Ethan led me in through the trees. The canopy spanned over our heads like a cathedral, so thick the moon couldn’t breach it. Darkness outside had never caused the fear inside did. But finding my footing without tripping on something or smacking into a tree was going to be a problem. He stepped ahead and disappeared into a dark stretch. I stopped, my heart picking up instinctively. Scanning, my eyes wide, trying to peel back the layers to no avail. My ears pricked for sound.
“This will do.” His voice rose ahead. “We will practice what you did with Kenneth.”
My hand gripped the broom handle he had snapped. “I’m not afraid of the dark outside.”
“Your heart rate tells me otherwise.” I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm my nerves. “We will start here. Once you get comfortable, we can move indoors.”
I stepped into the darkness, my heart booming in my ear drums, making it hard to hear. The scent of pines.
The hand over my mouth.
My breath caught, my body tensed.
“Dead.” His breath skidded over my ear. The scent of honey and something minty joined the pine.
“I wasn’t ready,” I grumbled, shoving the smell, the memory, aside, fed up with giving it any more power over me.
“Oh sorry, I’m sure your attacker will wait until you are ready to rip his teeth through your neck.” His voice faded as he moved away, soundless as a specter.
“Your teeth come anywhere near my neck, and you’ll be needing a dentist.”
Ethan chuckled.
I closed my eyes even though I couldn’t see, and tried to still my mind, tried to feel?—
A rush of energy, like exploding stars in my chest and back.
“Dead again,” he said, sounding annoyed this time. “Come on, Amy, I thought you practiced this.”
“I did. I just need a moment to get into feeling you coming.”
“You won’t always have a moment.” His voice dropped to a growl. “You won’t even have a heartbeat if a vampire or a witch attacks. Now concentrate.”
I closed my eyes, raised the handle.
“Feel my presence, Amy,” Ethan coaxed.
I felt his energy soft, distant, and then the rush. Coming like a breeze inside my body. I swung hard, the handle whooshing through the air and connecting with nothing but empty space.
“Better.”
“I missed.”
“I know, but only because I knew it was coming and sprang back at the last moment. Again.”
I closed my eyes, felt his energy coming and swung. It was like hitting rock. The handle struck so hard, the force reverberated up my hand and I almost dropped it. Ethan grunted.
“Are you alright?” I rushed out, panicked.
“Yes,” he rasped, breathless. “I’ve been struck by worse things than a stick.”
“Where did I hit you?”
“Stomach. If you take out a vampire’s stomach, it will drop them for a moment, then you need to remove their head. Let’s go again.”
We spent the next hour or so having him rush at me, and me swinging so many times, my arms ached and my hand burned with blisters. He made me keep going until I hit him at least half of the time.
“You’re brutal,” I moaned, gently rubbing at my blistered palms.
