Absolute Power: A Portal Harem Fantasy, page 7
“Where are we going?” I asked, once again hoping we were going up to the top floor.
“To the basement,” Edwin said. “I have a little… hideout, you could call it, where I like to work on my craft. Blair and I sometimes hang out and work together. You should see some of her art, she’s quite good at it.”
The elevator came to a stop. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting the basement to look like, but when we stepped out of the elevator, I found it looked exactly like the rest of the skyscraper, covered head to toe in large mirrors.
Edwin must have seen my frown, for he quickly said, “Follow me.”
I followed him to the wall covered in mirrors to the right of the elevator. He put his hand on the mirror. I expected the reflective surface to change to one of the whimsical worlds I had seen in the windows upstairs, but it remained a plain silver mirror. He pushed against it, and it swung open like a door.
This room was also filled with mirrors, but only one wall matched the other chambers. Instead of traditional wall mirrors, the other three walls was covered in reflective shelves. One wall of shelves held a myriad of strange looking weapons that I had never seen before. Shelves stacked high with books covered another. The third wall had shelves on the top while the bottom half consisted of a long table that was covered in half-built weapons and leaflets of paper. Those pieces of paper had drawings on them. There were more stuck to the wall at eye-level with what looked like small magnets. The drawings were intricate, and all of them were of weapons like the ones hung on the walls. I even saw a few weapons that matched the drawings, though most of the drawings seemed to be just that: drawings not yet made a reality.
I watched as Edwin walked to the ‘normal’ wall of mirrors. This time, when he put his hand up against the glassy surface, the image of a forest covered in trees of every color of the rainbow appeared. Deer grazed on the forest floor, but their fur was a mossy green, and small red mushrooms grew out of their backs. The sky that I could see above the colorful tree tops was pitch black, but the stars that shone on the inky backdrop were just as colorful as the trees below and bright enough to cause a light that could be mistaken for that of a cloud-covered sun. When I looked back at Edwin, I saw a small smile once again.
“The windows change sometimes,” he said. “Last time I checked, it was a giant library with floating books. I like this one, too.” He let his hand fall, and the image of the colorful forest faded away.
I looked around at the weapons I was surrounded by. “You made all of these?”
He nodded. “It’s a good way to pass the time when we’re not out fighting Shadows, and now it’s really coming in handy.”
He walked up to the nearest shelf, pausing to tap his chin a few times. At last he grabbed a long halberd, which was a mix between an axe and spear. He handed it to me, and I turned it over in my hands a few times, looking over the metal, which had a slight blue tint.
“This one’s good for stabbing and slicing. Though, if you’re more into slicing…” He reached up again and grabbed a scythe off of the shelf made of a metal that was tinted purple. As he handed it to me as well, the metal blade clinked against the halberd. He turned again, reaching back up, but paused. “If you throwing to slicing, though… it’s really all up to you.”
He pulled a silver box off of the shelf and dumped it out on the table. I saw a pile of throwing knives tumble out, each a different color and shape. Some were curved, some had sharp bends, and some were completely straight. I set the halberd and scythe on the table so I could properly inspect the throwing knives. They were nice, but Edwin saw the uncertainty on my face. He tapped his chin again.
“I have axes, swords, glaives, daggers, maces, bows, throwing stars– Hold on!” He stopped mid-sentence, eyeing one of the shelves.
I poked through the pile of weapons that kept growing as Edwin pulled down his creations from this shelf and that. The seemingly excellent quality of the implements in front of me mesmerized me, but one fact remained that I was certain he’d forgotten.
“I don’t know how to effectively use any of these,” I said.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be using any of these. If you didn’t notice, Blair is watching you,” he said with a smile.
Turning my head, I saw that he was right. Blair was leaning against a wall off to my side, staring at my hands which, at the moment, held one of the throwing knives placed before me.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
Blair’s eyes snapped to mine. She didn’t answer, but instead, she walked over to the bench beside Edwin and pulled open a drawer. Removing a small pad of paper and a roughly sharpened pencil, she began scribbling furiously. The amount of concentration on her face was remarkable. A bomb could’ve gone off and she wouldn’t have noticed as her fingers pushed the pencil this way and that. For ninety seconds, I watched in awe as she drew the creation she saw in her head. When she was done, she ripped the paper off the pad and held it out to Edwin.
Edwin glanced at the paper and an instant smile crossed his face. “Of course!”
“Of course, what?” I asked, leaning forward to get a look at Blair’s drawing. The only thing I could make out were some circular shapes.
“You’ll see! Better to get them made than have you worry about a drawing,” Edwin replied.
Blair went back to leaning in her spot on the wall and Edwin sprung into action. He was moving so quickly I took several steps back to avoid being run into. He leapt up on the bench, rummaged through boxes, flipped open a hidden panel and turned some knobs, slid on a very large pair of gloves that I recognized as being similar to the type welders used to keep from burning themselves. The longer he worked, the faster he got until he was whizzing around so quickly he was nearly a blur.
I stepped over to Blair and nodded in Edwin’s direction. “How is he going so fast?”
