Bend In Line

Chapter 10

I wake up on my supposed day of rest completely wired, positively buzzing with excess energy. I take a hike, run twenty miles, and swim laps for an hour. Nothing is working off the edge. I eventually commandeer some Guards to spar with me in the training center. They are all limping out when the rest of the Order walks in. I had decided to call them in for some training.

"I thought you said six?" Ro says eyeing the Guards passing by.

"I did. I have been wired all day. Needed to blow off some steam."

"By beating up some Guards?" He adds with a quirked eyebrow.

"After hiking the Lakelyn trail, running twenty miles and swimming for an hour." I hop up on a nearby table swinging my legs.

"The perfect triathlon." Briar sneers.

"It probably wasn't fair to use your powers against them." Mae says haughtily.

"I didn't use any powers. Even when they did." I turn from the back of the last Guard to Mae. "Emree was expecting you at the Academy an hour ago."

"Still? I thought-"

"Go." She spins on her heel muttering under her breath. I slide off the table swiftly, slamming the double doors shut in front of her before my feet even hit the floor. She spins back startled. When I appear in front of her a nanosecond later, she blinks and her head snaps back. Yes, even I still have to get used to my newly enhanced abilities. While I was already gifted with special powers and abilities including super strength, accelerated healing, and speed, now it was like the volume was cranked wide open. Full range of motion.

"I must've misheard you. Surely." She looks down at her shoes. "You can't possibly think you can take me? Mae, another reason I sent you to help train with the novices is because you could stand to learn from them. You struggle in the training center with basic hand to hand." She looks back up to me, but her gaze is blank. "Fine."

"Ari." Ro warns.

"No, she's got this." I move back to the mats and motion her forward. She looks to Rowan who shakes his head before she reluctantly steps onto the mats.

"No powers, right?" She tries to look defiant, but her voice squeaks.

"Sure. Call it when you've had enough." I take my stance and watch her try to copy it. I wait patiently and sure enough she surges forward first. I easily deflect to the side and send her sprawling across the mat. "It's not always best to go on the offensive first." I step back and wait for her to get up. She does and launches at me again without even gaining her footing first. This time I let my elbow make contact with her nose before side stepping. She goes down on her knees. I see blood spatter across the mat. "Always start on a firm footing. Don't be sloppy or rushed." When she stands up and faces me again, her face is flushed red with anger, maybe even some humiliation. This time she kind of weaves and dodges, but she can't seem to focus on both defense and offense at the same time. I engage her hands to the side and land a swift kick to her side. "Utilize your entire body as a weapon, not just your hands and arms." She bends over gasping for air. Another swift kick sweeps her feet out from under her.

I hear my name being yelled from the sidelines. I ignore it, ready to push my lesson through to the finish line. I step over Mae straddling her legs. She tries to get up, but I freeze her when she gets to a sitting position.

"And most importantly, demons don't fight fairly. They will use every trick in the book and every power at their disposal with one goal in mind: to end you. When you are in the field with a team, your mistakes won't just cost you your life. It can cost others their lives as well. It's my job to minimize the loss of life for my team. I am Alpha. I am gifted with the powers, privilege, and responsibility to lead. You are to obey my Orders explicitly and immediately. If I can't trust you to do that, the you are a hinderance. I am not taking trouble into the field with me."