Okay, so I'm pretty bad at fight scenes. And I wrote this pretty long one for my other original book (you don't have to read it) and I was wondering if I could get advice on it. It's also gonna start in the middle of the chapter, so the beginning is not smooth at all, but I'm just looking for the fight scene. 

I hesitated. Every word he said was true—the Outsiders had done nothing to make me believe they cared about us. But Adara trusted them, and most importantly, she trusted me—and there was no way I was betraying her.

"I don't care about them," I told him, adjusting my grip on my knife. "Never will. They're just my ticket out of here."

Captain Azar laughed. "I see. Understandable. Unfortunately for you, I met with a girl who has quite a bit of cash on her, and she's willing to pay a hefty sum for you and the Outsiders' heads. So," he shrugged, "I guess you're about to lose your ticket."

Anger coursed through me, and my fists tightened. "Not if I can help it."

And I turned and ran.

I knew it wasn't the bravest option. I knew that wasn't what all the heroes in all the books did. But I was no hero. I was just a fifteen-year-old kid trying to survive. And if running was the best way to do it, then so be it.

Besides, I never had any intention of leaving that man alive.

I reached the end of the left-hand alley and came out of a wide street, with houses across from me and shops on either side. The other alley opened up a good twenty feet away from me, and I could already hear heavy footsteps coming closer.

I evaluated my options. I could keep running and try to lose them, or I could save my energy and fight them all.

My stomach clenched at the prospect. The last time we'd tried to fight so many...

I shoved that memory away. I had to focus.

Running was no longer possible. The first three guards had appeared and padded to a stop a few feet away from me, strange guns raised and pointed at my chest. The rest followed and surrounded me, with the captain sauntering through the circle.

"I'm going to try to be reasonable," he told me. "Tell me where your sister and the Outsiders are, and I'll let you go."

"You might as well kill me now," I growled. "You're not getting anything out of me."

"I'm sure we could think of a way to persuade you," he said lightly, slinging his gun from his back and pointing it at my head. "Surrender, or die."

I smiled at him, and I could see a flicker of uneasiness in his eyes. "If you insist."

I raised my knife as if to throw it. There was a loud click as eight safeties were pulled, and the captain shouted, "Fire!"

I dropped like a stone, hitting the ground painfully. There were several booms as the guns discharged, screams, and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. I sprang to my feet and raised my knife in front of me, searching for danger. The only guard standing was the captain, who was staring at his fallen men in horror. I followed his gaze and sucked in a breath.

Every inch of visible skin was black and shriveled, their leather armor sporting a giant hole in the chest where the shots had made contact. It was like the life was sucked out of them—or the energy. I watched as they slowly dissolved into ash, leaving nothing but burnt clothes and weapons.

Ash. Ash on the ground, drifting from the sky around me and my sister, covering the ruins in a thin gray blanket—

I felt myself slipping away. I took my knife and quickly drew the blade hard across the inside of my arm, drawing blood. I gasped as the pain brought me back to reality just in time to hear a whir and a boom. I leapt to the side as a beam of light flew past me, continuing down the street and smashing into a store when the road turned several yards away.

"You killed them," Azar snarled, sending another bolt my way. I sidestepped again, leaping over the circle of ash and forcing myself not to look down. "They were good men, my friends. And you killed them!"

"I wasn't the one who told them to fire," I reminded him, trying to keep the shaking out of my voice. It wasn't my fault. "It's because of you that they're dead."

The captain yelled and charged, reaching to grab me with his bare hand. I planted my feet and let him come.

The skin of his palm made contact with my arm and he shouted in pain, shoving me away from him and staring at me with a mixture of fear and disbelief. I twisted and used my hands to break my fall, turning to see him cradling his burned hand in the palm of his other one, the skin red and shiny.

A dark satisfaction rose in me. If he was afraid of me, he'd leave me alone. He'd leave my sister alone.

"What are you?" he asked me softly as I got to my feet, his orange eyes wide. "I thought it was your sister..."

I bent my knees and steadied my stance, ready for another attack. "I don't know what you're talking about. You don't have to do this, you know. You can still walk away from this alive."

And I could see the temptation in his eyes. But they flicked to the ashen piles that used to be his comrades, and his expression hardened. "No. I will avenge them." He charged his gun and aimed it towards me again. "You're going to pay, street rat."

