INFIDELITY | Book I

4: Blood Riddance.

Flashback: Nicholai, 15, Training.

Chapter 4:

"Show no mercy, you are trained to kill." Stefan's voice rang through my head as I hit the bag and it winced under my steel hand. "Hit harder!" He yelled the command to me and bouncing on the balls of my feet, I shifted my weight to my left and the pain shot up through my arm but I ignored it; I didn't have a choice.

Squaring my shoulders off I jabbed: Right, left, right, left left, right then left again and baring my teeth, I gave a strong last jab with my right and the punching bag swung off the hook trying to brace itself for impact but it couldn't. We watched it bust open- the sand in it poured out like blood oozing out of a wound.

"Again." Stefan's grinned wickedly at me before we moved on to the next bag, and I continued for the next thirty minutes before he let me off the hook. "You're done." I breathed a sigh of relief before the back of my head was being smacked. "What? Are you glad to be finished?"

"No."

"No what?" He grounded out taking a threaten step towards me and I backed up without knowing.

"No signore." I apologized for my action, but I knew what was to come next.

"Get on the mat." He ordered me before he waved Sage towards us, I tried to collect my breathing before watching my little brother push off the wall to do what our uncle said. "Fight."

Sage's eyes- our mother's eyes- stared at me with a unknown look in them before he separated his feet apart from each other and he placed his hands up. "You don't have to do this." I warned- I didn't want to fight him.

"We don't have a choice." His words rang in my head... we don't have a choice.

Sighing to myself, I took my stance. We didn't wait for our uncle to tell us when to go because we already started to circle each other.

Sage was easy to predict so it wasn't hard to pick him apart.

Now.

Just like I expected he threw his leg out trying to kick my right calf but I sidestepped him before raising my right eyebrow up at him. "You can do better than that."  I taunted.

Sage wasn't a fighter; but what he could do with a knife was magnificent.

"Stop circling each other and fight." Stefan ordered us and just when I let my guard to look at my uncle, I saw my brother lung towards me and I let him tackle me to the floor before I wrapped my legs around his mid section, flipping us over. My bare fist came in contact with his face and his head smacked the concreted mat before he winced in pain. I climbed off my brother to stand and take my stance again and I waited.

I did this to teach him about having courage, I could have ended him there but he wouldn't learn. And in Stefan's mind he believed this was the right technique to teach us. Blood against blood.

I watched him turn his head to the side before spitting out blood and when he turned his head back to the face me, he had a murderous glare in his eyes and mine held the same.

We went at each other head on throwing jabs, punches and kicks and we didn't let up for one second. He landed three solid punches to my abdomen and one to my face but I was quicker than him while he held the strength.