“Pick one,” he said, waving his arm to thewall of weapons.
Had I just heard him right? He was reallygiving me the opportunity to fight him with a weapon? Fuck, thiswas it. I was finally going to unleash all my skill on this son ofa bitch, and I would show him what it meant to be superior.
My confidence shone brighter than thefucking sun as I headed straight for one of thebosand walked into the center of the room. Idecided on the weapon I had the most skill with. The thought ofbeating Darren to death was far too enticing for me to pass up.
TheboIchose was tapered oak and a bit too big for my size, but it waslighterand, therefore,faster.Unfortunately, it wouldn’t hurt Darren as much when I struck him ifI had chosen the straightbo, butthey were heavier, resulting in slower movements, and I felt Ireally needed speed for this fight. Typically, I trained with astraight bo staff for strength training, so when I finally switchedto a taperedbo, I was lightningfast.Unfortunately,I was alsodefinitely not dressed for battle, but it would have to do. I couldadapt.
God, my heart was pumping fast at thethought of finally getting to fight him. Last time had not gone sowell, but this time, I would be in much better shape and I had abetter weapon. Adrenaline and anxiety raced through my veins andmade me feel jumpy. But I was ready. I had so much rage to unleash,and he was going to seriously regret ever taking me from my homeand my family.
Darren smiled and grabbed the straight bostaff, and I suddenly felt my anxiety spike. Great. He then cameback to stand about ten feet away from me.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t wantto, you know. You can back out now before it’s too late.”
A little giggle escaped my mouth as I restedtheboagainst my back and pulledmy hair into a tight messy bun, never letting my eyes waver fromDarren. Once my hair was secure, I took theboin my hand and spun it around my palm, over my head,behind my back, and up around my neck before letting it twirl backinto my hands without missing a beat. I pointed the tip of thebodirectly at him.
“I am so gonna fuck you up,” I snarled.
Darren smiled and spun hisboin his hand, flipping it around gracefullyover his head and around his body, stopping it the same way Ihad.
“You had better hope so.”
We then closed the distance between us and Ispun myboover my head gainingmomentum and wentfora sharpstrike at his side. He blocked it easily, deflecting my blow andcountering with a strike at my lower body. I dodged and followedthrough with a pass at his legs, but he blocked that as well.
I could feel each strike and block in mypalms as the bos connected, and even though it hurt like hell I wasused to it, having trained advanced combat style for many yearseven though the practice was pretty much dead. I tried to keep mybreathing even as I maneuvered around him, the two of us swingingour bos and blocking or dodging each attempted strike. We circledeach other now, anticipating the other’s next move.
“Such a little liar,” hetsked.
“Or maybe I'm just a really fast learner,” Icountered.
“Not yet," he said. "But you're gonnabe.”
He charged at me then, and though Ideflected, his force caused me to lose my balance and fall backhardonthe floor. He swung hisbodown on me, but I brought mineup across my chest and blocked it, kicking his knee. He took thehit, stumbling only slightly and brought hisboback down, going straight for my ribs, but Irolled out of the way and swung myboathim to gain some distance while I took back mybearings.
“Tired yet?” he mocked.
“I'm just warming up.”
“Good. I would hate for you to disappointme.”
I swung at him this time with so much speedand determination that I actually gave him a good smackonthebackand tried to follow through with another blow to his legs, but hemoved out of the way. My strike didn’t appear to have done much, ashe just shook it off and came at me again.The strength in his next attack was enough to send me offbalance a second time, and I could feel myself getting ready tofall, but as I did, I turned, landing on my hands still grippingthe bo. I managed to execute a cartwheel kick, my feet hittingDarren square in the chin and jaw.Absolute perfection.
We bantered back and forth for a few moreminutes, but Darren’s strength and ferocity never faltered. I hadto admit he was good, but so was I. Sweat was pouring down both ofour faces and our breathing had become labored as we refused togive in to each other. Suddenly, I started laughing at the audacityof this situation.
“Something funny?” he asked, amused.
“Oh, it’s just that you talked such a biggame back there, yet I’m still standing.” I smiled.
I was provoking him now, testing him, hopinghe would make an emotional mistake. I found that happened a lotwhen it came to the male ego, but he just slowly shook his head atme.
“It really never occurred to you that I wastaking it easy on you?”
I stopped and stared at him in totaldisbelief. He was bluffing. He had to be.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Watch your fucking mouth, Jaden.” He glaredat me.
“No, fuck you! I think you’re full ofshit. Otherwise, you would haveended this by now.”
