Killer Magic Academy

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I sat on one of the benches in my reserved locker room as I played with the bottom hem of my black t-shirt. All competitors in the showdown were required to wear the same black t-shirt and black pants, with slight style adjustments between the boys and girls.

"How likely is that I'm going to die?" I asked Nile. "Honestly?"

She shrugged. "You've been training none stop with us for two weeks now, which will give you a better chance than if you went to class. Plus, you have the element of surprise."

I sighed. "Yeah, what's the plan on that? When do I make it clear that I'm not a powderer?"

"Don't, unless you have to. I would save it for as long as you can. First, you're up against Matilda, who's an earth. Watch your feet. Remember all the times in training with the chasms? That's what she's good at."

I nodded. "I know. We've been over this. Just get her off the ground and stay off the ground myself. Not hard."

Nile sat down next to me. "Just remember, one toe on the ground and you're screwed. I've seen what she can do, and trust me don't underestimate her. When you crack your first powder, throw it up in the air, and use the air to direct it over to the stands where Octavian will be. He'll take care of that from there."

We hadn't gone over this. "Why?" I asked.

"Because if it touches the ground in the arena, Matilda will know it's a fake, and if you direct it to a random spot in the stands, someone else might realize what it is."

"Why don't I send it to you, then?"

She shook her head. "To obvious. It's known all over the school that I support you. Most people don't know that Octavian is in my training group."

"Got it," I said with a nod.

"Keep her on the defense and you'll be fine. Make sure you crack a powder for each different branch you use. Throw an air first, and then an earth, and then the other two. It doesn't really matter the order or which one you pick. Most people can't recognize which is which."

"I know."

"Don't make eye contact with anyone in the stands."

"I know."

"And if anything really bad happens, don't worry. Hector and Julie asked Loch to be one of the regulators. His job is to shut down anyone who continues after the round is over."

That made me feel much better. "That's really good for me."

"It also means don't stop until you are sure the round is over. Especially once we get to the later rounds where you might be up against someone who can cause you to think it's over when it's not. But don't worry about that right now. Keep off the ground. That's all you need to remember."

The horn sounded and I stood up. It was a high pitched squeal that cut through the air and brought forth what I was hoping was not my impending doom. But I had a feeling it was. If only I hadn't been so headstrong and had to confront Anthony during my first week. It was my first week! What was I thinking? I didn't know that people would help me. I didn't know what to do with myself or my powers. I just wanted to prove a point to Anthony and everyone else in the room. I guess it was also to prove something to myself. To prove that maybe, just maybe, I was someone worthwhile. Someone that could do something to make a difference. As of that moment, I knew I made a difference in the minds of everyone here. I just wasn't sure it was a good one.