Dynamis | Chapter 18 - Feint (Patreon)

Karl and Daidari rushed down the halls and into the elevator together. Daidari pressed the button for the fourth floor, keeping to one side of the compartment while Karl took to the other. They passed various forms of glares and grins as the elevator rose. Daidari’s bangs stuck to her face, slathered in sweat. Her chest rose and fell with each breath she took, her eyes never veering for even a second.

The elevator dinged, and Karl’s attention snapped to the doors. He stood beside Daidari, shoulder to shoulder, as the doors opened. Two men yelped as they barreled forward, nearly bowling them over. The shouts of the men followed them, but Karl didn’t care. As the path branched, Daidari took the opposite hallway.

His heart thumping against his chest, Karl flung open the door to his quarters after scanning his card, and located the laptop on his desk. He swiped it and unplugged the charger, throwing it to the floor and darting back into the corridor just in time to see Daidari. Daidari held the stare of a woman on a mission, turning the corner at the same time Karl did, skidding to a stop at the elevator.

“I was first,” Karl said between breaths.

“Incorrect,” Daidari panted. “I have longer legs.”

“I have stronger muscles.”

“Why do you not prove it”—she licked her lips—“after class?”

“Gladly.”

The doors opened, and Karl and Daidari shoved one another to get inside. Karl made it to the buttons first this time, flashing a cocky smile as he pressed the button for the first floor. Daidari clicked her tongue, then snapped her head to the side.

“Moment of truth,” Karl said as the box hummed its descent.

As soon as they reached the first floor, Karl rushed down the passageway. Daidari rammed Karl with her shoulder, but Karl maintained his balance and shoved her back. They were quickly approaching the corner, and with his superior strength, he slowly pushed Daidari toward the wall, leaving her with no choice but to either contest him or fall back and lose distance.

She did neither.

Daidari’s shoulder clipped the corner of the wall, and she shrieked. She spun around twice, held her laptop tightly to her chest, and tripped over her feet, falling on her bottom.

Karl turned around, walking backward to keep up momentum. You get what you deserve, snake. Daidari groaned and leaned back on one hand. At last, she’d lost. He spun around, pivoted on his heel and started to jog. After a few paces, he licked his lips, slowed his jog to a walk, glanced over his shoulder at Daidari, then finally stopped.

Why did I do that? He shook his head and sighed, suddenly crushed by the weight of shame. His mother raised him to be better than this. Once again, he’d allowed his frustrations to get the best of him. Swallowing his pride, he turned around and started down the hall toward Daidari.

“Hey,” Karl said, proffering his hand. “Sorry about that. That wasn’t very sportsmanlike of me.”

Daidari rubbed the side of her rear and winced. “Indeed.”

“Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?”

She shook her head. “No. I am fine.” She took his hand and he helped her to her feet. She fingered a tendril of her sweaty hair behind one of her reddened ears, then curled both of her hands around her laptop. “I suppose I allowed my competitive nature to win me over. I apologize.”

Karl smiled wryly. “That makes two of us.”

“You did not strike me as a competitive man,” Daidari said between labored breaths.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“It would appear so,” she breathed. Her gaze latched onto something behind him. “We are already late. Shall we?”

Karl nodded and they started down the hall back to class. “You know, you’re the toughest tennis player I’ve ever come up against so far.”

“You flatter me.” Her voice had regained its regal tone. She whipped her hair over her shoulder and adjusted her posture. She looked every bit the princess. Straight back, hands in her lap, and a piercing gaze. “Compared to my sister, I am nothing.”

“You have a sister? I didn’t know that.”

Daidari’s eyes shifted toward him, then back to the corridor. “Now you do.”

Silence.

“What’s she like?” Karl asked, tugging at his shirt rapidly to create some air. Now that they’d set aside their differences—for the time, anyway—he felt awkward. He’d come up with anything to fill the air.

Daidari huffed a laugh. “Everything I aspire to be. Beautiful, courageous, strong, daring…” Her voice trailed as if she were recalling a memory. “My sister need only observe something once to master it.”

Karl sputtered a laugh. “That’s not true at all. No one learns anything on their first try.”

“Yes, that is what I am told. And they hold to that belief; until they meet my sister.”