Blair looked at me sidelong. “It’s one of his gifts. He has to warm up into full speed, but it doesn’t take long.”
“So his magic is super-speed?” I wanted to ensure I’d understood her.
“Not so much magic as an ability,” she replied, returning her gaze to Edwin’s speedy form.
“What do you mean ‘an ability’? Wouldn’t that be a magical ability?” I asked.
“No,” Blair replied flatly. “Some Slanosians are born with particular innate powers. It’s no different than I imagine your people are born with certain characteristics.”
“Where I come from, a born ability is the talent for doing math or being more coordinated than others or having a sense of humor. We can’t put our bodies into hyper-drive.” I chuckled. “He really was just born able to move like that?”
“Yes. It’s one of the rarer abilities, but it’s rather useful at times,” she answered.
I was happy to have her talking a bit without a scowl on her face. “What did you draw on the paper?”
My joy ended when she slowly turned her head to look at me, her brow furrowed. “I’m an impatient person, Hudson, yet I seem to be more patient than you. You will see what I drew as soon as Edwin is done making it.”
I simply nodded and turned my eyes back to Edwin. He had most certainly warmed up because he was moving so quickly I could no longer make out the features on his face. The faster he went, the louder the sounds of banging and clanking echoed through the room. The wall with hidden panel turned out to be a stove that hissed and popped as Edwin put things in and pulled them out. The bench and the shelves shook as he whipped around.
Just when I crossed my arms and settled back against the wall, Edwin stopped. He stood directly in front of me, a child-like smile on his face. “Done!”
Blair stood up straight, pushing off the wall. “Let me see.”
Edwin led her to the bench and motioned towards a spot I couldn’t see. Blair looked down, carefully inspecting whatever was before her. She slowly reached forward and touched the weapon and then quickly retracted her hand.
She patted Edwin on the shoulder. “You’ve outdone yourself. This is it. This is his.”
“Hey, I just forge what you draw,” Edwin replied, laughing. I could tell he loved the praise he’d gotten from her, though.
Blair reached down and picked Edwin’s creation from the bench. She turned to me, her arms outstretched.
She didn’t hold just one weapon, however, she was holding two, one in each hand. At first glance, they were two round, flat blades. They were the size of dinner plates, but much thinner with an incredibly sharp edge. The center was empty, except for a blue U-shaped handle connecting one side to the other, so one could hold it in the center. She thrust the two unique blades out to me.
“They’re called chakrams where you are from, I believe,” she said. “They will serve you well.”
I took them from him, careful not to cut myself. They were surprisingly light, but still felt sturdy. I held one in each hand, turning them over, watching the light shine on the silver blade. My fondness for Edwin’s abilities surged as I stared at the blades. I’d seen weapons similar to these in a movie at some point in my life, but never imagined I’d have my own set.
The most unusual tingling buzzed through my palms as I held them, and suddenly, I knew how to use them. The realization stunned me, and I dropped the blades.
“What the hell was that?” I gasped. “How could I–?”
“I told you, they are your weapons,” Blair said plainly as she picking up my chakrams. “I wouldn’t have Edwin make something you had to take years to learn how to use.”
“But to just know how to use them?” I questioned. “I know how to use a keyboard for all sorts of things, but I still had to learn it. I know how to walk, but I had to learn that, too. How do I just suddenly know how to use those?”
Blair held them out to me again. “You get caught up in the ‘how’ of things a lot, don’t you? Who cares how you know? You know, and that is what is important.”
The science-lover in me wasn’t satisfied with her answer. If I could just know how to use such unusual weapons, what else was it possible that I knew, but wasn’t aware of? “I–”
I was cut short as we both looked at the elevator when we heard the doors open. I watched as Mary walked in, holding two shards of metal in her hands.
“This thing’s heavy,” Mary complained. “Can you please repair this for me while your ovens are hot?”
Mary held out what I saw were two halves of a metal bowl.
“Sure, no problem,” Edwin said with a smile, grabbing the bowl from her.
Mary turned to me, inspecting the blades in my hands. “Interesting choice.”
“You’re telling me. What’s more interesting is that I somehow know how to use them,” I replied, hoping she’d offer an explanation.
“Of course you do,” she chuckled and turned around.
I looked down at my new weapons and excitement spread through me. Blair was right. Why was I worried about the ‘how’ when what I should’ve been concerned with was the ‘when’?
“Will we be heading out to get some practice with these?” I asked, looking from Blair to Mary, who had turned back around.
Blair gave me one quick nod. “Yes. Let’s go.”
“Oh, now? Okay,” I replied. “Where are we going?”
Blair was already moving to the elevator. I followed, glancing at Mary as I passed her. “Are you coming?”
Mary laughed. “Hell no. I don’t get anywhere near Blair when she’s in battle mode, unless it is to fight an immediate threat like Shadows or something. I’ll just stay here with Edwin for now.”
I looked at Blair as I got into the elevator with her. In my excitement to test out my new weapons, I had forgotten who I would be fighting with them, in the broader sense of understanding. I didn’t get the feeling Blair was the most forgiving of teachers.
