Free Deliverance by Brittany Comeaux

then lunged at him with her fist
ready to strike. Fire surrounded her fist and she aimed straight
for Bogdan’s face. He managed to bring his own hand in time to
catch her fist, but the fire burned through his glove and singed
his hand. He released his grip and Crystal threw a punch with her
other fist, also aflame, but Bogdan was able to block it with his
sword.
    Crystal jabbed with each hand, leaving burn
marks on Bogdan’s sword. He finally brought another, small knife
out of his armor and attempted to strike Crystal from the side. She
easily jumped away in time, and then Bogdan charged at her again,
this time, bringing his sword down on her from above. Crystal once
again dodged and the enormous sword crashed to the floor loudly.
The nimble mage bounced onto the pillar behind her and to Bogdan’s
amazement, stuck onto the pillar for a split second, and then with
a small burst of energy, she bounced off and landed on the other
side of him.
    “How the hell did you do that? That’s
impossible!” he shouted.
    “Well I just did it, didn’t I?” she answered
sarcastically.
    Enraged, Bogdan charged at her again. She
flipped backwards again and returned fire with a lightning bolt,
striking Bogdan’s armor. It gave him a nasty shock, and while he
was disoriented, Crystal struck him in the chest with her fist
aflame again, knocking him to the floor.
    As Bogdan lay on the ground, Blaze brought
his sword out and attempted to strike Crystal from behind. Gavril
ran straight for the path with his sword drawn, but before anyone
could say, “look out!” Crystal had drawn her blade, turned to face
Blaze, and blocked his enormous sword with hers. Both father and
son watched in shock as she held back the prince’s enormous sword
with her small one. All the while, not once did her arms tremble
under the weight.
    “How . . . the hell . . . did you do that?”
the prince stuttered.
    “Brute strength isn’t everything! With the
right skill, a doe can defeat a lion!” replied Crystal, who then,
with quick movements, released her grip and knocked the prince’s
sword sideways. She then turned back to the king just in time to
block an attack from him. When Blaze attempted to attack her again,
Gavril blocked his path.
    “It is cowardly to attack an opponent from
behind!” he said to the prince, “However, she is not your opponent;
you may fight me if you wish!”
    Blaze grinned smugly. “Very well.”
    “I will be your opponent as well!” Sigurd
said, proudly jumping in beside Gavril.
    “No Sigurd.” replied Gavril, “I appreciate
your help, but I would like to fight the prince alone.”
    Just then, they turned their attention to
the back of the room, where Kerali was shooting arrows at Saitar,
who was knocking them aside with force fields. The rogue elder
began shooting energy blasts at the elf, putting him on the
defensive. The twin halflings attempted to help by throwing knifes
at the elder, but he blocked those as well.
    “Help the others keep the elder busy,
Sigurd,” said Gavril.
    The dwarf tapped the bottom of his huge axe
on the ground and shouted, “Dirty traitor! Let’s see how you like
my axe in your skull!”
    As Sigurd ran off to fight, Blaze laughed
and said, “You should have accepted his help, old man; you’re the
one who is going to need it.”
    The two exchanged blows between swords as
Crystal continued to fight Bogdan. More ice strikes, fire punches,
and energy blasts did not fell the wicked king, but Crystal refused
to give up. She bounded back and forth across the room, avoiding
attacks and blocking others, striking back when she had a chance
to.
    Gavril fought gallantly against the prince,
but he could not deny that his opponent was strong. Of course, as
Crystal had stated, strength is only part of a warrior’s power. She
should know it, after all, because he taught her that.
    “I must admit, you are more skilled than you
look,” stated Blaze, while their swords forced against each other.
They