Free Wings of Nestor by Devri Walls Page A

and Emane were standing below. Alcander leaned against the banister while Emane pulled and tugged at the skintight black gear.
    “This is ridiculous,” Emane grumbled, pausing to push his hair out of his eyes.
    Kiora giggled as she came down the stairs. Alcander looked at her unabashedly, his eyes raking over her as they had the first time she had walked out in her gear. Emane, on the other hand, stared slack-jawed before his cheeks turned bright pink and his eyes darted away. She couldn’t help but check out the pair of them. Alcander was leaner, but no less toned than Emane, and their clothing didn’t leave much to the imagination. Giving her head a quick shake, she hurried down the remainder of the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, Emane glanced back at her, his eyes making short, jerky movements as he struggled to keep them on her face.
    “Your clothes are so tight,” he finally said.
    “Not as tight as yours,” Alcander pointed out.
    “Why, thank you for noticing, Alcander.”
    Kiora rolled her eyes. “Are you ready, or are we going to stand here all day?”
    “If you summon Emane’s weapons to the courtyard, we can begin.” Alcander said the word as if it were a disease.
    Once outside, Alcander eyed the pile of weapons and Emane’s shield. “How are you supposed to fight?” he asked. “Those will weigh you down.”
    “Since I can’t produce a shield spontaneously with my fingertips, I have to make do with this.” Emane picked up his shield.
    Alcander looked at it closely. “What good does that do against magic?”
    Emane’s eyes narrowed before casually turning around and examining the rest of the pile. “Not much—it’s fairly useless, actually. But it’s the best I have.”
    Kiora opened her mouth to explain that the Guardians had infused it with magic and that it could reflect spells back at the caster, but Emane shot her a look to silence her.
    Alcander huffed. He pointed at the sword. “And what will that do?”
    “This happens to be a magical sword that prevents the healing of your kind when I stab it through your gut.” Emane’s eyes glinted as he spun the sword in his hand.
    Kiora didn’t appreciate the visual.
    “You have to get it close enough first,” Alcander retorted. His fingers moved so slightly that Emane missed the motion and the sword flew from his hand. Flying end over end, it then buried itself in the grass. Emane’s hand flew out just as quickly, calling his sword back to him. It wiggled before freeing itself from the earth and flying across the courtyard into Emane’s hand hilt first.
    “Drem managed to teach me a thing or two before Dralazar showed up.”
    Alcander moved his hand again, but Emane was ready for him this time. The spell caught the edge of Emane’s shield, sending it spiraling back. The spell connected with Alcander, jerking him to the side and nearly knocking him off his feet.
    “Oh, that’s right…” Emane slapped his sword against his shield. “This reflects magic. I had forgotten.” He tossed his head with a smile as if to say “Silly me.”
    Alcander actually smiled at him, although it was closer to a sneer than any pleasantry. “But can you move fast enough to deflect them?”
    “Can you get out of the way if I can?”
    Alcander seemed to think about that for a second before firing two shots as he leaped into the air and then bubbled. Emane’s shield moved upwards, sending the magic flying back into empty space where Alcander had stood.
    “Behind you!” Kiora shouted as Alcander appeared behind him. Emane tried to turn, but Alcander fired a shot, knocking Emane onto his face.
    “No cheating,” Alcander chided Kiora.
    “No cheating,” Emane grunted, picking himself off the ground. “No cheating, he says as he uses magic to catapult himself twenty feet in the air.”
    “That was not magic.”
    Emane turned to look at him skeptically. “No magic?”
    “My physical abilities are my own. That’s why Shapeshifters don’t