7 Deadly Instincts (The Sinfire Chronicles Book 1)

Weeks past and it wasn’t long before they were back at First Field, the weather getting warmer, as the seasons started to change once more.

Lilian stood with her bloodless blade in her hand. Her mana mark was completely, and yes, the lines on her face were startling compared to the soft lines on her face and her golden hair. No one would be calling her angel head any time soon, however, not when she had such a large mana mark on her face.

Something had changed in her since the Redemption Midnight, something fundamental. She did voice some concern that her next mana mark would be on the right side of her face, or maybe across her nose, but Gray would remind her that it hadn’t happened yet. They were to live their lives one day at a time, training and improving their mana, their cores, and their magical abilities.

“Who’s going to spar with me today?” Lilian asked. “Not Gray, since we don’t really need him to fight. He’s just our battery. And he’d want to use his dumb stick for everything.

Right on cue, Ames let out an ear-piercing shriek.

They all winced.

“What the fuck, Ames!?” Pinch roared.

Ames continued to scream until Gray pulled on her arm. “That’s enough.”

Lilian only giggled. “Ames doesn’t want me making fun of Gray’s stick. We all hate the stick, don’t we? Don’t we?”

The quelling elf screamed more.

“Ames!” Gray said sternly. “That’s enough! Not everyone has to like my stick. It’s fine.”

Settie wasn’t there that day. She’d taken the day off, probably to work on all the different aspects of being a sponsor that Gray hadn’t known about. One was giving Rabbi’s Posting information the team which would drive up interested. The broadsheets came out in the morning and at night, giving the city the news of the day.

The circulation was small—just for the rich, and they normally burned there copies once they were done. Now, however, Gray was very interested in keep up with the information. No wonder the coliseum was packed so often. The broadsheet was mostly news about First Field, the events, the squads, and all the various opinions on who was favored and who wasn’t.

Since he’d started reading the broadsheets, he saw how well Settie was positioning them in public opinion. There was one columnist named Sham Sunreach, which of course was a pen name that Settie was using to leak information from Squad 23. It was Sham Sunreach that had told everyone that Lilian Everheart was a princess from the Null Breaks. That had given her a lot more attention as a recruit than she normally would’ve had.

Pinch walked out onto the wooden platform. They still had the fires burning in the brazier because while the sun was warm, the wind had that Weeping Well chill to it.

“I’ll spar with you.” Pinch winced and itched at her belly. It was her adept mana mark coming in. She had two on her thighs and one was coming in on her stomach, which was a good sign. It was bound to be powerful.

Working more with her, Gray had noticed something. She could hold vast amounts of mana in her core, almost as much as he could. Her core had only gotten more powerful with each passing day as she became more and more comfortable with them. She couldn’t transfer the mana like Gray could, not from a distance and not even from touching.

Her core had that hunger to it, and it could take from him, but it couldn’t give anything back. If they could figure out how to change that, then it would be like having two Grays on the team, which would make them twice was powerful.

At the same time, Pinch was working on an adept ability more in line with her resonance, her lust resonance in particular. They’d talked a little, and while she didn’t let on that she even had a lust resonance, she wanted a command spell. That wasn’t surprising. According to her, if she command all the idiots around her not be such idiots, she could change the world.

When she’d said it, Gray had shivered. Settie had said the same thing when he’d vented his core that first in the kitchen when he’d heard that the princess would be coming to join them.

Pinch gazed at Lilian. She channeled the mana into her core, especially around her throat, and then growled. “Drop your sword!”

Lilian giggled. “No, silly. You drop yours. I could say something nasty about you failing to command me, but then, I don’t want Ames screaming. Hey, Ames, would you have screamed?”

“Yes,” the quelling elf said. “I’m thinking about screaming right now for just you saying that.”

“Please don’t.”

Pinch sighed.

“Why not try and charm me, Pammy?” Lilian leaned forward and shook her chest at the fae girl. Everything was covered, so not much moved. “Don’t you think I’m sexy?”

Pinch laughed. “At this stage, you feel more like a sister than a lover.”

