Kora (Kora Series Book 1)

by Marina Epley

  “I don’t think so. You’re not going anywhere.”

  I feel cornered. I hurl myself into him, trying to knock him away, but he only laughs. He grabs me by the shoulders, dragging me further into the room.

  “Get your hands off me!” I yell. “I don’t want to be here!”

  “I don’t care what you want,” he sneers. “I’m a sick crazy maniac, all right? I’m not gonna listen. So you’d better stop joking around and do something about it!”

  He pushes me against a wall and grips my wrist tightly, placing his other hand on my shoulder. I can feel his hot breath on my face. I shut my eyes, turning away.

  “Please stop,” I gasp.

  “Make me stop. You can do it. I believe in you.”

  I open my eyes. He’s grinning. I think of headbutting him, but can’t bring myself to do it. How can you hurt someone who’s supposed to be your friend? How can you fight against someone who made you feel safe?

  “I can’t,” I whimper.

  “Oh yes, you can. You’re strong and tough. Come on, Kora! I’m attacking you!”

  I feel like I’m two different people at the same time. The servant in me wants to give up and submit. But the girl who killed those two guards along with Gabriel craves violence. I don’t know which person is the real me.

  “Concentrate,” he whispers. “Look at what position I’ve put myself. My entire body is open. Think about it.”

  I bare my teeth, growling, pushing him hard into his chest. He leans in, chuckling, and wraps his hands around my neck. He doesn’t squeeze, his fingers lightly brushing my skin, but I shudder. My blood starts boiling. I’m back in the basement, and Gabriel is choking me again! I scream and claw at his face, poking his eye with my thumb.

  He instantly lets go and staggers back. For a moment I feel frightened that he’ll become angry, but he flashes a big smile, “Well done! That’s what I’m talking about!”

  His joyful voice angers me. I yell and lunge at him, hitting him with my balled up fists and kicking his leg. He covers, blocking my attacks and backing off.

  “Excellent!” he laughs. “Yeah, Kora! Come on! Do it!”

  I can’t stop or control myself. I kick and punch at him until my hands start hurting and I become dizzy. He doesn’t hit back, just covering himself and grinning. I think of all those people who’ve hurt or threatened me. I see all of them in his face. He’s the roamer who held a knife against my throat. He’s Gabriel who killed Amy. He is Ace, Logan and Samuel. He is Samantha and her mocking friends. I’ve been carrying this suppressed hatred and anger inside for so long. I need a release.

  “I hate you!” I shout. “Hate you! Hate you!”

  I drive him into a corner. I grab his hoodie and pin him against a wall, growling like a dog. My head is spinning. I close my eyes, leaning into him, and press my face into his shoulder. We stand unmoving, both breathing heavily, and I can almost hear his heartbeat. My hatred vanishes as I relax, feeling cleansed and lightheaded.

  Wreck doesn’t attempt to hold me or touch me in any way, keeping his arms at his sides.

  “See how fierce you can be?” he whispers. “You’re not weak. You just need some training.”

  I finally catch my breath and take a step back, smiling.

  “I really liked how you eye-gouged me,” Wreck says. “You should target the eyes whenever you can. It’s a very effective technique. People aren’t expecting that. And don’t forget about your amazing headbutt. Why didn’t you try it? I was standing really close to you. You gotta pay attention to what position your opponent is in, all right? Always look for any vulnerable targets and take what they give you.”

  I listen carefully, feeling delighted and proud of myself. Maybe he’s right and I’m not as weak as I thought. Maybe I can kill the servant inside me.

  “Grab my wrist,” Wreck says, and I grip his wrist tightly. “Pulling away your arm doesn’t work. You could just grab one or two fingers and bend them back violently, breaking them. I guarantee your attacker will let you go.”

  He grips my index finger and slowly bends it back. I release his wrist.

  “See?” he smiles. “Now try it on me.”

  He grabs my arm and I do as instructed.

  “Easy, easy,” Wreck chuckles, letting go of my arm. “You gotta take it slow during training.”

