Jeremiah frowned. “So you’re saying I’m fucked.”
“That’s not—”
“A Shifter who can’t fight isn’t worth shit,” he reminded me.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t fight. I said you couldn’t fight like Alan. If it’s not in your nature to attack, maybe you should try defending instead?”
“But…” His words trailed off. “Like a counter-puncher?”
“Yeah. Seems to me any Cape team out there would be happy to have some huge fucker who can turn into solid stone and defend a position. Combat class is about one-on-one combat, but in the real world, your team is going to have Lightbringers or Sparks or, if you’re really unlucky, pain-in-the-ass Telekinetics like Poltergeist.”
Almost against his will, Jeremiah grinned. “Tessa doesn’t like you either. You should hear some of the things she says.”
I didn’t let myself get distracted by the tangent, but it was a close thing. “Point is, they can all do way more damage than you can, and from a distance, but they’re just flesh and blood. On a team, they’re going to need someone durable to hide behind.”
“And I could be that someone.”
“Some part of you must have already known that,” I pointed out. “It’s in your codename.”
•—•—•
Two weeks later, Jeremiah faced off with Alan Jackson. He lost… but the fight lasted five minutes, and for the first time ever, it was almost competitive. As he was carted off to the med ward with a broken collarbone and a knee that squished every time he bent it, his bloody smile was victorious.
At the end of class, Nikolai summoned me to his office.
•—•—•
It says something about Nikolai that none of us even knew he had an office. I’d pretty much just figured his place was right there in the observation room, gleefully watching his students knock the shit out of each other.
Truth is, I could have happily gone through all three years at the Academy without ever seeing that office. Some professors have open door policies where students can come, eat cookies, and ask questions about the material. Others turn their offices into makeshift lounges for teaching assistants and a few exalted students. But with Nikolai, there’s only one reason you’ll see his office’s bland, grey walls, and it sure as shit doesn’t involve cookies.
Not that I knew any of that when I first walked in. Not sure knowing would’ve made a difference, but I’d have had an easier time not laughing at the sight of the enormous professor wedged in behind a regulation-sized desk.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Take a seat, Banach.” He nodded to the single chair that had been positioned in front of his grossly inadequate desk. “I understand you had something to do with Stonewall’s performance today?”
I shrugged as I dropped into the chair. “He just needed a nudge in the right direction. Anyone could have done it. In fact…” I trailed off.
“Say it.”
“You’re our Combat instructor. Why didn’t you see what was going on?”
“I’ve been doing this for more than ten years. What makes you think I didn’t?”
“The fact that you sat on your ass and said nothing?”
Nikolai’s nasty smile made a reappearance. “You’ve got balls, which is why I like you. But if you’ve got a problem with me or the way I teach, we can settle it in the pit.”
“Dampeners on or off?”
“It wouldn’t matter either way.” His massive hands clenched slowly into even more massive fists, knuckles popping like tiny bombs.
“Maybe some other time,” I finally managed.
“My door’s always open.” The smile faded and Nikolai leaned back in a chair that creaked alarmingly under his weight. “Of course I saw where Stonewall was going wrong. Hard to miss it, really. But being a Cape is about more than just following orders and punching things. It’s about understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. Even more importantly, it’s about teamwork.”
“You were waiting for one of us to help him?”
“Got it on the first try.” Nikolai sneered. “Guess you’re not quite as dim as the other professors say.”
I ignored the dig. I’d passed all my classes first semester—even Ethics, although a D was nothing to cheer about—so my professors could say whatever the hell they wanted. “But what if none of us had?”
“Then I’d have brought Stonewall into my office for a little chat.”
I paused, glanced around, and swallowed. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not here because I helped Jeremiah, am I?”
“Afraid not, kid.” It was the closest I’d seen Nikolai’s smile come to kindness. “It’s a shame, because you’re one of our best natural fighters, but combat isn’t fair. All the ability in the world doesn’t mean shit if you lack the power to back it up. And whatever it was you showed in that first fight against Paladin, we haven’t seen even a glimmer of it since.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying this isn’t the right path for you. Maybe you’ll do better in one of the other powers classes.”
Clearly, he hadn’t spoken to my other teachers. “Come on, Nikolai. Give me a chance here.”
“I’ve given you more chances than I should have. I’ve also had my ass reamed twice now by Gladys for the state you keep showing up in, and let me tell you, kid, that old bat has never squawked about my students before.”
I should have known my overpowering attractiveness to older women would come back to haunt me. “I’ll deal with Gladys. Just give me some more time.”
Nikolai was silent, lantern jaw tight as he studied my face.
“I’m close to being able to use my power,” I continued, drawing on thirteen years as an orphan to make that lie believable. “I just need a little bit longer. Please. This is the one thing I’m good at.” That part wasn’t a lie. Given my complete uselessness in the two Ps, Combat was my only shot at making it to second-year.
“One month, baby Crow,” he said at
