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He blocks my shove, and I go for a right hook, which he dodges easily, then brings his right knee up and lightly jabs me in the ribs.
Fuck!
Growling, I move in closer and send another punch his way, and when he kicks out, I’m ready and block it with my own knee. But I’m not fast enough for the punch in my shoulder, which knocks me to the ground.
Walking over to me, he scoffs. “Is that all you have?” he questions as he gives me his hand, but I refuse it and roll out of his way. I size him up as we start to circle each other. There is no way I can take on this guy, but I’m pissed and hangry. I want food.
Finally eyeing something that I can use to my advantage, I smile as I meet his eyes.
“See something that amuses you?” Astaroth questions as he takes on a lower stance.
“Yep!”
“Want to enlighten me?” he jokes.
“Sure… in just a few seconds.” I move in and once again throw a punch that he easily blocks, but I pivot on my back leg and do a two-step dance move—thank you, Mom, for a few dance classes—that puts me at his flank, where I deliver two short jabs to his kidney. My heart is in my throat as he swirls to face me and his arm swings around to knock me in the head. I quickly duck and pivot, driving my heel down hard on his tail that I’ve noticed he likes to sweep over the floor when he moves.
“Fuck!” he bellows and stumbles, and I take my advantage by aiming for his inner thigh.
I’m not stupid enough to hit a Wrath Demon in his junk, but I’ll show him I could have. He drops to his knee as his eyes flash silver, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. He studies me as I stand motionless while it finally dawns on me that maybe I should be running. But then a smile slowly appears on his lips, and I get cocky. “I totally got you!” I say, putting my hands on my waist.
“I was pulling my punches, but I see you have the talent to note weakness. Who taught you that?” He stands, giving his inner thigh one last pat and considering me.
“Um… Taught me what?” I ask, pulling at the hem of my shirt in uncertainty now.
“How did you know to aim for my tail?” He walks over and picks up our bo-staffs, beckoning me to follow him to the end of the room.
“When you move, your tail likes to show off and draw my eye away from you. It’s a distraction if I’m not careful, so I used it to my advantage,” I admit, shrugging.
He opens the door and ushers me inside to what I thought was an office, but boy was I wrong. It’s a weapon’s stronghold. Along the wall are cases and underneath them are lines of open drawers. From what I can see, there are all kinds of small weapons here. Ninja throwing stars, brass knuckles with a knife protruding from the middle, free knives, something that resembles wolverine claws, and small Grim Reaper sickles.
“As a self-proclaimed scrapper, you need to be close to your enemy. To do that, you need a weapon that you can easily work with.” He walks over to a cabinet at the back and pulls out the top four drawers.
I glance down and all I see is very shiny and sharp metal. “No practice or blunted weapons?” I ask, studying the different ones.
When I get no answer, I peer up at Astaroth and find him slowly shaking his head. “It’s a good thing you heal fast.”
I squint my eyes as he laughs and picks up two sets of weapons.
“Murmur likes to talk,” he laughs as we head out of the room.
Damn Mischief Demon from hell. Let’s add another reason why I want to poke his eyes out. That, and how he’s running Knots into the ground as we walk past them.
Knots
I thought I had it rough when I was paired with Murmur, but I think Rez got the worst of it out of all of us. Astaroth just smiled when he called her name and said she’s with him. I think Moni had a good pairing when she got Zissa. Although, Zissa’s the one that’s probably learning the most when it comes to patience. Every time Moni gets excited about a move she perfected, she faints and Zissa has to wake her up gently. From what I’ve caught, they are up to seven. JP’s smooth and calming attitude was a good pairing when pitted against Knox and his anger issues. Lynx happily took on Ryker, and I wish I could sit back and see how both of their cocky attitudes battled each other. I couldn’t help but notice how Chester appeared relieved to have Levi.
It’s already been thirty minutes of intense blocking and flourishing attacks with Murmur, and I’m exhausted. I wipe away the sweat on my forehead as my breath saws in and out of my lungs, hoping I don’t look as bad as I feel.
“Come on, Knots. Just fifteen more minutes and then we break for dinner,” Murmur says, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Then back to work! It’s just like old times, even though you might not remember it.”
He’s right, just a few more minutes, and I can take a break. He pauses with his movement and really studies me.
“Or do you need to rest?” His concern is what kills me.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to work this hard. Even when I had to defend against the Rebel attack, I wasn’t this winded, and there was more than just one rival.
“No, I’m good,” I say, before feigning an upper swing aimed for his head, and when he goes to block, I sweep low and crack him against his leg.
