"You ready to get beat up by a girl?" Nix asked as she danced around me, throwing punches.
I turned around in a slow circle, watching her move. She did a quick shimmy and then snapped three right jabs at my face. She made little hissing sounds with each punch. I flinched, but she wasn't trying to hit me. Her fist stopped several inches away from my face every time.
"You mean beat up by a girl again," I said.
She stopped moving and stood in front of me.
"We shall never speak of that unfortunate incident again. Now, let me see you throw a punch."
I had never actually thrown a punch before. Of course, I wasn't about to admit that to her, though. I copied what I had just watched her do. I raised my fists up to my face just below my eyes, and then threw my right forward. It looked like a pretty good imitation to me, but Nix giggled at it.
"You've never been in a fight before, have you?" she asked, sounding astounded by the idea.
"Tell her you've killed thousands of lesser warriors. That will shut her up." Typhon said.
I normally would've ignored such an insane-sounding statement, but this time it sounded like a fun lie to tell.
"I've actually killed thousands of lesser warriors," I said, trying not to laugh as I did.
"Oh, I didn't realize I was in the presence of a hardened killer."
She held up her left hand so that her palm faced me.
"Let me see that punch one more time."
I put my fists back up the way I had before and then threw the punch again. My fist hit her hand with a soft, unimpressive thud. She smiled and then opened my hand. She raised it so that my palm faced her the same way she had done for me. Without any warning, she snapped off two jabs into my palm. The first one hit my wind barrier. The second one landed cleanly on my skin. My hand shot backward into the air as searing pain radiated through it.
"What the hell was that?" I asked in a high-pitched voice.
I clutched my burning hand to my chest as if she had broken it.
"For such a vicious murderer, you seem pretty fragile," she said with a smirk.
I silently glared at her.
"So, your wind barrier can only block one attack every few seconds. Did you know that?" She asked me.
She walked behind me and put her hands on my waist. I didn't know what she was up to, but I liked how close she was to me, so I let it happen.
"I have no idea how it works," I answered honestly.
She tapped me on the back of my left thigh. "Step forward."
I did as she instructed. Her touch was purely for instruction, but it still sent a jolt through me. She stepped back in front of me and ran her hands up my arms in a slow, enticing manner. I watched them travel up my biceps until they landed on my shoulders. I looked at her, wondering where this was going until she shoved me backward. When I didn't stumble away from her, she nodded.
"Okay, your footing is good. Also, your power doesn't block anything you don't see as an attack."
That was also news to me. Nix had taught me more in a few seconds than I had learned in days on my own. She stood beside me in a fighting stance, like me.
"Just do what I do," she said.
She threw a punch and then waited for me to repeat it. Then she showed me some kicks, and I copied her. We did this after school for the next three days. By the end of the third session, I could put some actual power in my attacks the way she did.
On day four, she switched things up. I knew I was in trouble when she pulled her black hoodie off. Underneath was a black tank top that showed off a lot more of her. She had the same star tattoo on her right collarbone as me.
"Eyes up," she said as she bounced around snapping off punches.
"I have your tattoo," I said, gesturing at my collarbone.
Her cheeks flushed pink as she touched the three stars.
"Technically, I have your tattoo. You had it first."
I smiled. Something about us having the same tattoo made me feel closer to her.
"You saw how cool it looked on me and had to give yourself one too, huh?"
I started stretching. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were almost crimson now.
"Yeah, something like that," she said without looking at me. "Anyway, we're sparring today."
A wave of excitement mixed with fear traveled throughout my body. Was I ready to hold my own against her? That night in the park had left me with a permanent reminder of how dangerous she could be when she wanted to.
She stood across from me with an icy grin on her face. I felt like a gazelle calf being watched by a lioness.
"This is just to get you some practical experience with your punches and kicks. We're not using elemental attacks."
I nodded to show her I understood. I went into the fighting stance she had taught me. I could already feel the sweat trickling down my face. I wanted to get as much out of this as I could, so I mentally pictured my protective wind not working. I hoped that was all it would take to shut it off.
"Go," Nix said and rushed at me.
She was so fast. I only had time to take half a step back before she was on me. She threw a right jab at my head. I moved my head just enough for it to miss over my left shoulder. I tried to knee her in the gut. She punched the top of my thigh. I jerked forward, off balance. She threw a left uppercut at my exposed chin. I blocked the punch and shoved her backward.
I needed a few seconds. I was tired, and my leg was throbbing. The good news was that my wind barrier hadn't activated once. I was finally getting the hang of controlling it. I rubbed my leg absentmindedly, and Nix attacked. She threw a left roundhouse at my leg. I caught her leg and tried to shove her away again. It didn't work. She did a backflip, using my hand for leverage.
The toe of her left foot slammed into my nose. I stumbled backward. The partially cloudy sky was all that I could see. When I finally gathered myself, I looked forward just in time to eat a left hook. I took a page out of her book. The punch landed and rocked my head to the right. I threw all of my weight to that side and went into a spin.
In midair, I stuck out my left fist and connected with something soft and squishy. Nix stumbled backward a step. I landed slightly dizzy. My vision swam around me, but I could clearly see her clutching her right breast.
"You punched me in the boob, dick!" She said with a betrayed look on her face.
Oh, I was going to die. My cheeks warmed. Was that better or worse than punching her in the face? She patted her right knee.
"Guess where this is going next."
The look in her slitted eyes sent ice down my spine. She feigned a kick, and I jumped backward. I angled my body so that she couldn't land a clean crotch shot.
"I didn't mean to do that. It was an accident, I swear," I pleaded.
She shrugged.
"Mine will be a mistake too."
She vanished. I blinked, and she appeared in front of me. Her right fist hurtled at my groin. I raised my left knee, and she punched me in the kneecap. Pain exploded in my leg, but I ignored it. I threw a right uppercut. Instead of dodging it, she lowered her forehead. My fist connected cleanly. Heat shot through my hand. Landing the punch hurt worse than getting punched in the face. I flailed wildly. Nix saw her chance and took it.
She drove her right knee up between my spread legs until it found its target. I dropped to all fours. Pain and nausea overtook me. The sparring session was over.
"That looks painful. Want me to massage the area for you?" Nix asked, sitting in the grass beside me.
"Of course, you do," Typhon said.
I ignored them both and lay flat on my back, staring up into the sky. The wind smelled like Nix's perfume and sweat.
"That spin move you did was badass. I never saw it coming," Nix said, running a finger across my damp forehead.
I nodded, taking deep breaths to ward off all the bad I was feeling.
"I can't wait to see what you'll do when we start mixing elemental attacks in tomorrow."