All Things in the Shadows

by B. D. Messick

  I dodge down and to the right, my hands going up immediately as I take a small step back.

  “What the fuck was that?” I say, pissed off.

  “That's what I was talking about ... instinct,” she says.

  I shake my head and relax. “That wasn't right.” I point at her, unable to keep a smile from forming.

  “See, just like with the streaming, you have it in you already. All you need is someone to bring it out.”

  Kateri shows me the basics of hand-to-hand combat; how to punch and kick effectively, and how to block both. I actually enjoy it more than I thought I would. A lot of it does feel natural. I notice that in many cases, my body reacts before my brain has time to respond, which I guess is a good thing.

  After about two hours of sweat inducing, muscle straining and bone crunching training, Kateri raises her hand and signals me to stop. She's stooped over, her hands on her thighs, breathing hard, and trying to remain upright.

  “I think that's enough of that for now,” she says between breaths.

  “What's the matter? Am I wearing you out?” I ask, grinning at her.

  Honestly, I'm surprised I'm still on my feet. Every muscle in my body is screaming bloody murder, and my knees feel like they're going to give out at any second, but I'm not about to let her know that.

  “Don't be a smart ass ... I know you're barely still standing ... be careful what you think …”

  Damn! I have to remember that. It's hard to hide anything from her.

  “Fine.” I slump over and lean against the ropes behind me. “You're killing me, okay?”

  “That's more like it.” She chuckles and shakes her head, tiny beads of sweat dropping onto the canvas floor.

  “Who taught you to fight?”

  We both sit down, leaning back against the ropes.

  “Lena,” she says, as memories bring a smile to her face.

  “The girl who rescued you?”

  “Yeah. She was something else; strong, powerful, smart, just everything you ever want to be.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “Got killed by a demon about four years ago,” she replies, lowering her head.

  “I’m sorry.” I already feel bad about asking.

  “It’s okay. It sorta goes with the territory. I’ve lost a lot of friends, you kinda get used to it.” I can tell that there’s more to the story, but I decide not to push it.

  “I don’t know if I could handle that,” I say, looking at her and not even wanting to think about losing her.

  “You can, I can see it. You’re way stronger than you think.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Just wait, you’ll see I’m right. So, you ready for more?” She rises to her feet.

  “Seriously?” I look up at her.

  “We're just gettin' started, girl.” She grins at me.

  “You do realize that I have a long day at school tomorrow, right?”

  Kateri looks at me for a moment before responding. “You do realize that I have a long day of killing demons tomorrow, right?”

  I sigh and slump my shoulders. “Okay, where to now?”

  “Come on,” she says, climbing through the ropes and exiting the ring.

  I follow her as she heads down the central aisle, deeper into the cavernous room.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, jogging a little to catch up to her.

  “Weapons training.”

  This deep into the facility, there are fewer and fewer people around, which suits me just fine. Constantly having to wade through their thoughts is starting to give me a headache. Eventually, as we pass the last of the melee rings, we arrive at a set of double, black metal doors. Kateri places her hand on a small pad to the right of the entrance. A second later, the doors slide open and we walk inside. Directly in front of us, is a massive wall of weapons of all sorts, including a dizzying variety of swords, daggers, bows, and many others I don't recognize. They're all arranged perfectly, each one in its place.

  “Take your pick,” Kateri says.

  “I have no idea.” I stare at the vast array of armament. “What would you suggest?”

  “Well, I think we start with two; a light sword,” she says, selecting a thin, curved, narrow bladed sword off the wall and handing it to me. It looks like a Samurai sword out of the movies, but I have no idea if I'm right or not. It has a grip wrapped in black leather and a circular guard about seven inches from the end of the handle.

  “And this,” she says as she pulls a small crossbow, about the size of handgun off its hook and tosses it to me. “Let's go try these out.”

  “You do know I have no idea how to use either one of these,” I say.

  “We'll see. Come on.”

  A sliding glass door to the right of the entrance opens with a quiet ‘whoosh’ and we step through the opening. As soon as we’re inside, the sounds of combat fill the air; the clang of sword against sword, the thump of arrows hitting their targets. There are a few dozen people scattered about the room, in groups of two or three, honing their skills. Unlike the melee facility, this space is less defined. There are no roped off areas, just a large open room with rough stone and mortar walls. Once again, I notice how a lot of the people here nod a greeting to Kateri, and some even seem somewhat intimidated by her presence. My conclusion is based merely on their body language, but there's an obvious level of respect for her that is undeniable. We walk to an open area between a couple of other groups. Kateri strides over to the wall in front of us. She opens a small recessed panel camouflaged within the stonework and presses a few buttons before closing the little door again.

  As she's walking back over to me, two practice dummies rise out of the floor behind her.

  “You can put the crossbow down. We'll try the sword first.”

  I set the little bow on the floor by the wall and walk back over to her. She stands a few feet from the dummy and smiles at me.

  “Hit it with the sword,” she says.

