Hello there, Reader, it is good to have you again, or maybe you never left. No problem with either one, always happy to have an audience to hear my story. Remember where we were? I do, and its about time I introduced a bit of magic. Well, for us is something magical, but for the people in the story, its just an everyday thing. Anyways, I think its best if I let our tale continue, and make it more clear with it.

After Thane brought down his sword, a beam in the shape of an arc starts flying towards Ava. Its made of the same energy as the boy's aura, and she knows that it would be dangerous to take it directly, even with the shield made of steel. Unfortunately, the beam was too fast to avoid, and it lands on Ava. The blast could be seen, and it was loud enough to be heard throughout the alley. Thane was certain that it finished his latest victim, which left him unprepared for what comes next. As the beam starts to dissipate into nothingness, a wall made of sky blue light and steel goes charging towards the boy. Ava is enveloped by the same light as Thane, and the shield is empowered by the energy to create a large barrier. She crashes into the boy, and pushes him back several feet away. Once Thane regains his composure, he stands in place and glares at the girl.

“When?” asks the boy, barely able to contain his anger.

“About a month ago,” answers Ava in a collected manner.

“Why use it now?”

“Didn't have a reason to use it before,” Thane is close to exploding with rage because, by those words, it means that he was never considered a threat. What makes it worse is that he was humiliated in front of his own lackeys. “I should thank you though.”

“For what?!”

“I don't have to hold back anymore.” Ava prepares for a battle of another level.

“That can go both ways.” The boy rushes towards Ava at high speeds, leaving a trail of dissipating energy. He swings, but is dodged by stepping back, and she tries to land a hit as he recovers. Its blocked, and as their swords connect, a spark flashes for a moment, leaving nothing more than a trail of their aura. Thane pushes his enemy far away and prepares to shoot another beam, but Ava can easily see that. After getting a good footing, she concentrates energy into the shield. The boy shoots a beam at her, but at the same time, she launches a similar one from the shield. Both collide in a blast of energy, and the children could feel the shock wave. However, while this was going on, Ava was preparing another attack. Once the beams start to dissipate, she shoots a beam in the shape of an arrowhead directly at Thane. He blocks the attack, but it was to be expected since the purpose was to distract him.

Ava takes the opportunity to close the distance, while the boy prepares to throw a massive swing. To stop him, she simply steps in and uses the shield to catch his arms, which leave him exposed to a counter attack. She wastes no time in doing so, starting with stabs to Thane's chest. As each one lands on target, his barrier loses energy, like vapor disappearing into the air. The boy tries to step away from this assault, but he's followed with a swing that strikes his face. He had enough of that, so he grabs her by the throat, and jumps twenty feet high. Once he reached as far as he could, he throws her to the ground, leaving a crack on the surface. Thane spins in mid-air, charges his longsword with energy, and prepares to bring down a devastating blow with his weapon. Ava recovers just in time to see the boy coming with a dangerous attack. Without him knowing, she starts concentrating energy into her shield. With tremendous speed, she jumps back and completely avoids what could have been a killing blow. Thane lands and strikes the ground with so much power, that it causes a small explosion, sending rocks flying everywhere.

While the dust and the energy start to dissipate, Ava rushes towards Thane, shield forward, and charged to an acceptable point. The boy wasn't fast enough to put up a defense against the attack, giving her the opening needed to be at point-blank range. From that distance, she releases a blast of energy from the shield, hitting Thane in the midsection, and sending him flying back several feet away. He stops himself once he's next to the cart that was used to block Ava's way of escape. That doesn't mean he can keep standing on his feet, and drops into a kneeling position. The barrier around him has taken a tremendous blow, leaving it dim and nearly invisible. The boy isn't in the best condition either, he's visibly exhausted and barely preventing himself from falling face first to the ground. His lackeys rush to his side to help him up to his feet, but as soon as they grab his arms, he shakes them off and stands on his own. Ava walks closer with confidence and ready to continue if necessary, but stops at a safe distance.

The boy glares at her, and would like to continue, but even he knows that he's unable to keep fighting. It pains him to admit it, and it would be even more painful if he were to say it out loud, but he won't have to. Everyone hears footsteps coming their way, and Thane knows who it would be. After all, it was his lackeys who stole a cart to block the alley, and the owner would report the theft.

“This isn't over,” says Thane, turns around, jumps over the wagon, and starts running away. His lackeys make faces at our protagonist, before they quickly climb over the blockage, and follow Thane. Ava puts all weapons away, turns around, and leaves the area as quickly as possible. It's not the fear of getting thrown into jail, they never managed to catch her in the act. However, it would be a nuisance to explain the noise and the destruction in the alley. Even more when Ava, who's running late thanks to Thane, has places to be. Once she's far enough, she stops, checks inside the bag with the goods, and finds that everything is in order. With nothing else to impede her, she starts walking down the alley. The walk is nothing special, passing alleyways that are filled with doors, crates, or barrels. Open areas where people converge, with adults gossiping and children playing. An unassuming, but very peaceful area, a place Ava would want to live in. However, she continues down the alley, and into another part of the city that is kept hidden from travelers and visitors.

I think that would be it for the day, can't reveal every little thing about her so quickly. Do not worry, good Reader, all will be revealed when the time comes. As consolation, I will say that you will meet new characters the next time we continue the story. Now, I don't want to keep you away from something very important.

Until next time, Reader.