“Dude, you just made a fist,” she commented in puzzlement.
“But the way you use it is different. You don’t punch forward; you use your arm like a hammer.” He wrapped his fingers over hers, keeping her hand compressed into a fist, and then flexed her forearm downward in a karate chop move.
“Oh, that’s kind of neat.” Cassie was impressed.
“And fairly effective too if you can bring your arm down on a guy’s neck or face.”
Cassie was about to practice on the security coordinator’s shoulder blade, but he blocked her arm.
“Not yet, princess. You’ll get plenty of opportunity to pummel me black and blue in a few minutes. I want to show you a few more things first.”
“OK, OK.” She put her arms down.
Do you know what the strongest point on your body is?”
She raised an eyebrow. “My sarcastic tongue?”
He bent her arm up and tapped her elbow. “This. If you’re ever in a position to jab somebody in the eye or the neck or the spleen with your elbow, do it.”
“Huh.” Cassie looked down at her arm with newfound respect. “Who’d a thunk it?”
Without warning, Erik threw his forearm across her neck and pulled her to his chest. “You remember this one, don’t you?” he whispered in her ear.
The move took her by surprise. Her heart was racing but not just with alarm. She commanded her pulse to slow down before she spoke. “I remember it a little too well. First Leroy and then the Turk.”
“Well, here’s what you might have done. Roll your head down and turn it to the side.”
“What’s the point of that?”
“Just in case he’s trying to cut off your air supply. You could faint. Makes it easier for him to drag you away.”
The pythia did as he instructed, blocking his efforts to squeeze her windpipe.
“Now, you could try to hook his ankle with your foot to pull him off balance, or you could do exactly what you did to—”
Before he could finish the sentence, she gleefully raised her leg and stomped as hard as possible on Erik’s instep.
“Oww, oww, oww!” He crumpled to the floor in pain. “This is only a training exercise!”
She looked down at him impassively. “You were going to tell me to do exactly what I did to the Turk. I was just following instructions.”
“Next time, I’ll remember to tell you to pretend,” he replied, rubbing his injured foot.
She gave him a few moments to recover and then extended a hand to help him up. “Are we ready to practice now?” she asked sweetly.
He took her extended hand and jumped to his feet. “Oh, yeah!”
They went at it for nearly half an hour with Cassie trying all the techniques she’d learned. At first, Erik blocked her easily, but by the end of the session, the pythia began to anticipate his defenses and worked around them. They both ended up bruised and winded before Erik finally called a time out.
Dropping down onto a mat, Cassie grabbed a water bottle. She handed one to the security coordinator.
“Pretty good for a rookie,” he admitted.
They sat cross-legged, facing each other. Cassie untwisted the bottle cap and took a long drink.
Erik gave her an appraising look. “Seriously, Cass, you don’t need a lot of coaching. You’re a natural at this stuff.”
“Really?” she asked in surprise. “You’re not just saying that?”
He shook his head. “No, I mean it. Most chicks hesitate, especially if they’re small, because they think they aren’t strong enough to defend themselves, but not you.” He paused. “You’ve got fast reflexes and killer instincts.”
“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” she said guardedly.
“You should. I meant it to be. You’ve got a lot of anger churning around inside, and you really make it work for you.”
She flinched self-consciously. “Channeling my inner rage. Gee, who knew it would come in handy.”
“Look, I didn’t mean to—”
“No, it’s OK. You need to understand where it all comes from. What it was like for me growing up. For starters, I was mad as hell at Sybil for dragging me around the country with no explanations and no warning. Every year a new school. When you’re the new kid, your defenses are naturally up because everybody wants to bully you if they can. I had just one rule. Never let them see you weak because if that happens, you’re finished. You might as well be a gazelle with a broken leg surrounded by a pack of slavering hyenas.”
“What kind of scary ass high school did you go to?” Erik asked in disbelief.
“Every kind there was, dude,” the pythia sighed. “Never fitting in. Always being treated like an outcast. I couldn’t help but develop quite a chip on my shoulder.”
“But you’re not an outcast here,” the security coordinator corrected quietly. “You’re one of us now. You earned your place in the Arkana. I know because I was there to see you do it.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Yeah, I get that. I feel like I belong, but old habits die hard. Letting down my guard still doesn’t come easy. Even when I know I’m among friends.” Cassie laughed in wonder. “What do you know? I have friends. That’s entirely new.”
He gave her a reassuring pat on the back. “Yeah, you do. But since this is supposed to be a self-defense session, it’s OK for you to keep your guard up sometimes—especially when you’re surrounded by the Nephilim.”
She nodded. “Good advice. I believe I’ll take it.” She gave him a searching look. “And as long as I’m in full disclosure mode, I might as well tell you that I really do think you’re good at your job. The best, in fact. The only reason I had the guts to con those Turkish thieves was because I knew you had my back, no matter
