will help me work them out. She really likes the idea of being able to defeat any restraints or prisoner collars,” I said.
“Seeing as she is already a highly trained and skilled operator, that makes sense,” Tanya said. “You, on the other hand, while skilled and powerful, lack crucial training. So now we will do some hand to hand sparring.”
“With you?” I asked in disbelief.
“No, we will use the wolf,” she said, rolling her eyes in Stacia’s direction.
The beautiful blonde flashed a sarcastic smile back at her before turning to me and smiling for real. “Come on. I’ll be kind,” she said. “I hope you don’t have any hangups about fighting with a girl?”
“Hello? Guy with bioengineered assassin girlfriend, remember? She beats me up all the time,” I said.
“Welcome to my world,” Chris said. “Just hold back the magical responses for this one.”
“But Declan,” Tanya said after a brief narrow-eyed glare at Chris. “Don’t ever, ever allow anyone else to cripple your magic again.”
“I’ve already made that vow,” I said, standing up to follow Stacia up the stairs to my imminent doom.
Chapter 29
The week passed in a blur of training, homework, golem construction, teaching witches to construct golems, more training, more homework, and finally the weekend… where I got caught up on homework.
My training with Chris and the demon-fighting crew had been short but jam-packed. I met the telepathic vampire, Nika, on Thursday, and spent most of my training time learning about defending my mind although class ended with more sparring. Friday, they made me use all my glyphs, individually and all at the same time. I’d worried about the fate my aunt had predicted.
“For those warlocks, who came into their tattoos in combat and only knew combat, that makes sense. It actually afflicts regular soldiers and warriors, too. Adrenaline junkies. But if you are trained to use the glyphs and use them in practice with care and thought, you shouldn’t have a problem. Somehow, Declan, I doubt you are headed for a life of boredom,” Tanya said after my last workout ended.
We were all standing on the rafters of the second floor. Suddenly, three sections of wooden beams near our feet snapped and shattered as a gigantic furry head and shoulders burst up from the first floor. “Awasos! You’ve broken my floor,” Tanya admonished.
“He’s hungry and impatient,” Chris laughed. “Me too. Let’s go get breakfast.”
The waitress and the customers in the diner had bugged out when they realized that God’s Hammer and the woman the media was calling the Night Angel were sitting among them with a massive wolf that was just as famous, along with some scruffy college kid. It would be only a matter of minutes before the media arrived.
“I was glad to find out that you came back to check out the witch murders,” I mentioned as Chris and I shoveled eggs and hash into our mouths.
“Well, we were here anyway. Might as well check it out,” Tanya said, sipping water while she read the local paper. A middle-aged lady at the counter was blatantly snapping a picture on her iPhone. I glanced at Chris and raised my eyebrows, flicking my eyes at the woman. Maybe I should whammy her camera? He shook his head.
“You were here anyway? I thought you came back from Europe to find out about the murders?” I asked.
“No, we came back to train you. Katrina told us about what happened and we had to make sure you were okay and also that it wouldn’t happen again,” Chris said.
“But, what about the demon outbreaks? People probably died?” I asked.
“They happen… maybe less often, but they still happen. We cover the ones we can, but we can’t be everywhere. We have to prioritize,” Chris said, frowning.
The waitress was hovering nearby, clearly wanting to approach the table, but as our coffees had just been filled and extra toast and bacon delivered, she didn’t have a valid reason.
“I think, zayka, that Declan is feeling that we should put demon outbreaks over his safety and wellbeing,” Tanya said, her blue-blue eyes spearing me over the top of the paper.
“Oh. Well. I see. Listen, Declan, I don’t think we’ve been super clear with you. The idea for Arcane came about because of you and Caeco. First, because of what you did for Toni, but then later, when you and your aunt made the necklaces, we realized how very unique the two of you are,” he said, going so far as to put his fork down. “The world’s