by A. H. Shinn
Jake took the journal from her and roughly gripped the corner, startling both Jory and her.
“What are you doing?” yelled Kellie.
“Tearing it out,” he said with a smirk. “If there’s no evidence of Sonam’s prediction, there’s nothing holding you here.”
“That was your plan?” asked Kellie.
Jory shook his head in disapproval. “That’s a centuries-old relic! You can’t destroy it!”
Kellie gently pulled the book away from Jake’s hands.
“What’s your bright idea, Jory?” Jake asked, defensively. “Drug the nuns?”
Jory lifted his brow. “That’s not a bad idea. It worked on the monkeys.”
When vicious primates were tearing apart Taiping Monastery and attacking the monks, Kellie, Jake, and Jory had laced sticky buns with an analgesic and left them in places where the animals would find them. Sedating the monkeys had helped them win that battle, but drugging the nuns didn’t seem right.
Kellie closed the book. “We’re not going to rip out any pages and we’re not going to tranquilize the nuns.”
“I don’t have any medications with me, anyway,” said Jory.
“We’ll have to convince them,” said Kellie.
Suddenly, the door swung open. With a scowl on her face, Choden marched up to the teenagers. “What are you doing in here?” She saw Sonam’s journal in Kellie’s hands and horror swept across her face. She plucked it from her, closed it, and tenderly swept her hand over the cover.
Choden held the item against her chest as she glared at Kellie. “You are not permitted in here.”
“If you believe that I am the person Sonam foresaw, I am permitted anywhere,” said Kellie. “This book is the reason I am here, so I have the right to look at it. As the Teacher of the Druk nuns, I will do as I please. You don’t want to upset me, do you?”
Jory and Jake stared at Kellie. Choden’s eyes widened.
Kellie stood taller and pushed back her shoulders as she eyed Choden. She admitted her acting skills were improving. Master Chen would be proud.
“Now, leave us,” said Kellie.
Choden clenched her teeth as she glared at Kellie. She turned to put the book in its designated place and then walked toward the door.
“When you and your guests are finished in here, I would like your presence at the training arena,” she said.
Kellie’s heart stopped momentarily. “With pleasure,” she said, feigning confidence. She feared what they were going to expect from her…or do to her.
“And put that back,” Choden said to Jake, pointing at the dagger still in his hands.
Jake immediately put down the dagger, and the nun shut the door behind her. He raised his arms at Kellie. “What was that all about? I don’t think threatening one of the whack-jobs is a good idea.”
“What’s at the training arena?” asked Jory, biting his nails.
“Oh, it’s a fun little place. They like to beat each other up there. Oh yeah, one of them used me as the target during her archery practice.”
Jake shook his head. “Like I said—whack-jobs.”
“We gotta find a way to prove you’re not the One, and quick,” said Jory. “But, I’m not sure if it’s helping that you’re acting like the Teacher.”
“I have an idea that could work,” said Kellie. “Instead of arguing that they have the wrong person, I have to make them see that I’m the last person who should be guiding them. Insulting them may be the first step.”
“Like reverse psychology,” said Jory.
“That’s a very cunning plan,” Jake said as he tapped his chin. “Make them have second thoughts about you. If you behave like a douchebag, they’ll be more than happy to see you leave.”
“But what if they don’t just let you leave?” asked Jory.
Kellie knew exactly what he meant. It wouldn’t be easy changing the minds of the Druk nuns. And would they ever allow her to simply walk away?
She took in a deep breath. “Well, all I can do is try. Let’s go see what’s waiting for me.”
The training arena was crowded with women either on the floor, displaying their skills, or surrounding the edges, waiting for their turn.
In the center, some of the nuns worked through their forms. Their clothes snapped as they demonstrated their kicks, blocks, and punches. They took their steps with power as they breathed hard with every strike. Thumps and battle cries came from those sparring. They focused on each other, never letting their eyes off their opponent. They struck with intent, and each nun seemed determined to win the match.
