I would compliment you, however you just moved within range of one who uses a close quarters weapon as their focus.” She removed the dagger from Eva’s throat. “As lithe and as delicate as it looks, it is still a deadly weapon. Unless you have a counter, don’t get close.
“Take a seat Miss Eva.”
Eva frowned as she walked back to Juliana’s side. If Zoe hadn’t already known about her abilities, she may have been able to surprise the woman. That didn’t make her wrong. In real combat, Eva would never attempt to get close to someone with a weapon if there were alternatives. But in real combat, Eva would have used blood magic and Arachne, if she were around.
Eva took her seat and watched as Zoe Baxter knocked another student on their back. It was a good show, to be sure, but Eva wondered just what the purpose was. She offered next to no pointers and taught no spells that would help. If she was trying to test everyone’s level, then everyone lay somewhere around abysmal in comparison to her.
This was probably why there were almost no students above the second year. The new students didn’t know any better and the second years wanted to see if what they learned in class would help. For the most part, it didn’t.
“Anyone else?” Zoe looked around the crowd as her latest demonstration limped back to his seat.
To his credit, the boy was one of the better ones. He erected a violet shield that stopped the marbles. He tried to launch spikes of ice at the instructor, but the moment he did, his concentration and shield wavered. Zoe sent a handful of marbles at once, intending to break through, but the shield went down just as they would have hit it.
His ice spike did make Zoe sidestep, for whatever that was worth.
“Miss Rivas. You are looking like you want to try. Care to step on stage?”
Eva glanced at her friend. She had her usual half bored, half tired look on her face. She wasn’t even glaring or really staring at Zoe.
Still, Juliana stood and stepped up to the stage, withdrawing a simple wooden wand. Eva had yet to see the girl use anything else for her magic.
“Prepare yourself.”
Zoe launched a good ten of the steel marbles all at once. Eva did make a note that not a single one had been aimed at the blond’s face. She winced as her friend just stood there.
The marbles impacted. The blond remained unmoved. Instead of knocking her across the room, the marbles splotched out on her sundress the way Eva imagined paintballs might. The silvery metal flowed over her dress and coalesced into a thin plate over her chest.
“Ferrokinesis,” Zoe said. “The ability to control metal within a few inches of oneself. An earth magic spell that is an almost perfect counter to these attacks, and of a skill level far higher than a pre-first year. Where did you learn it?”
“My mother.”
“Indeed. Let us step it up a bit then.”
Something must have clued Juliana into the coming attack. A thick column of earth shot out of the ground just as Zoe finished speaking. A lightning bolt crashed into the column an instant later.
Eva jumped in her seat, as did half the crowd.
Juliana already launched her counter attack. Shards of the earth column that broke off with the lightning oriented their sharp ends towards Zoe. With a flick of her wand, the shards launched off.
Zoe stood her ground. Her pile of steel marbles launched at the incoming earth shards, intercepting every one.
A gust of air caught Juliana off guard, rocking her back slightly. She dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding several of her own earth shards carried by the wind.
A bolt of lightning crackled over her head. “Enough,” called Zoe Baxter.
Juliana climbed to her feet. She pocketed her wand and brushed herself off.
“You did exemplary. You found a way to completely nullify my use of projectiles. In addition, your reflexes to my second attack were top of the line.” She turned to the crowd. No, she turned to Eva. “However, Miss Eva. I saw you out of the corner of my eye. You very nearly attacked me. Why didn’t you?”
Heads turned as almost the entire gathering of students focused on Eva. Eva glanced around, feeling a sudden twisting in her stomach. Juliana just gave her a light smile, barely a twitching of her lips. “I–”
“Miss Rivas could have been the first to strike me since I started these seminars seven years ago. It would have taken just a little distraction.”
