weapon too?” The thought of fighting someone in general scares me, but I want to know what to do if in the situation. I know it will probably show up again.
He smiles at my eagerness. “One step at a time.”
Nodding, I listen to what he is telling me: how to block my body if someone comes towards me from the front, how to deflect punches from the side, what to do if someone grabs me from behind, etc. After about ten minutes, I put my hair into a high pony tail, because it keeps falling into my face, blocking my vision.
“You’re pretty small, so your opponents will almost always be larger than you. You have to look for their weaknesses. Anything that will give you an advantage on them.” I listen intently to everything that he is telling me. Colton pretends to attack me, slowly, to see if I can deflect his advances. After each move, he would stop and tell me what I did right and what needed to change. David would come up and correct my stances if I was off. This is harder than I thought it would be. They teach me how to use my arms and legs to incapacitate someone and ways to knock someone unconscious.
“From now on, if you can, you’ll probably want to tie your hair into a bun, or something close to your head. You have long hair and anyone can come up behind you and pull your hair, knocking you down.” To demonstrate, Colton steps closer and reaches behind me. Grabbing the end of my pony tail, he wraps it around his hand and gently pulls it down. I arch my head back and stare up at him. I can feel his breathe against my face as he looks down at me—his green eyes staring into mine. My heart starts racing and I can feel a blush creeping up into my cheeks. Seeing it, Colton clears his throat and releases my hair, continuing on with the training session.
Two hours later, I am lying with my back on the mat, sweating and trying to catch my breath. “Why didn’t I get a power where I could just think of what I wanted someone to do and they would do it? Fall down. Run off that cliff. Punch yourself. Do the hokey pokey. That would be convenient in a fight.” I say breathily. Both guys are sitting beside me, barely winded.
“I think that is enough for today. You did well, Ryanne,” says David.
I attempt to laugh and sit up, but both prove to be too much work. I am more comfortable where I am. After a couple minutes, my breathing returns to normal, but the ache remains in my muscles. I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow.
“How long have you guys been training?” I ask.
“Since we were five. Uncle Tom…,” I laugh. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Oh gosh, I’m delirious. This is why I don’t exercise anymore. David stops talking and glances at me, silently asking if I am okay.
“Sorry, continue.”
“He would come over every weekend and teach us random moves, usually martial arts. We didn’t know then that he was training us. It worked out though, now we are always ready in case something should happen.”
“Do you still talk to your Uncle Tom?”
Colton answers, “Yeah, he comes over occasionally. He’s stopped training us a while ago, but still helps train other mages. I bet you’d like him.”
I look towards him, smiling. We drop off into a comfortable silence. When my muscles finally stop aching, I sit up into a seated position. David and Colton both get up and stand around me. Colton extends his hand, offering to help me up. I gladly accept it and let him exert himself trying to get me up.
I feel a hand fall on my shoulder, and unfamiliar deep voice says, “Who’s this?”
Startled, I scream, jump around, and end up bumping into Colton. He reaches out and steadies me; all three guys start laughing at me. I bend down and grab my heart, trying to slow down the frantic beating. My heart is beating against my ribcage, like a steady drum.
I straighten up as David turns towards me, “What a coincidence, Ryanne. This is our Uncle Tom. Tom, this is Ryanne Arden.” Tom smiles and extends his hand. I reach out and take it. Still holding his hand, I look at him and have to stifle the giggle that almost escapes my lips. Is it possible for