Shielded - The Marilla Chronicles

Chapter 20

The next day I had been pulled out of the ocean at four am, and Maxwell had been dragged out of bed. Malaki had decided we needed to train, and apparently that started when it was still dark.

By the claw marks on Malaki's loose shirt, it seemed Maxwell was not too pleased on the violent awakening.

Malaki stood with loose low hanging pants and a shirt, while Maxwell stood in a tank top and gym pants. I wore my usual swimwear feeling comfortable enough move around in it.

Malaki had drawn a ring into the sand around us, and was currently pacing around like a tiger In a cage. He seemed nervous. He was wrapping fabric around his knuckles, over and over and over again.

"Dude." Maxwell growled in frustration, "I am tired."

Malaki snapped his eyes up at us.

"You two know how to kill the Dark One's Minions." He asked finishing off the fabric around his hand.

"Silver dagger to the eye." Maxwell groaned out in boredom.

"Minions are easy." Malaki continued as he strode to stand in front of us. "But how do you kill me?"

I stared at Malaki for several seconds, I looked up at Maxwell who looked just as confused.

"Iron?" I asked nervously as I sunk into my shoulders.

Malaki arched his eyebrow at me, "This is not a fairy tale." He simply answered back.

"How do you kill me?" He asked with a stern voice.

I looked at him for several moment, I thought about maybe disarming, but he had fought off Maxwell with out his blade. He had managed.

"Your wings." Maxwell eventually answered.

My face dropped, I thought about how painful it would be for him to lose hi wings, how trapped he would be with out them.

Malaki began nodding, "Wings, then I would suggest a slice to my throat," He gestured with a knife to his own throat, "Then a solid stab into my chest." He gestured into the air what he would thing was a suitable means to kill shim.

I couldn't stop picturing him without his wings though, how painful and agonizing it would be.

"But for now." Malaki stated, "I want to know your knowledge, and I want to see your foot work."

I winced, everything I was bad at. Maxwell was great at hand to hand combat, and knowledge. I was good at using my powers.

He began to give up a demonstration of different foot movements, how far to place them, and why to place them in certain ways. It looked rather odd, but Malaki made the movement look swift and easy.

When I would try replicate it, I realized I had terrible balance.

"Tighten your core." Malaki snapped as his poked a stick into my stomach causing me to lose balance again.

"Plank for thirty seconds." He would order.

Hours and hours we focused purely on balance, foot movements, and stretching. He was tough, and all the training I had done with Isaac seemed pointless compared how Malaki moved.

Maxwell did far better than I did, he had far better balance, and was far more skilled in general foot movements of combat.

"It is because you are used to having to focus on more than two legs." Malaki pointed out to Maxwell. "You have already become very aware of where your feet need to be at the right time."

I listened to Malaki actually compliment Maxwell, and how disturbed my best friend had looked at it.

"Thank you." Maxwell stuttered nervously.