Requiem for Blood Read Online Free Page A

the arrow, knocking it away before it could pierce her skin. A second arrow was drawn and came toward Olivia quickly. She didn't have the same reaction time and winced as the serrated arrowhead grazed her arm, cutting through her shirt sleeve. She stumbled back and ignored the blood that oozed from her arm and positioned the sticks in front of her in a defensive stance. She knew she wouldn't have had the energy to fend off the first attack if not for getting a good day's rest due to Noah staying with her to ward off the nightmares. She couldn't dwell on it now though, not while she was in class. She put her right foot over her left slowly then swiftly pointed her feet in that direction, taking slow and silent breaths so that she could listen in for her attacker.
    She heard another tug of string, the arrow poised so steadily between the attacker's fingers that it seemed like there wasn't even one in the person's hand. The string had been let go and Olivia braced herself for the arrow, but it never came. She whipped her head around as she tried to listen in to the sounds in the forest. There was a scurry of feet across the leaves behind her and when she turned back a girl was running toward her with a blade in her hand instead of a bow. She lifted it above her head with both hands, her height over Olivia giving her an advantage as she let it come down on her. Olivia crossed her sticks and crouched, holding them over her head as she blocked the blade from hitting her face. The wood splintered but they were not cut in half. The girl jumped back, her pink lips pulling up into a satisfied smile as she watched Olivia. Her platinum blond hair was a silvery ash in the moonlight and shaped into a pixie cut with long strands falling into her eyes. The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and pushed the hair away from her face as she let out heavy breaths, “That can't be all you've got!”
    It would've been easier for Olivia to concede defeat but Felicity wouldn't allow it and neither would her teacher, Tomas Stevens. Olivia took the half torn into sticks and slammed each one against the bark of a tree, breaking the top half off and unveiling the jagged splinters of wood at their tips. The blade of Felicity's weapon, a dao , glinted in the moonlight as she twisted the embellished hilt in her hand. She pulled it up to her face, two hands gripping the hilt as she pointed it toward Olivia.
    “Run,” she said, her voice low yet forceful.
    Olivia took off before she could catch the sadistic smile that had crept on Felicity's face as she watched her disappear into the distance. She ran after Olivia, closing the gap between them without much effort. She was running beside Olivia and had pulled something from her waist with her free hand. The item snaked behind her before she whipped it into the air and lashed it at Olivia, the leather biting into her flesh as it wrapped around her wrist. Olivia was halted in her tracks and wrestled to the ground by Felicity's whip. She dragged her back and kicked her foot into Olivia's side, turning her onto her face and twisting her restrained arm upward, causing her to let out a scream. She stomped her foot onto Olivia's back.
    “Nothing satisfies like hunting prey,” said Felicity, as she drove her foot deeper into Olivia's back. She undid the whip, releasing Olivia's arm and then finally pulled her foot off of her. Olivia rolled over, red streaming from her lip and cheek where dirt and sticks were affixed to her skin.
    “And once again, I am the winner,” she said, extending a hand to Olivia. She took it and was pulled onto her feet. The trees around them were more spread out where they stood and Olivia could tell they were closer to the entrance to the forest, behind Mr. Stevens' home. They were quiet as they walked out of the forest where Felicity emerged victorious and unscathed. She was met with mostly praise from her peers and she soaked up the cheers, relishing in her own glory. It had only