“Keep your arms up!” Crane yelled, close enough to make my ears ring. “Up! Come on you weak little wretch.”

  I growled and forced myself to raise my arms, straining against the concrete weight I had been told to hold over my head. My elbows locked and my arms trembled, threatening to give way. It had been twenty minutes already, and I had no idea how long she was going to keep me like this.

  So far, the training had been hellish. It was day two, and I had yet to sleep. If it wasn’t Crane herself, then I was being run around by one of her acolytes to keep busy. The exercise itself wasn’t actually that bad, but the fact that I was barely being given time to rest made it near impossible to keep up the pace.

  But I forced myself to try. I groaned as sweat stung my eyes, arms trembling from strain. I couldn’t feel them anymore, a small but worrying relief from the burning agony. A blow struck the back of my neck, and I barely kept myself from dropping the weight on my head as I flinched.

  “Stay still!” Crane bellowed. “It’s the only thing you’re good for!”

  I tried, god knew I tried, but it was just too much. My elbows gave way and I let out a strangled cry of frustration as the concrete block landed on my head, then slid off and slammed to the ground. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground, barely catching myself with my numb arms. I heaved, though nothing came out since I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. A shadow fell across me and I saw Crane’s feet enter my vision.

  “Enough,” she spoke with an edge to it that spoke of disappointment and future punishment for it. “You pass. Get up, I’ll take you to your quarters.”

  “I...can’t,” I panted, unable to catch my breath. Sweat dripped from my face and stained the concrete below me.

  “Get. Up.” The command impelled me, and with a groan I managed to get one foot under me, then the other. With willpower I didn’t realize I had, I managed to get myself mostly upright, knees knocking. “Good, follow me.”

  She turned on her heel and strode away. It was a regular pace, but that was far too fast for me to manage now. I limped along behind her, trailing further and further as she kept moving steadily. My heart pounded, not from the workout but from fear of what would happen if I didn’t catch up before we reached my cell. That spurred me into a jog that was barely faster than walking pace, but it let me close the distance by the time we reached the block.

  Crane led me upstairs, and trying to climb the steps was a feat that stacked up against one or two of the fights against Leviathan. Still, I fought my way to the top and stumbled after Crane as she continued down the balcony. She stopped outside a cell and turned to me, tapping her foot. I caught up just a second later, bending and holding my knees so I didn’t collapse.

  “Inside,” Crane ordered, and I obeyed as fast as I possibly could, limping into the cell.

  It was...nice, actually. The sheets looked soft and were dyed a deep carmine. The walls had been decorated with tapestries full of watercolour landscapes and Chinese calligraphy. There was a small table in the corner by the toilet with a pair of burning incense sticks in a holder. How Crane got incense in here was beyond me, but the smoke was pleasantly fragrant, and oddly calming.

  “Lay down,” Crane said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Rest.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled, practically falling onto the bed face down. It was softer than mine, and I let out a contented sigh, halfway to a groan.

  “Move your projection,” she said, fingers pressing into my back. “This will help you recover.”

  I did, with no small hint of trepidation. Crane had made me tell her all about my powers, the physical side anyway. This was an intensely vulnerable position to be in, I was too tired to fight if she tried anything. Still, I had to follow her orders to the letter or… Well she hadn’t told me what, but I knew it’d be bad.

  What came though was a deep, incredible massage. Crane’s fingers dug deep into my aching muscles, loosening knots that had been built up over the last day of exercise. She started at the base of my neck, pushing my collar down to get at the skin below. I fought the urge to twitch and squirm as my muscles spasmed.

  It hurt, in a weirdly wonderful way. The tension was deep in my body, but Crane’s fingers drew it out and left softened, satisfied muscle in their wake. I barely noticed, and cared less, when she lifted my shirt up and continued working on my bare skin, digging in between my shoulder blades hard enough to make me groan.

  “Silence,” Crane admonished me. “I understand you may enjoy this but you must be silent. It is crucial to your art.”

  “My art?” I wondered aloud as she continued massaging me.

  “I have crafted a perfect way for you to fight,” she explained. “But to take best advantage of it, total silence is necessary.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t help the question, and winced as she sighed and stopped the lovely massage.

  “You won’t fully understand until you utilize it,” Crane replied. “When you do, I shall explain if you do not already understand.”

  “‘kay,” I mumbled, burying my head in the pillow.

  As Crane continued, I endeavoured to follow her order as best I could. It wasn’t easy, especially as her hands crept lower and lower. My cheeks coloured as she dug her fingers into my hips, and my breath hitched when she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of my sweat pants. She clicked her tongue, and I bit mine.

  “Remember,” Crane said quietly. “Silence is key.”

  I did everything I could to keep quiet as she continued her massage.

  “First kata,” Crane barked.

  I threw my right first in a straight punch from my shoulder, then did the same with my left. Crane ordered me to continue, and I did, working through the bitch basics I was being taught. Blow after blow after blow landed on imaginary enemies, never blocking, never making a noise beyond breathing; and even that I tried to do as quietly as I could.

