It felt like I had only closed my eyes for ten minutes when my father barged into my room. My door was slammed open loudly, startling me out of my light sleep. I sat up quickly, holding my quilt to my chest and glared blearily at Father. He was standing at the foot of my bed, bare chested and long hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
"Get up; you're training with your siblings in five minutes." He said coldly, his scimitar strapped to his hip.
I sighed and nodded reluctantly. He left the room, closing my door behind him. I sat there for a minute before pushing my covers back and got up. I stretched with my arms high above my head and stood on the tips of my toes. My vertebrae popped and I grunted in satisfaction.
It was early morning, I figured, though it was near impossible to discern the time unless you had a clock. We had a large Grandfather clock in the foyer, where it chimed loudly at every hour. I hadn't slept for more than four hours and I certainly felt sleep deprived. My eyes felts sticky and heavy, fluttering every so often like it was hard for me to keep them open, and my limbs felt just as weighed down as my eyes did.
Going to my closet, I pulled my training gear off their hangers. The outfit consisted of a sleeveless tunic, arm guards, and tight-fitting trousers. I grabbed my chest bindings and quickly wrapped my breasts. I pulled the tunic over my head and slid the trousers up my legs before strapping the arm guards on. I kept my feet bare like usual. I grabbed my dagger from where it lay in its dagger case.
I went down the stairs and to the backyard through the kitchen. There were no servants moving around, the kitchen completely empty. That only proved it was earlier than I thought if the servants weren't even up yet. Pushing open the door, I jogged through our yard. Grim wasn't in his cage, but Malus and Hound were present. Malus was pacing agitatedly, huffing at Hound when the latter rumbled at her. I felt a grimace form on my mouth, dreading what sort of training Father had planned if he took that monster out.
Beyond the kennel were our family training grounds. Jahi, our precursor, had them built as a gift to Amdusias when they married millennia ago. Despite their age, the grounds were well kept. Whenever Zane would get overzealous with his training, the groundskeepers would have the mess fixed up in just a few short hours. The grounds were flat and offered no cover to prevent us from hiding during training. They spanned a few acres back with various equipment scattered in different locations. As I walked, I noticed a scorch mark from either me or Mikayla from the last training session. I smirked wryly; the groundskeepers always had a difficult time cleaning up our messes.
I spotted Zane and Mikayla standing side by side in front of Father. Zane was wearing his cestuses and though he stood still, he seemed to vibrate with energy. He only had a pair of pants on and ankle high leather shoes that helped him move quicker.
Mikayla had her hair in a ponytail, her fringe pushed behind her ear. She had short pants on and only wore her training bandages. A holster was strapped to her thigh and I saw her throwing knives. On her feet she had shoes similar to Zane's. She had her arms folded across her chest and gave me a disapproving glare when I ran to her side.
"Nice of you to finally join us." Father said dryly, his hands clasped behind his back. He was wearing dark blue training pants, his feet bare, too.
I muttered an insincere apology, all the while faintly wondering where Grim was.
"Now then, it has come to my attention you," he stared pointedly at me and Mikayla, "are shirking your training responsibilities. As such, I will be foreseeing your training from now on. I would like for you three to train at least three times a week. You are young and it is important for you to sharpen your skills as well as build on the ones you already possess."
Mikayla at least the decency to look a little ashamed. I stared indifferently at Father. I'd rather sharpen my mind than my fists.
"Stretch and we'll begin." He added before following his own advice.
When we were younger, Father stressed the importance of stretching before training and—if possible—before a battle. Something always told me a fatal wound was a little more important than a pulled muscle, however. The times I had fought with the Angels I didn't have time to stretch and I doubt Luke and Will would have waited for me to "limber up."
Zane, because of the way he fought, focused more on the muscles in his arms, shoulders, and backs. He twisted around a few times on each side, pulled his arms over as far as they could go. For his legs, he bent down and tried to touch his toes. He bounced from foot to foot after and gave a couple experimental jabs with his fists.
Mikayla had to focus on both her arms and legs. She was a distance fighter and needed to be quick on her feet if an enemy tried to cover the ground she preferred to put between herself and her opponent. She stretched her neck first, then her wrists. She and I would help each other stretch our legs.
She and I sat on the ground with our feet together. We grabbed each other's hands and pulled the other forward while the other became almost parallel with the ground. I felt the muscles in the back of my legs pull and relax as I slowly leaned back. After about ten of those, I lied on my back and let her push my leg as far back as it could go without hurting me horribly.
Since my specialty was dodging and evasive action, keeping the muscles in my legs limber was vital. I had pulled my hamstring once after inadequately stretching and I never wanted to feel that pain again.
We finished up with our stretches and stood back up. Father finished stretching the muscles in his side before straightening up to regard us.
"We'll begin with your fighting skills. Free-for-all." Father leapt far away from us until he was out of range. "Begin!"
A melon-sized rock hit me in the forehead before I had time to react. I fell and rubbed my head, already feeling a bump beginning to form.
"Zane, that was a cheap shot!" I growled.
