The Shadow Kingdom

Chapter 19 - Trial By Fire

Two days after arriving in China, I have started basic training. The women who were with me on the Neptune Empress, they call themselves the Sirens. They are Praesidium's warrior elite, the Navy SEALs. And Adrian wants me to enlist. "New girl, you know what you need to do?" Isabella asks.

"Swim across the Yangtze." I answer. "It's not rocket science." These women get up at six every morning to work out. Their idea of an exercise is swimming twenty kilometers from the northern coast of Chongming, to Jiangsu on the other side of the river and back. Even by waterweaver standards, that is crazy.

"You still owe me twenty bucks." I remind Diana. She is the first to dive, and I follow. I quickly surpass her on the first stretch. My pride grows, knowing that I am the fastest swimmer if nothing else. Diana and I touch the other shore at the same time, and I waste no time continuing back.

On the way back however, my muscles begin to fail me. The water becomes thicker for some reason, and I fall behind as the others pass me one-by-one. By the time I make it back to Chongming, I am in sixth place and utterly exhausted. "You think the rest of us can't swim as fast you?" Diana stands beside me while I lie on the ground panting for dear life. "We pace ourselves. The slower we go, the longer we can last. You're lucky you make it back to shore."

After I regain the strength to stand, we return to Seven Hills and jog around the perimeter of the estate in the thick snow. Diana leads the pack while I can barely stay warm. The others deliberately slow down so that I can keep up. "Come on princess, we don't have all day for this!" Vanessa shouts. I muster the endurance to finish one lap but vomit violently at the end. I adamantly refuse to continue with whatever torture they have planned next. "Maybe we should get your fancy boyfriend. You look as though you could use a bit of his blood right about now."

"Burn in hell!" I scream at the bitch. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You are my problem!" Vanessa gets right in my face. "The only reason you're here is because you're sleeping with the crown prince. I sized you up the moment I saw you; you're not one of us."

Isabella pulls her away from me – thankfully. Screaming at Vanessa used up even more of what little strength I had left. Isabella offers me some water as I'm bent over, gasping for breath. "Thank you," I mutter.

"Don't let Vanessa get to you. She's the black sheep of the family. She doesn't like anybody. The fact that your last name is Ashcroft doesn't help either."

"I'm not one of them." My words stutter through the pants. "I hate them more than you do."

"Not as much as Vanessa does. Believe me." Merciful relief washes over me as we return to the warmth of Seven Hills. We travel to the backyard to practice hand-to-hand combat. "You should take a breather. Don't push yourself too hard on the first day." I nod gratefully. I sit back and watch the others practice killing and maiming.

With her prodigal gift, Diana is without question the best fighter in the group. Each of the women takes turns going up against her one-on-one and eventually two-on-one. Diana dispatches each of them almost as easily as she would dispatch me. Isabella is the only one who offers some real resistance.

Watching the two of them spar is like watching a gladiatorial battle. Isabella compensates for Diana's supernatural speed and dexterity the same way that I do, by using strategy. She knows Diana has the advantage, so she avoids each of Diana's blows and retreats whenever Diana advances. In the end, it becomes a battle of attrition.

Every time Diana misses her target, she wears herself out a little bit. Isabella on the over hand conserves her stamina, which she clearly has much more of than I do. In the final match, Diana is drenched in sweat and visibly annoyed by Isabella's patience. She makes one critical mistake of charging at Isabella without sure-footing, and Isabella seizes the long-awaited opportunity. In one graceful movement, Isabella spins and trips Diana. Diana falls to the floor, and Isabella stomps on Diana's face hard enough to break her nose. That was the first and only time Diana yielded.