“Kinky,” Lilian said, giggling again. “Does that make the charm spell better or worse?”

“Worse.”

More giggling from the fae. “Depends on who you ask.”

Gray couldn’t get a read on her. She wasn’t in that dark place, but she was also acting a bit crazy. She wanted more control over how much mana she channeled into her meridians, yes, but she was also desperate to manifest another neophyte ability. It wasn’t uncommon for neophytes to only be able to channel the mana and not have an actual spell. Everyone else on the team was different, though.

Tomi was sleeping standing up, arms crossed, leaning against one of the posts of the pavilion. She was even snoring a little.

Midj, however, was wide awake.

The goblin girl sighed. “Could we not, please? It’s bad enough that Rynn and Ames keep smiling at each other, and at Gray, and then Gray smiles back, and it’s clear that they’re all as randy as alley cats after getting into the cream.”

“Cream?” Lilian giggled. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a man’s cream.”

Pinch laughed at that one.

Midj blushed. “Let’s not talk about man cream. Can we focus on fighting for our lives and not dying?”

Rynn rushed forward. “I’ll proctor the fight. I’ll use the orcish salute. No wrath. Only patience. First touch wins.”

It wasn’t long before Lilian and Pinch squared off.

They exchanged blows, and Lilian tried to only channel a little mana into her meridians, but she failed again. Pinch, though, expected the single vicious attack, dodged it, and disarmed the princess.

While Lilian was on the ground, her core empty, the fae girl booped on her the nose. “And hence, I have won.” Pinch again tried to channel mana into her throat. “Get up!”

Lilian rolled onto her back. “Get fucked.” She giggled. “Grayson Fade, can you fill me up like you did before?”

Rynn smiled, laughed a little, and rolled her eyes. “She says it to get under our skin. I don’t mind. I have you.”

“I don’t mind either,” Gray said. “I have you.”

Pinch made a face but didn’t say anything.

Lilian giggled. “As randy as alley cats looking to get filled with hot man cream. Isn’t that what you said, Midj?”

“No,” the goblin girl scowled. “Let me go next. Pinch was the winner, let me fight her.”

The fae girl squinted. “We are on the same side, Midjara Munch. Go easy on me.”

Midj was doing a few stretches, getting warmed up. “Says the fearsome Pamalee Thornpinch. Don’t worry, Pammy. I’ll go easy. It’s just to first touch.”

“The touch is terrible, but your other ability is worse.”

Midj chuckled a little. “When it works. Still don’t have it right, yet.”

She walked across the pavilion, giving her bloodless blade a few swings. It was filled with mana, glowing gold, and buzzing a little. On her right hand was her adept mark coming in, discoloring the flesh there. It wasn’t itching, not anymore, but it was burning her. Every so often, she would wince when it hurt her.

Midj had her mana hands, and she had gotten very good at using two hands at once, and even grabbing weapons out of the hands of her opponents. But at the same time, she was working on her adept ability that just might change everything for them all.

“Same deal,” Ames said. “Same salute.”

Pinch still looked uncertain even as she repeated the orcish salute with her sword clutched over her heart.

The fight started and Pinch immediately left the crowd, crimson mana wings fluttering. Her color had changed as she progressed, which wasn’t all that uncommon at the first levels. When Midj tried to use her mana hands to grab the fae, she flew away, making sure she didn’t leave the confines of the pavilion. The hands were big and unwieldy, and while Midj was good, she could only do so much without totally demolishing the pavilion.

However, when Pinch flung her mana shuriken, Midj blocked the red magic missiles with her magic hands, which she moved around easily. Her big mana hands glowed a golden color, making them easy to see. She could move them around quickly, though, and she was getting better all the time.

Gray and the rest of Squad 23 all watched the fight in wonder. They’d come so far in the last number of months. What might have been a clash of bloodless blades had become a spectacle of more advanced magic.

“Stand still!” Pinch shouted.

Midj only chuckled. “Unlikely. But I like that you keep trying. Let’s try and push you out. I wanted this to end differently, but well, I guess it’s going to be what it’s going to be.”