The mood was energetic and anticipation was in the air.
“Are they really hitting each other?” asked Jake.
“Yes,” said Kellie. “These women don’t hold back.”
“Maybe we should sneak away,” said Jory. “No one has noticed us yet.”
Tsering stepped out, and everyone on the floor immediately joined the others on the sidelines. Choden stood behind her.
“Rinzen, please step forward,” said Tsering.
“They don’t waste time, do they?” muttered Kellie.
“Who’s Rinzen?” asked Jory.
“That would be me,” Kellie answered. “Here goes. Showtime.” As she strutted toward the center of the arena, she heard Jake say, “Try vulgar.”
Kellie felt her stomach flip. Her next performance was going to be interesting.
Putting on a smug expression, Kellie faced Tsering and said, “What can I help ya with?”
Choden leaned slightly to the side and threw Kellie a questioning look.
“We would like you to train with us, and perhaps today, you can show us your gift.”
“Sure, sure,” said Kellie as she waved a hand. “But first, I’d like to make a speech.”
Tsering arched an eyebrow.
Without waiting for permission, Kellie moseyed to the middle of the cement floor. She cleared her throat loudly. “I would like to introduce myself to everyone. I’ve been here for over a week and have met some of you, but not all of you. My name is Kellie Wei, but all of you believe me to be Rinzen. I’ve been thinking about it for the past couple of days and have decided to accept my role as your Teacher. I’d like you to call me Master Rinzen. Queen Rinzen will do, too.”
Kellie saw a frown on Choden’s face. This was a start.
“By the way, have you heard the joke about the bhik that walks into a bar?” Kellie started guffawing and slapped her thighs. “I call bhikkhunı−s, bhiks. You gotta hear this one. So, anyway, this bhik walks into a bar and has a seat. The bartender asks, ‘What can I get for ya, fella?’ She answers, ‘Water.’ The bartender pours a shot of vodka instead. ‘I asked for water,’ said the bhik. ‘This will help deepen that girly voice of yours,’ said the bartender, ‘and put hair on your chest.’ The bhik shrugged her shoulders, and drank the vodka. After slamming down the glass, she said, ‘And by the way, I’m a woman.’ The bartender was shocked. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. Then why’d you drink it?’ She said, ‘You didn’t say it would put hair on my head.’”
Utter silence befell the audience. Kellie saw Jake rubbing his face and shaking his head. Vulgar, she remembered, and belched. She now saw Jory hide behind his arms.
“Enough!” shouted Tsering. It was clear from the scowl on her face that she didn’t think the joke was funny. She began to call out names, and nuns appeared from the audience. Ten women lined up and stood at attention.
Kellie gulped. She guessed what was coming.
“Let us begin,” said Tsering. She nodded to the first nun, who was lanky, but just as fit as the others. Unfortunately all the ones who had been called up were not only well toned, but the meanest looking of the bunch.
After a hurried bow, Lanky moved swiftly toward Kellie, and immediately threw powerful jabs at her face. The en
ergy Kellie felt rushing from the nun’s fists was an indication that her opponent was giving it her all. If the hits made contact, they would surely break bone.
Kellie evaded the punches by stumbling backward and moving her head out of the way. She knew they were coming, but wasn’t quite ready for the brutishness of the attack.
Lanky wasn’t having much luck with her arms. She swiped at Kellie and tried to grab her, but it wasn’t hard for Kellie to twist out of the way.
The nun’s next assaults were with her long legs as she moved in deep with her kicks. Kellie stepped back as she ducked. Her head almost got knocked off from a roundhouse kick, but her ponytail took the assault.
Lanky’s strikes were getting close, so Kellie threw blocks with her arms to protect herself. The nun continued her launch of a series of kicks: first a thrust kick, followed by a rear kick, and last, a roundhouse kick. She finished with a back knuckle, and started the repetitive strikes all over again.