  I look at the dummy. It seems to be made from some sort of plastic, and it's seen better days. Nicks and slash marks mar its once smooth off-white surface. For the first time, I test the weight of the sword, feeling its balance in my hand. I don't really know what I'm doing, but it seems like the right thing to do, and to be frank, it feels good. Stepping forward, I swing the sword and hit the dummy in the side. The blade bounces off the dummy and I nearly lose my grip on the handle. I look over at Kateri and she shakes her head.

  “That was pretty pathetic,” she says.

  “Well excuse me. It's not like I go around with a sword all day long killing demons and monsters,” I say, a little annoyed at her.

  She sighs. “True, but I figured you'd be better than that. It didn't look like you even tried.”

  I study some of the people practicing around us and then suddenly, I feel like I don't belong here. Streaming is one thing, but this is something totally different.

  “What's the matter with you?” Kateri asks, looking at me, her brow furrowed.

  “This isn't me.”

  “What isn't?”

  “All of this. I'm not a fighter, Kateri. I'm not like you. I'm a seventeen-year-old girl, who’s caught up in something that's way over her head.”

  She looks at me and sighs again. “Can I tell you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “That's exactly how I felt when I came here. Do you think I was some sort of super warrior? I was a scared twelve-year-old girl. I hid in my room most of the time, and when I did come out, I was so terrified all I did was cry.”

  I think about the story she told me about how she became a Shayd, the years of abuse and living on the street by herself, and I want to slap myself for being such a baby.

  “Sorry. I'm just ... I don't know,” I say, quietly.

  She steps up and wraps her arms around me, pulling me close. “It's okay, Eve. Maybe this is too much for one day.”

  “No.” I seem to be drawing strength from her, or maybe it's
because I don't want to look weak, but I think it's more likely that it's the former. “Let's keep going, I think I'm just tired.”

  “Okay, first things first, that sword is called a Katana or a Samurai sword. It's similar to the kind I use, but not as nice.”

  “So, why this one?” I ask, lifting the weapon and really examining the blade for the first time. It's beautifully curved with an extremely narrow cutting edge and a flat top side about a quarter of an inch thick.

  “It's light, quick, and easier to control than a lot of other swords. After you learn the basics, you can pick anything you like.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  “Now,” she says as she steps up behind me, and literally molds herself against my body, “you need the correct stance to even get started.”

  She holds my arms with her hands and presses her legs against mine. I can feel her breasts against my thin t-shirt covered back. As she leans her head forward, her lips are close behind my ear, sending goose-bumps cascading across my entire body. I close my eyes and concentrate on every single word that tumbles from her lips as her breath tickles the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.

  “Hold the sword with two hands, one directly above the other. Good,” she says as I adjust my grip.

  I swallow hard and I swear she presses herself harder against me, but maybe it's my imagination, or perhaps wishful thinking.

  “When you're fighting, always try to keep yourself turned to the side. It makes you a smaller target,” she says as she slowly angles me toward the target dummy by nudging me forward with her legs and upper body.

  I take a moment to look around us, but everyone seems intently focused on their own work and no one seems to notice how intimate Kateri is being.

  “Now, when you swing, shift your weight toward the target onto the ball of your right foot. Don't step in, just sort of lean in,” she says as she pushes me forward using her upper body. “Excellent.”

  I smile when she praises me, although she seems to be doing most of the work, manipulating my body like a puppet.

  “The easiest place to hit an opponent is the chest, or an extended limb, especially the arms. Don't try to target the neck or head, unless you have some sort of advantage at the time. You understand?”

  “Got it. The chest first.”

  “Okay, now the swing,” she says as she uses her hands to lift my arms slowly and then bring them down at the dummy, the edge of the blade barely touching the side of the target's ribcage. “Just like that, to start with anyway.”

  “I think I got it.” I turn my head to try and look back at her. She steps back, and I swear her lips brush my neck, but maybe I'm wrong. Either way, it launches an entirely new wave of goose-bumps.

  “Now you try it on your own.”

  I take a deep breath, and move in front of the target dummy again, the sword held upright in both of my hands.

  “Bend your knees a bit,” she says.

  I follow her instruction and then swing the sword down at a slight angle, striking the side of the dummy, before bringing the sword back up, shifting my weight and hitting the other side hard enough to cause it to wobble briefly.

  “Nice. Do it again.”

  I repeat the sequence, two more times, varying the strike point. I look over at her and she smiles at me, nodding at the same time. I readjust my fingers on the grip and I begin to notice how natural it feels to have the sword in my hands. It's like an extension of my arm, rather than something I'm holding.

  “I knew it.”

  “Knew what?” I ask, walking over to her.

  “You were born for this.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Born for this? I've been practicing for an hour,” I say.

  “Yeah, but trust me. I've trained a lot of people. I know what I see in you.”

  “And what's that?”

  Before she replies, I see the flash of steel as she suddenly raises her sword and I respond without even thinking, our two blades clashing together between us. She looks at me and grins wickedly.

  “A demon killer.”

