“If he tries anything, I’ll leave him pasted to the tarmac.”

“You’re still in the pack,” came Ash’s response. “Focus on the race.”

Got ten seconds on the Arclight. Four-car gap to Jin. Turn three is coming up too fast.

Bonnie Hayes loomed large in the rearview, dodging left and right along the straight. The telltale flash of an Arclight Booster erupted on the right side, and Bonnie shot forward toward the turn. Nilah made no moves to block, and the R-27 overtook her. It’d been a foolish ploy, and faced with too much speed, Bonnie needed to brake too hard. She’d flat-spot her tires.

Right on cue, brake dust and polymer smoke erupted from Bonnie’s wheels, and Nilah danced to the outside, sliding within mere inches of the crimson paint. Nilah popped through the gears and the car thrummed with her magic, rewarding her with a pristine turn. The rest of the pack was not so lucky.

Shredded fibron and elemental magic filled Nilah’s rearview as the cars piled up into turn three like an avalanche. She had to keep her eyes on the track, but she spotted Guillaume’s, Anantha’s, and Bonnie’s cars in the wreck.

“Nicely done,” said Ash.

“All in a day’s work, babes.”

Nilah weaved through the next five turns, taking them exactly as practiced. Her car was water, flowing through the track along the swiftest route. However, Kristof and Jin weren’t making things easy for her. She watched with hawkish intent and prayed for a slip, a momentary lockup, or anything less than the perfect combination of gear shifts.

Thirty degrees right, shift up two, boost… boost. Follow your prey until it makes a mistake.

Nilah’s earpiece chirped as Ash said, “Kater’s side of the garage just went crazy. He just edged Jin off the road and picked up half a second in sector one.”

She grimaced. “Half a second?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be a long battle, I’m afraid.”

Her magic reached into the gearbox, tuning it for low revs. “Not at all. He’s gambling. Watch what happens next.”

She kept her focus on the track, reciting her practiced motions with little variance. The crowd might be thrilled by a half-second purple sector, but she knew to keep it even. With the increased tire wear, his car would become unpredictable.

“Kristof is in the run-off! Repeat: He’s out in the kitty litter,” came Ash.

“Well, that was quick.”

She crested the hill to find her teammate’s car spinning into the gravel along the run of the curve. She only hazarded a minor glance before continuing on.

“Switch to strat one,” said Ash, barely able to contain herself. “Push! Push!”

“Tell Clowe he’s mine in ten laps.”