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“Michael can, and you need to know how to defend against it. My father taught me, and I’m assuming he has Kai, but you I’m not so sure about.”
My chin dips to my chest. Lucifer never showed that… I twist my lips. “Are you going to teach me, or continue to pick at my inabilities?”
His gaze travels over my body from head to toe. “Lose the sword.”
“But I just made it,” I say, holding it up and drawing my eyebrows together. “Why would I fight without my most valuable weapon?”
“You’re a witch, Alice. You don’t bring a sword to a magic fight.”
“I’ve learned how to fight with and without my magic. Finn made sure that neither was a handicap for me.”
“Yes, but even the greatest warrior in Hell has flaws. He taught you to rely on one or the other at any given time. Not to use both simultaneously. Now, lose the sword.”
Growling, I set my sword on the ground and hold my hands up in surrender.
He steps back, conjuring a sword as if it’s nothing. “You must be able to stay fluid. In this world, it’s not about who is the strongest. It’s about who is the smartest, and who can anticipate their opponent’s moves before they make them, and adjust accordingly. You’re quick, and you’ve got the anticipation thing down, but when you strike with your sword, it’s weak. When you use your magic to strike, you don’t hide your moves well and the person you’re fighting can see it from a mile away.”
“Um… Thanks?” I tilt my head, not seeing where this is going.
“Most warriors die when they lose their sword. You have the ability to make them, but you’re too slow. Now, I’m going to attack and you’re going to make something new and block it before I strike.”
He swings and I throw my hands up, using my magic to fend off the sword. His eyes narrow as he backs away. “Not like that. Create something, Alice.” Asmo swings again and this time, I barely materialize part of a sword before he strikes, but it’s enough to keep the sword away from my body.
“Again,” he says, repeating the assault over and over until I manage to create a full weapon before he strikes. “Good, now you need to merge them. Put power behind your blows when you fight hand to hand. Watch,” he swings at me and I throw my sword up at the last second. The metal clangs as I try to settle the stirring in my chest. “You felt that, yes?” he asks.
I nod, shaking out the numb tingling in my arm. “Yes.”
“That was a regular blow. No magic, no nothing. Now,” he pushes off and strikes again, this time I feel the pulse of his magic before our swords meet and I have to grit my teeth and bear down into the ground to keep from sliding back. “That’s with magic.” I push his sword away from mine and stand back to my full height. “Your turn.”
***
KAI
Teleporting back to the castle, I find Asmo and Alice fighting in the courtyard. We’re still walking down the skull bridge, and quite a ways away, but the clangs of swords clashing rings in the air.
“What are they doing?” I ask no one in particular, but the only person with me answers.
“Training, I suppose,” Finn says, looping his finger into his belt strap. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“That seems awfully heated for two people training.” Magic bursts with every strike as each fights for an advantage. Their swords lock and Asmo’s slips closer to Alice’s throat. When she finally gains the ground to push him back, the tip of his sword cuts her cheek, drawing blood.
I teleport forward, placing my body between them. “What the hell is going on?”
“She’s learning,” Asmo says, his chest rising and falling with jagged breaths.
“Learning? She’sbleeding.” I turn toward Alice, who’s holding a hand over her cheek. “Are you alright?”
“I’m–I’m fine,” she says, sucking in a breath and nodding continuously. “I’m fine.”
“Let me see.” I step towards her, removing her hand. It’s mostly healed. Shallow, but face wounds bleed more than others. “I think we’re done here.”
“Done? She has to learn. It’s sword fighting. People get hurt, but she’s immortal and she’ll heal,” Asmo says behind me. I swallow down the rage brewing within me, closing my hands into fists to keep the claws from springing forth.
“She might be immortal, but she still scars. Yes, things happen, but she doesn’t have to learn through pain. Not when there are other ways.”
“So she scars…” he says, and the darkness within me bursts to the surface. I keep my eyes on her, afraid to turn around for his sake more than mine. “It’s better she learns now than the way I did.”
Slowly, I turn to see his finger pointed at his eye. I step toward him and he matches it backward. “I apologize. I was merely trying to help her learn. Being afraid to hurt her won’t do her any favors when she faces someone else who could careless. I wouldn’t have hurt her or done anything that would’ve been permanent.”
