Specialist Class Round Two

Rowen barely noticed anything during the P.E. class. She went through the motions and performed well, but she was thinking about the fact that the second half of her day would be spent with the headmaster. She was curious how he would approach a Summoner class.

Lunch was a quiet affair. Nazeri was nervous and thinking about the duel. Ewen came by for a few minutes to say hi and mentioned the duel. The fact that Nazeri and Zidon were dueling after classes had made its rounds and everyone at the academy knew.

Rowen was the only one who was not worried about the duel. Rowen and Gabriel had analyzed Zidon and knew where his power was compared to how Nazeri was after the deal. He did not stand a chance. They had chosen the spell for Nazeri to use because Rowen had a plan, they both had a plan.

Once lunch was done Rowen rushed to meet up with Kelos. When she stepped out of the elevator Hyacinth redirected her to the forty-fifth floor. There she found that the whole level was magically warded. The whole level was open with no windows to the outside. The only furnishings were on the right side of the elevator, hung all along the wall. A wall of weapons.

"Welcome to my personal training level."

Kelos was standing a few feet away, in view of the elevator, wearing a dark blue exercise suit with light blue markings. The level itself was painted a slate blue, the mats on the floor were black and Rowen was thankful for that.

"Is this going to be a more hands on type of class?"

"Both, actually. It'll be good for you to practice your abilities and learn to work with Nasi in a combat sense. I'll also be imparting knowledge about demons and Summoners. Most of it will be a repeat of what you already know considering that you have two demons to learn from, but some of it will be new."

A summoning circle appeared in front of Kelos and a demon appeared. It was wearing an identical exercise suit as Kelos and bore black horns the same size as Nasi's.

"The first thing you should know is that you'd best hurry and pick a weapon."

Rowen laughed and moved down the wall, looking at the collection of weapons. Nasi stayed near the elevator, placing itself between Rowen and Kelos. Kelos had drawn a short sword and was in a half crouched stance, ready to fight.

"The second thing is that this is Lorcan. It has been with me since my days here as a student. We've been through a lot, fought a lot together."

The demon in question snorted but said nothing else. Rowen pulled out a dagger and retraced her steps. She was wearing a school issue exercise suit which, unfortunately, nearly matched Kelos'. It had red markings on it, not light blue. Nasi was wearing a matching set as well.

Once Rowen was in position the four began to spar.

"What's the third?"

"The majority of students in their sophomore year can only summon a level one demon in their first Summoner's class. The only exceptions are those, like Zidon, who come from a long line of Summoners. They usually have a book with names and can afford to give the eldest a strong demon."

Rowen ducked a blow with his sword and raised her dagger to stop Lorcan's claws from getting her. When she turned to Lorcan, Nasi shifted from Lorcan to Kelos and managed to cut his suit.

"I over shot that one by a lot. Did it upset Mr. Edwards that bad?"

Kelos laughed, "I'm not sure if he will ever recover. Zidon is a very promising Summoner. Even without his family background he could most likely summon a level two demon easily. Edwards believes in the strength of Summoner families and bloodlines. You destroyed that."

Kelos feigned a thrust at Nasi, stepped in with an elbow to the side and swung his sword toward Rowen. Lorcan rushed Rowen at the same time as the sword made its way toward her. Rowen waited until they were almost on her and dropped down. She rolled to the side as Kelos and Lorcan barely missed each other.

"I see that Blake has been training you well."

"He had to. The first day we went over basic self-defense and I knocked him on his ass, twice."

Rowen and Nasi were back to back with Kelos and Lorcan circling them, searching for an opening.

"He's getting old if you were able to take him down on the first day."

Lorcan threw a ball of hellfire at Rowen and instead of ducking like they had expected, she grabbed it. Rowen coated her hand in her own hellfire, which protected her from Lorcan's. She looked at Lorcan with a grin and snuffed out its hellfire. When its eyes widened in shock she laughed.

"No more than you, headmaster."

Kelos stepped in to swing his sword at her but quickly stepped back when she was suddenly surrounded by hellfire. Rowen ran her hand through her hair and horns sprouted from her forehead. They had grown from the five inches they had been right after the ritual to just over a foot. Her grey eyes were surrounded by red, giving her an eerie appearance.

"I suppose I should quit holding back." Kelos said with a grin.

Rowen laughed and it had a growling echo, "This is so much nicer. It has been too long since we've done this."

The hellfire around them went away and Rowen/Gabriel re-engaged in combat with Kelos. Nasi, who had been watching from the side in awe at the transformation, returned to the fight. An hour later the four of them were sitting on the mat, covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Gods, I'm pretty sure if you wanted you could beat me."

"Maybe. You're not weak." Rowen's voice was back to normal, as were her eyes, and the horns had gone away.

"Is there a time limit for how long you can stay transformed?"

"I'm honestly not certain. This is the longest we've stayed like that, but only the second time we've ever fully merged. We left quite the mess back then."

"Ah, I've seen the pictures. Were you fully aware of what you were doing?"

Rowen grinned, "I ran point. I'm sitting here in front of you because I desired their deaths. I still have a few names left on my list, too."

Kelos stood and returned his sword to the wall. Rowen got up and did the same, the two demons followed them.

"What happens once they're all dead?"

His question had nothing to do with her creating a mercenary group after graduation and she knew it.

"We stay as we are. We are soul-bound, partners to the end."

Both of them answered his question. Rowen felt that anything less would not convince him. Where things stood in the future had been one of the many conversations they had had. The main point had been that when they initially made the deal, the contract, that it had been with them in a partnership.

They may not have equal rights to the body at the moment, but they made decisions as one. Their plans were made together and one did not act without the other's knowledge. While they were like that Gabriel was unable to return home and it would remain that way for who knew how long. Even in the demon world knowledge of soulmates was limited.

"Let's head up and get cleaned up. Then you can tell me about this duel that's happening in a few hours."

"I can agree to that as long as there is something to drink once we get there."

Kelos laughed and winked at her as he stepped into the elevator, "I'll take that deal."