Page 92 of Her Males

Rock chimes in with his own shouts from the porch. He’s still not allowed to leave the immediate vicinity of the cabin, but Chev was kind enough to bring him a small chair to sit in while watching.

I can’t help but smile, appreciating their compliments, even if I know they’re a bit over the top. Echo could probably kill me with her flimsy stick if she wanted to, but that doesn’t make the sparring any less fun.

It only took three seconds of Echo watching me try to take down an animal to declare that I needed some training, which I thought was a joke until she arrived at my cabin at the butt crack of dawn with a thin sword and her damned stick.

“Go for her left leg. It’s weak!” Chev yells, grunting as Kato frowns and hammer-fists him in the thigh.

“No cheating,” he scolds.

They were walking through the woods with axes when they saw Echo and me fighting, and they promptly sat themselves down to observe. I guess watching me embarrass myself is a fun source of entertainment.

“When I raise my arms like this, your best bet is to lift your leg and kick me in the groin, bladder, or liver,” Echo explains, raising her stick with both arms to demonstrate. “You’re too small to meet my strike with your sword.”

I nod, wiping the sweat off my brow before lifting my arms and getting into position. Echo moves slowly as we practice a few times, her patience unwavering as she gives slight adjustments.

“Okay, now we do it for real,” she says, her relaxed posture tightening.

I gulp, my eyes narrowing as we circle one another. My arms will ache tomorrow morning, the muscles not used to this level of effort, but it’ll be well worth it. Learning these simple defense maneuvers makes me feel strong, and I need that.

I know I don’t stand much of a chance against any of the stronger breeds, but having this knowledge is better than nothing. It makes me feel powerful and fills me with the hope that I won’t always need somebody to protect me.

Echo lunges with a low cry, her eyes flickering all around my frame as she tries to read my body language and guess my next move. When she raises her arms, I plant my weight onto my left foot and lift the right into the air.

My knee bends toward my chest before I propel it into Echo’s belly. She grunts and twists her torso last minute to try to deflect it. It throws her off-balance and allows me enough time to jump to the side and avoid the downswing of her stick. She didn’t teach me what to do after this, but I operate off instinct as I step forward and try for her neck.

Her eyes widen as she grabs the end of the blade, effectively halting my motions before I can nick her throat. Blood pours down her palm, and she releases my sword with a sharp hiss. I drop my sword to the ground, struggling to catch my breath.

“That was so good!” Echo praises, turning to her dad and brother. “Did you see that?”

I plant my hands on my thighs and spin in their direction. Kato sits with his head between his knees while Chev rubs his back and murmurs quiet words I can’t make out from this distance.

“You just about gave Dad a heart attack seeing that blade so close to your throat,” Chev scolds, his eyes darting to me. “The human trains with a stick now, too.”

I bounce on my heels and turn to Rock, grinning as he stands and gives me two enthusiastic thumbs-up. It looks like I’m too dangerous to be training with a real sword.

“Charlie.” I grunt, shoving my thumb into my chest. “Shifter Slayer.”

Kato howls and rolls onto his side at my self-given title, his laughter making me frown. He won’t be laughing like that when I’m coming at him with my sharp reflexes and even sharper weapons.

“I can’t watch this any longer.” He wipes his eyes as he stands and approaches Echo. “Family dinner tonight, don’t forget. I love you, my baby.”

He turns to me and nods. “I have a meeting with Mammon tomorrow afternoon. We’ll regroup after to discuss.” He gestures toward Rock. “Your shadow can join.”

Rockwhoops, his ears picking up everything despite how quiet the shifters try to be. I can tell it annoys them, but they haven’t said anything about it. Secretly, I think they’re just jealous the demons have better hearing.

Echo kicks my sword to the side. “We’re going to learn how to fight with our fists now,” she decides.

The blood that spews from my lip at her first punch is enough to have Chev standing and rushing off, his laughter loud as I accuse him of being a baby.

By the time we finish, I can barely stand, and I lean onto Echo for support as she leads me to her parents’ cabin.

“My mom made some food for you and your shadow,” she says, wincing when I stumble over a tree stump.

I let her throw me over her shoulder like a sack of rice, and I hang limply as she walks to the cabin and kicks open the front door.

“Hi, Mom!” Echo yells, carrying me into the kitchen.

“Oh, fuck,” a feminine voice rings out as I’m dropped into a chair.

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