He smirked mischievously at me and stamped the ground with his foot. The piece of earth I was on lifted up suddenly, shooting me into the air. While I was airborne, slabs of earth hurtled toward me. I crossed my arms in front of my face and blocked them. I felt a sharp pain and yanked one of Mikayla's knives out of my arm.
I landed clumsily, the bottoms of my feet stinging badly from the shock of the landing. Mikayla appeared in front of me, holding one of her knives. Hastily, I pulled my dagger out from its sheath strapped to my lower back and blocked her, gritting my teeth from the force she was using. I was brought to one knee, my arms shaking with the effort to keep her at bay. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and leapt back, allowing her to slice my cheek instead of getting hit with another rock. The rock slammed into my sister, knocking her back about ten feet. I slid my dagger back into its sheath.
"Always remain aware of your surroundings, Mikayla." Father's voice called.
Mikayla got up, her face dirty and several strands of hair hanging in her eyes. She glared at Zane and threw three of her knives she had between her fingers. Zane lifted up his right cestus and knocked the knives away. He appeared in front of her, throwing a punch at her. While the two of them began to fist fight I watched them, gauging their techniques.
Zane liked throwing in a few hits before going on the defensive, using his left cestus to block any attacks. He constantly switched from foot to foot, but favored his right. And, what he lacked in speed he made up for destructive power. He struck Mikayla in the ribs and I saw her cough up blood. Internal bleeding and undoubtedly a couple cracked ribs. Perhaps even a punctured lung.
Mikayla preferred keeping on the offensive, seldom defending herself against Zane unless she thought the attack would be highly injurious. She had a nasty habit of sneaking in a knife and gutting her opponent when they least expect it. Zane grunted when she slipped a knife into his side.
"Melanie, get in there!" Father bellowed.
I pouted and breathed deeply. Mikayla and Zane had briefly forgotten about me, giving me an advantage. I couldn't hurt Mikayla with my lightning, but Zane was a different story. I continued to take deep breaths, feeling the power surge inside of me. My organs tingled, the muscles within my arm seized with the lightning building. With a half arc, I brought my arm over my chest, pointing my index and middle finger at Zane. With a quick strike, I shot my arm forward, the dark blue lightning hitting its target.
Zane yelled in surprise and pain, falling to his hands in knees. He was covered with the distinguishable lightning wound, the bruises and burns dancing all over his torso. His muscles twitched every so often as the lightning moved through his body.
Mikayla turned to me and scoffed, "You know that doesn't affect me."
"Wasn't aiming at you." I shot back, getting ready for her attack.
She tossed a handful of her knives at me and sped toward me. With her speed, she couldn't change direction or stop too quickly, and I used that to my advantage. I lowered myself and jutted my shoulder up and forward, catching my larger sister in the gut. She wheezed and I lifted her over my back, letting her hit the ground hard.
"Interesting..." I heard Father say.
Mikayla got to her feet and snarled, "Lucky shot!"
She swung her fist at me and I ducked, grabbing her arm and swinging her over my head again. She landed hard and swept her foot into my ankles. With a startled gasp, I fell. The second I was on the ground, my sister crawled on top of me with one of her knives coming straight for my throat. I grabbed her wrist, the tip of the blade digging slightly into the vulnerable flesh of my neck.
"Whoa, wait, wait, wait! Are you crazy?" I exclaimed as I struggled to keep her at bay.
She rolled her eyes at me and pushed further. I gritted my teeth as the tip went deeper. "Please, it isn't like it is going to kill you."
She had both hands on the knife to push it down. Daring myself to hold her at bay with one hand, my other arm shot out to strike her in the throat. She choked and I planted my feet on her chest, heaving her off me. When I was certain she was down for now, I got to my feet, panting.
Behind you! Rayi barked. I whirled around just as Zane grabbed my shoulder in an iron clad grip and threw me over his head.
"Shouldn't let your guard down, Mel!" He sneered.
I corrected my posture before I hit the ground on my back, landing on the balls of my feet. I slid back a couple inches before stopping, placing my hands on the ground to steady myself. I raised myself up just in time to somersault back from Zane's punch.
He followed me, throwing another punch. I ducked under his arm and grabbed the cold metal covering his wrist. He surprised me by twisting out of my grip and locking my arm between his and his body.
He grinned at my bewildered face. "Saw you get Mikayla with this; you aren't getting me with it!"
His knee came up to hit my elbow and there was a sickening crunch. I couldn't stop the scream that left me, tears pricking my eyes from the pain. He released my broken arm and grabbed me by the collar of my tunic to slam his head into mine. My vision darkened and I didn't catch myself as I fell backwards.
Zane looked to our father, his expression expectant. Father returned to where Mikayla and I were slumped on the ground. Zane went to Mikayla and helped her up, while Father grabbed my arm and hoisted me onto my feet. I was still dazed from Zane's final blow, my head throbbing almost as badly as my slow healing broken arm. I touched my elbow, nibbling on my lip as I concentrated my regenerating abilities on it rather than my head. I could see white strands begin to form in my fringe as I did so. A disgruntled Mikayla and mildly injured Zane stood beside me as Father stood in front of us again.