I didn't press the issue. I knew enough about revenge to see that he wasn't going to back down. The only way out of this was to take him out—and soon.

I need him angry, I thought as we circled each other. Well, angrier, I guess. I noticed a sword hanging from his belt, curved and no doubt sharp. If I can disable that gun, he'll have to use his sword. It'll make him more approachable. And then...

I couldn't focus on that. I wouldn't let it weaken my resolve.

There was a boom as he made the first move.

A bolt of energy shot towards me, and I raised my knife in a split second decision. The light bounced off and hit the sandy ground with a sharp crack. A smoking hole appeared in front of me.

I looked at the blade, and saw the obsidian was red-hot. The leather grip was smoking, but nothing seemed damaged.

There was another boom, and I leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding becoming a pile of ash.

"You missed," I told him, and he answered by firing again.

I dodged the beam of light, and ran towards him, darting every which way and zigzagging as much as I could, dodging the bolts of energy shot my way. I was a few feet away from him when he fired again, sending a beam directly in front of him. I rolled to his side, got to my feet and sent my knife straight through the middle of his gun, the blade passing through with a satisfying shink. The front half fell to the ground, sparking. I drove my elbow into the captain's face with a satisfying crunch, sending him stumbling back with a cry of pain.

I could have ended it right there. It would have been easy—a simple throw, and a knife buried in his chest.

But I couldn't. And that would cost me.

The captain recovered and drew his sword, and I could barely react as he sent it hurtling towards me.

Time seemed to slow as I watched the blade grow closer, spinning end over end. I spun on my toes, drawing my left leg behind me to keep my balance as I turned ninety degrees. The sharpened edge flew past, less than an inch away from the tip of my nose, taking off a bit of my hair as it went before burying itself in the brick wall of a store behind me.

I let out a breath of relief.

Something heavy slammed into me and I let out a cry of surprise, hitting the ground hard. My knife fell from my hand and landed a few feet away, the wind knocked out of me.

Azar knelt down on me, his shin digging into my chest, his knee stopping just short of my neck. I couldn't breath. I gritted my teeth and stretched out my arm as far as it would go, reaching for my knife, my fingers stopping inches from the blade.

"Would you look at this," the captain said, his voice low with triumph. "The little street rat is caught. I'm sure my buyer wouldn't mind one more dead Firenian, especially if it brings your sister running. I'll make it slow, so you can see exactly how it feels to have all your friends murdered in front of you."

Trust me, I thought. I know exactly how that feels.

His knee pressed down more and I tried to gasp, feeling my fingers go limp and my strength disappear. He grinned, and blood from his nose dripped onto my face. He stretched out a hand and I heard a sharp shink as his sword drew itself out of the wall and flew towards him, landing in his hand with a smack. He leaned back and raised it above his head, the movement taking some of the weight off of me.

I lunged for my knife and my fingers closed around the blade, the sharp edge cutting the skin as I swung it around and smashed the hilt into the side of Azar's head.

He lurched to the side and the pressure on my chest released. I turned on my side and propped myself up on my elbows, gasping for air before flipping the knife and slicing a deep cut in the captain's face.

He sprang to his feet and backed away, his fingers reaching up to his cheek, examining the red that coated the tips. His eyes met mine, the anger in his expression mixing with the fear in his body language.

I switched my knife to my left hand before getting slowly to my feet, the hilt slick with blood from my cut fingers.

"Is that how this is going to end?" he asked me. "With you struggling to stand, never to see your sister again? A shame, really. I hope for your sake you said something nice to her before you left. But if it makes you feel any better, she won't live much longer either."

I gritted my teeth as he started towards me, swishing his sword in his hand confidently. Stay in control, stay in control...

I adjusted the grip on my knife, watching the hand that held his weapon. I could throw my knife, but if he deflected it—which I had no doubt he could do—I'd be weaponless. He no doubt had more training than I did.

Azar reached me and brought his sword down, trying to slice my chest open. I deflected and drove my knife towards his heart. He swept my hand away and I darted to the side to avoid his blade, slicing towards him again.

He tried to sweep my feet out from under me with his foot, his free arm out to keep his balance. I jumped over his leg, grabbed his outstretched wrist, ducked under his arm and pinned his hand to his back, my other hand on his shoulder blade. The captain screamed as the skin on his wrist met my hand, but I held on.