  My first week with Crane had been...awful, frankly. Besides a massage once every twenty-four hours, delivered by Crane herself in what I’d learned was her cell, it was nothing but constant torture. Hammering my bare fists against a bucket of sand until they bled, sitting naked on a block of conjured ice, and the constant threat of a strike if I slipped up; one that might make it through if I was unfortunate enough to flinch.

  Even the massages were full of humiliation, being made to strip to my underwear and undergo inspection before being allowed to lay down. Nominally to make sure I was getting enough nutrition and water, but I didn’t like the look in Crane’s eyes.

  Finally though, I was starting to learn what I’d come here for. Basic as it had been so far, I was hopeful. I’d caught glimpses of the other students practicing, and their technique was nothing short of incredible. In part, that was because it was quick enough I had trouble following, but it was fluid too.

  For all the strikes I’d been practicing so far, there hadn’t been mention of defense. Probably because of my power, Crane was relying on me to avoid flinching even in the most dire circumstances. As I worked through the kata, she struck me at random, forcing me to keep my mind both on the moves and on keeping my projection tight to my body.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  It was starting to get easier though, less of a conscious effort and more just a state of being. As the hours dragged on, repeating the same motions over and over, sweat soaked my clothes. It didn’t matter to Crane, who simply ordered me to continue. So I did, letting myself slip into a hypnotic rhythm of strike-strike-strike-strike.

  The slaps to my projection barely registered as my focus sharpened. Despite growing more and more tired, I didn’t waver from the constant motion. My muscles burned, lungs begged me to stop and breathe, but I wouldn’t. It hurt, it hurt so badly I wanted to cry. Maybe I was, I couldn’t tell with the sweat constantly stinging my eyes.

  Crane had me continue long past the point of pain, closing on the point of unconsciousness. My vision had closed to a tunnel in front of me, all I could see was the concrete wall ahead and my fists when they reached that far. After so long, my moves had become sluggish, but I forced myself to complete them, if only to get how it felt when I was exhausted.

  “Enough,” Crane barked. I stilled instantly, forcing myself to breathe through my nose instead of gasping for air like I wanted to. It wasn’t silent, but it was the best I could do. She stood in front of me and put a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at her. “You are progressing adequately. Shower, then come to my cell.”

  I nodded and started jogging to the showers, over by the track. It wasn’t far, but my state made it feel like a marathon. The distance from Crane allowed me to breathe through my mouth at last though. If one of the other acolytes around reported me, I’d pay for it, but I needed the air in my lungs now.

  I stripped out of my sweaty clothes and jumped into an empty stall, turning on the tap and suppressing a flinch as the icy water blasted over my skin. Only now did I move my projection around, rinsing the sweat from my skin. I worked quickly, scrubbing my body as much as I could in thirty seconds. It wouldn’t do to delay longer, because I’d be punished if I was late, whatever that meant. Once finished, and at least slightly recovered, I jogged back to Crane’s cell and stood outside silently.

  “Come in,” Crane said after a moment. “Strip and lay on the bed.”

  As usual after a long workout, I complied happily, collapsing face down the moment I was in my underwear. My embarrassment and discomfort was forgotten as her fingers dug into my back. Between the massage and the gentle scent of incense, I found myself nodding off by the time she reached my waist.

  When I opened my eyes, I found the lights were out and Crane’s cell door had been shut, a blanket draped over the bars. I suppressed a flinch as my arm started moving, and when I realized what was going on it tore me out of my sleepy state.

  I was on my back, on top of Crane. Her hands gripped my limbs, puppeting them through what I understood after a moment to be the kata I’d practiced earlier. I shifted in place, cheeks starting to burn, but her grip tightened. I took a deep breath and readied myself to be punished.

  “Master,” I whispered, using the form of address she demanded. “What are you doing?”

  “You need to be capable of doing this, even in your sleep,” Crane said softly. “Since you can’t yet, I shall do it for you.”

  Suppressing a groan, I shut my eyes and tried to get back to sleep, because god only knew the next time I’d get to.

  God it was cold.

  I sat on a block of concrete, shivering despite my best efforts to stay still. The sound of slippers on the floor echoed around me as Skadi, a woman able to ‘eat’ the heat of her surroundings, circled me. I had become accustomed to the random blows she rained on me, so when she cuffed my ear it didn’t hurt.

  How many hours had I been in here? Had it been a day already? Crane told me to sit here until she came back from some business, that had been… I wasn’t sure. My eyes were shut to help concentration, but I’d noticed the lights go out a while ago. Skadi didn’t stop, and I didn’t ask how long this was going to keep up.

  The feeling in my hands and feet was long gone, and the cold numbness was starting to creep deeper into my limbs. Hopefully Crane would come back before I got frostbite, no amount of ointment from Paroxysm would help with that.

  God...I missed her. A weird feeling to have for a murderer I’d met just a month ago. Still, she’d been the kindest one to me so far, even if she used her power on me without my say so. As long as I made it through this, I’d see her again though. Maybe...maybe we could even do something instead of just smoke in a hallway.

  A casual smack knocked me out of my thoughts of Paroxysm, warming my chest briefly with a flare of anger. I didn’t make a sound though, because I knew if I did it would get colder. That happened the first time I’d tried to ask when Crane would be back, god only knew how long ago.

