Scarlet - The Attack

I summoned powers in my hand. It tickled my veins and pushed out through my fingers when I slapped one of the marbles beside me. It skidded down to the ring. Before I could think about my next move, the boys were on me.

Another marble came upon me fast. The speed took me by surprise. I couldn't let it hit my marble or else they both would be knocked over the edge of the cliff. Those little rascals. They were playing dirty, sacrificing one of their marbles to take out mine. A smart yet foolish move. Still, I could stop my marble in time before the collision. There was only one thing to do. I had to divert their marble.

I dashed in-between the marbles and fisted their boulder, sending it flying. A chant passed through my lips, adding to the speed. If they wanted to play dirty, I had no other choice but to follow suit. Surely, with such a speed, the boulder was bound to run over the cliff.

But, then I caught a glimpse of the fairy Brucie in the way of the speeding marble.

My eyes widened and my hands flew to my mouth.

Shit! I never asked what would happen if they were knocked off the cliff. Gosh, if this kid died, I was in big trouble.

Once again, I allowed my ignorance of these children to hold me back. With ease, Brucie stepped out of the way. The marble sped past him over the cliff.

I released the breath I held and smiled at him. He gave me a thumbs up, then pointed behind me. I turned just in time to catch two of my marbles going over the cliff.

"Hey!" I bellowed. "Is that even within the jurisdiction of the rules?"

Ethan smirked with a shrug. "The rule is to knock your opponent's marbles out of the ring and defend your marbles. It doesn't state how or puts any restrictions on what you do."

Oh, of course, they made the rules to suit them. Well then, I just had to bend them to my will too.

Damn these kids.

I strolled over to my last marble. Back in the same spot, I started. This game was not going my way.

"Now, it's our turn," Ethan yelled.

The other boys nodded, ready to put up a fight. With this attack, the warlock got the marble moving. His fist stopped inches from the shiny surface of the boulder but the force behind it sent the boulder sprinting down the field.

All four boys raced behind it. I took off with my marble. My tricks were not going to be as nasty as theirs but I had to do something to slow them down. These kids were talented and they knew it. It was time I realized that fact and stopped feeling sorry for them.

Jason had the marble now. His sprints were precise and clean. Great power dispersed into the atmosphere from his strokes. Ethan distracted the statues while Brucie took over control of the marble.

It took me a second to discover the warlock was not among his friends. He was behind my marble. Smart move. A large red energy ball appeared in his palm. I skidded to a stop at the weapon. The collision of marbles echoed behind me.

My gaze flickered to the ring. One marble remained. Three of theirs were still intact. If I kept this up, I was sure to lose.

I returned my gaze to the young warlock. He halted or tried to. The speed he was coming at didn't allow him such luxury. His feet glided on the grass. He released the energy ball within the same breath. The other boys moved out of the way. The power from the weapon knocked the kid over.

The heat from the tool kissed my skin before it came near. This wasn't the first time this child summoned such a thing but the ball was unstable, so the technique wasn't perfected.

I frowned.

These boys did play rough. Getting hit by one of these would cause severe damage.

I held out my palm. Instead of resisting the energy from the ball, I summoned it. The power was extraordinary. Waves of energy leaked from my palm, contradicting yet molding itself with the energy of the ball.

I swiveled around on my heels, carrying the weapon with me. My marble was still spinning down the field. If I used this, it would increase its speed. Not even the statues would be able to stop it. However, it would also risk knocking my marble out of the ring with the others.

Still, it was a chance I would have to take.

I pulled my hand back, converting the weapon into a huge power source. With a released breath, the power source shot from my hand. It spread out and thrust the marble forward. Just as I thought, the statues were no match for the power source. It was too strong. The wave of energy from it knocked everything out of the ring before the speeding marble touched the center.

I didn't know the rules, but I presumed they would have a problem if my ball was knocked out too. Therefore, I grabbed the little energy left behind by the power source.

It pulled me forward. I gritted my teeth and ground my feet into the ground.

"Stop," I commanded.

Within a blink of an eye, the marble heeded to my demand. It nestled on the edge of the ring. I pulled the energy a little back. The marble rolled safely into the ring.

I opened my palms. "Come."

The excess energy from the power source shot back to me, seeping into my pores. An electrical current zapped through my veins. My breathing ceased. My eye lips drifted closed.

One minute. Two minutes. Done.

The energy coursed through my body. My eyes flew open at the burst of flooded power in my system. I took short breaths, easing the pressure. A next minute and then everything settled down.

Brucie clapped. "You win!"

My marble was the only one left in the ring.

Ethan groaned. "Damn it! Bellamy, you idiot! Why did you even make that thing in the first place? She's a witch. You should have known she would use it against us."

The warlock held down his head.

I tsked. "Now, now, don't be rude. You all did wonderful jobs, and for that, I'll take into consideration what you wanted me to do if you guys won."

Brucie beamed at that. Ethan glared at his friends. Bellamy, the warlock sulked.

I sighed. "Okay, it's time to get out of this place. Put some clothes on, Jason." I turned my back to give him time.

If their plan didn't include something out of this world, then it would be fine to help them out. Ethan seemed to really want to win. I had to find out why.

"We're ready," Brucie announced.

On my way around, the buildings rose and we were back in the alley. The small marbles were scattered. My two marbles that fell from the cliff were at a slight distance from the rest. The boys picked up their marbles. I waved my hand and my marbles disappeared.

"So," I started, "what were you guys going to have me do if you won? Maybe I can help out."

Everyone looked to Ethan.

He stashed his marbles in his pocket. "I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat."

Oh. This is my opportunity to get a look at the coins.

"Do you guys happen to have a coin you can show me?" I tittered.

Brucie handed me a pouch with them. "You can keep that one. We have more."

I gapped.

Where did they even get so much money? On the other hand, they had two magical beings with them. Bellamy could conjure things. No doubt, he could do the same with coins.

We strolled across the street to the bakery. The bell above the door dinged at our presence. A few customers were seated inside. It was not crowded but it wasn't vacant either. Just the right amount of people to have a good business day.

The boys occupied the booth in the corner next to the window. I slid into the seat beside Brucie. As soon as we sat, a waiter came to take our order.

I preordered a big cake for Sabastian and a burger with French fries and a chocolate smoothie for now. The boys all ordered burgers. Jason ordered three. I forgot how much the werewolves ate. It would be wise to get a few burgers for Sabastian too. Not that I cared if he was hungry. It was just a self-preservation strategy. If he got a liking to me, then this need to kill me would subside. If not, it would at least give me time to find out why he wanted me dead.

Within rocket time, the meals were prepared and served. It was a far better service than in the world of humans. Those creatures were far too slow.

"Okay," I sipped my smoothie. "Are you guys ready to tell me why you wanted to win the game?"