  I laugh, pleased with myself. He also shows me how to turn your hand to break somebody’s grip. I practice it several times. I don’t know whether Wreck is just letting me succeed, but each time he releases my wrist.

  “I’m not faking,” he says after I ask. “The technique doesn’t require too much strength. And don’t forget to make a knife hand. Straighten your fingers and tighten your wrist. It expands the bones in your wrist larger and makes the grip harder to hold. And add a quick movement toward the thumb. All right, good. We’ll practice more later. Now, let’s see what you can do on the ground.”

  “What?”

  He snarls, walking toward me. “Most fights end up on the ground.”

  “Wait! I’m not ready!”

  I begin backing away. I’m not really scared but feel a little bit overwhelmed.

  “You have to always be ready!” Wreck shouts, raising his arms above his head in an exaggerated and menacing way, imitating a bear.

  I scream and run for the door. He catches up to me as soon as we get outside, tackling me, and I fall flat onto my stomach. Wreck lands on top.

  “Oh, that’s a really bad position,” he says. “Turn immediately! You must always face your opponent.”

  I somehow manage to slip over onto my back. I reach for his face, but he instantly grabs my arms and pins them to the ground like he did the night we met. I growl, squirming and trying to free my arms. He leans in closer, pressing me down with his weight. I can hardly breathe, but continue struggling.

  “Nice try,” he says, smiling. “But it won’t work from that position.”

  “I’ll kill you!”

  “That’s definitely the right spirit!”

  I growl and squirm, but can neither free my arms nor push him off. He’s too strong and heavy. I can’t break his grip.

  Wreck finally frowns and asks, “Kora, can you please explain to me what the heck you’re trying to do? I don’t understand your strategy.”

  “I’m gonna claw your eyes out as soon as I free my arms,” I hiss, angered that my attempts are entirely futile.

  “Well, that’s a nice thought. But you see, there’s one little problem. You can’t free your arms while in this position.”

  “But I have to do something!”

  “Your legs,” he says. “Why aren’t you using your legs? I’ve been on top of you for like five minutes, and you still haven’t pulled guard.” Upon seeing my confusion, he directs, “Just wrap your legs around me and lock your feet behind my back.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “To gain more control for one thing. And prevent me from passing your legs and moving into a full mount.”

  “What?”

  “A full mount is when I’m mounted on your chest.” He snickers. “A really dangerous position. One of the most dominant. You don’t want to wind up there, believe me.”

  Sighing, I wrap my legs tightly around him. It feels weird.

  “Feel like you’ve got more control now?” Wreck asks.

  “No.”

  “You should! Because you’re trapping me now.” He moves forward, but I don’t release him, holding him back with my legs. “See? You may think that you’re in a bad position, but you are actually nearly equal. You can do lots of things from right where you are. In some martial arts it’s even considered an advantageous position, although I can still punch you. So you need to cover. Now, try to knock me off balance. Use your legs to help throw me off.”

  We start grappling. Wreck uses just the right amount of force, matching his strength with mine but making me struggle. I manage to slide my knees to his chest and kick him off, and we both laugh, celebrating
my victory.

  “Let’s do it again,” I offer, plopping down on my back.

  Chuckling, Wreck lunges at me, quickly pinning me to the ground. I pull guard and we grapple.

  “You like this, don’t you?” he asks. “I promised to teach you a good lesson. There it is, your first martial art lesson.”

  “It was a good lesson,” I wheeze, trying to push him off me. I feel hot and am out of breath. Beads of sweat pop on my forehead. My muscles ache, but I now feel tougher and less vulnerable, more like a true fighter.

  “Your legs are really strong,” Wreck compliments. “We should teach you low kicks. I bet you can kick like a mule.” His eyes flicker excitedly. “I’ll tell you what. I’m not gonna beat Ace anymore. I’ll save him for you. He’s all yours.”

  “You really think I could beat Ace?”

  “For sure! He’s gonna end up on his knees, crying and pleading for you to spare his life. Just like Gabriel!

  Inspired by his words, I offer him a grateful smile and bite into his arm.

