Gauntlet Rite of Ascension (16 page)

On the other hand, Abaddon had a point. He did save my life. He was legally an adult and could make his own decisions. I just didn’t want to see him get hurt. I had enough blood on my hands.

“Fine, on one condition.” I said to Max.

“Name it.” He said, smiling broadly.

“You train with me. You learn from Abaddon how to defend yourself to the best of your ability. If you’re gonna hang out with a werewolf I want you to at least not be a pussy.” I said.

“That’s not what your mom said.” He answered.

Chapter 17

“Now that that’s settled, you can tell me more about this attack.” Abaddon said.

“There’s not much to tell really. One second I was standing alone in the alley, the next four guys appeared and this Jameson tried to kill me.” I answered.

Abaddons face turned thoughtful.

“Did they say anything to you?” He asked.

“I don’t know, they were worried about being seen. They said something about me not having any say until after the Rite. They mentioned being able to take another shot at me.” I said, trying to remember their conversation. It was hard, everything happened so fast.

Abaddon stayed silent, thinking.

“Cant we go to the Pack leader and tell him his right hand man tried to kill me?” I asked.

“Think, remember what I told you about accusations of violence against Pack members.” Abaddon said.

“Pack members have the right to petition the Pack leader for arbitration in matters of violent assaults. The Pack leader can adjudicate the case if both parties agree or they can work their problems out in self regulated debates.” I recited.

“That’s right, we can have the guys boss, who probably ordered the attack to begin with, be the judge, or you can try and reason with Jameson yourself. I don’t see him as the type to want to reach a mutual understanding. All of which is meaningless.” He said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Think, Eric, you’re not a Pack member. You do not have protection under Pack law. It is my fault really. Your sponsor is charged with your protection in these matters.”

“I refuse to baby you and follow you around everyday, but there is something I might be able to do. I have influence in the Pack and can get word around that you have been attacked. This will let the leadership know I’m on to them and they should leave you alone.” He said.

“Spreading some rumors will cause them to leave me alone?” I asked.

“Not forever, but it will buy us the needed time to get you ready. Don’t forget Eric, I am the weapons master for the Pack, I have a lot of influence.” He said.

“Okay, if you say so.” I answered.

I wasn’t sure if all this political crap was too much for me.

All this time Max just stood there watching, soaking everything in.

“Hey, what about me? Won’t they come after me?” He asked.

Abaddon turned to him as if he had forgotten he was there.

“You are a human; you have protection under Pack law. Unless you attempt to use silver against a Pack member or alert the population to our existence you basically have immunity.” He said.

“Sweet.” Max said as he sat down on the couch and turned on the T.V.

Abaddon went over, reached down and unplugged the T.V. Max started to say something in protest when Abaddon raised his hand, silencing him.

“If you are going to live here as per your request, then you have to follow some rules. One, your move must be immediate; you have to get all your things and bring them here, tonight. Two, you are going to be trained by me in conjunction with Eric, three, if you are not going to school, you will get a job.”

Max just sat looking at Abaddon as if he were crazy.

“Oh my god, you’re worse than my father. If he hadn’t left when I was a baby and was actually a maniacal drill sergeant.” He said.

Abaddon just smiled and kept looking at Max. Eventually Max began to squirm under the weight of his stare and got up and headed for the door.

“I don’t have a bunch of stuff, I’ll be back in a few.” Max said, sheepishly.

Chapter 18

A month after Max had moved in I stood facing Abaddon in the arena. We had all settled into a hard but steady routine.

I watched Abaddon from across the space. Max sat in the far corner of the living area at the computer working on a paper for his Humanities class.

I wore replicas of my gauntlets. True silver weapons were too dangerous to spar with but I needed to perfect my own weapons so Abaddon had these crafted for me. They were very close in heft and weight to my gauntlets, but always felt like bulky fakes compared to the master craftsmanship of my weapons.

After the attack in the alley, Abaddon added the small mace to my weapons list. I had been using it for weeks, trying to get the feel of it. Now Abaddon casually swung one above his head, it made slow lazy circles in a five-foot length.

“You have gotten a feel for the mace, now I want you to try and reach a place where you can anticipate my moves based on your knowledge of the weapon I’m using. Eventually, when you are skilled enough, you will be able to see what someone is going to do before they do it. This requires a level of control that has only been achieved by a few in the Pack.” He said.

I only had a second to absorb his words when he shortened the back swing of the maces rotation and with a snap of his wrist sent the five-pound ball of steel at my face.

I had already been using the power of the Beast to help heighten my senses and focus. I watched as the ball came at me and easily brought my hand up, blocking his attack. With a quick jerk Abaddon brought the mace back in a straight line then whipped it at me in a blur. Again, I was able to block his attack.

Over and over he sent the mace at me, slowly getting closer. I was always on the defensive, never able to do more than react to his attack. I heard my dad’s voice in my head, “Relax and quit fighting your instincts. Allow the Beast to enhance your natural ability.”

His voice was a balm to the turbulence in my head as I fought.

I was a thinker, I always have been. My mind never stopped going and my first move when fighting was to think about everything that was happening, try to analyze it and think my way through.