As the elevator doors began to slide, I mouthed to Mary, “Hope to see you again.”
She threw her head back laughing just before the doors closed completely and Blair and I began to move upwards.
10
I followed Blair down to the ground floor lobby of the skyscraper. She took a deep breath before pushing the doors open and exiting. I followed behind her as she led us across the street. There was a clearing I imagined was once a park of some sort. As we arrived, she turned to me.
“It’s time to find out how skilled you are with your weapons,” she said. “Attack me, and for your own safety, remember you are in a different world. Don’t count on the fact that everything works the same here as it did where you come from.”
I nearly kicked myself in that moment. It never occurred to me that the laws of the universe may be different. Gravity and inertia and force… how different would they be? The realization brought a bead of sweat to my brow. Suddenly, I was wary of how the training battle with Blair may play out. The one thing I did know was that I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Blair know my insecurity.
“I appreciate the warning, now let me return the favor. Don’t assume the magic my weapons bring is anything you’ve seen here before,” I said, feigning confidence, especially as I didn’t know what that magic might be. “You may have designed them, but they wielded by me. I’m sure that accounts for a measure of unpredictability.”
“There’s one thing you need to do before we start,” Blair said, looking irritated. “Kneel down and press your blades into the grass.”
“Do what?” I asked, confused.
“You heard me, and believe me, you’ll be happy you listened. Now get to it,” she snapped.
I kneeled slowly, feeling ridiculous. Was it some sort of tradition to join the weapon with the earth before battle? Or was the gesture one of respect to one’s opponent?
It turned out it was neither. The moment my blades dug into the dirt, every muscle in my body stiffened, and I was unable to move. My vision went dark, but then lights of all colors danced before me, completely blocking out anything around me. A far-off buzzing grew louder by the second at the same pace my heartbeat sped up.
A jolt ran up through my chakrams and into my hands. I couldn’t move my head to look down so I was helpless to see what it was. A similar tingling to the one when I’d first touched the blades ran through me, only much stronger. It traveled up my arms, and the moment it reached my chest, it shot throughout my body as though my speeding heart pumped it along with my blood.
Then it happened. Calm. Everything went completely calm. My muscles relaxed, my vision cleared, and the buzzing stopped. Only one thing was left: an arsenal of knowledge.
Normally, when someone in a movie gets an abrupt shock of knowledge, they have incredible flashes of equations and examples or someone’s memories running through their mind. At least that’s how I’d always seen it represented. For me, however, it was much different. If I was asked how I suddenly knew how to wield multiple magical abilities, I couldn’t tell you. The knowledge was just there. It felt as though I’d known all my life.
“What happened? How did that happen?” I asked Blair, not expecting much in the way of an explanation.
“You needed a conduit to access your magic,” she replied, her expression softening. “Your weapons are that conduit. Our people know of this process. It’s something of a ceremony here in Slanos for young men and women to receive their first weapons and unlock their particular magics, if they possess them. Some do, some don’t. You, very apparently, do.”
“So I was just shocked by a cultural norm,” I muttered, chuckling but not sure why.
“Now, let’s see what you’ve got,” Blair said as she pulled her sword from its sheath.
“I’m just supposed to start fighting you? I haven’t tested out this magic you speak of,” I told her.
“Exactly how would you like to test it out? Perhaps you want to throw your blades at random objects to get the feel for them?” she asked, her voice drenched in sarcasm.
“Not a bad idea,” I replied.
“Nope. You know how to use your weapons. You know how to use whatever other magic you now possess. Now, use them,” she snapped, making it clear the debate was over.
I looked at my blades as I gripped them tightly. I realized I had no plans to use them right away, however. My mind reminded me of an invaluable battle tactic, even though I’d never actually learned it. It was having the good sense to evaluate my opponent’s abilities before showing them what I could do.
Speaking of that, I could feel different types of magic flowing through me. Some were tied to the earth, some to the mind, and some I wasn’t even sure of yet.
I began the battle by following one of the first instincts that came to me. I focused inward on myself until I felt the buzzing I had earlier. That time, however, I directed it. I held my concentration until the tingling was all throughout my body and nearly painful. Then refocused on the ground beneath Blair’s feet. She was standing on grass but, thanks to her warning, I anticipated possible differences in the earth below.
The top layer of soil turned to liquid beneath Blair, which she wasn’t anticipating. She lost her balance and began to fall to her right. Her surprise didn’t last long. She jammed her sword into the solid portion of ground off to the side of her to stay upright.
So I moved my concentration to the lower levels of soil.
Still, Blair, whom I assumed had dealt with every kind of magic I may or may not possess, didn’t seem to know what was happening. Her reflexes were lightning fast, though. She grabbed onto her sword as her body sank into mud. She hung on, the toned muscles in her arms and shoulders showing their strength. Her focus was impenetrable as she immediately lifted herself out of the goo using only her arms, with a power so forceful her body launched out of the sludge I’d created and landed ten feet to the side of it.