  “Ouch!” Wreck flinches in pain, laughing. “That’s a good one. I didn’t see it coming.”

  I no longer feel so upset about Ace’s assault. Someday I’m going to make him regret attacking me. If I killed Gabriel and downed two guards, I can definitely take care of Ace.

  Maxine slowly approaches us, pressing a finger to her lips, signaling for me to keep quiet. Wreck doesn’t notice her, completely consumed by our scuffling. She steps up to him from behind and slaps the back of his head. He freezes in astonishment for a moment, wide-eyed.

  “Damn it, Maxie!” He turns to face her, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”

  “Get off her! That’s no way to treat a lady! Where’s your manners, Kris?”

  Wreck snarls, jumping to his feet and rolling his hands into fists. “That’s enough, Maxie! You crossed the line! I’m gonna put you in your place!”

  Maxine curls her black lips into a mean smirk. “Only in your dreams, boy.”

  “I’m no boy. I’m a man.”

  “Yeah, whatever. And I’m a ballet dancer.”

  “I’ll make you very sorry for saying that!”

  “You make me laugh.”

  Wreck cracks his knuckles, taking a step toward Maxine. She lifts up her chin, obviously not a bit intimidated. He’s going to kill her, crosses my mind.

  CHAPTER 31

  “You’re really asking for it now,” Wreck says, slowly approaching her. “I’m gonna destroy you.”

  “What’s keeping you then? Come on, little boy. Bring your ass over here, and I’ll be happy to kick it.”

  Wreck smiles broadly and charges at Maxine. She quickly moves off the line of attack and smacks the back of his head once again as he passes. Wreck tries to grab hold of her, but she drops down, grabs his legs and takes him to the ground. Wreck plops on his back with Maxine on top. She attempts to elbow him in the face, but Wreck covers. He throws her off and grabs her from behind, wrapping his arm around her neck, choking her.

  “Tap!” he exclaims, chuckling. “I’ve got you!”

  Maxine just grins as she jabs a finger into his eye.

  “Damn it, Maxie!” He releases her, rising to his feet and rubbing at his eye. “I thought we agreed not to eye-gouge.”

  “Do me a favor and stop whining,” she laughs, approaching me and taking my hand. “Come with me.”

  “Hey!” Wreck frowns. “Kora is my friend. Find you your own friend to hang out with.”

  “Hush it, boy! I imagine she’s deathly tired of you by now.”

  Maxine pulls at my hand and I follow her, thrilled to be spending some time with this amazing girl.

  “I’m coming with you,” Wreck says, following.

  “No, you’re not,” Maxine motions for him to stop. “We don’t need your company, Kris.”

  He sighs, obviously disappointed. “Have fun, Kora.”

  Laughing, Maxine leads me away.

  “Are you all right, sweetie?” she asks me softly. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  “I’m fine,” I answer. “We were just playing.”

  “Well, my silly brother tends to behave a bit out of hand sometimes,” she smirks. “So if he becomes too unmanageable, just let me know. I’ll beat some sense back into his thick skull.”

  “Oh,” I glance at her in surprise. “Wreck is… your brother?”

  “Unfortunately. Mom adopted him when I was eighteen, so it became my duty to look after him. He’s terrible. Always getting himself into some kind of trouble where I have to come rescue him. And he’s so clingy. But he does make a great sparring partner for training. He has good technique. We used to practice all the time. But enough speaking of that fool. Tell me all about you.”

  I tell her my life story. I can’t lie to this girl because she reminds me so much of Amy. We come to a separate part of the village and I can hear the mooing of cows and see chickens in the street. Several women with kids saunter past. They look peaceful. There are no guys with painted faces anywhere to be seen.

  Maxine invites me inside one of the houses where we eat stew at a massive wooden table in the kitchen.

  “So now you want to become a ranger, do you?” she asks after I’m done telling her my story. “Is that your own decision? Or did my stupid brother put the idea into your head?”

  I shrug, unwilling to admit that Wreck did indeed coerce me into joining his gang.

  “You shouldn’t listen to him,” Maxie says. “You need to do what you want.”