“Fine. No one masters anything on their first try. How’s that?”

“... That is acceptable.”

“I used to have a sibling,” Karl said, relieved to have something in common. “He was everything I wanted to be.” He shrugged. “Not unlike you, really. I looked up to him my whole life.” He chuckled, and a memory of him and his brother arm wrestling came back. “I couldn’t beat him in anything, but I sure as hell tried. Didn’t matter what it was. Cooking, knitting, fighting, sports, it didn’t matter. Made me feel like the runt of the litter.”

Daidari stopped, so Karl stopped a couple of feet away from her. Then she walked up to him, stopping close enough that their noses almost touched. There was a faint scent of something floral and fruity on her skin. Folding her hand halfway, she held it up, placed it on top of Karl’s head, then slid her palm away toward her face until it reached halfway up the bridge of her nose.

“You are quite short,” Daidari said.

Karl flushed and took two quick steps back. “Look, I know I’m not tall. I get reminded of it every day.” He looked away. Maybe it was a bad idea to get too friendly with her. “Let’s hurry to class. I don’t want to get reprimanded.”

He resumed his walk and Daidari hurried to his side to keep pace.

“You should not mind it,” Daidari said.

“Well, I do mind,” Karl snapped.

“Hm. Power is often delivered in small packages. Like dynamite, bombs, ammunition—”

Kill me. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut. Now this is going to be how she identifies me. “Can we talk about something else?”

Daidari hummed. “Very well. You mentioned your brother.”

Karl hesitated. “What I wanted to say was that I understood the comparisons. My brother was an ace conductor, so I looked up to him. Somehow, he always found a way to smile and make light of a situation.” He paused, and Sean’s pained face emerged in his mind’s eye. To think Carly was gone and he’d have to go on without her. “I still have no idea how he managed that.”

Daidari hummed again.

“Anyways, I hope you and your sister get along at least.”

“We do not. There are days I wish she were dead. Today is one such day.”

“You don’t mean that, do you?”

Daidari glanced at him with cold, calculating eyes. “With all my heart.”

Karl’s breath caught. “I… see. Tough relationship.”

Daidari nodded, and the two continued their walk in silence. A thoughtless voice in the back of Karl’s head insisted he prod Daidari for more information. Grudges weren’t uncommon among siblings, but he liked to believe every sibling at least cared for one another. Time became little more than numbers on a wall when Karyl studied DFs, but he hadn’t spent much time researching the conductors behind the machines. Daidari had yet to divulge her sister’s name. Would it be someone he knew?

Regardless, the smarter, louder voice told him to shut up and wait for the uncomfortable moment to pass.

“You are a very nice man, Karl,” Daidari said as she came to a stop. Karl stopped beside her, pocketing his free hand. There were only a few meters left between them and the classroom. “One day, that will come back to haunt you.”

Karl furrowed his brow and tilted his head. When he was about to ask what she meant by that, Daidari spun on the spot and swept him behind the legs. His back struck the floor, knocking the wind from his lungs and throwing the laptop out of his grasp. As he rolled to his side to get a breath, Daidari came to his side.

“This was much too easy,” she said, guiding him to his back with her foot. Karl gripped it, but Daidari shoved her heel against the divot of his chest, driving out what little remnants of air he had left in his chest. Resuming the foot back beside its partner, she glowered at him down her nose. “A pretty face and a soft voice is all it takes, is it? I wonder if you would have gone back for me if I were a man?”

“The hell is”—he coughed and placed his free hand over his chest—“wrong with you?”

“Would you?”

“Of course I would,” he strained to say.

Daidari settled into a stance resembling the one they used when they stood at attention for Admiral Chovek. Karl couldn’t see a hint of light in those eyes. They were devoid of the soul and passion he found in most other conductors. With Daidari, however, a ruthless desire for efficiency tinted each of their conversations. Cold-blooded to the core.

“You were a fool to go back for me. I hope that in the future, your judgment will not be so easily clouded.” She turned on her heel and started to leave.

“Our match isn’t over,” Karl hissed as he clamored to his feet. “After class, you’re dead.”

The snake giggled as she set her hand on the classroom doorknob. “We shall see.”