Heart Ward

Chapter Three

The girl was obviously Fred's daughter. She flowed with the same economy of movement, the same grace. I leaned against the door, enjoying what I was seeing. She was playing to his ego, taking it easy on him, allowing him to feel like he had a chance at beating her. It was cute. High-school, but cute. And the kind of thing that would get your butt kicked in Guard training.

Her legs were toned under tight workout pants, her arms sinewy and muscled in an old grey tee shirt. Her warm blonde hair was in two long, messy braids that flew as she twirled, moving effortlessly from a Tang Soo Do strike into a complicated Capoeira form, cartwheeling around her partner to knock him back a few feet with a macaco roundoff ending in a kick to his shoulder.

She laughed, clearly enjoying herself, and I couldn't help grinning in response. Fred had probably started training the girl as soon as she could walk. The guy didn't stand a chance. Even as he stepped up his attack, wrapping her in his arms, that much was clear.

Seconds later, the kid was on the ground. The girl hadn't pulled any of her punches, using some fierce Krav Maga moves to lay him up. The guy was going to have bruises come nightfall, if they weren't forming already. He knew he was beat, too, and threw his arms out wide across the grass in classic surrender.

I had to work to keep from laughing, and clapped instead, definitely having enjoyed the show. I forgot to take the girl's recent brush with the Shades into account – you could practically see her hackles raise when she realized someone had been watching them and she dropped down into a defensive stance without thinking.

She looked up at me, an angry scowl on her face. I couldn't help it. It was like being growled at by a puppy. Something about her was so innocent, so fresh, the glare surprised me and I laughed. Her eyes narrowed and I figured a compliment might smooth things over.

"That was awesome!" I clapped a few more times. "I don't think I've seen anyone get owned like that in at least a year." The boy didn't think I was funny, apparently, and growled as he staggered back to his feet.

"Can we help you?" the girl demanded coldly.

"On the contrary," I said, pushing away from the building and walking down the steps, moving slowly so as not to frighten her. "I believe I am here to help you." I smiled at her as I approached, figuring that ought to help her see I was a friend and not foe.

"Really?" the friend drawled. "And how could you possibly help us? Vala sent for a trained Light Guard. You want us to believe they sent you instead? You don't look any older than us."

The girl watched me come closer through wisps of hair. I couldn't see her eyes clearly, and I felt the strangest urge to push her hair out of her face. Probably not a wise move, I decided, and made my body stay relaxed. She still hadn't dropped her defensive stance.

"He has a point. Show us what you can do," the girl said, stretching out her hand and beckoning me towards her like someone out of an old Kung Fu movie.

This, I could work with. I smiled and launched into some basic lasair, a specialized form of fae martial arts that integrated dancelike moves and acrobatics in a way that made Brazilian capoeira look positively remedial. The word itself meant "flash of light," which is exactly what the fleeting moves would look like if your brain could process what was happening before you were taken down.

I went easy on her, making sure I didn't throw her anything she couldn't handle. Then, I decided what the hell, and grabbed her from behind in a classic old-Norse wrestling move straight out of a glima handbook. Moments later, she was flat on her back, pinned under me while I straddled her hips.