  “I guess I’m a little lost,” I confess. “I no longer know exactly what I want.”

  She smiles, “That’s all right, sweetie. We’ve all been there. You’ll figure it out.”

  “Are you a ranger too?” I ask.

  “Oh, hell no. I wouldn’t tolerate their pointless violence. I don’t want to kill people only because they happen upon our land. I was greatly disappointed when Kris joined their gang last year.” She pauses, her expression distant. “I dream of becoming a healer just like mom. But unfortunately, I’m not so skilled with healing. Kris is a much more natural healer. Tartis thinks I should become a ranger because I can whip any of his soldiers. But I don’t give a damn what that jerk thinks.”

  “I heard the rangers were different back when Jingfay was their leader.”

  Maxine nods. “Jingfay no longer exists, unfortunately. But yes, this place was very different with her around. She was an Amazon warrior, you understand. And Amazons didn’t tolerate senseless killing. They were peaceful and only wanted to live freely. The taking of Deathfall root during an initiation used to be one of their rituals.” She smiles, tilting her chin up just as Amy did. “I wish I could become an Amazon warrior someday. This is Amazon face paint, by the way.” She points at her face.

  “It’s beautiful,” I comment.

  “Like me to paint your face?”

  “Okay, sure!”

  Maxine brings two jars containing black and white paint.

  “Is this your home?” I ask as she works on my face.

  “No, an old lady lives here. She’s a friend. I often stay here when I come to the village. I live back in the woods with my mom.”

  Once my face paint is complete, she gives me a small round mirror and I grin upon seeing my reflection. My skin is now snow-white, my lips and eye-lids pitch black. It looks intimidating and eerie, resembling a creature from another world.

  “Amazons were fierce warriors,” Maxine says. “They were excellent sword and stick fighters and were familiar with the martial arts. They didn’t have guns or ammo in their village. The masters from Central Settlement eventually overtook them. I wish I could follow Jingfay’s legacy and free all the servants in our land. But I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’ve never lived outside this village. And I don’t really want to leave my mom. She’s old, and I love her so much.”

  I feel a twinge of pain in my heart as I remember my mother.

  “Do you have a dream?” Maxine asks.

>   I shrug, remaining silent. I often dream of being Trent’s girlfriend but know better than articulating that thought. Too shallow.

  “It’s all right,” she smiles in understanding. “It takes time to find your way.”

  I return to Wreck’s cabin late at night. He’s on the top of the roof, balancing on one leg and slowly twirling a self-made spear, swinging it around himself. I don’t know how he manages to keep his balance.

  “What are you doing?” I laugh.

  “Tuning into the vibrations of the universe,” he answers. “I’m a Jedi Knight.”

  “Who?”

  “Oh c’mon. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard about us. We use the Force to protect those in need and fight against evil.”

  I offer no comment upon hearing this nonsense. Wreck jumps down and lands on his feet in front of me.

  “Well I swear,” he sighs. “What did Maxie do to you? Now you look just like her!”

  “I want to be an Amazon warrior.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Painting your lips black won’t make you an Amazon, all right? It takes a little more than that. You should paint your face like mine. You’re about to become a ranger.”

  “I don’t think so,” I answer dreamily. “I’m Amazon.”

  Back inside his shack we settle in for the night, lying on blankets in opposite sides of the room. Wreck remains silent for a while, turning a few times, then sighs and says, “I had to spend the entire evening all alone while you were out gallivanting with Maxie.”

  “You should have spent time with your other friends.”

  “Yeah, but…” He pauses. “I don’t have any friends outside of you and Maxie.”

  “Really? Why not?”

  “I’m not too social. I’m a little bit introverted.”

  I look at him, but can’t see his face in the darkness. In my mind, Wreck is the polar opposite of an introvert. But I do realize he’s a more complicated person than one might think at first glance. I remember how he tried to kiss me back in the woods, then how he quickly changed his mind and easily backed off.

  I smile, turn on my side and close my eyes. I fall asleep almost instantly, and see Amazon warriors in my dreams. They all look just like Amy.