  So I sat, literally freezing my ass off, praying I’d come out of this with all the fingers I went in with. If not, I could just try again if I was so bothered by a few more stumpy digits. Time dragged on, and my awareness of things around me began to slip away. I barely felt the random blows against my projection, my shivering had stopped and I was still as a cadaver.

  After so, so long with nothing but cold to feel, a warm hand touched the back of my neck. I kept my projection still, but my shoulders relaxed fractionally at the boon. The faint scent of incense alerted me to the fact that Crane had returned, and slowly my consciousness came back to me. With strength rivaling Alexandria, I pried my eyes open for the first time in hours.

  “Get up,” Crane commanded, removing the blessed warmth of her hand from my neck. “Come with me.”

  Wordlessly, I struggled to my feet. It was no small task, getting my numbed legs under me and trying to stand, but I managed after a minute of struggle, Crane looking down on me. Once I was up, she turned and left without a word, and I limped after her. The warmth outside Skadi’s cell hit me like a blow from Behemoth, and I couldn’t help a whimper that escaped my lips. Crane looked back, but didn’t say anything, simply leading me towards the track.

  When she began jogging, I tried my best to follow. It took me minutes to make my legs work right, by which time Crane was halfway around the track. I did what I could to catch up, feeling slowly returning to my extremities as my blood began pounding in my ears. What was once an easy run had become a slog, the hours of cold having sapped my strength. But I struggled on, determined to see this through to the end.

  Three laps later, she headed to the center of the track. I joined her a minute later, breathing heavily through my nose. Despite my exertion, I was still cold, fighting against the shivering my body desperately wanted to do right now. Crane studied me for a moment, then dropped into a fighting stance.

  She was on me without warning, without a word. I reacted, not blocking but attacking just as my weeks of training demanded. My fist flew towards her ribs and she withdrew, elegantly avoiding the blow. Crane’s foot lashed out and caught my neck, pulling away before I could catch it. I dashed towards her, fists up, intent on winning this fight.

  Crane rained blows on me as I tried to close the distance, and I never once moved to block them. My concentration remained on hitting her, and on keeping my projection tight to my skin. It was a strange way to fight, and went against how I’d been taught, but I couldn’t deny its effectiveness. Especially when I finally landed a blow.

  It wasn’t much, just a grazing hook to her ribs, but I felt the way Crane jerked when I struck. I moved quickly to follow up on my success, landing a solid hit to her shoulder before I felt her leg hook around mine. I stilled in an instant, pushing back against her as she tried to trip me up. The closeness allowed me to drive a fist into her kidney, and Crane quickly skipped back, abandoning her attempt.

  I didn’t give her space to breathe, charging recklessly. She was a far more experienced fighter, sure, but she couldn’t do anything to me. As long as I stuck to my training, I was going to win this. I dove in, ducking low to slip under her guard. I swung my fist up in a vicious uppercut, aiming at her stomach.

  The world shifted around me, and suddenly I was thrown to the concrete, ears ringing and bile rising in my stomach. Crane’s weight fell on top of me, knee pressed to the back of my neck and forcing my face into the dirt. I flailed uselessly, and she took the opportunity to grab my arms and twist them painfully.

  “Good,” Crane huffed. “Very good, you’ve been listening.” She relaxed her grip on my arms slightly, and I suppressed a sigh of relief as the pain faded. “What lesson did you take from this? You may speak.”

  “I can’t beat you,” I croaked, voice hoarse from disuse.

  “Well, that’s partly correct.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “However, the important lesson here is you must always be ready for powers.”

  “Yes Master,” I said flatly. “I...didn’t know yours.”

  “Then I won’t reveal it,” she replied. “Meditate on what it may be. I’ll expect an answer tomorrow.”

  “Yes Master,” I mumbled. The pressure on the back of my neck vanished as Crane rose, but I didn’t move.

  “Get up.” I practically leaped to my feet, body screaming in protest. It could suck it, because going slow was worse. “Come.”

  I followed as she strode towards the cells once again. My heart fluttered, and I prayed we were going back to Crane’s cell to rest instead of Skadi’s for more freezing ‘meditation’. Fortunately, we headed upstairs and towards her home, giving me at least a little relief. Sure I’d have to deal with Crane and how...touchy she was, it was better than the cold.

  She ordered me onto the bed, and I sat without question. I clasped my hands together, knuckles white as I managed my urge to shiver. Crane sat on the bed behind me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, drawing a blanket over us both. Despite myself, I leaned into her, shutting my eyes and finally relaxing.

  “You’ve done so well,” Crane praised me, breath hot on my ear. “Of all my students down here, you have shown the most promise. Soon you’ll be ready for the world again, little Terrier, and the world will not be ready for you.”

  “Thank you Master,” I muttered quietly.

  “You may sleep,” she said gently. “You’ve earned it.”

  “But my kata,” I protested.

  “I will do it for you,” Crane reassured me. “You’ll need your strength for your return.”

  I mumbled sleepily, happily as I nodded off, smiling for the first time in weeks.