Chapter 7

It had been a week since Tom had been burned and hurt. Frilly was worried. Tom hadn’t smiled, laughed—hell, he hadn’t even smirked. Something had most definitely changed. Tom was so determined, training every day as far from his house as he could get.

Frilly had watched his power steadily increase. It was a little frightening. They were on the seventh day straight of training, Tom pushing himself as hard as he could, often until he was exhausted and barely able to move.

They had been lucky so far—no one had shown up during these sessions. Frilly was afraid that it wouldn’t last. On the seventh day, they were just getting started when the same man that had hurt Tom flashed in.

“HA! There you are, you little bastard,” the man laughed. “Still a weak little bitch, I see.” With this, the man’s face grew angry. “I don’t know how you’re doing this,” he snarled. “I won’t miss this time!”

Snarling back at the man, Tom also laughed, “You’ll be surprised. I am not the man you fought before.”

“As if. You have no power compared to me. This time you’re dead!” the man shouted.

“You know something, bitch? You talk too damn much,” Tom sneered back.

The man’s face strained as he threw the first two fireballs at Tom. This time, Tom was ready. They grew closer. This time, though, Tom didn’t try to stop them. He’d learned, and as they made contact with his shield, his power flared. The man’s eyes grew large when the fireballs bounced off and headed back at him! Moving away, he was shocked when Tom was beside him. This time, though, he really couldn’t move.

Damn it! Then he felt his power slip. Huh? It wasn’t draining, it was ... waning, weaker. Then it was gone. What the hell?!

Tom found that the thoughts of the man were totally distasteful. Finding the center of where the man’s power came from, Tom had reached in and simply crushed it. The man stared at Tom open-mouthed like he had been shot. “What have you done!” he screamed.

“I took your ability to have powers away. You don’t deserve them,” Tom snapped.

“You WHAT!!? You can’t do that! No one has that power, not even the master!” the man screamed. “You have to kill me, please! Without my power, I am of no use anymore!”

“He won’t hurt you. He can’t fi...” Tom started.

“NO! Kill me, you don’t understand. I am nothing now. He will eat me, my soul!” With that, the man ran out into the street, into traffic, and was struck by a passing bus.

“NO!” screamed Tom, unable to stop him. The man was dragged by the bus a hundred feet until it stopped. Unfortunately, the man’s body was mangled by the bus and death was almost instant. Tom just looked on in shock. Was this master that bad? Ready to go, Tom called for Frilly. When she wasn’t there immediately, he was a little annoyed, but after five minutes, he began to get worried. It was about that time a hovering sphere floated up to him.

“Hello, Tom. I am Malamon. I am in possession of your talisman’s spirit. Obviously, you don’t need her, but I need what she knows. You have become an ... annoyance at best. I will offer you a deal: join my ranks. You know those idiots don’t care about you, only your power. I can show you wonders.”