She tried to sense things on a different level in battle. She even closed her eyes from time to time, and tried to feel the vibrations around her, to feel her opponent’s energy. She felt how she was rooted to the earth, and felt more and more her connections to physical objects. They came at her with swords, with lances, with al kinds of weaponry, and she tried to feel her connection to each one. There is no separation between you and the objects. The only separation is in your mind.
She became a much better fighter than she could have ever imagined. As two of Aiden’s biggest, meanest looking warriors charged her at once, one with a javelin, and the other with a long chain and bal , swinging wildly, she felt completely unfazed. For the first time, she no longer felt subject to her anger, her fury, her emotions. Instead, she waited patiently.
As the javelin was hurled at her, ful speed, she merely waited to the very last moment, and dodged out of the way.
It went flying by her, missing her by a mil imeter, and as it did, she reached up, and managed to grab it in mid-air.
She then, in the same motion, broke it in half and sent it flying back at her attacker—and its blunt tip hit him hard in the chest, sending him flying on his back.
In the same gesture, without pausing, she took the other half and caught the chain and bal in mid-air as her other opponent swung it at her. She yanked it from his hand sent it flying. She then took the butt of the javelin and jabbed him hard in the solo plexus. He dropped to his knees.
The crowd erupted into applause and admiration, as Caitlin stood there and faced Aiden, waiting for more.
“Long swords!” Aiden yel ed.
An attendant appeared, throwing a long sword her way.
She grabbed it in mid-air, waiting to see what opponent was left that could face her.
Aiden looked at her meaningful y, and she could tel that he was reserving someone to fight her that would truly throw her off guard.
“Blake!” he yel ed out.
Caitlin’s heart dropped. It couldn’t be.
From out of the thick crowd of vampires and royals, there emerged a single man, holding a long sword, with a scowl on his face.
Caitlin’s heart stopped. It was real y him. Blake.
He looked at her with cold, impersonal anger, and it broke her heart. What hurt her most was that there didn’t seem to be any recognition at al .
Aiden had chosen his final warrior wel . He had clearly designed the sparring to throw her off balance, to stir up her emotions in the midst of battle. And it had worked.
She no longer felt grounded, no longer felt herself. She struggled to get back to that grounded feeling, but it was not coming. She felt unnerved, on edge. She felt unable to control her storm of emotions.
Before she could col ect herself, Blake charged. He held his sword high, over his head, with perfect form, just as a good warrior should. He came in hard and fast and swung down right for Caitlin’s head. Caitlin could not believe his speed. They were only wooden swords, and the blow would not have kil ed her. But stil , it would have hurt her a lot. It was clear now that Blake did not remember her: he attacked her as he would his fiercest opponent.
Caitlin managed to duck out of the way, at the last second, as the wooden sword grazed her head.
She was stunned by it, and by Blake. But not hurt. At least not yet.
He turned and faced her again. Something in her could not get her to summon her skil as if she were facing a normal opponent. She knew she should lunge, should attack. But she just couldn’t bring herself to. Instead, she found herself remembering that time, in the Colosseum, when he gave up his life for her. Her heart broke with the thought of it. With the thought of how much she owed him.
He attacked her head-on, and she blocked his blows, blow for blow. But she did not attack back.
She could not get herself to.
Final y, after several swings, their swords locked, and he came in close to her, grunting and sweating, as he tried to push her down with al he had. Just inches away, she could see the anger in his face. And she could tel that he did not remember her at al .
“Blake,” she grunted, shoulder to shoulder. “It’s me. Caitlin.
Can’t you remember?”
He looked at her and final y, after seconds of struggling, spat, “You’re new here. I don’t know you, obviously.”
With that, he shoved her with al his strength, and he sent her back, rol ing in the dirt.
Caitlin rol ed and rol ed, and lay there in the dirt.
That’s when it hit home. Final y. He real y didn’t know her.
He real y was a stranger to her. She final y came to accept it, to accept the new circumstances.
She gained her feet with a new resolve. As he charged, ready to finish her off, she calmed herself and faced him as she would any other warrior. Final y, for the first time, she felt herself take control of her emotions. She realized that she didn’t need to let her emotions control her. She realized that she could control them. That she could be bigger than her emotions.
And that realization changed her life.
As Blake swung at her, while she was stil on the ground, she simply rol ed back, lifted her feet up, caught him by the stomach, and sent him flying, over her head.
The crowd oohed.
She jumped up to the ground, as he landed on his back, several feet away.
Blake jumped to his feet and spun and faced her, indignation on his face. He reached back, planted his feet, and with one sharp move, hurled his sword right at her.
It was a good move, a move that few warriors would make, a quick, unexpected move of converting a sword into a spear. And it had happened so fast, so quickly, that any other warrior would have fal en prey to it.
Caitlin saw it, but even with her enhanced senses, it had happened so quick, that she had no time to dodge or parry it. It was going to hit her.
So instead, she ground her feet to the earth, and realized it was time to use her new mental power. She summoned every bit of energy she had, and wil ed herself to use the new skil that Aiden had showed her.
In her mind, she felt the sword as it came close, felt its particles, its energy. She became one with it. And once she did, she wil ed it to change direction.
At the last second, it did. Caitlin’s mind changed the direction of the sword, sent it flying up in the air, far above her head, and into the dirt.
The crowd gasped, as did Blake. It was incredible. Caitlin had managed to move the object without even touching it.
Clearly, she had powers above and beyond any of the others here.
Everyone was stunned.