Chapter 17: A Thief In Noble’s Clothing
The glow on the boy’s hand pulsed brighter, the subjugation skill, ready to fire.
Noah moved first.
He surged forward, boots skidding against the dusty stone floor, ducking low under the student’s extended arm. In one motion, he twisted the arm up and backward.
The skill fired, but upward, the magic striking the ceiling in a bright burst of green light, scattering dust and cracking stone.
Noah didn’t stop.
He shoved his shoulder into the boy’s gut, then twisted hard.
Crack!
The arm broke at the joint.
The boy screamed, stumbling back as Noah grabbed him by the collar and flung him into the crowd behind.
They collapsed in a tangle of limbs and curses.
Noah knew he could keep using the room’s doorway. Now that they were calm, they’d realized that they could just keep using their skills, and he had nowhere to dodge.
With that, he jumped after the student, flipping over the tangled mass with a short roll across their shoulders and landing light on his feet in the hallway.