The Child Thief

“Come,” she said and led him across the chamber. They maneuvered around several groups of Devils practicing with weapons. The air was punctuated with loud shouts and the sharp clacking of wood hitting wood. Again, Nick found himself amazed at the speed and dexterity they displayed. Could he learn to move like that?

He followed Sekeu to the far side of the chamber, to where the straw men—the ones Nick had been so sure were children—hung from ropes. Now, up close, their purpose became obvious: practice dummies. The ground was sandy here. He watched Leroy, Cricket, and Danny practicing various striking maneuvers with short staffs on the straw men.

Danny stopped, completely winded, red-faced, and soaked in sweat. “Hey,” he wheezed and wiped his brow. “Is it break time yet?”

“Danny,” Sekeu said. “You just started.”

Danny’s shoulders drooped and he let out a long groan.

Sekeu ignored him, went to the wall, and pulled down a staff. She whirled it around her body in a blur, then stopped it with a snap. She held it out to Nick. “Here.”

Nick took the staff.

“Come.”

Nick followed Sekeu over to one of the straw men.

“Today you will learn how to strike.”

Nick noticed the other New Blood watching, couldn’t miss Leroy’s smirk.

Sekeu gave the straw man a shove and nodded to Nick.

Nick hefted the staff and got ready. When the dummy swung back, he struck out as hard as he could. The straw man caught him mid-swing, knocking the staff out of his hands. Nick stumbled back and fell on his butt.

Leroy let out a laugh.

Nick’s face turned red. He didn’t get up.

Sekeu waited.

Nick shook his head. “Why don’t we forget about this?”

Sekeu leaned toward him. “You will always be the brunt of brutes unless you make them respect you.” She cut her eyes toward Leroy.

Nick sighed, picked up the staff, and pushed himself back to his feet.

“Ready?” Sekeu asked.

Nick hefted the staff. Again Sekeu swung the straw man, again the straw man knocked him down.

Nick crawled to his feet. “Look,” he said, shaking his head. “Really, I’m not cut out for this sort of thing. It’s just not in me.”

Sekeu’s ageless eyes searched his face. “Nick, you fought the devil beast today. I saw a brave spirit in your heart. A warrior.”

Nick wanted to laugh at her silly words, but the way she said them, the way she looked at him when she said them, as though she truly believed in him. Nick couldn’t remember the last time anyone had looked at him like that, ever.

Nick let out a sigh. “Okay.” He picked up the staff.

The straw man knocked him down again.

“Damn it,” Nick said and hit the sand with his fist. “It’s too heavy.”

“Size does not matter.”

Nick got up and Sekeu took the staff.

“First, you must get into an L stance.” Sekeu demonstrated. “Weight should be on your back leg. Front leg light. This will keep you maneuverable, but allow you to put the entire weight of your body into the swing. You push off hard with your back foot and fall into the swing with the front.” Sekeu slammed her front foot down to emphasize. “Now, put one hand low on the staff like this. The other midway. When you strike, the high hand slides down and meets the low. This makes power.”

Sekeu demonstrated, snapping the staff in the air. Nick could see the staff actually quiver from the force.

“Most important, do not focus on hitting the target. You want to go through it. If you focus on hitting the target, all your force will be lost on contact. But if you focus beyond the target, your blow will carry power.

“There is also timing, but that comes with practice.”

Sekeu gave the straw man a shove, slipped into the L stance, her body rocking slightly to and fro as the dummy swung back toward her. At the last moment her body exploded like a coiled viper. The staff connected with the straw man, sending a terrific “WHACK” echoing around the chamber. The dummy almost bent double as it flew away from the blow. Loose straw flitted through the air as the slack played out and the straw man jerked on the end of the rope.

“Whoa,” Nick gasped.

“You can do it, Nick. But you must practice.”

Nick couldn’t do it. Not even close. But after an hour with Sekeu, Nick could certainly bring the straw man to a stop without getting knocked down, could hit his mark most every time. These were small steps, but with every blow Nick found himself getting better.

Sekeu moved from kid to kid. Encouraging each of them to focus and push themselves. Showing them tricks and pointing out what they were doing wrong. After some time, Sekeu left them on their own and Nick found himself lost in the repetitiveness of training. Unaware of passing time, unaware that he was actually enjoying himself. And for a while Nick forgot all about high-tops in the mist, blue pixies, Leroy, and the golden-eyed boy named Peter.

SEKEU GATHERED THEM around. Nick, Cricket, and Danny all watched as she pushed the straw man at Leroy.

Leroy struck the straw man a powerful blow, sending the dummy flipping back.

“Good,” Sekeu said.

Leroy grinned. “Hell yeah.”

“Now, once more.”

Leroy gained his stance and hefted the staff, looking cocky, obviously getting a kick out of showing off in front of the New Blood.

Sekeu shoved the straw man toward him, but this time she sent it spinning wildly side to side.

Leroy stumbled back, trying to compensate, and the straw man knocked him to the sand.

Leroy jumped back up. “Hey, what was that?”

“You have to be ready for the unpredictable,” Sekeu said. “Danny, why did he fall?”

“Because the dummy hit him?” Danny said with a grin.

Cricket let out a laugh.

Sekeu frowned. “Nick, why did he fall?”

Nick started to say he didn’t know, but realized it was what Sekeu had been showing him. “He didn’t keep his balance centered,” Nick said.

Sekeu nodded. “Very good, Nick.”

Leroy flashed Nick a dangerous look.

“Leroy, we have been over this many times. You have great power, but you must not rely on strength alone. If you do not practice what I show you, you will never win your challenge.”

Leroy’s mouth got tight and small. Nick could see the vein on his forehead pounding.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. A bronze spoon banging against an iron pot resounded through the chamber. The smell of cooked onions brought a loud grumble from Nick’s belly, made him aware of just how hungry he was.

Nick watched the Devils drop their gear and rush over in mass, pushing and shoving one another as they tussled over bowls and jockeyed for position in front of a huge iron kettle. Redbone and three other Devils appeared to be in charge of the food and they began dipping out generous spoonfuls of some sort of stew.

Danny, who’d been lying on his back like the victim of a heart attack, suddenly sat up, looking alive for the first time all day. “Dinner. My favorite sport!”

Nick leaned his staff against a post and started toward the line.

“Don’t even think about it,” Leroy said.