Page 32 of Phoenix's Fire

Lifting a hand, I dragged it across my eyes. The things those men did to the women in the compound were disgusting. That kickingwomenin theguts was considered normal punishment? No. There was so much wrong with that, but Ayla already knew my feelings on it. Right now, I was trying to teach her how to fight back - not simply take the abuse - and maybe she'd teach the new girl it was okay.

"It's a good defense if you have no other option," I assured her. "But let's give you some other options, okay?"

"Okay!" she agreed eagerly.

"To start with - " I paused as the back door banged open. When Rymar and Zasen piled out, I couldn't help but sigh. Granted, I hadn't expected anything else. "Okay." I pulled my attention back to her. "When someone comes at you, you'll want to get your arms up. That works similar to curling and helps to protect your body."

"Up?" she asked, lifting both hands over her head.

"More like this," I assured her, demonstrating a typical defensive position.

My arms were about shoulder height. My hands were spaced a bit, but still covering my chest. With my elbows down, that also protected my belly. Nodding at Ayla, I encouraged her to mimic the posture.

"And hands in a fist?" she asked, because I'd done that without thinking.

"Yes," I said, "but there's a trick to making a fist too." I shifted closer to show her. "You want to keep your thumbs back, but not tucked inside. When you need to hit someone, you'll use your knuckles. But if your thumb is poking out, you could break it - or at least make it hurt badly."

"Okay." She matched her other hand to the one I was adjusting. "So good fists, arms in front of me, hands up. Right?"

"Exactly," I agreed. "Next, you need to spread your feet out and bend your knees just a bit."

"Like this," Zasen said, shifting into a fighting position.

Part of me wanted to make him go back inside. Zasen was a natural-born fighter. He made it look easy, and he was a big enough guy to have the power to back up his threats. Me? I was short, lean, and dull-colored. I was quick, though. I had a feeling Ayla would be too.

"Okay, is this right?" Ayla asked, doing her best to stand the same way Zasen was.

"Perfect," I assured her. But if Zasen wanted to stick his nose in, I was going to conscript him. "Okay, Zasen. Come over here and be the aggressor?"

"Kanik..." he tried.

Rymar just chuckled. "That's what you get for speaking up. Go help, Zasen."

"I was just..." He groaned, but made his way over.

Yeah, he'd just been showing off. He liked the notoriety, it seemed. Even the Moles knew his name - and it was the same in either language. His sign was a beast from ancient myths, and he'd stamped it on enough dead hunters to make one hell of a statement.

That meant Ayla knew he was dangerous. Me? No one ever heard about the Dragonfly, but I was actually okay with that. I didn't want to be known as a killer. Iwanted to be a teacher, someone children could trust, and a man who was educated. I wanted to be known for my mind, not the number of Moles I'd left to rot - and there had been quite a few.

"Okay," I said once Zasen was close enough. "The most common attack is for someone to grab you from behind. If they come from the front, you should see them in time to stop them. But from the back?"

"I don't have eyes back there," Ayla agreed, nodding to show she understood.

"So Zasen, grab her from behind."

He huffed once, the sound a smothered laugh. "Yes, sir," he muttered as if fighting his amusement.

Zasen wrapped his arms around Ayla's shoulders, pressing in close against her back. Surprisingly, Ayla was completely calm about it. Considering how she'd once told me that touching her was improper, I couldn't help but be amazed at how far she'd come. Then again, she likely saw this as necessary. Did that make it okay to her?

I walked Ayla through how to keep Zasen from picking her up and carrying her off. I carefully explained locking her leg behind his, how to get her hand in between his arms to add pressure and possibly break the hold, but once I got to the part about flipping him if she couldn't get free any other way, she froze.

"What?" she asked.

"You step back onto that leg." I pointed at the one behind Zasen, where she'd hooked it earlier. "Bend down, grab his legs, and flip him backwards."

Her head jiggled again, an obvious refusal. "I don't understand."

"Zasen, grab me," I ordered.

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