The red lightnings stretches in a straight line across the open street. The rain doesn’t react differently to the attack.

  Brandon and Ulysee are seen behind taking cover behind a large building. The loud rain somehow blends the magic lightning attack, not drawing any sort of unwatched attention from the local residents in their homes.

  Both Ulysee and Brandon’s hearts beat fast. Brandon barely manages to get Ulysee out of harm’s way. He was sure the previous attack alone from the unknown assailant, would have been enough to take the woman he was now holding in his arms, down for the count. He would have once again watched his future die out.

  Brandon peeks around the building, making sure not to expose his cover. Ulysee stays in his arms, feeling the pressure of Brandon’s heart match her own.

  ***

  Amneal stands in the far distance, on top of a roof in the rain. A seven-floor building is his choice of positioning, exhaling in light frustration as he speaks to himself.

  “I missed.”

  The thirty-year-old man showcases a maroon coloring on his head as well, though his hair is not curly. His hair is extended, stretching down to the middle of his back a strong set of banes covering his left eye. His entire length of hair is maroon.

  “The girl didn’t seem to pick up my lightning arrow. If it wasn’t for the man with her, my mission would have been completed. He has to die first.”

  ***

  “What was that!?”

  Ulysee panics, finally speaking up. This quickly draws the attention of Brandon, forcing him to quickly cover her mouth before shushing her. He peeks back around the building.

  “Don’t give away our position.”

  Brandon’s hand comes down from her mouth. Ulysee prepares her own magic. Blue rings form around her wrists, though Brandon speaks up again. This time, without looking her way, he says, “Don’t.”

  He adds more to his words of advice.

  “I still haven’t spotted the location of our attacker.”

  The pause in battle allows Brandon’s mind to wonder. To return to the place it normally resides in. His thoughts gather in the section of his mind that holds on to the memories of his grandfather. He remembers another moment he has shared with his grandfather.

  ***

  A twelve-year-old Brandon stares off into the distance of a dark forest. His eyes bounce back and forth from between the trees. He struggles into the nothingness.

  “Grandpa, I swear, nothing is there,” Brandon reports.

  His grandfather stands with high levels of patience. The nightfall’s presence darkens what is already hidden from the eyes of the young pupil.

  “You will not always be able to see things with your eyes, Brandon. Shut them off and concentrate.”

  “Shut them off?” Brandon is confused.

  “Close them.”

  Brandon does this without question. This was yet another lesson his grandfather made sure Brandon saw through. He continues to speak to his grandson.

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  “You can’t always rely on the destructive force of your powers to weed out your opponents. Concentrate. Feel for whatever is in front of you, using your mana instead of your hands. Walk forward and search without moving a single muscle.”

  A grey and black vison of the outlining of a humanoid creature appears in Brandon’s mind. Within this vision appears the woods, with the woods being the same color, grey and black. The trees don’t protect the creature as it did while Brandon’s eyes were open. He pinpoints the monster’s location exactly.

  ***

  Back to the present day, Brandon is shown with his eyes closed. His back remains against the building, with nothing to say. Ulysee doesn’t interrupt, instead waiting for a reaction from him. A signal.

  Tapping deep within himself, Brandon sees in his mind a world that is in black and grey. The rain drops go silent. His eagle vision goes deeper in depth, stretching from his location to blocks away. An outlining of a man is seen on top of a tall building. The man holds a large bow with a crack of sparked energy in his palm, being charged as he waits for his targets to unveil themselves once again. Brandon’s eyes slowly.

  “Found you,” Brandon says softly to himself.

  Releasing Ulysee, Brandon is given space as he summons his own large bow, a black bow that doesn’t maintain a solid form, but instead, flows with a black flame that takes the appearance of a bow. The flames are highlighted with a blue outlining, struggling to keep its form as the rain still showers without restrictions.

  The weather is terrible right now. He notes to himself. My powers won’t be able to reach their potential in this.

  Brandon draws from a better idea. He sends his flaming bow away.

  Turning his back to Ulysee, Brandon drops to a knee. “Get on my back.”

  Ulysee stands in place, unsure as to what will happen next. Brandon notices that she isn’t moving.

  “We don’t have much time,” Brandon adds.

  Ulysee listens. Positioning herself on his back with her arms tight around his neck, Brandon wraps his arms around her legs, locking her in place. Ulysee reacts to this as well, slightly gasping as she can feel his grip on her. She tries to hide it, but her face turns slightly red again.

  The rain starts to get to her. Brandon can feel her shaking. He assumes it is the rain, as she wears small black shorts, allowing her legs to be attacked by the weather. This concern is quickly second to him, with the first being to get the two of them out of their attacker’s targeting range.

  Brandon transfers mana back into his feet. He zips back into the city’s main street with abnormal speed, skating as his feet no longer touch the ground, but rides the stream of magic underneath him. This to more advance witches, is known as Magic Skating. Another strike of lightning is instantly released.

  Unable to see the bolts of lightning come at him from behind, Brandon uses his mana sensory to pick up on the lightning attacks themselves. Nearing the last second, he moves out the way. Ulysee screams and tucks her face into Brandon’s back.

  Staying focused, Brandon continues to Magic Skate through the city at high speeds. More rapid lines of red lightning begin to come after the two, forcing a continuous stream of screams that come from Ulysee. And even though she is so close to his ear, Brandon tunes out the noise that is coming from her.

  The magical attacks and their timing are getting closer, making it more difficult for Brandon to dodge them. I can’t lose focus. He tells himself, taking a deep breath before exhaling as he slowly closes his eyes once again. He enters his mana tracing mode.

  The sky…the buildings…and the road, all become black and grey to him again. The bolts of lightning can now be seen in his blind spot, giving him three-sixty vision, as if he has eyes in the back of his head. His mana tracing now allows him to avoid the strikes of lightning more accurately. Ulysee slightly calms down, though her paranoid grip still shows fear.

  The streaks of lightning didn’t seem to slow up. Even with the great levels of distance between them, the rapid large jolts attacked the area around them. Amneal is shown in the background, magic skating himself along the large buildings in the distance of his targets.

  His frustration was visible underneath his now placed hoodie. They’re getting away. Amneal grunts at the thought of his own mental note. He’s seeing the head start advantage the two have over him. He magic skates down a large building, changing his course of action. He takes an alternative route.

  The attacks of lightning ease up. Brandon no longer senses any incoming attacks. Though he keeps his eyes closed, unsure as to what was really going on. His instincts warned him to keep his guards up, and he did just that.

  Moving through the metropolis city, Brandon only gets so much further without being sought after, before he hears a scream that breaks his concentration.

  “Look out!!” Ulysee warns him.

  His eyes open. Magic skating in front of them as he cuts the two off, Brandon sees what Ulysee sees – their attacker being at a much closer range with a crack of lightning charging in his palm. The palm that wasn’t holding the bow. Brandon was in mid motion – he couldn’t break his lane of travel.

  Amneal continues to travel sideways, making his way behind cover himself as he keeps aim on the two in front of him. He releases his charged attack.