Silver Jungle

Chapter 22

Dani flung out an arm in Amber's direction, and the Selkie gave a grunt of surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. It was a good move, one that Dani had perfected after many losses to Amber. She was a strong opponent, who didn't care what was done, as long as she ended up winning.

This meant Dani had to learn how to use more than just weapons to defend himself. Shields, barriers, walls, anything to make sure Amber's concentrated bullets of magic didn't get him. Unlike Dani, who could mold his magic without thinking about it, Amber had to concentrate, but she made up for it with her speed.

"Ha!" Amber shrieked, dodging the next attack, and getting close to Dani, she slapped his bare chest with the palm of her hand. It burned a little bit, but Dani didn't think much of it. Slapping her neck, he shoved magic into her bloodstream, desperately attempting to paralyze her muscles like she'd done to him. She went ridged, and Dani lowered her to the ground with a sigh, relaxing.

He looked her in the eye, smirking. "I think I won this one, King." Amber tried to snarl, but couldn't.

Dani laughed. "I definitely win."

"In your wildest dreams." Amber got out, and blinked.

Blood, red as his scales, erupted from Dani's chest, right where Amber had touched him. Gasping, Dani backed up, and tried to staunch the bleeding with his hand. Even immobilized, Amber had activated some type of magic. The definition of a sore loser.

"When I slapped you, I left a residue of my own magic behind. They're a bit like bombs." Amber explained, incredibly pleased with herself. "I can detonate them from anywhere. Remember, getting rid of magic, not keeping it, is how most Mages, like myself, fight."

"Amber, you asshole!" Dani snapped, using his discarded shirt to hold his bleeding chest. It didn't hurt, but he couldn't lose blood like this every time they fought.

It had been a week since she'd offered to teach him, and it was getting easier to transform and fight. In response, Amber had stepped up her game. Sneak attacks, new strategies Dani didn't know of, became her trump card.

"In this situation," Amber spoke with less resistance, a sign the paralysis wearing off. "We both lose. Good job." She admitted grudgingly.

"Can you stop making me bleed out? Someone's going to think there's a murder around here." Dani told her, waspishly. Amber rolled her eyes, and placed a hand on his chest, and the bleeding stopped.

"We're going to have to leave soon anyway." Amber said. "I checked a calendar; Hudson Bay freezes over soon."

"They live in Hudson Bay?" Dani asked. He didn't bother asking about the calendar. That was surprisingly more familiar a place than where he'd expected. "I was expecting somewhere I've never heard of."

"Yeah, well, Nunavut Territory has the least dense population of all the places in Canada. Or so they think. But they never bother to do a census on the Silver Mages." Amber shook her head dramatically, chuckling. Dani ignored her. Amber wasn't half as funny as she thought she was.

Instead, he asked, "When do we leave?"

"Now." Amber announced, stretching. Dani blinked, surprised by the sudden decision. "I haven't been doing nothing this past week, you know."

"You've been beating me up, that's what you've been doing." Muttered Dani under his breath.

Amber frowned at him, narrowing her orange eyes. She'd heard. "I've been storing up energy so that I don't pass out immediately after the I come ashore."