And I did so want to hurt her.
But Hazel was as good a fighter as I was. Strong, quick, decisive, ruthless. Every time I lashed out with a knife, she managed to block the blow. She punched out with her fist, flames shooting out from between her fingers, and made me duck to one side. I came back up on the left with a knife, but she was already there, anticipating the blow.
Slash.
Punch.
Slash-slash.
Punch-punch-punch.
And on and on it went, with neither one of us able to do any real damage to the other. All we were really doing was wearing each other out and using up all of our magic in the process.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Grimes watching us while we moved in circles around the yard. Every once in a while, he would turn and throw a ball of Fire at the woods, forcing Bria to use her Ice power to counter it, and keeping the others pinned down there, but mostly, he watched me battle Hazel.
Yeah, he'd be the kind who liked to watch. I wondered if this was another way he got his kicks, besides torturing people in his pit of death or hunting them down like deer in the woods. I hoped he enjoyed the show, because he was going to get a front-row seat for round two. I was killing him as soon as I finished with Hazel.
I shut Grimes out of my mind and focused all of my attention on Hazel once more. Back and forth, we fought, kicking up dust, dirt, grass, gravel, and everything else that was underfoot, as though we were in the center of some whirling dust storm.
Finally, though, I saw an opening, and I took it. I raised both of my knives high and went in for the kill.
Hazel caught one of my hands in hers, then the other one. We seesawed back and forth, with me trying to drive the blades into any place on her that they would go and her easily using her mix of giant and dwarven strength to keep me at arm's length.
"What are you going to do now?" she hissed, the flames of her magic licking at my skin, trying to break through the protective shell of my Stone power.
"How about this?" I hissed back at her.
I head-butted the bitch as hard as I could.
I caught her square in the nose, the bone crunching like cereal under my forehead.
Snap, crackle, pop.
For the first time, one of my blows actually seemed to have an impact. Hazel staggered away, blood spraying all over her face, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head. The Fire dancing on her fingers dimmed down to a manage - able level. I twirled my knives in my hands and went after her, pressing my advantage.
Slice.
Whiff.
I drew a knife across Hazel's right arm, making her yelp with pain. I ducked to one side, and her flaming fist sailed right on by my face.
Slice-slice.
Whiff-whiff.
A cut on her left arm this time, followed by a gash to her stomach. Hazel lurched forward, still swinging at me, but I easily sidestepped her blows.
Slice.
Whiff.
A deeper, more brutal strike went in and skittered off her collarbone before my knife slid free of her body. Hazel screamed and lurched forward again, but I ducked her awkward blows.
She shook off the rest of her daze and moved to block my next attack. I'd raised my knives as though I was going to try to stab her again, but it was a feint to disguise my real intention. Hazel stepped up to grab my arms once more, but I ducked down and lashed out with my foot, sweeping her legs out from under her. She let out a scream of surprise as she fell, and her head cracked against the ground.
Before she could recover, I threw myself on top of her.
I raised my knife, ready to plunge it into Hazel's black, venomous heart - A blast of Fire knocked me off her.
I'd been so focused on Hazel that I'd lost track of Grimes during the fight. He might have liked to watch two chicks rough each other up, but apparently, he drew the line at me actually killing his sister. I tried to get up, but another wave of Fire washed over me, even hotter and more brutal than before. I sucked down a breath in surprise, and I could feel the flames trying to force their way down my throat, but I managed to use my own Stone magic to block the attack.
This time, I was the one who was dazed, but I staggered to my feet anyway and turned to face my enemies.
Crack!
Crack! Crack!
In the distance, Finn, Phillip, and Owen were still firing at what remained of Grimes's men, while Bria worked to contain the bursts of Fire that Grimes had sent hurtling their way. But I pushed away all thoughts of my friends and the flames still licking at the edge of the woods. I couldn't afford to be distracted by anything right now, or I was dead.
Which was still a distinct possibility.
It was a risk, taking on two elementals at once, but it was a chance that I had to take. I hadn't wanted Sophia and Jo-Jo involved in this fight, but the truth was that I hadn't wanted Finn, Bria, Owen, or Phillip in it either.
That's why I had insisted that they stay in the woods, instead of Bria and Owen standing with me and using their magic like they'd wanted to. I'd felt how strong Grimes and Hazel were in their magic on the ridge, and I hadn't wanted the others to be tortured with it if things went bad. This way, even if they used their combined power to kill me, my friends would still have a chance to snipe at them from the woods. I'd told Finn, especially, to kill Grimes - even if he had to sacrifice me to do it.
And it looked like that was what it had finally come down to.
"It doesn't have to be like this," Grimes said. "Tell me where Sophia is, and I'll let you live, Gin. You and Sophia.
You can both come with me, stay with me. You're both strong. You both belong with someone who can handle that strength, tame it, shape it - someone like me."
He was so focused on me that he didn't see the evil glare that Hazel shot him. She'd make sure that I wouldn't live a week if I was stupid enough to take Grimes's up on his offer.
"You'd better kill me now," I rasped, my voice rough and raw from the elemental Fire that I'd inhaled. "Because you will never break me, and I will never, ever stop thinking of ways to kill you. And sooner or later, I'll succeed."
Grimes shook his head, as though my threats of death deeply saddened him. "As you wish, then."
He held his hand out to the side. At first, I wondered why, but then Hazel stepped up and twined his fingers with hers. She gave me another evil grin, happy that her brother had reached for her. Elemental Fire hissed, sparked, and crackled where their hands met, and the flames there grew and grew. Grimes and Hazel lifted their free hands. Flames exploded there as well, burning as big and bright as twin bonfires. Once again, their magic was perfectly in sync, ebbing and flowing in time, yin and yang reunited. Or evil and more evil, in this case.