The goblin girl went to shove Pinch out of the pavilion with her golden mana hand, but Pinch turned off her wings and landed on the ground.

Midj threw a manhand into Pinch’s face, stunning her, and abruptly, both golden hands vanished.

The goblin lurnged forward, grabbed Pinch’s arm, and Gray watched as Midj pulled the mana from the fae girl’s massive core. No matter how hungry that core was, it wasn’t a match for the Midj’s gluttony resonance, which ate and ate and ate.

“Midj wins!” Rynn shouted. “Midj, let her go.”

Midj backed up, stumbled and fell onto her butt. She sat there, blinking. “Gosh, I got a lot that time. Are you okay, Pammy? I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it would work as well as it did.”

The fae lay on her back, not moving. And not speaking.

They all hurled themselves forward, even Lilian, until they were all standing over the disgraced duchess.

She was conscious and smiling. Pinch even laughed a little. “Ouch. I told you to be gentle, Midjara.”

Tears welled up in Midj’s big gentle brown eyes. “Mother’s oven, Pamalee, I do so apologize. I would never…never hurt you or anyone, really. A demon yes. But another person?”

Pinch sat up. “Leave the killing to us, Midjara. Some of us already have blood on our hands. No one else needs to carry that weight.”

Lilian nodded. “It’s not easy, but I’d do it again. And again. And again.” She glanced up at Ames, probably embarrassed by what she’d just said. “Only if I have to. Grist would’ve killed me. Even then, it all just kind of happened. But I have let it go. A wise person once told me to take each moment as it came.”

Gray wondered if that came from him or if it was Oma, since Lilian also had visions of the place of water and stars.

The fae girl got up and then went and touched Midj’s shoulder. “No, this is good news for us all. I don’t like that feeling of…of having my core drained, but if you can do that on the battlefield, it can only help us.”

“Demons,” Ames said out of nowhere.

They all turned to look at her. Well, everyone except for Tomi, who was still sleeping by the side of the pavilion, arms crossed, eyes closed, head resting against the post.

The quelling elf frowned. “Standing in a river, if you can drink all the river dry, the river dies, but so do the trees, and the soil will weep and moan, so dry, because don’t you see? If you can drink the river dry, the riverbank will die as well.”

Midj closed one eye. “For one, only a god could drink a whole river, and I don’t even think a god could do that. For another? What are you talking about? And why did you say demons?”

Rynn answered. “I get it. If you can touch something and drain out the mana, if you could grab a demon and take all of its mana, it would die. Or do what demons do, which is mostly turn to steam. It was a nice way of putting all that, kind of poetic. My Aunt Florence used to say that singing or poetry is saying it nice and saying it twice.”

There wasn’t a hint of sadness in her voice. Not one little bit. But that was Rynn. If anyone could deal with the reality of death, it was here, because she could see things so clearly.

Which is what she had chosen to be her adept power.

Since Gray spent a great deal of time with her naked body, he could trace the mark coming in on her left shoulder. Her acolyte mark was just below it, and her neophyte mark above her heart, which was a very auspicious location. Each mark was getting bigger, which was also a good sign. Her adept mark would cover most of her shoulder. That didn’t bode well for Lilian if she continued to grow in power.

Rynn’s humility resonance allowed her to see herself as clearly as possible. One step further would be to anticipate the actions of her opponent. But it would be difficult.

Rynn was next to fight Midj.

Ames moved forward. “I’ll proctor the fight, if that’s okay.”

“Just fine,” Midj said. “Just don’t cheat.”

“Yeah,” Tomi said with her eyes closed. “Just because you’re banging one of the fighters doesn’t mean you should let them win.”

Ames laughed. “But I love Midj.”

“But not in that way,” Midj said quickly. “Mother’s oven, at least I hope not.”

“Not in that way,” Ames agreed.

The fight was short. Mostly, it was because Rynn stayed back, her sword buzzing, trying to anticipate what Midj would do next. Would she attack with her bloodless blade? Would she try and cage Rynn with her manahands, or would she race forward to try and touch Rynn to steal her mana?

