deep breath to cool the anger burning in her gut. Couldn’t they get through one little conversation without fighting?
“What happens if I fail? Or if one of the others fail? All it would take is one moment of weakness, and it’d be over. If they get their hands on it, they could cross over undetected, and there would be nothing any of us could do to stop them from wreaking havoc on the entire human race.” She paused for effect, relieved to see he was listening, even though the stubborn set of his jaw remained locked. “I cannot send you off into the world without doing all I can to protect you, and whatever it is you have.”
“I don’t understand–”
“I’ll train you. Teach you about the different creatures. Teach you our weaknesses. Where to strike, and how hard. If, and only if, I’m satisfied that you can do what needs to be done, I’ll let you go.” No need to tell him she doubted she’d ever be satisfied. No human could take on the creatures from her world single-handed. But she’d give him a fair shot.
“Okay. When do we start?” His eagerness was evident, his skill not as much.
But who knew, maybe he’d surprise her.
* * * *
“Keep your arm up. If you can’t take me on in human form, you don’t have a prayer when I’m harpy,” Kali yelled at him.
A grin split his face as he raised his arm to block another blow. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t having a hard time concentrating on the lesson. Kali was magnificent, her bronze hair flying as she spun around and attacked him with an upward blow. He quickly lowered his sword to block the attack. The glow of battle lit her eyes.
“You can’t just block. Attack,” she screeched at him, making his smile widen.
At first, her constant harsh critique had bugged the hell out of him. The first hundred barbs she’d thrown his way had hit their intended target. So much so, he’d walked out almost every day that first week. But then, something changed. Her verbal attacks no longer angered or annoyed him. Instead, the blood shot straight to his groin whenever she got mean. And when she pursed those full lips in a scowl? He was a goner.
“You left your right side wide open. I could have killed you.”
The clang as their swords connected rang throughout the room. He almost groaned as he became even harder. The woman would kill him if she kept yelling.
“Stop harping, woman,” he joked as he thrust her away from him, causing her to stumble backward a few steps.
That’s what he loved about the broadsword. Brute strength went a long way. Of course, he knew she could take his head off with technique if she wanted to. But his strength helped him hold his own.
“I’m a harpy. That’s what we do. We harp.”
Then she laughed, the sound breaking his concentration. Did she even know how sexy she was, laughing her head off with a broadsword in hand? Pointed toward the ground, maybe, but he wasn’t fooled. If he tried to attack right now, she’d have him pinned to the ground before he even knew what hit him.
Huh, maybe he should entertain the idea. There were worse things than being pinned by Kali.
In the past three weeks, things had more or less returned to the way they’d been before their big argument. Except now, instead of watching her train, he was training with her.
So far they’d only covered a few different weapons. Although, he couldn’t really see the point in learning how to use all of them. Maybe for her, he could understand. But when he left, he planned on going back to his home in New York. Where was he supposed to find a javelin, or a katana, in downtown Manhattan?
But Kali had insisted she wouldn’t release him unless he knew how to fight with all weapons. He didn’t need to use them all, but he needed to be able to defend against them all. Never could tell what a creature from Outremer would attack with.
Kalindra lunged forward. And they were back to trading blows.
Considering how long it’d taken him to
“What happens if I fail? Or if one of the others fail? All it would take is one moment of weakness, and it’d be over. If they get their hands on it, they could cross over undetected, and there would be nothing any of us could do to stop them from wreaking havoc on the entire human race.” She paused for effect, relieved to see he was listening, even though the stubborn set of his jaw remained locked. “I cannot send you off into the world without doing all I can to protect you, and whatever it is you have.”
“I don’t understand–”
“I’ll train you. Teach you about the different creatures. Teach you our weaknesses. Where to strike, and how hard. If, and only if, I’m satisfied that you can do what needs to be done, I’ll let you go.” No need to tell him she doubted she’d ever be satisfied. No human could take on the creatures from her world single-handed. But she’d give him a fair shot.
“Okay. When do we start?” His eagerness was evident, his skill not as much.
But who knew, maybe he’d surprise her.
* * * *
“Keep your arm up. If you can’t take me on in human form, you don’t have a prayer when I’m harpy,” Kali yelled at him.
A grin split his face as he raised his arm to block another blow. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t having a hard time concentrating on the lesson. Kali was magnificent, her bronze hair flying as she spun around and attacked him with an upward blow. He quickly lowered his sword to block the attack. The glow of battle lit her eyes.
“You can’t just block. Attack,” she screeched at him, making his smile widen.
At first, her constant harsh critique had bugged the hell out of him. The first hundred barbs she’d thrown his way had hit their intended target. So much so, he’d walked out almost every day that first week. But then, something changed. Her verbal attacks no longer angered or annoyed him. Instead, the blood shot straight to his groin whenever she got mean. And when she pursed those full lips in a scowl? He was a goner.
“You left your right side wide open. I could have killed you.”
The clang as their swords connected rang throughout the room. He almost groaned as he became even harder. The woman would kill him if she kept yelling.
“Stop harping, woman,” he joked as he thrust her away from him, causing her to stumble backward a few steps.
That’s what he loved about the broadsword. Brute strength went a long way. Of course, he knew she could take his head off with technique if she wanted to. But his strength helped him hold his own.
“I’m a harpy. That’s what we do. We harp.”
Then she laughed, the sound breaking his concentration. Did she even know how sexy she was, laughing her head off with a broadsword in hand? Pointed toward the ground, maybe, but he wasn’t fooled. If he tried to attack right now, she’d have him pinned to the ground before he even knew what hit him.
Huh, maybe he should entertain the idea. There were worse things than being pinned by Kali.
In the past three weeks, things had more or less returned to the way they’d been before their big argument. Except now, instead of watching her train, he was training with her.
So far they’d only covered a few different weapons. Although, he couldn’t really see the point in learning how to use all of them. Maybe for her, he could understand. But when he left, he planned on going back to his home in New York. Where was he supposed to find a javelin, or a katana, in downtown Manhattan?
But Kali had insisted she wouldn’t release him unless he knew how to fight with all weapons. He didn’t need to use them all, but he needed to be able to defend against them all. Never could tell what a creature from Outremer would attack with.
Kalindra lunged forward. And they were back to trading blows.
Considering how long it’d taken him to
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