Dying for the Devil

1

Swing, attack, winnow, attack, shield. Repeat.

"Again" I said, standing up and brushing the dirt off my legs, turning to face Gabe.

"Angel, I think you need to rest up, we've been at it for hours" he groaned, pulling his sculpted biceps across his chest in order to stretch them out. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes toward him.

"Is it because I've worn you out too much Gabriel? Need to take a nap old man?" I retorted. His eyes narrowed in a glare towards me. He hated it when I used his full name.

"Only my mother calls me Gabriel, Angel. And you are certainly not her. I mean, just look at you! Your long legs, pretty face, and that nice a--" I winnowed in front of him, palm out to hit him, but he anticipated the move, gripping my wrist in a quick fluid motion. Grinning down at me, he raised his eyebrows, an arrogant smirk on his handsome face.

"Arse... I was going to say your arse."

Laughing as I winnowed out of his grip and onto his back, wrapping my forearm around his neck. He laughed harder, twisting in a flash, and pinning me down on the ground with his boot. I dropped my lower lip, and brought tears to my eyes. Gabe quickly removed his foot and reached out for me. I lashed out my leg, sweeping his feet from underneath him. He let out a quick breath of air and hit the ground as I stepped on top of him, pinning him down with my boot in the same way he just had me.

"Never fall for a woman's tricks, Gabriel. You'll end up dead. or worse...married" I laughed. "Truce?" I said, helping him up.

"I can't wait to be married Angel. You know that. I know it's only been a few dates, but Evie is the one. I just don't want to come across too overbearing or creepy" he flushed, a tinge of pink reaching his cheeks. Laughing, I nudged him with my elbow.

"It's only been a few dates, but you've been friends for years. It's not that creepy" I smirked towards him.

"Lunch?" he grinned. We headed off towards the commons on base. I'd been training with Gabe every day for the last week. We trained hard, and spent the entire day practicing from dawn until dusk, only breaking for food.

The Golden Moon was fast approaching, giving us only seven days. I needed to work on my abilities as much as possible, teaching myself to stretch out the magic and learn how to control it without burning myself out.

Winnowing came to me as easily as breathing. I could do it in my sleep. Telepathic communication was much of the same. It didn't take any concentration to be able to do it now. I'd been working on my ability to control the weather, and the environment around me. Gabe almost shit himself the day I'd taken him to the top of a snowy mountain in the middle of winter. He'd been teasing me about my poor footing, so I closed my eyes and within a second of being there he was begging me to take him back. So, it's fair to say I'd gained control of that ability too.

There were still a few abilities I'd not wanted to practice with. Taking control of someone's emotions. It felt wrong to take away someone's free will if they hadn't consented. I tried to practice with Gabe, but even then I'd quickly pulled back and winnowed away. It felt dark, and I hated it.

My deflection skills were a work in progress. If my emotions were running high, I had complete control, but burned out quickly. It was easy enough to dodge Gabe, but he wasn't a real threat, and he didn't have magic. I needed to train with someone who had the ability to try to throw things at me that I wasn't expecting.

That's when Evie stepped up. She volunteered to help me. Her magic was strong, but not as strong as mine. We practiced in the evenings. She would send magic at me with quick blows, only managing to hit me a few times. Once, the electric shock was so bad it left me reeling for hours, and that was enough for me to pick up my game and work hard to avoid it ever happening again, and so far so good. Even as it happened, my shield kicked into overdrive and the shock was a mild version of what it should have been.