Page 10 of Demon Hunger
He opened his mouth to say something, but I wasn’t about to let him do the talking for me.
I put on a mocking smile. “Trying to make excuses for being a chickenshit, I see. I think I saw you running for the bushes.”
Next to me, Jenna let out a curt laugh, which earned her a death glare from Regina.
“I’m not a coward. I’m smart—two completely different things. Professor Veneres has complimented my skill with the sword more than once.”
This was true, except every time he’d done it, his gaze had flashed in my direction to check if his attention to the blonde made me jealous. He wasn’t stupid. He could tell there was a sort of rivalry between Regina and me. Not one I started. Regina hated me for free.
“Whatever makes you sleep better at night.” I shrugged, putting on a bored air. She didn’t know who she was messing with. In a previous life—before I became the Pride Subject—I used to eat bitches for breakfast.
“You think you’re something else, don’t you?” she sneered.
I frowned at this. The likes of Regina saying that made me pause. If she—the queen of snobs—thought that, should I be worried about my mortal sin making a reappearance? I dismissed the idea immediately. Drevan had told me that as long as I was concerned about my pride becoming a problem again, I was safe.
Sage stood from his seat on the summoning case. “Why don’t you just see who’s best instead of doing all this posturing?”
Both Regina and I flashed him a glare. Didn’t he know that was the way guys did things? We women liked to bitch at each other instead. He walked into the closet at the back of the room and returned with two practice wooden swords and handed them over.
I didn’t want a confrontation that would only make things worse. I knew I should do the sensible thing and refuse, but when Regina took a fighting stance, I squared my shoulders, choosing to act like a guy, at the risk of making a fool of myself.
“Using telekinesis is not allowed,” Regina pronounced. “If you do, you lose.”
I shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
Holding my sword up, I stood in front of her. We circled each other as if measuring our skills. I had seen her fight, and if I had to guess, I would say our skills with the sword were very well matched. I have to assume that, like me, she had learned what she knew during her short time at the league. There were those, such as Sage, who had received proper sword training from an early age. They had demon hunter parents, and their profession was decided when they were still in the womb. Then, the moment they popped out, a tiny Queller was thrust in their hands.
Our classmates made a circle around us.
“Beat her ass,” Norman said.
“Good luck with that,” Jenna added in support.
My eyes flicked in her direction as I gave her a grateful smile. Having my best friend’s unconditional support, even when I was being stupid, gave me a warm feeling in my chest. I never had a friend like that before.
In that moment of distraction, Regina lunged, sword slicing downward. I reacted just in time, parrying the blow and sidestepping out of her way. The clatter of wood echoed in the wide empty space.
We exchanged several more blows, Regina doggedly coming at me with unnecessary force. I winced every time our wooden swords smacked into each other and made a loud sound. I glowered at her, practically asking:Is this really necessary?
We were only trying to prove who was better at swordplay—not actually hurt each other. At least that was what I thought. When she came at me, bearing her entire weight on a frontal blow, and it took all my strength to prevent my own sword from hitting my forehead as I blocked her, I realized this was no game. She really hated me.
My arms trembled as I held her back. “Maybe that’s enough, Regina. This can’t end well.”
“Afraid now?” She bit the words between clenched teeth.
I shook my head and pushed her away, jumping back. Unrelenting, she came at me again. We broke past the circle of our classmates as she drove me back toward the wall, our swords clattering as they knocked against each other.
Regina’s flushed face was a mask of intent, her green eyes focused on me and my every move. If I didn’t end this quickly, I had a feeling I might regret it.
Deciding on a disarming move, I stepped forward as soon as I saw my opening. I knocked her sword as hard as I could, and as her arm started dropping from the impact, I shortened the distance between us, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it. Her fake Queller clattered to the floor. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, but I didn’t have a chance to relish the moment because she jabbed an elbow straight into my diaphragm, knocking the air out of me.
Jenna and Benjamin protested in unison. “Hey, that’s not fair.”
I let go of the sword, fell to my knees, and grabbed my middle, gasping. Regina wasted no time grabbing my shoulders and pushing me flat on the floor. For a moment, I thought that would be it, but she picked up my discarded sword and held it above my head.
“You lost,” she spat.
“You cheated,” I replied breathlessly.
