14 Loop 0, Part 14

Like I said, glass wants to be opaque. That’s one of the first things you learn in Enchantment Theory, assuming you’re awake, which is a discriminatory standard. Transparency is not a natural state. Transparency is something glass does under pressure. Darkness is what glass does when nobody is bothering it. Or something like that. I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention to the unimportant bits.

The amber lenses went black, and Holt screamed. His shield collapsed. His hands went to his face. He stumbled backward, clawing at the rubber strap with one hand and firing blindly with the other. A [Force Bolt] slammed into the containment ward six feet to my right. Another cracked the marble in front of him and sent a white chip skittering across the platform.

There was that property damage, and it wasn’t me this time.

“I can’t see! I can’t see!”

Always nice when a spell performs according to its description.

He spun in place, his wand sweeping wildly, his free hand yanking at the strap. The rubber had tightened against his sweat and panic. The adjustment buckle sat at the back of his head, which was rude of it, but not my fault. Equipment design mattered, and people ignored this and then acted surprised when their own clothing betrayed them. He looked like a lunatic, it wasn’t my fault.

“Someone help me! Get it off! Get it off!”

He fired again. This one hit the floor near his own foot.

The crowd went quiet.

That was new.

I was used to people laughing at my antics or acting shocked. Through [Wideview], I saw Finn leaning forward, his mouth slightly open. Sarah stood near the practice strip with her arms crossed. Neither of them was finding this entertaining.

That should have mattered. Probably did. I didn’t care.

Instead, I counted to seven. Holt had stopped spinning by then. He dragged in one shaking breath and shoved the goggles up with both hands when he finally realized how stupid he was being.

The first thing he saw was me.

And I hadn’t moved.

His jaw tightened. The fear disappeared behind his face and became anger. Then he rebuilt his shield construct and started forward.

His caution was gone.

Patience had gotten him blinded in front of two thousand people and made him look like an idiot. So, clearly, moving felt better. People loved doing things that felt better. That was why they made so many terrible decisions. Myself included.

He closed to fifteen feet and raised his wand, but I beat him to it. I pointed at the marble between us and chanted, “[Slick].“

[Slick – Enchantment]

Cost: 10 mana.

Removes friction from a target surface. Area scales with mana investment. Duration: until dispelled.

Stone wants to be smooth. Marble especially. This platform had been polished for centuries. Well, maybe decades. I don’t know. It had been here a long time, and every grain had already been bullied into alignment. I just asked it to commit to the bit.

And it all behaved.

The marble under Holt’s boots went frictionless. His right foot slid first. He shifted to catch himself, and his left foot went the other way, because balance is a group project, and his feet were terrible at teamwork.

His wide stance became wider, and then much wider, and then educational.

His arms windmilled. His shield flickered out. He swung his wand arm loose as his knees buckled, and the bolt he had been about to cast went in whatever direction his arm happened to be pointed.

At me, of course.

I still hadn’t moved. Today was a banner day for my laziness. Mostly, I hadn’t moved because moving required decisions, and I’d already made several today. So, I mean, was it really worth it?

Clearly, the bolt disagreed with me. It quite clearly felt I should have moved, because when it hit me, it knocked me sideways into my own [Slick], and I swear I felt a rib crack.

There are dignified ways to win a duel, and this wasn’t one of them.

The crowd exploded, because of course they did. Holt had landed a hit after making a fool of both of us. It didn’t matter that he’d done it while falling down like a bookshelf with anxiety. He had struck the headmaster’s nephew. The clear underdog in the fight had drawn blood, or at least embarrassment.

I lay there for a second, my ribs aching, my elbow aching. My dignity aching. Through [Wideview], I saw Finn. My own supposed best friend was laughing at me.

I got up.

Holt was still on the marble. He’d gone down completely when his own bolt threw off what remained of his balance, and now he was on his hands and knees, trying to crawl toward the dry part of the arena. His gloved palms pressed flat against stone that had no interest in helping him.

He got one knee under himself, lost it, got it back, and then lost it again. He was breathing hard, the effort of just getting off the ground proving to be a little too much for the guy. His face was still red from the goggles, and his hair stuck to his forehead. But he wasn’t yielding. That was admirable and terrible in equal measure.

I pointed my wand at his right boot.

“[Unbuckle].”

[Unbuckle – Enchantment]

Cost: 8 mana.

Releases fastening hardware on a targeted object. Instant.

The brass tongue sprang free. Leather sagged around his ankle, and his foot shifted inside the boot.

“[Unbuckle],” I cast again.

His left opened too. There went his anti-[Trip] innovation. Footwear science wept.

Holt glanced down and then back at me.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Enchantment.”

“This is ridiculous.”

He tried to stand, and his right boot slipped off and dumped him back down to his knees. He screamed in frustration. He tried to rebuckle his sandals, shoes, whatever they were, but he couldn’t. He slipped again and hit his face.

I tried hard not to laugh.

Oh, man.

I let him try a third time, because I’m a patient educator, and this was a nice break from this ridiculous thing. But finally, Holt abandoned his buckle and crawled toward me. He made it about a foot before his knee slid out again, and he went flat on his stomach.

Some people never learn. Dude should have just fought me from there. I mean, like, force spells work from a decent distance. Come on.

I pointed at his robe.

“[Shrink].”

[Shrink – Enchantment]

Cost: 16 mana.

Contracts fabric and leather on a targeted object. Duration: until dispelled.