Kellie waited for the anticipated thrust kick. Lanky’s leg was extended and about to retract. Kellie snapped her wrist down and smacked the top of the nun’s foot with the heel of her palm. Lanky winced and switched weapons, punching with her fists as she hobbled. Kellie parried the straight punch aimed for her nose, got to the outside of her rival, and threw a crane strike to the side of her neck.
Her opponent staggered sideways, clutching her throat. Tsering waved her hand at two other women as soon as Lanky stepped away.
Kellie’s new challengers charged in together. Two against one, thought Kellie. This wasn’t fair, but multi-opponent fighting was her favorite in the studio. She kept a close eye on one, and kept the other in her peripheral vision.
These two women were thick. Their body types and sizes were identical, as well as their faces. Twins?
Twin One stomped forward first. Kellie maneuvered her upper body from side to side to keep the nun’s meaty fingers from grabbing her neck. Kellie thrust her heel out and kicked the inside of Twin One’s leg. Both of the woman’s knees buckled, and Kellie smashed the bottom of her foot onto the nun’s nose. Blood trickled down her foe’s chin as she tumbled onto her rear.
Twin Two gasped at the sight, and then growled at Kellie.
“You don’t want a matching face job, do you?” asked Kellie. Scaring the nun was a tactic, but it didn’t work.
Twin Two remained on the offensive, and seemed more strategic. With her hands up, she cross-stepped around Kellie. Twin Two assaulted with rapid, open-hand strikes. Kellie was blocking the fast-moving arms when the nun’s knee rammed into her gut. When she hunched over, Twin Two yanked her roughly to the ground.
As Kellie pitched forward, she let gravity pull her body down and stuck out her fist along the way. The punch landed in Twin Two’s ribs; Kellie’s plummeting weight was the source of the power behind the strike. Desta’s training couldn’t have come at a better time.
When Kellie touched down onto cement, she rolled over headfirst and popped up onto one knee. Catching her breath, she refocused on her enemy. Twin Two held her side as she shuffled to the corner, joining her sister.
Three down…seven to go?
As Kellie had anticipated, three more tramped forward, while the remaining four waited for their turn.
This wasn’t a fair battle, but she didn’t expect anything different from the Druk nuns. Kellie waited at the center of the floor for her rivals. She felt like the prey being stalked by a pack of wolves. One came at her from the front, and the other two approached on either side. After taking a quick glance to make sure no one was coming up from behind, she eyed the one in her direct line of sight while keeping the other two in her periphery.
In the studio, they’d worked on scenarios just like this one. There were several techniques she could use.
Her heart thumped as they moved in closer. Wait for the right moment, she told herself. As soon as they were at a perfect arm- and leg-distance away, she struck. Her right leg thrust out toward the one on her right; she aimed a right fist punch to the person in front; with her other hand, she fanned out her fingers, eye-spearing the nun on her left.
All three attempts were blocked. The strategy may have worked easily on untrained thugs looking for trouble, but these expert martial artists flicked away her limbs like they were flies.
Punches flew at her head in quick succession, reminding Kellie of the pinecones Desta had hurled at her. Kellie twisted her upper body from side to side as she parried their hits. For the moment, she was able to prevent their knuckles from making contact, but she had to do something else.
She ducked underneath their flailing arms and twisted around and behind the one on her left, who was the smallest of the three. She grabbed the nun’s head to pull her back, but her hand slipped off the bald, sweaty head. So Kellie yanked on her collar and gripped her arm as she used the woman’s body as a shield against the others.
As the other two went after Kellie, she turned right, then left, successfully protecting herself from the blows. Her shield grunted miserably as she was dragged backward.
The nun took one too many whacks from her sisters, and Kellie let her shield fall to the ground. Kellie breathed hard as she examined the two sizing her up. One was quite hefty, and the other had freckles covering her nose and cheeks.
Hefty approached first. She had thick legs and used them to her advantage, throwing double front kicks, a roundhouse kick, and high and low side kicks without any hesitation in between.
