and Luther watched her shadows cast her spell and move. The darkest shadows struck to his left, where he’d dodged before. The lighter shadows moved to his right, where she’d struck last time, and none of the shadows came for where he currently stood. 

Helena surged forward, and the shadows shifted. To his surprise, Helena moved to his right, but despite her speed, he was still one step ahead of her, jumping backward and lashing out with both fists, striking her on the back of the neck. 

If her magic hadn’t fortified her, it would have sent her staggering forward, possibly knocking her off-balance and making her face-plant onto the stone. Instead, she recovered quickly and swung toward him with a backhand. Again, her speed didn’t help her as he ducked and rolled forward, turning to face her once more. 

She rushed to his right, and Luther was already moving to his left when she arrived. This time, however, he dropped the spell and cast his own. His spirit diverted along the path and moved around the pool as he gestured with his fingers to direct himself and maintain his visualization. He couldn’t make it to Helena’s spirit in time, but he made it to Jo’s and entered her spirit as he had before. 

The tradeoff was that he lost focus on Helena and didn’t predict her movement enough to dodge the incoming fist that hit his stomach. He flew backward, landing awkwardly on his ass, but having completed his spell, he remained in Jo’s spirit. The pain felt lessened, somehow, and he rolled away in a moment and cast her spell in the ancient language as he smashed his hand upon the stone. 

The ground burst between him and Helena, knocking her back as she raised her arms to block the chunks that flew her way. Meanwhile, Luther redirected them, improvising a spell of her arcana to redirect the stones in the air and fire them toward Helena with the word “Fly.” Simple, one-word spells seemed to be the most effective, since the stone was slow to respond, and longer phrases required longer focus. 

Besides, healing the stone and repairing the damage was something for after the battle. 

Helena laughed. “You did it!” She shouted as her fist slammed through the stone, shattering it as it flew toward her. 

Luther saw his advantage, and he pressed it, keeping her on the defensive as he cast spell after spell, creating a cloud of dirt and dust around them until he had difficulty seeing Helena. Knowing she couldn’t see him either, he dropped out of Jo and back into the pool, then quickly cast his spell to join Helena’s spirit. She’d know, of course, feeling the connection the way she had before, and the “ah!” of surprise from the center of the cloud let him know she’d felt his spirit connect to hers. 

He cast her spell, strengthening his bones, joints, and flesh as he walked into the cloud of dust. He waved his hands to clear it from his face, squinting to keep the dust from his eyes. He coughed, and Helena’s fist came from his side, punching into his ribs, but not shattering them. He met her strength with his own, and grinned as he planted his feet, grabbed her wrist, and spun her, lifting her off the ground and slamming her into the stone in a hold that wrenched her arm behind her, holding it aloft with his foot on her shoulder blade. 

“I yield!” Helena cried, and he immediately released her. 

She rolled to her side, chuckling and coughing as she tried to breathe through the dust. 

“That was much better!” Helena said. “Way more improvement than I expected!” 

“Starting with an arcana in place made the difference, I think.” Luther said, offering Helena a hand as he dropped out of her spirit and into the pool. It had less power in it than when they started, and Luther figured that might have to be it for an hour or two. “It’s easier to drop from one spirit and move to the other than it is to move from myself and into the other.” 

Helena tilted her head in confusion, but she must have realized that it made sense to Luther. “Whatever works!” 

She took his hand and regained her feet. They brushed themselves off as the dust cloud settled, and the two of them were grinning like idiots. 

Dirty, smelly, and a little worse for wear, neither of them cared about their disheveled appearances. The results excited them, especially Luther. He kept reviewing his spell in his mind, perfecting it, and simplifying the hand motions. He needed to be quicker, but this was a promising start. 

“Ready to learn the speed spell?” Helena asked, straightening her spine and stretching her shoulders. 

Luther turned to tell her yes when his eyes fell upon someone who’d just entered the garden arena. She stood at the edge of it, as if nervous, and her short stature contrasted sharply with Helena’s tall, muscular frame. 

“Emily?” Luther asked, confused as he stepped forward. 

Helena turned sharply at the name, spinning to see Emily Burville standing at the opening, walking forward with something in her hands. 

“I’m so sorry for interrupting.” Emily said, her voice gentle and quiet as she glanced at Helena, to whom she was apologizing. “But I found this in my brother’s things, and I thought I should return it.” She held aloft a leather-bound journal and offered it to Luther. He recognized it as one of his father’s and sighed, opening it to check which one it had been. 

This journal was a series of notes collected on Barbarian hordes from over the mountains, beyond the border of the empire. That Lucas should be interested in such information surprised Luther. Still, it was also possible he’d stolen it on a gamble that it contained something useful, and the journal had proven to be a disappointment to him. 

“I’m afraid I must apologize on his behalf.” Emily said, brushing some of her short, dark hair behind her ear as she bowed her shoulders forward in her apology. “I’m so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you, and I’d beg you not to pursue a challenge over the matter.” 

Luther had no intention of challenging Lucas, though he thought someone should. If nothing else, he disliked Lucas and thought him ill-mannered. Emily, however, possessed all the class, dignity, and bearing that escaped her brother. 

Luther bowed to her in return as he took the book. “Of course.” He said. “Thank you for returning it. Assuming he’s taken nothing further from my father, we can consider the matter closed.” 

Emily nodded and straightened. She glanced at Helena again, as if hesitant to speak with the woman there. 

“Is something else the matter?” Luther asked. 

“I… I wondered if I might impose upon you for your hospitality.” Emily said, clearly fearing rejection. “I find myself unwanted in my home, and in need of a place to live, for a while.” 

Luther and Helena shared a look. It wasn’t a request for marriage, but hosting her as a guest. Normally, there’d be no question. He’d be glad to offer his generosity to a friendly local noble. However, her family ties were a consideration. If the surprise of his arcana was lost, then he and his spouses lost a significant advantage in the upcoming battle with Banan and his partners. If anything, depending on what she’d overheard, it was likely a good idea to keep her here and make sure she stayed here as a hostage should she not wish to be a guest. 

“What has happened?” Luther asked. “Why should you be ousted from your brother’s house?” 

“It is Banan’s house now.” Emily explained. “Lucas joined the Feothe Union this morning, but I refused, and now find myself unwelcome.” 

“Well.” Luther said, not needing to look at Helena to see her agreement with his unspoken proposal. “You are welcome here. I insist you stay here.” He nodded behind her, toward the house. “Come, I’ll make the arrangements with my man to see your quarters prepared. Have you eaten breakfast?” 

“No, my lord.” Emily said, bowing graciously to offer her gratitude. 

“Come then.” Luther said, gesturing toward the exit and leading their procession. “I’ll leave you in my wives’ care while Helena and I bathe off the dust from our match, but then we’ll join you for breakfast, and you can tell us all that has transpired since our farewell last night.” 

“Thank you.” Emily said, following him and Helena through the garden. “I cannot tell you how much your generosity means to me, my lord.” 

“And I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you’ve returned one of my father’s belongings to me.” Luther said, holding up the book and then tucking it under his arm again. The house was new since Luther had left, and there weren’t many possessions in it that reminded him of his late father, but the journals? His father’s journals were sacred to him. His last connection to the man’s spirit, and he hadn’t realized how heavy Lucas’ theft of them had weighed on him until Emiliy returned it. 

Helena, sensing his disquiet, placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed for reassurance. They had come a long way in their training this morning, and things were looking up. Hopefully, Banan made less progress than they did, but with Emily on their side, if not in their union, they had hope.