Antebellum Awakening (The Network Series #2)(95)

I shot to my feet, summoned Viveet, and headed toward Miss Mabel with a guttural cry. Her shield appeared in front of her at the last second, protecting her from the force of my sword. I dropped to my knees, then my back, and swung my legs around to trip her, but she transported away. The power of the Mactos circle overcame the magic of the ballroom, which allowed her to transport within our glass confines and put me at a disadvantage.

“Back here, Bianca,” she called from just behind me. “I do so love to see you this angry.”

I raised myself into the defensive crouch Merrick had drilled me on since day one. Miss Mabel and I were too far apart for me to engage her with Viveet. I’d have to close the distance. Before I could act, Miss Mabel disappeared, a bored look on her face. I ducked away from where I’d been standing, but moved too late. When she reappeared she had her hand around my throat. With superhuman strength she picked me up off my feet and slammed me into the glass wall. It cracked behind me but didn’t break.

“Maybe this is the best way for you to die,” she hissed, her eyes wild. “Then I can see the life ebb out of your eyes.”

The magic gathered near my heart, and I released it in a powerful jolt. Miss Mabel soared across the Mactos circle and collided with the glass across from me. Viveet flew back into my hand, leaping into instant flames.

“We’ll see about who’s going to die tonight,” I growled.

Miss Mabel grinned, but it was cold and calculating. She disappeared, and I whirled around, arcing Viveet out as far as she’d reach in a circle around me. Miss Mabel transported into middle of the Mactos circle, leaning just out of Viveet’s reach, with a sword of her own in hand. The steel was black, but fresh and sharp.

“Then let’s spar, Bianca darling.”

I advanced first. Sparks flew when our swords collided, sending out a spray of white and blue. She dodged my advance. The top of Viveet snagged her skirt, setting the material on fire.

“Not bad,” she drawled, extinguishing the flame. “You’re doing an admirable job. It’s not anything like what the Guardians learn, is it? You’re a far cry from the desperate little girl that came to my school a year ago. Too bad, really. I could have taught you greater things than your special kind of fighting found only in the Northern Network.”

“Great things like what? Almorran magic?” I spat, stepping to the side with a smooth shuffle. Merrick’s instructions spun through my mind. Never cross your legs. Sword up. Your shield will follow, so don’t give it more attention than you give to Viveet.

Miss Mabel and I circled each other. Blood stained the ground from my still bleeding feet, making it slippery.

“Oh, yes. You would have been wonderful with such a strong magic like the Almorrans’,” she said, forcing an innocent tone. “I should have started you on it when you were earning your marks, as my grandmother did for me.”

“I’ll never do anything like you,” I muttered, dodging an advance and forcing her back. “Is that how long you’ve been planning to take over the Central Network? Since you were a teenager?”

She laughed in a throaty, deep chuckle.

“Bianca, I was made to control Antebellum. Don’t you see that yet?”

“You’ll never succeed in taking over the Central Network. The Almorran magic will be too much for one witch to wield alone.”

I was guessing now, desperate to find a weakness.

“You think I only want to rule the Central Network? Dear girl, you do underestimate me.”

Not anymore.

She transported away. I quickly circled, the shield protecting my back, but not before I felt a slice of heat searing through the back of my left arm. Miss Mabel laughed, and the sound echoed off the walls. Blood oozed down my arm in a warm trickle to my elbow and stained the tip of her sword. Unlike her, I couldn’t transport as fast or as precisely as she did. I’d have to stay, anticipating her moves.

“You want to take over all of Antebellum,” I said, gritting my teeth. “But you can’t."

Her amused expression quickly morphed into annoyance. Her emotions were as volatile as ever.

“Oh, can’t I?”

“Not alone, you can’t. So you teamed up with the one person you hate more than anyone: your mother, Angelina.”

Her grip on the black sword tightened and her knuckles blanched white.

“But neither of you can do it yet, can you?” I continued, stepping to the side, waiting for the right moment when I properly distracted her attention. She moved with me. “Because you don’t have the Book of Spells. I heard the two of you talking in the West. Until you find the incantations of the Almorran priests, you’ll never have the power to defeat the Networks.”

Miss Mabel’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise.

“You think you know so much, do you?”

I lunged toward her with a fast hacking motion, hoping to cut her arm off at the elbow. She hit me away like an impatient nanny swatting at a child and lunged for me. My shield shot up, blocking my face and absorbing the heavy blow.

“You think you’ve got it all figured out, Bianca? It just shows how little you know. You haven’t the faintest idea what Angelina and I are doing.”

I swung Viveet in a low arc, power flowing through my sword. Miss Mabel blocked it, but the magic surged into her body, throwing her back. She hit the glass wall with her shoulder, then swung back around to face me with a hiss.