Her attacks were too powerful for Kellie to block with her thin arms. Kellie could only evade by dodging them and retreating. Suddenly, someone pinned her arms down from behind. Freckles had sneaked around when Kellie was distracted, and now she held her in position.
“You guys play dirty,” Kellie growled at them.
“Whatever is effective,” Freckles said into Kellie’s ear.
“You know?” Kellie said. “I agree. Whatever is effective.” She didn’t wait for the nun in front to act first, and slammed both feet into Hefty’s gut. Hefty’s cheeks puffed out as her face turned red, and she flailed her arms, attempting to claw Kellie’s face. Using the mongoose way, Kellie dropped her legs down and rotated her head and shoulders to the side. Hefty’s fingers cut across Freckles’s face instead. Freckles yelped but didn’t loosen her hold.
Kellie twisted back into place, ran her feet up Hefty’s chest, and wrapped her legs around her neck. Both nuns wriggled, but Kellie stayed in control. The unnatural and awkward position she was in was similar to the stance she’d held in the trees while training with Desta.
Freckles finally let go. Kellie reached her hands to the ground and flipped her legs over, knocking out Freckles.
As soon as Kellie straightened, Hefty gripped her shoulders. As Kellie tried to break free and pull away, Hefty tugged harder. Suddenly, Desta’s advice made sense: “Use your opponent’s power against her.”
Kellie pulled backward as hard as she could. As predicted, Hefty yanked back even harder. Kellie allowed her body to be hauled forward and head-butted Hefty above the nose. The nun herself had created the force in the hit that made her go cross-eyed. She stumbled around as she and Freckles were guided off the floor.
“You can use your power anytime,” said Tsering as she waved at the remaining four challengers to advance, “so we can end this.”
“Why?” said Kellie. “We’re having so much fun!” In actuality, she was exhausted. Her arms were numb, her legs were burning, and her head throbbed. She wasn’t sure how she was going to take on four more fighters.
“AARRGH!”
Kellie and the four nuns stopped and turned their heads. Jake and Jory were yelling battle cries as they sprinted onto the concrete floor. They halted in front of Kellie; their fists were up and their bodies settled into a fighting stance.
Kellie had to force back her smile.
“If you want to get to her,�
�� Jory cried out, “you’re going to have to go through us!”
“Yeah!” Jake shouted. “We have our purple belts!”
Choden had a glower on her face, while Tsering wore a smirk on hers. “Very well,” said Tsering. She gestured to the four remaining women to begin.
As they advanced, Jory pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and shifted from foot to foot. Jake took a few shallow breaths and solidified his posture.
“No!” shouted Kellie as she marched in front of her friends. She wasn’t going to allow them to get hurt. Although their kung fu had been progressing rapidly, they were not yet ready for this type of combat. The Druk nuns were too well-trained and they would not consider this a friendly sparring match.
Kellie protectively sprawled out her arms in front of her friends. “They will not be a part of this.”
“We got your back,” whispered Jake.
“They’re going to kill you,” she whispered back through her teeth without turning her head.
“Y-You can’t take four on at once,” said Jory.
Silence ruled the observing crowd. Tsering whispered something in Choden’s ear. After a short thought, Choden nodded. Tsering scanned the women lining the edges of the training arena and signaled to one of them. The nun immediately left and returned with her weapon of choice.
It was the toxophilite, and she was already pulling an arrow from her quiver.
Tsering motioned to the four challengers on the floor to withdraw. Two other nuns approached from the side and grabbed Jory.
“Hey!” he yelled, struggling to free his arms.
Jake turned to come to his aid, but nuns yanked him in another direction.
Kellie frantically rotated her head from side to side, keeping her eyes on both her friends, unsure who to help first. Jake was now held on the sidelines and wasn’t being harmed. Kellie’s focus turned to Jory, who was being gripped firmly on both wrists.
Kellie’s stomach rolled. “STOP!” she screamed as the archer was at full draw, her arrow pointing in Jory’s direction. Tashi’s index finger touched the corner of her mouth, and she seemed to be waiting for the command to release.