Azar gave a shout and shoved himself backwards, upsetting my balance. His wrist twisted in my loosened grip as he swung around, grabbed the front of my shirt with his free hand and flung me into the same brick wall his sword had been stuck in minutes before. My head hit and my vision went black. When I could see again, I was on the ground, my knife lying in front of me. A heavy boot thudded onto the hilt as I stretched out a hand for it.

Azar knelt down and picked it up, studying the blade. "This is a nice weapon, boy. How did a street rat like you get a knife like this?"

I gritted my teeth and twisted, leaning back on my elbows. The more talking, the better. "It's been in my family ever since I can remember."

"Hmm." The captain leaned close, pinning my arms to the ground, using his shirt as protection for his hands. His face was an inch from mine, his breath rustling the hair on my forehead. "I think you're lying."

I drove my knee up in response, landing a hit right between his legs. He howled and collapsed beside me, my knife falling to the ground with a light thud. I grabbed it and scrambled to my feet, gasping as my head pounded and several bruises and scrapes sent waves of pain all over me. I started forward, but I almost fell over.

My strength was quickly fading--I knew I was out of my league in this fight. If I didn't end this soon, he would.

Azar got to his feet, wincing. His left wrist was covered in a nasty burn, and the look in his eyes was murderous.

"You've put up a good fight, street rat," he said heavily, wiping his bleeding nose on the back of his hand. "But this ends now."

"You shouldn't have said that," I panted. He started circling and I did the same, until his back was facing the houses on the opposite side of the street. I glanced upward and saw the flick of a curtain as someone hastily closed it. I returned my gaze to the captain, who was once again raising the sword that was somehow still in his hand. Orange eyes stared at me murderously from under his hair.

I felt something soft under my feet and looked down. The piles of ash had been blown across the ground, looking like pale dust in the ruby sand. My breathing quickened against my will, and I looked back to the captain, who was staring at the ashes as well.

Out came the black remote, and the scream. I winced and covered my ears. My energy levels were spiking, between the ashes under my feet and the sound of Mitra in pain. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep my mental walls up, and I could tell from his expression that he knew it was getting to me.

So, I just charged.

Strikes and parries, shuffling footsteps back and forth, the only sounds our breathing and the clashing of metal on stone ringing through the air. I held my own, but barely. All I could think about was how much better Adara would be doing in this situation, and the relief that she wasn't in it kept my desperation at bay.

Until he landed a hit.

Pain danced its way from my shoulder to my elbow, the grip on my knife tightening in response as I cried out. Azar's sword drew back, glistening red. He grinned as I struck out, swatting my hand away and shoving me backwards. His sword came towards my neck, and I knew with heavy certainty I wouldn't be fast enough to stop it.

Until I felt my mental walls break.

There was a sharp crack and I saw a spark spring to life between me and Azar. A deafening boom filled my ears and something shot me backwards. I opened my eyes and lowered my arms from my face, amazed that I was still somehow on my feet.

I wasted no time. With a yell, I threw my knife directly at Azar's rising figure.

His rust colored eyes widened as the blade sank in with a soft thud, and he stumbled backwards, red staining his shirt. He gave a cough, and I winced as drops of blood flecked his face.

He crumpled, taking my knife down with him. I watched it fall, breathing hard and refusing to look at his body, burned by the explosion.

The explosion....how had that even happened?

I reached up to wipe the dried blood off my face and realized my hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists.

Four years, and I'm still afraid, I thought angrily.

Slowly, I walked over and tugged my knife out of Azar's chest, wiping it on his shirt before putting it back in its sheath. I was about to leave when I noticed a slight bulge in his singed chest pocket, and withdrew a pouch of money and a small black remote.

For the majority of the fight, I had entirely forgotten why I'd come here in the first place. But now I remembered, and I tried to fight the surge of disappointment and anger. She was out there. We just had to find her.

I took out my knife and crouched down, laying the device on the ground before smashing it to pieces with the hilt.

"Okay," I said breathlessly to no one in particular, getting to my feet and pocketing the money. "Let's go get murdered by Adara."

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So yeah, I know a lot of things don't make sense. But any advice?