Dance with the Devil

•Chapter 10•

Brylee

I couldn't breathe.

My lungs desperately craved air, but as much as I inhaled it wasn't enough. My legs burned, my wrapped knuckles were bleeding, my entire body screamed for me to stop what I was doing.

But I didn't stop. Luca moved with exact precision, blocking each one of my jabs and kicks that I attempted to throw at him. His eyes glowed a deep amber, like burning embers in a fire.

We were in the forest near my house, near where we first met. The night was cold and crisp, yet all I wore was a sports bra and some athletic capris. My body was slick with sweat, but it seemed as if Luca wasn't even close to out of breath.

We had been at this for hours now. After getting dressed, I met him in the woods where we did some stretching along with a mile-long jog. A whole mile.

After I got a drink of water, he beckoned me over.

"Everything begins with your stance," he said after I came over. Luca bent down and showed me an example of what he was talking about.

"If you're right-handed, then you're going to have your left foot out in front and vice versa if you're left-handed," he looked at me, expecting a reply. I gave him a nod, which seemed to satisfy him because he returned to his full height.

"Okay, now let's see your stance," he said.

I attempted to imitate what Luca had done. He stepped towards me and repositioned my arms. "Keep your elbows in, your power comes from your core. And make sure to raise your hands to about your chin," he added, before moving my thumbs so that they were curled underneath my fingers, rather than loose on the outside. He backed up a few feet and crossed his massive arms over his broad chest.

"You're able to keep low for awhile, which is good. Make sure to keep your knees bent at all times, your kicks will be stronger if they come from your hind-end," he instructed, assessing my body once more before motioning towards my fists again.

"Your left hand is your jab and your right is your power," Luca said.

After gauging my stance once more, he instructed me to demonstrate a punch with my power. I took a second to remember that that was my right hand and sent out a quick punch, even feeling the clumsiness in it.

Luca looked amused, with his mouth slightly upturned at the corners. "That actually wasn't terrible, it was just more of a jab, quick and not as much power behind it," he said, walking over to me.

He placed his hands on my hips, rotating them a bit, "Try it again, but rotate your hips when you do. Here, punch my hand."

"Won't that hurt you?"

"If it was going to hurt me I wouldn't have told you to do it. Now come on, we're wasting moonlight."

I took a breath and lowered into my stance before punching his palm as hard as I could, turning my hips as I did. His hand flew back a foot or so, which was better than not moving at all. He gave a grunt of approval. "Better; we'll keep working on it."

I hit his hand a few more times before we worked on defense and blocking, and after that we began to spar. I took a breath, wiping my face which was dripping with sweat. We kept moving, me throwing punches and him blocking all of them. I threw a fake with my right and, as Luca moved to block it and left his face open, I swung with all my might with my left. 

I expected to hit the demon, but before I could blink he had his hand wrapped around my fist, his face stretched into a smirk. 

"Good thought, but you need to be quicker than that if you'd ever like to actually land a hit."

 I ripped my hand out of his grasp with a huff. "I'll get you one of these times," I muttered. He shook his head before glancing upwards. I followed his gaze and saw how the sky was lightening. He turned to me, "We'll end with that. I'll be seeing you soon." He dipped his head and disappeared.

I sighed and walked over to the tree where I'd placed my water bottle and jacket. Picking them up, I began my trek home. My body ached as I moved and sweat dripped from my pores. I wiped the back of my neck with my jacket as I walked up my driveway. As quietly as possible, I cracked the front door open just wide enough to slip in before I closed it. 

"Where have you been?"

I spun around to see Kayden sitting on the couch. The TV was turned on to some show. His eyebrow was lifted and a smirk was planted on his face.

"Oh, I-uh, I went for a run."

"Bullshit," he snorted. I frowned, narrowing my eyes.

"Watch your mouth, Kayden Michael." 

He rolled his eyes, turning back towards the TV. "Whatever." 

I blew out a breath as I made my way into the dining room. Lying had never come easily to me, and even now a pang of guilt hit my chest at what I'd just done. I dropped my jacket and water bottle on the dining table on my way into the kitchen. 

"Why are you even up this early, Kay?" I called out as I grabbed some cereal and poured it into a bowl.

He didn't respond for a few moments, and when he did it was so muffled I couldn't make it out. I furrowed my brow and walked out into the living room, bowl of cereal in hand. "What'd ya say?" I said, plopping down on the couch next to him. 

He scoffed at me when he saw the cereal. "Eating cereal dry is unnatural."

"No, eating gross, soggy cereal is unnatural."

"Oh, bite me."

A smirk spread across my face as I shoved a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "That didn't answer my question, dummy."

An uncomfortable look came upon him and he shifted his gaze from the TV to his hands. "I dunno," he mumbled, "I just couldn't sleep."

I sighed, "I get the nightmares too, kid."

He furrowed his brow, looking back at the TV without another word. I finished eating in silence, giving Kayden's forehead a chaste kiss as I made my way into the kitchen. I washed out my bowl and walked upstairs to my room. Collapsing on my bed, sleep immediately overtook me.