A bolt of something hot shot at my back and pierced my shoulder blade, causing me to cry out in pain. My hand slipped from the rung and I fell to the ground, panting. Peering over my shoulder, I glared at Artemis, who was still pointing a finger at me.
“Did you just hit me with sunlight magic?” I gasped.
“Stings like hell,” Maddy complained, pulling up her shirt to show me a red mark on her lower back.
Artemis looked unfazed. “Oh, did you think Lora was going to let you storm into the castle without fighting back?”
I stood, fists clenched. “No, but this was just a training—”
“I have exactly eighteen hours to train you forwar,” he growled. “There will be pain, and you will hate me, but you will learn to use your magic defensively, and ultimately it will save your life.”
He said it with so much surety, it caused me to frown. Was he saying he foresaw that or just speaking off the cuff?
I brushed off my pants. “Fine. Let’s do it again,” I growled, rolling out my sore shoulder.
He nodded, and I peered over to see Maddy grinning. “He won’t do it at the same spot this time. You’ll always be wondering when he’s going to hit.” She raised her pant leg and produced an angry red welt on her calf.
Geeze, so Maddy had wanted to go again too? I wasn’t surprised, and now I understood why they laughed when I asked to be timed. The point wasn’t to be fastest on the course, it was to just get through it at all.
This time I faced Artemis and grabbed the monkey bars, going backward across them, not giving him my back. Both Maddy and he started to laugh, but I kept my eyes trained on the old man.
“What’s so funny?” I grunted.
“Maddy did the same thing,” he commented.
Well, great minds think alike.And although Maddy was a lethal warrior, she didn’t have Greywolf or fae power. I was going to use that to my advantage. Pulling up a shield of energy around me like Natalie had taught me, I let it coat my skin and got to the final rung, preparing for his sunbeam attack.
He simply smiled at me, pulling his fingers up to do a little wave.
Oh, it was going to be like that, huh?
With a growl, I spun, reluctantly giving him my back, and faced the course before me. Next was climbing over the giant stacks of hay bales. I made it over the first one and turned, expecting an attack—that never came—and then the second.
I hated not knowing when he was going to hit. I ran full blast across the bridge deciding that speed would be my ally, and halfway through realized I’d triggered some pressure valve because the giant sack of potatoes tied to the pole came flying at me. With a shriek, I ducked, and it passed over head.
Yes!I popped up just in time to feel a beam of light lick the back of my thigh. Because of my shield it didn’t hurt, but one more hit might bring my protections down. I was still learning how to keep it up in times of stress. Turning on the bridge to face Artemis, I froze. He was gone. Maddy stood with her hands behind her back, whistling as she stared at the sky.
Shady bastards.
Screw this. I’m going for a homerun.
Pivoting my weight back to the course at hand, I tore across the rest of the bridge, over a ladder wall, and finally made it to the home stretch.
All that was left was a thin balance beam that led to a post with a bell on the top.
Old man probably sensed my shield and went to take a bathroom break.
Sucka.
Holding my arms out for balance, I raced across the balance beam as fast as I could. When I was a mere two feet from ringing the bell, Artemis popped up behind it out of nowhere and blasted me with a gust of wind. The wind knocked into my chest, disabling my shield, and I went flying into the grass with a shriek.
I landed hard on my butt and kicked the ground in exasperation.
The sound of Maddy’s snickering brought heat to my cheeks.
“I know where you sleep,” I warned her, and the laughing cut off in her throat.
“Again!” I yelled, stomping over to the beginning and grasping the monkey bars.
