Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

"Is sparring in here really a good idea?" Wheeler questioned, anxiously glancing around the stable.
"Wheeler, tell me. What's the worst idea I've ever had?" Mulock asked, crossing his arms.
"Child murder."
"And is sparring in a stable a worse idea than child murder?"
"No..." Wheeler answered slowly.
"Then we're fine."
Wheeler's eyes narrowed, the gears turning in his head as he attempted to figure out the exact correlation between the two.
"Listen," Mulock continued, slipping off his jacket. "We trained you for your studies but you're clearly lacking in real world application. You couldn't even defend yourself against some stupid fairies."
"But they were so scary," Wheeler said softly, "I got nervous and didn't know what to do."
"Exactly," Mulock sharply replied. "To achieve your goal you can't just know the spells. You need to be able to think on your feet and cast the correct ones without a moment's hesitation. "Which," he tossed his jacket aside, "is why you and I are going to start sparring."
Wheeler swallowed hard before giving a single stiff nod. "Okay."
Without his jacket Mulock wore only a loose fitting white shirt tucked into dark, high waisted trousers. Despite himself, Wheeler suddenly became painfully aware of just how unbearably handsome Mulock really was. How was someone allowed to be that effortlessly attractive? It almost didn't seem fair.
The demon arched a brow. "Are you going to just stare at me like a brainless toddler or are you going to actually get out your wand?"
Wheeler blinked. "Uh...sorry," he stammered.
Mulock simply shot him a blank stare as Wheeler scrambled for his wand, finally removing it.
"Good," Mulock said, crossing his arms. "Now don't think I'm going to go easy on you."
"Oh trust me, I know you never would."
Mulock smirked. "Glad we're on the same page. Let's begin." The second the words left his mouth a burst of purple flame rose up from the demon's hands. Wheeler's brain spun, trying to think of how to counter it. He could use a water spell...but what if Mulock was expecting that and water wouldn't actually extinguish it? Maybe he could try a wind spell to blow it out? Wheeler moved to cast it a moment too late and the fire struck him. It didn't burn as he'd expected; instead knocking the wind from his lungs and pummeling him backwards into the ground—hard.
Wheeler winced, laying on the soft stable floor with his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. Mulcok approached, staring down at him all while looking vaguely annoyed. Suddenly he pressed the heel of his boot down against Wheeler's chest.
"You were overthinking," Mulock said.
"Sorry," Wheeler stammered, hating the warm flush spreading up the back of his neck.
"Say it," Mulock said, driving his heel down harder. "What did you do?"
"I was overthinking," Wheeler stuttered, his heart thundering in his chest.
"Good. Now get up," the demon ordered, finally removing his foot. "We're going again."
Wheeler swallowed hard, the blush rising all the way to his ears. "Okay."
He scrambled to his feet, grabbing for his wand that had fallen beside him. Mulock cast him a single glance, making sure he was in position, before sparks of purple fire began to rise from his hands. This time Wheeler was ready with his wind spell and he quickly swung his wand to cast it. As he did however, he saw a wicked gleam flash across Mulock's gaze. The warning he'd made a mistake came a moment too late. Instead of the fire coming as an attack, it flared up in front of the demon, creating a barrier. Wheeler had already cast the wind spell and the second it hit the flames it bounced back, striking Wheeler instead. This sent him flying backwards into a pile of hay.
The demon didn't even move this time, simply crossing his arms, waiting.
Finally Wheeler scrambled out of the hay, covered in it from head to toe. He coughed, spitting out a few straws that had somehow managed to find their way into his mouth.
Wheeler was met with a blank, unimpressed stare from Mulock.
"Any idea why that failed miserably?"
Wheeler thought for a moment, furrowing his brow. "I didn't wait to see what your next action was actually going to be."
"Precisely," the demon replied. "You anticipated. And furthermore, you attempted the same spell twice, giving me ample time to prepare a way to counter it. Unpredictability is key. Understood?"
Wheeler gave a small nod.
"Good," Mulock murmured. "Again."
Wheeler quickly moved to get in position once more, not even bothering to brush the hay from his clothes.
He couldn't lose to Mulock again; the demon would most likely chew his ear off at a third mistake. Wheeler needed to find a way to beat him and quickly because, judging from the demon's stance, Mulock was about to attack at any moment.
What had Mulock said....unpredictability is key?
Wheeler supposed he could work with that.