  I swallow hard, although my throat feels as dry as a bone. “Even if I don't see it?”

  “Eve, there are Shayds who've been here for years who can't stream as well as you can, who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a sword, and who would faint at their first encounter with a demon.”

  “I almost did,” I say, slowly lowering my sword.

  “Maybe, but you didn't, and you ran headlong at him with nothing but a knife. That means something.”

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “This is just ... playing, Kateri. I'm hitting mannequins and streaming in a padded room. What if I freeze up out in the real world?”

  She nods and then smiles at me. “Let's go find out.”

  “What?”

  “Let's go find out if you'll freeze up.”

  “Now?”

  “Damn, you ask a lot of questions. Come on.”

  She turns on her heel and heads back toward the sliding glass doors, with me following close behind. As they open, she turns and looks at me.

  “Don't forget the crossbow,” she says, shaking her head.

  “Jeez.” I turn and run back to where we were practicing.

  I snatch the bow off the ground and jog back to the doors. By the time I get there, Kateri is almost at the elevator at the far end of the melee room. I run down the center aisle, carrying the crossbow in one hand and the sword in the other.

  Where the hell is she going?

  What's Kateri up to?

  She'll be lucky to survive the day with Kateri training her.

  I push the rest of the flood of thoughts out of my mind as I finally reach the elevator where Kateri is standing, leaning casually against the wall of the car.

  “What's taking you so long?”

  I sigh and roll my eyes at her as the doors close behind me. I hang the bow on one of my belt loops using a small hook attached to the back of the handle. When the doors open on the main floor, Kateri moves straight for the factory exit. A few people watch us as we leave, but no one says anything, and if they're thinking about it, they're keeping it to themselves. As soon as we're outside, I reach out and grab her arm.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You wanted to know if you would freeze up. If you have what it takes. That's where we're going,” she says, stopping and staring deeply into my eyes.

  “Yeah, but I wanted you to say I'd be fine, not take me out to fight a demon on my first day.”

  “You fought a demon before your first day even started,” she says. “Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you.”

  She runs her hand gently up and down my arm. I nod, and I know she's telling the truth. I feel safer with her than I have with anyone in my entire life. Something tells me she would sacrifice herself for me in a minute. Part of me is flattered by the thought, while another is horrified I might lose her because of a failing on my part.

  “All right,” I say. “I'm trusting you.”

  She smiles at me and nods. “Good. Now, let's get streaming. You take the lead.”

  I look across the abandoned parking lot toward a small outbuilding of some sort. The shadow cast by the factory covers the entire distance. I step into the shadow and then I'm standing on the rusting metal roof of the little dilapidated structure. By the time I look to my right, Kateri is standing there, a sly grin on her face.

  “Good job.”

  “Thanks,” I say as my heart races.

  “Now there,” she says, pointing to the roof of a four-story apartment complex.

  “That's really high,” I reply, feeling instantly nervous again.

  “Hey, it's not falling that kills you, it's the stopping.” Kateri laughs and then disappears.

  I fade, reappearing a moment later next to her on the roof. Suddenly, I'm laughing. Kateri looks at me and smiles.

  “You okay?”

  “I'm good,” I reply. “I'm flying.”r />
  I turn, look across the street at another building. It's a story shorter, and a narrow shadow thrown by two telephone poles connect us to it.

  “Beat you there!” I step forward and stream away.

  This time, for a split second I look at one of the windows on the top floor of the building and I feel my track shifting downward.

  Eve ~ Shit!

  Kateri ~ Refocus!!

  At the last second, I look back up at the roof and I reappear mere inches from the edge. Kateri grabs my arm and pulls me to her.

  “Jesus. What are you doing?” she asks, a hint of anger in her voice.

  “I just looked at a window for a second,” I reply, trying to catch my breath.

  “What, did you see some hot girl?”

  I chuckle. “Not in the window.” For a second, that seems to shut her up and then she rolls her eyes at me.

  “Okay Romeo,” she says. “Try to keep your eye on the target this time.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  “That's better. Now, over there.” She points to the roof of a long ago closed department store.

  “Beatcha' there,” she says. We run side-by-side across the roof and leap into the shadows.

  Less than a second later, I land on the gravel covered roof. I look around for Kateri, but she's not here. For a moment, I feel elated that I beat her, but after nearly a minute, I begin to worry. Looking across the street at the spot where we were a moment ago, I can't see her on the roof. I stream back, on the alert as soon as I land, but there's no one there.

  E ~ Where the fuck are you?

  K ~ Alley.

  I run to the edge of the roof and look down into the darkened space between the buildings, and for a second, I don't see anything, but then a spark of steel against steel flashes in the dark.

  “Damnit!” I say to myself, searching for a way down, but there's no fire escape or access ladder on this side.

  It's impossible to tell what's shadow and what's darkness in the murky alley. I take a deep breath, focus on a spot three stories down and leap. I feel myself fade and begin streaming, but it ends abruptly about ten feet from the ground, and I crash onto the top of a garbage dumpster.