"Mikayla, your speed is superior but you must learn to be able to stop. It was all too easy for Melanie to incapacitate you because of that. Your aim could use some improvement as well as your defensive skills." He said, studying her.
She had her fist clenched and was biting her lip. She was upset with his criticism. She gave a sharp nod. "Yes, Father; I will improve."
He moved onto me. "Melanie, you are too flighty and have a bad habit of standing there when you should be fighting. It takes you too long to attack with your lightning, too; work on your speed. However, you use your small stature to your advantage and your sister's momentum against her."
I bowed my head. "Thank you, Father."
It was the first time he had praised my skills rather than tear me apart.
"Zane, you should learn to guard against your sisters' lightning abilities. You use a metal weapon; they could use it against you. Your speed needs improvement. Your form has been mastered and you think quickly." Father said, a hint of pride in his voice.
Zane jerked his head quickly. "Thank you."
Father smirked then, a devious look on his face that made me want to take a step back. "We will work on dodging then."
He stuck two of his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Zane and I exchanged a look and Mikayla groaned. Grim bounded onto the training ground to stand beside Father. He was huffing, his heads staring at us eagerly.
"Don't let Grim hit you. I have laced his claws with poison."
The desire to flee heightened tenfold.
At Zane's thunderstruck expression, Father chuckled. "Don't worry; the poison isn't deadly. It will paralyze you for an hour. You are not to attack him; only evade."
"Grim, attack." Grim roared and surged forward, reaching me first.
I jumped back and yelled, "Isn't this a bit much?! What if we have an allergic reaction to the poison?!"
The hellhound swiped at me and I bent under his arm, running between his legs. He snuffled and looked around before going for Mikayla.
Father snorted, looking thoroughly amused. "Nonsense, you three have no allergies."
Mikayla leaped over Grim, landing beside Zane. Grim raced after the two, who headed for me. I took off before the two got to me. Mikayla shot past me, but Zane kept in pace with me.
"Father's lost his mind!" I said to him, looking over my shoulder. The hound was catching up, his thick legs taking longer strides than us.
"I can't disagree. Damn beast is fast. Looks like someone is going to have to sacrifice themselves." Zane said a moment before he tripped me.
I hit the ground face first, my nose breaking. I rolled onto my back, my eyes tearing up from the pain. Grim loomed over me, his front claws descending quickly toward me. I rolled to the side and got to my feet before climbing up his arm and onto his back. His right head followed me, snapping at my heel. I pushed myself off him using his shoulder as a vault, putting some distance between him and me for the time being.
With a whimper of pain, I pushed my nose back into place to let it mend properly. I wiped the blood away, smearing it on my arm. Grim was back after Mikayla, who was having a difficult time avoiding his claws. She sidestepped him and flickered away to catch her breath. Her hair was now almost completely out of its original ponytail.
Grim turned his heads to glower at me and I tensed my muscles, ready to move. Instead, he lunged at Zane, who had been sneaking behind him. Zane gave an alarmed shout.
Of the three of us, Zane had the poorest evasive maneuvers. He was brawny, built for power rather than swiftness. Grim's claws scraped his bicep and he went down. As though a switch went off, Grim's demeanor changed and he gave a happy whine, his stubby tail wagging as he turned to look at Father.
"Come." Father commanded. Not needing to be told twice, Father's hellhound charged toward him, stopping a foot in front of his master and ducked his heads down.
"That was over quicker than I thought it would be." Father admitted, patting Grim's heads. "Zane, let this be a lesson to you."
He glanced at me and Mikayla. "Help him into the house. Your training is over for today. Come, Grim."
Grim lurched after Father as he exited the training grounds, presumably to place Grim back in the kennel. I huffed and jogged over to where Zane lay. Mikayla was already kneeling beside him, poking his cheek.
"Can you feel this?" She was asking, gleefully jabbing him sharply in the throat.
"No," Zane slurred, his eyes the only part of him that seemed unaffected by the poison. He was glaring daggers at her.
I placed my hands on my hips and frowned at him. "You certainly deserve this. Tripping me like that; I'll get you back for it! Though I must say, this is quite satisfying."
My nose finally finished healing and its ache faded away. Zane glowered back at me. "Shu'up."
Mikayla straightened up. "Never mind you; look at how dirty I am! Ugh, why couldn't Zane have a different power, or better yet, no powers?"
"Just help me get him into the house." I grabbed Zane's left arm and tugged.
Mikayla pouted and grabbed his other arm. We both heaved and huffed, struggling with our brother. We were able to sit him up, but we wouldn't be able to pick him up.
"We're going to have to drag him." I panted, red-faced from the effort of attempting to lift Zane.
Mikayla and I both wrinkled our noses in distaste as we hooked our arms under Zane's armpits, Mikayla vocally bemoaning how sweaty he was. We began to drag him, his legs trailing uselessly after him. Several times we had to stop to readjust our grip when his perspiration and ours slickened our hold.
"I say," Mikayla grunted, "we leave him! Father said the poison will only last an hour. It's not raining; he'll be fine."
"Father gave us an order." Though I was tempted to leave him out here, too.
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