Rynn stood stock, her eyes on Midj, who came forward with her sword. She went to stike at Rynn’s leg, but the elf parried it, and tried to strike back, but that was when Midj plucked the bloodless blade out of Rynn’s hand with two of her fingers. The blade went flying, losing it’s magic and become simple iron once more.

Then Midj dashed forward, grabbed Rynn’s arm, and shouted, “I have you now, missy! You and all your mana!”

“Midj wins,” Ames said quietly.

Both Rynn and the goblin girl stood staring at the little green hand on Rynn’s arm.

Midj squinted up at her. “You feeling anything?”

“No,” Rynn said with a smile. “And I didn’t see your attack coming. I reacted kind of how I normally do. At least I didn’t have so shout commands that you didn’t have to follow. I’d find that very embarrassing. Sorry, Pamalee.”

“On your knees!” Pinch yelled, hand held out. Both her throat and her hand glowed with scarlet mana but nothing happened.

“See?” Rynn wrinkled her nose. “Kind of embarrassing.”

It was such a surprise when Pinch laughed. “It won’t be when I perfect it. Until then, yes, I’ll look like a fucking idiot. There are worse things.”

If the fae girl had a humility resonance, she would be getting mana. As it was, her quiet confidence made everyone look at her a little differently. For once, she was calling herself an idiot and not one of them.

Midj shook her head. “I figured I had it down when it worked so well on Pamalee. Well, guess I’ll just have to keep trying.”

“Me too,” Rynn said, leaving the pavilion.

Since Midj had won, she stayed.

Tomi snorted, as if she’d just woken up from a dream, collected up her bloodless blade, dropped it, blinked a few times, and then picked it up.

She walked across the floor of the pavilion. “Well, now, Midj. I guess it’s my turn.”

The cat girl’s mana marks were saying on the left side of her body. She had one on her left calf, the next on the back of her left leg, and the third coming on her butt, which she would itch a little too much. Being beastkin, she didn’t care much about how improper that seemed.

Rynn returned to proctor the fight.

The minute she yelled fight, Tomi backed up. “Let me try something, Midj, before you get all handsy with me.”

Tomi reached out and Midj crumbled to the floor. She tried to get up, but it was like her limbs weighed a ton.

Gray watched as Tomi’s core emptied of mana. In seconds, she only had a tiny bit of magic left.

But whatever she had done to Midj had left her completely at the cat girl’s mercy. She still had enough mana in her core to nudge Midj gently with her boot. “Uh, I think that counts as a touch. But now, I have to sleep. Good night everyone.”

The cat girl left the platform, found a nice empty patch of brown grass, and then sat down with her back to the pavilion and fell asleep.

They all were still gasping at the violence of the attack.

Midj lay on her back, still moaning, even though the attack was over.

Lilian had a confused look on her face. “What just happened.”

Midj groaned again. “She put a weight on me. It felt like I was being crushed, only , it was from the inside out. Like I’m used to being a little on the heavy side, but after sparring all morning, I’d lost a good bit of my pillows. She put all that weight back on me.”

“And emptied her core doing it,” Gray said. “She’s out cold.”

“Who are you going to spar with?” Lilian asked.

“Who wants to spar with me?” Gray asked.

All the women raised his hand.

After watching them fight, there wasn’t a one that wouldn’t be tough for him to beat.

His own mana mark on his back was burning again, and he breathed into the pain, and slowly, the discomfort left him until it was gone.

He had an idea of what he wanted for his adept ability, even though he already had so many more weapons in his arsenal than what he had started with, that wanting more power seemed like asking too much.

But it wasn’t. If he was going to keep himself and his squad alive, he would need as much magic as he possible.

And since he had all of the resonances, at least the sinful ones, he had any number of choices.

He just didn’t now where to begin.

Luckily, they still had a few weeks before the Reckoning began.

Tomi’s display of power was incredible, but how would she do once she was underground?

They had to figure that out sooner rather than later, and like before, Gray thought that Settie would be their secret weapon.