Kingdom Gone

TRAINING DAY

26 Days Until Rapture

"You need to follow through on every punch."

Circe sighed, cocking her fist back and punching the pillow for about the hundredth time. Jason shook his head.

"Put your entire body behind your hit. Here, let me show you." Jason passed Circe the pillow. "Hold it at arm's length."

Circe held it out, unsure. "So-"

Before Circe even finished her thought, Jason dropped to one knee, surging up fist first in an uppercut that tore straight through the pillow in her hands, stopping an inch from her face. Circe gasped, letting go, put it still hung around his elbow.

"See? I'll go inside and get another pillow."

Circe groaned. "But why do I have to learn this stuff when I can just-" She raised her hand and aimed at the tree across the street from the parking lot, tendrils of blue electricity accumulating at her palm, then exploding outward in a bolt of lightning. There was a deafening boom and a flash of light, then a charred hole appeared in the trunk of the tree. Thunder echoed off the hotel building. Circe turned to Jason for praise, but all she saw was annoyance.

"Alright, fine. If you think you're ready, then I think it's time."

"Time for what?" Circe asked hesitantly.

Jason walked over to the jeep, checked to make sure the people he kidnapped last night were still bound in the backseat, then popped the trunk and pulled out the Elder's blue katana.

"You kept that? Jason, that belongs to the people of Arcadia."

"Nobody took it from me, so I accepted it as a parting gift. Anyway," Jason unsheathed the sword and faced Circe, assuming a fighting stance. "Since you think you're ready, I guess it's time you faced me.'

Circe stared dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

Instead of answering, Jason zipped up his jacket and charged towards her, his blade glinting in the morning sun. She panicked, unable to move for a second, then snapped out of it, ducking under Jason's slash and pressed her hand against his chest like she did back in Agua Dulce, blasting him with as much electricity as she could muster.

And something weird happened.

Jason's sword vibrated, jerking him backwards and dragged him across the parking lot, about to slice into the engine of the nearest car when it suddenly lost momentum, stopping five feet away. Circe watched in wonder and amusement, then realized now was her chance. She sprinted across the parking lot, about to shock Jason again when his leg lashed out, dropping her beside him. Circe somehow deflected his weak punch and dug her foot into his side, probably hitting a bruise because she got a groan from him. Jason rolled away, rising to one knee, sword in hand again. Before he could charge at her again, Circe got up and raised her hand, summoning another bolt of lighting. He was too close, but Circe wasn't thinking about consequences. The second before it tore through the air, Circe saw Jason swing his katana like a bat.

Boom, Flash, thunder.

The proximity threw her back, her bare shoulders scraping across the asphalt. Before she could get her bearings, she saw the tip of a sword an inch from her face, blue electricity dancing across the blade. And Jason's cocky grin on the other end.

"Not bad." He said, offering his hand. Circe took it reluctantly, touching her shoulder and feeling blood. "Yeah, you're bleeding a bit. I'll put a patch on that in a second." They watched as the electricity dissipated off the sword. Jason swings the sword slowly, examining the weapon. "I don't think this is normal metal."

"What did you do? Like, when I fired my lightning at you?"

Jason shrugged. "I just swung at it. I guess the katana absorbed the energy."

They both jumped when Jason's phone rang. He pressed the speaker button and answered the call, holding it out for Circe to hear as well.

"Talk to me, Sam."

Circe heard frantic clicking and typing. "Another body showed up, Jason."