Page 92 of In Between Death and the Devil

“Very good, Maeve,” he said when I’d successfully fended off one of his shadows that had changed direction at the last minute and tried to strike my back instead of my front.

My eyes flicked to where Bea was sitting, watching intently. Why was she still here? Yanking my focus back to the task at hand, I put her out of my mind. It didn’t matter. It was fine. I was fine.

“I wonder…” Fen’s eyes slid to Daphne to my right. A moment later a shadow went streaking for her.

Light shot from my palm, intercepting the hit meant for her.

“Nice,” Titus said.

A shadow headed for Marcus next.

I spent the next few minutes fending off Fen’s attacks against the three of them, sometimes two at once. It took less than a thought to direct my power where I wanted it to go. The instinct to protect was like a reflex. It should have made me happy, but all I could do was wonder what came next. Would it be as easy? It couldn’t be.

“Let’s change it up a bit,” Titus said.

Fen’s stance relaxed, so I allowed myself to put my hands on my hips and focus on catching my breath.

“What do you have in mind?” Fen asked.

I stiffened when Titus picked up three familiar-looking silver cuffs.

“Maeve’s proven she’s excellent at defense. Let’s switch to offense.” He handed a cuff each to Daphne and Marcus who put them on their wrists. Shadow shields appeared a few moments later.

“Good idea,” Fen said. “Maeve, create a small ball of light and throw it at Marcus’s shield.”

Marcus held his shield in front of him, creating a target for me.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, remembering the way I’d destroyed Fen’s shadow objects. “What if I destroy it and injure him?”

“Directing your powers is all about intent,” Fen said. “As long as you don’t put the intent to destroy the shield into it, you won’t hurt him.”

I bit my lip, surveying my target. Marcus’s eyes were visible over the top of it. He looked completely unbothered by the prospect of my lobbing my power at him, but I still worried. Intent wasn’t enough to keep someone safe. I hadn’t intended to hurt my family when I’d pushed Colt’s death away from me, but they’d ended up dead.

A soft wave of support and comfort flowed to me through my bond with Fen, and I unclenched my hands. This was different. I was in a controlled environment. Marcus had protection. It would be fine. Blowing out a breath, I summoned a ball of light in my palm and launched it at Marcus’s shield.

It fizzled out less than halfway there.

I frowned at my hand. Despite my success, I’d failed on the first try plenty of times during our session, but this felt different, though I couldn’t put my finger on why.

“It’s okay,” Daphne said. “Try again.”

“Try visualizing your strike landing,” Fen said.

I tried again, following Fen’s instructions, but my shot only went a few feet further before fizzling again.

Titus deactivated his shield and came to stand behind me. “Can you try again? Maybe it’s your aim.”

The result was the same.

“You’re getting a little further each time,” Marcus said. “Maybe it’s just a matter of repetition. Take as many shots as you need.”

I wasn’t any better three shots later. Or five. Or ten. My eleventh shot finally made contact, but instead of hitting the shield, it bounced off and dissolved when it hit the ground at Marcus’s feet.

“Great,” Titus said. “Now try hitting the shield harder. See if you can drive me back a step.”

He traded places with Marcus and I kept going, but it didn’t get much better. Half the time my shots fell just short, and the other half they barely glanced off the shield. My frustration and panic mounted with every attempt.

“I can’t do it,” I said.