After her shower, Al returned to the room wearing a towel. Dale’s eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of his head again, an observation that Leah was quick to correct. The rage mage ignored them to stand beside me. I was almost finished healing Shawn, but at least he was conscious again. He just stared into space, unable to overcome the trauma he’d just endured.

“I know you were lying.” Al said to me softly, while drying her hair with another towel. “You still can’t do it on your own can you? You need other people to use magic.” She didn’t sound angry. I didn’t say anything in response. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?” She asked calmly. I continued to stay silent for a while, but there was something. It wasn’t something that I was readily able to admit to her or myself. I hesitated for a moment longer, but finally summoned the courage to overcome my ego.

“I need your help.” I said in an almost inaudible whisper.

Al may have treated me poorly when I lived with her, but she did know me. For all my bravado, the truth was, I was weak. The first image that pops into anyone’s head when they hear the word mage is an old man with a long beard wearing a robe, carrying a staff, and throwing fireballs. No one imagines a kid in a white dress shirt that barely needed to shave and couldn’t even light a candle. It pained me to admit it, but in battle, I was the weakest mage in the world. I knew it, and it hurt.

“Do you know what it’s power is?” Al asked, without bringing attention to my admission.

“No.” I replied. She sighed not at me, but because of the ramifications of not knowing what to expect.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” She said reassuringly.

“No.” I said quickly. “I don’t need you to handle it; I just need your help.” She stared at me, with an unreadable expression.

“How long were you able to sustain your physical augmentation against the husk? 5 minutes?” She asked.

“Uhh…” I stalled sheepishly. “Maybe – 30 seconds?”

“30 seconds?!” She exclaimed, making our quiet conversation no longer quiet. “Please don’t tell me that includes the energy you took from this kid.” She jestured toward Shawn.

My eyes drifted away from her toward my cowering apprentice, then looked away in embarrassment. I overcame the shame to face her. Al stood a few inches taller than me, but I didn’t shy away from her looming beauty. She wore nothing but a towel. She didn’t have the same effect on me as most men. When I lived with her, besides her cruel lessons, she challenged me in other ways. She’d frequently walked around the house in her underwear. She’d take any opportunity to try to get a rise out of me; it was a game to her.

“Well, how long can you sustain yourself in battle?” I demanded, defensively. She gazed directly into my eyes.

“The whole fight.” She replied simply. “I never turn it off. It’s active when I’m not in battle too. Even when I sleep.” My entire body froze in place. I knew she was strong, but I had no idea she was that strong.

I admit, Al was a monster. She told me that she was the most powerful fire mage and apparently had a seat at the Table of Magi, even though she almost never went to their meetings. To always have her inhuman strength active, was just – incomprehensible. I hadn’t realized that it was even possible to use magic while asleep, let alone maintain that level of power. Every time I took power from her, I felt that her reservoir was massive, and her energy regeneration rate had to be just as impressive, but still. She relished in my disbelief with a smirk.

“You already know of my specialization, the cost for me to use fire magic and augment my strength is significantly lower than others. With the amount of mana I have, that’s the mage term for energy, and my recovery rate, I can sustain the use of enhanced strength indefinitely and the level of my power is greater as well.” She explained. “You’re looking at me like I’m crazy. It’s a specialization. I can only use fire magic and I can only augment strength. I can’t use any other type power. That means I can’t increase my mental processing, speed, or defense.” I still eyed her suspiciously. I’d seen how fast she could be. “One hit and I’m in trouble. Why do you think I train every day? I have to predict my opponent’s movements and respond on instinct.”

Looking back on the fights I’d seen in my time with her, that made a lot of sense. When I saw her fight, I had always assumed that she was brutal, a freak of nature, a beast. Actually, that was probably still true, but it was nice to know that she had weaknesses. She’d drilled physical improvement into me from the very beginning. The intensity that she’d train, even after working with me was impressive, and now I understood why.

“I get it, but that doesn’t matter.” I told her. “Cara is my problem; I can win. I just want you there as backup.”

“Prove it.” She challenged, just a moment before she sent a fist toward my face. As much as I’d like to say I saw it coming, I didn’t. I slammed through the wall over the couch, but my feet managed to stay beneath me. She jumped through the hole to follow, and another fist came flying toward me. This time I was ready and used my forearm to deflect it to one side. Only as I fell from the ceiling did I realize that she’d sent a knee a moment after I’d defended against her punch. I struck the floor and she stood over me.

“I’ll take care of it.” She repeated, then walked away.

I gasped on the floor for a few moments while she had her back turned. Forcing myself to my feet, I charged at her. Before I made contact, however, she threw me over her shoulder to collide with another wall. My disorientation lasted for only a moment, so I was able to somersault. If agility was her weakness, I would exploit it.

The fast twitch muscle fibers in my body flexed and I spun to intercept her. I sped toward her. She smirked and dodged to one side, tapping me on the shoulder to increase my momentum past her while simultaneously preparing an attack. Her uppercut connected with my chin, sending me back to the ceiling. My jaw was broken. I had to increase my advantage.

Channeling energy to my brain, time slowed. Using strength as well, I grabbed the ceiling with both hands, like Spiderman, then pushed off the ceiling with my feet. I had the upperhand, but my mana pool was depleting rapidly.

A spiderweb of cracks appeared in the drywall as I propelled myself toward her. Her eyes widened in surprise. I projected a punch at her face, but predicting my target, she slapped my hand away and I went past her. I landed in a crouch and rose to my feet, but she followed the spin of her slap and sent me flying with an elbow to the back of my head. I was back in the living room.

I caught myself, but she was right behind me. She went to round house kick me, and I braced for impact. My block was for a kick at face or chest level; it was a feint and she spun like a tornado and kicked me in the stomach. I felt my ribs crack and it knocked the wind out of me. I hurdled through the air into the kitchen. I was too stunned to maneuver. The base of my skull connected with the countertop and the world went black.