Split in Time Ch. 09

He went to groan but stopped, he took a deep breath and together he and Amy started a deadly dance. He relaxed and just let his body act purely on instinct. The 'new' memories helped him a lot but Amy always seemed to be several steps ahead of him. She truly was as her sword's name described, a monster. He knew she could have had him whenever she wanted but she didn't, it was as if she was testing him, letting him grow and learn as they fought. Although she was quick, besides the first slice to the face no more blood was shed. She wasn't out to humiliate him only to test his skill.

After twenty minutes of matching wits Tarval's sword was suddenly wrenched from his hand in a quick movement. He panted and held still as Monster touched his chest where his heart was. "Yield." He said and Amy stepped away and sheathed her sword. There was applause and many stood, that had not been an easy duel on Tarval but he had shown just why he was considered the Da'Vaila sword master.

"I watched you and Alanna duel once; it was the most magnificent display I had ever seen." Amy said, "You are evenly matched. We however are not but I still enjoyed that." She said as she offered his sword back to him.

He smiled and took his sword. "As did I. Let me practise all those new techniques you put in my mind and we'll try again. I've never met someone who could beat me before... which means I have work to do and something to work towards."

Amy smiled and nodded. "I think I'll enjoy that." She paused, "just curious, that movement you did with your wrist which caused the reverse butterfly to turn into vertical upward crescent. Was that planned, something you have done before or an accident?"

Tarval shrugged, "I don't know it just kind of happened but it felt right."

Amy nodded and hummed, "what will you call it?"

"Give me a moment," he said thinking carefully, "I think I'll call it the Cross Over, anyone other than you would have met their maker with that move."

Amy nodded, "yes, definitely would have nicked the jugular and if you had turned that crescent into an angled slash after you passed the neck ... off with their head."

Tarval pondered it for a moment then nodded, that would work, one complete dangerous set, if you managed to get around the butterfly the next two moves would have ensured death.

Alanna, Sage and Electra bounced forward and smiled, "That was A-MAZE-ZING." The three women said together. Alanna offered Tarval a water skin which he gulped at gratefully before he handed it to Amy. Amy drank for several moments before handing it back to Tarval who took another couple of mouthfuls.

Amy grinned, "Yes. Come and we'll see about that thing I suggested to Alanna."

"Yes better clear off, a few people want to get into the ring." Tarval said nodding to two men who were glaring at each other.

Vivian stared at the two men as Amy, Tarval and the sisters left the ring. "Unlike immortal battle if I tell you to disengage you will disengage. No choking, eye gouging or groin hits, I want a clean, honourable battle." She warned both men.

Both men nodded agreeing to the terms Vivian had imposed.

"If you decide to go beast the same rules apply." Vivian added, "And do not test my rules, you will regret it."

Amy took her group to a corner and got them to sit. "Now I want to do what I did to Tarval."

Alanna turned to her sisters who looked confused to explain, "See I had this random memory of something I've never done before. So I told ma about it."

"What did you remember?" Sage asked curious.

Alanna blushed, "if you must know, I remembered that a flight feather against Tarval's skin will drive him nuts."

Tarval tensed and felt aroused at the thought of a feather running against his skin, he even knew the memory she was talking about and felt himself harden a little more. Alanna turned and grinned at him before turning back to her sisters. Electra and Sage were grinning as they instantly took that sentence further than what Alanna had implied.

"I know what you guys are doing tonight," Sage said in a teasing tone.

"Sounds interesting, care to donate to the experiment?" Electra asked Sage.

"No way..." Sage said shaking her head. "Having a flight feather plucked is painful, I had to get one removed because it had been damaged and was affecting my ability to fly."

"Don't some just fall out?" Electra asked.

"Nope... magical remember, they stay put until pulled, normal feathers fall out but not flight feathers." Sage explained.

"That sucks; I really wanted to test that on Mayhem." Electra replied.

Amy chuckled, "come to me before you go to bed and I'll make a flight feather for you."

Electra grinned.

"Okay so... you told ma about your 'memory'." Sage asked wanting to get off this subject.

"Yes, ma said a whole bunch of things but she has a theory. She thought she could tap those memories more directly. She did it for Tarval, it was the reason he could stand his own against her." Alanna explained.

Tarval nodded agreeing, "I wouldn't have done half as well without them. In the other universe Alanna has been teaching me what Amy taught her, changing my fighting style. I will need to practise what I have learnt but I know things I didn't before she accessed those memories for me."

Amy nodded, "In my universe you all rank above Beta rank and are pretty equal with normal alphas."

"Normal alphas?" Sage questioned.

"Yeah, normal, as in not immortal, Wolfgang and I have not been defeated." Amy explained.

"So what about you two, if you were to fight who would win?" Alanna asked curiously.

"Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins, we don't really keep score." Amy answered honestly; more often than not when they fought it quickly lead to sex, more so if they started wrestling on the mats.

"So are we going to do this?" Alanna asked.

Amy nodded, "close your eyes and open your minds," she coaxed.