He wanted me to stop all that and let the more primal aspect of the animal within to take over. I guess that made sense. If I was going to build a house, I used my brain, but if I was going to survive a fight to the death I should use my instincts. I needed the fundamental understanding of Abaddons weapons training to give me the baseline of how to fight, but I also had to have the instincts of the Beast in-sync with my own to take that understanding and use it to effectively stalk and take down my prey.

The mace came at me again, only this time I saw the slight shift in Abaddons weight and knew what his next move was going to be.

A split second before the mace reached its full length Abaddon twisted his wrist sending the chain to spinning that ran down its length and ending at the steel ball. Normally the mace would have returned, but this time Abaddon made it do a small rotation that would have bypassed my normal block and smashed my face in, if I was still there.

My instincts screamed at me, easily signaling Abaddons next move and I listened. I moved inside the attack and twisted towards him. I reached out with my right arm and wrapped the chain up around my hand and in a rotation of my wrist sent the mace up over my head and straight for Abaddon.

Shocked surprise split Abaddons face for a second before the mace smashed into his chest. I heard bone break and in the few seconds I took to stand in awe of my success Abaddon recovered and stepped forward.

He landed a devastating punch to my face and I felt my nose break and blood drip down onto my chest. I fell flat on my ass more out of shock than pain. The punch was small compared to the punishment Abaddon normally gave me.

I had actually landed a hit on him! I sat in amazement as that set in and my nose healed. Abaddon recognized my halt in the fight and allowed me the small victory.

The last few weeks had been filled with a stringent schedule. Wake up in the morning and eat, spar with Abaddon for an hour before leaving for school. Spend the day at school, learning and growing.

Then I’d come home only to go another round with Abaddon in the arena. After that came lessons in control and then an hour talking and discussing Pack law.

When that was over I had a few hours left to do any schoolwork and catch up on the required reading necessary for my classes. Then I’d pass out only to do it all again.

Max didn’t fare much better. He woke up early, like me, and instead of sparring with Abaddon he was required to exercise. Abaddon had him on a strict routine.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays he ran. Each week he added a mile and soon he was running ten miles every other day.

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays were weight lifting or aerobics days. Sundays were a day of rest. Abaddon loved American football and we spent those days sitting and watching games.

Max enrolled into the local community college and would spend his days, like me, at school. His schedule was so close to mine we met up everyday and walked home together. When he got back to the loft he did his reading and school work while I got my ass kicked by Abaddon.

Abaddon had begun teaching Max some routines that were similar to Tai Chi and Max practiced them while Abaddon and I practiced my control and Pack law. Max would go to sleep soon after, having been thoroughly exhausted. My stamina and strength was much greater than his and allowed me to push myself much more.

“Very well done Eric, very well done.” He said.

”I did not expect that move from you. You let your instincts guide you.” He said, more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah, I didn’t really even think about it. I let my body react to the information your movements gave it. I felt a oneness with my Beast.” I said.

“Good, you have found the place. Now we just need to hone it.” He said with a hint of hidden pride.

“We will break for dinner. Max should have it ready.” He added.

He came over and helped me up. We went to the kitchen and the smell of cooking food made my stomach growl in eager anticipation. Max was making his specialty tonight.

His quesadillas were to die for. He took chicken and marinated it overnight then grilled it before cutting it into small strips. With fresh guacamole, pico de gallo, and cilantro his quesadillas always hit the spot.

I got out the plates and forks and Max brought each of us a serving. I was just about to dig in when the door opened and in walked Katrina.

To say she walked in was an understatement. A more accurate description would be to say she sauntered in.

The first thing I noticed was her hair. It flowed in gentle waves that reached past her shoulders, bouncing with each step. She looked directly at me with piercing blue eyes and I was stunned as her features radiated strength and sensuality. She wore a small amount of eye shadow that gave her an exotic aspect that only exaggerated her natural beauty. Her athletic frame was on full display as she took off her leather jacket and her healthy skin glowed with golden radiance in her skimpy clothes.

She wore a black tank top that was cut above her waist allowing her smooth, well-defined stomach to show. She had a navel ring that drew my eyes toward her midsection. Her long strong legs moved in confidence as her hips swayed in tune with her steps. She wore tight leather pants that showed off her curves and knee-high boots rang off the concrete floor.

She walked over to me and sat on my lap. Her scent was maddening; it was a mix between the clean crisp autumn weather and a deep earthy womanliness that stirred my awareness of how intimately close we were.

She sat on me and where her body touched mine a strong feeling of connection came to me and I wanted to increase that connection, hopefully with no clothes on.

“Good evening gentlemen. I see I have disturbed you during dinner.” She said in a seductive voice that showed she didn’t care one bit about our meal.

“Katrina.” Abaddon said, nodding to her.

Katrina nodded once to Abaddon and then dismissed him. She turned to Max and with a dazzling smile said.

“My, I didn’t know there were two strong young men living here, I will have to come over more often.”

“H-h-hi. I’m Max.” Max stammered, his face a deep crimson.

“Nice to meet you Max, I’m Katrina. We have already met.” She said, turning in my lap to look at me from only inches away.

The slight shift of her body on my lap made my pulse race even faster. She absently picked at the food on my plate as I sat in awe of her.