you, Kells. I promise. I have never looked at anyone but you since the day you first read to me by my circus cage. You’re a swan among swallows.”
“Nice line, but I think you should consult your field guide again.”
He frowned at me and ignored my comment. “As far as Kishan goes, he deserves to be punched for eating my cookies anyway.”
“I’ll make you more tomorrow, so don’t give him grief over that.”
I laughed until he effectively shut me up with his lips.
The next day over Ren’s third omelet and Kishan’s fourth, Ren announced he wanted to take up wushu again. Kishan clapped his hands together, showing he couldn’t wait to clobber Ren.
The brothers rented a small studio where we could be alone, so he and Ren could tutor me. They didn’t teach me any fancy moves or forms, but instead gave me a crash course in Disabling Your Opponent 101. We all thought it best if I learn some defensive moves with the possibility of Lokesh hanging about, as well as who-knows-what lurking ahead of us on the next quest. We all stretched for a few minutes, and then Ren began his lessons using Kishan as a test subject.
“Lesson one. If your attacker is running toward you, bend your knees and wait for him to get closer. Then, grab his arm, swing yourself around him, and lock your arms around his throat. If he’s a big guy, then pull up into the top of his throat under the jaw.”
Kishan ran at Ren and attacked from behind. Then it was my turn. Ren ran toward me, and I grabbed his arm and jumped on his back. I threw my arms around his neck in a brief stranglehold but then pecked him on the cheek before hopping down.
“Good. Lesson two. If the attacker knows more martial arts than you do, don’t fight him. Just try to disable him. Go for the stomach or the groin, and punch or kick as hard as you can.”
Kishan attacked again and started a complicated martial arts assault. I recognized a jump kick to the face with his knee bent and a roundhouse, but he also did a lot of complicated moves I’d never seen done before. Ren kept backing away, moving out of Kishan’s range until he found an opening and punched Kishan hard in the stomach. Kishan got up right away and came back at him again. This time, he fought harder and threw Ren to the ground, which was when Ren punched upward, stopping just shy of debilitating his brother.
“If you have to pick one or the other, choose the groin. It’s much more effective. Lesson three. Go for the sweet spots. These are the eyes, the Adam’s apple, the ears, the temple, and the nose. For the eyes—gouge with two fingers, like this. For the ears—use both hands and thump against both ears at once, as hard as you can. Everything else is a flat-handed, hard chop.”
Ren demonstrated each one then asked me to practice on him again. He wanted me to actually hurt him because he wanted it to be realistic. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Kishan growled and got up, pushing Ren out of the way. “She’s never going to learn like this. She needs to feel a real attack.”
“No, you’re too rough. You’ll hurt her.”
“What do you think they’ll do to her?”
I put my arm on Ren’s. “He’s right. It’s okay. Let him try.”
Ren reluctantly agreed to stand back against the wall.
I stood nervously with my back to Kishan, waiting for the attack. He came up behind me, grabbed my arm hard, and twisted me around. His hands went around my throat; he was strangling me. I heard a vicious growl before Kishan was thrown against the far wall. Ren stood in front of me tenderly touching the red fingerprints on my throat.
He yelled at Kishan, “I told you! You’re too rough! She’s going to have bruises on her neck!”
“It needs to be rough to be realistic. She needs to be ready.”
“Ren, I’m okay. Let him try again. I need to prepare myself so I can think clearly in an attack. You might need me to save you someday.”
He stroked my neck softly and looked at me, undecided. Eventually, he nodded and moved out of the way again.
Kishan ran to the other side and hollered back, “Don’t think. Just react.”
I turned away to wait for the attack. Kishan was quiet. I listened hard for his footsteps but