Page 93 of Shadow

I took the knife as he backed away from me.

Swallowing, I turned to look at the tree he’d indicated. I tossed the knife in my hand for a moment to get a feel for its weight. I focused and breathed out before throwing the knife.

It flipped through the air and hit its mark.

I watched as the blade wavered in the deep groove it had cut into the tree.

Church lifted me into his arms and kissed me again, a huge smile on his face.

“Perfection,” he said. “Absolute perfection. Here. Let’s work on something else.”

He showed me how to twirl my hatchet. His knife. Asylum and Shadow joined in, teaching me odds and ends.

“Disarm me,” Church said, coming at me with a stick.

I’d been working on my dips and dives with Asylum and Shadow, so I utilized them. They’d been properly trained, so that meant I was too.

Even newer, I was a fast study.

I whirled around him, but Church was fast and didn’t pull his hits. He knocked me down four times before he was on me, pinning me into the snow on my stomach.

“Don’t ever let those fuckers get you on the ground, specter. They’ll hurt you,” he said. “If you’re on the ground, you need to be able to get back up. How will you get back up from this position?”

I tried to fight him, but he was way too strong. He was sitting on my ass with my arms pinned in front of me.

Panic rose in my chest. He was right. If I didn’t take them out before they got to me, I’d be on the ground again. Another victim.

Tears sprang to my eyes as the ugly truth set in.

“No tears,” he murmured. “That will only drive their madness. It’ll only hinder you. Here.” He moved off me and rolled into the snow onto his stomach. “Get on me and hold me down like I was holding you.”

I did as instructed, pinning his arms over his head as I sat on his ass.

“I liked the move you did by putting your hands on my hips and trying to get your leg around me when I had you on your back. That won’t work in this position, especially if your arms are pinned. So here’s what you need to do.”

In a move so blindingly fast, he flipped me with his legs, putting me on my back, his knife at my throat.

“Gotcha.” He smirked at me.

I blinked at him, making him laugh. I loved his laugh. He didn’t do it nearly enough. His eyes sparkled as he moved back onto his stomach. I got back on him, and he showed me exactly how he’d done the move, which was slower this time.

I worked on it with him for hours before I finally figured it out and knocked him off me.

Church kissed me and helped me to my feet. Asylum and Shadow were watching from a log.

“Mm, I like your style,” Asylum said, nodding. “You’re teaching her some pretty bad ass stuff. Looks like you had the same teacher Shadow and I had in the Underground.”

“Ricardo?” Church asked.

Asylum grinned. “Old Ricky himself. Yeah. Seems your old man really wanted to train us up. Guess he didn’t figure on us deciding he was a cocksucker and planning his demise.”

“Narcissim is a bitch,” Church muttered, his eyes on Shadow, who sat staring at his hands. “Bryce.”

Shadow looked at him and raised his brows.

“Let’s spar.”

“Uh,” Shadow rubbed his hands down his pants. “That seems like an easy way for you to try to kill me. I’m good. Thanks.”

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