Sin of the Saint

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: REVIVAL

"Glad to see you back at school, Young Olivia—I was beginning to believe you were planning to stand us all up at the dawn of the apocalypse." Coach Luther said as Liv threw her gym bag down on the ground of the martial arts room.

She tightened the wraps around her wrists and palms, "Nah...I wouldn't do that. I just had a little cold."

"That lasted a whole week?" he chuckled, raising a stern eyebrow.

"Had a bit of a fever, too," Liv shrugged with a hint of a humorous grin on her lips. "Took me a bit to kick it that time."

Coach Luther looked at her seriously as Liv neared him, "So...you've accepted your fate with both arms then? It certainly seems that way...the way you're brushing off that "cold.""

Liv sighed but looked him in the eye, "Yes."

"So, you've found the resolve to go back into the ring when you're practically destined to lose every time?"

"I have to."

"Why is that?" Coach Luther questioned, more for the reason of provoking her resolve.

Liv swallowed, "It's the job that Charity left for me to do. She believed in me, and I realized that I should, too."

"Even if you die?"

Liv nodded, "I've done it twice now...and there's a large possibility that I may have to die many more times. Not many humans can say that, so that makes me special, I think."

Coach Luther finally smiled, "Are you ready to get started then?"

"Yes sir."

Taekwondo. Krav Maga. Karate. Aikido. Kickboxing. Bo-Jutsu. Jiujitsu.

All martial arts names that went right over Liv's head.

But bits and pieces of each, she realized the next few weeks, would better prepare her for her next meeting with Cupid after the upcoming bout between the next Saint and Sin. She'd explained to Coach Luther her concerns about having been disarmed so easily by Cupid in their last fight, and the psychological effect it had on her.

Coach Luther, she learned, was well-equipped with the kind of knowledge that would make that a non-issue, and in the face of this new information, Liv felt that her little burnout was nothing but a temper tantrum.

She learned such things as:

"Your staff, Young Olivia, is just an extension of the weapon that your body is. Your body can be just as dangerous as any sword or blade if you apply the right force in the right circumstances."

"Reversing your own center gravity on him may topple him over quicker than you think. Takedown moves are effective in situations where you may not have a weapon. It'll stun him just long enough to retrieve your own staff."

"Typical self-defense does not effectively work against these Sins...though they have fleshy bodies like you and I, they are fortified by the power of their patrons...the horsemen of the apocalypse. So please, do not shove the heel of your palm into his nose—I promise that will not work."

Among many other things.

One day, in very late October, Liv noticed her wings darkening in the mirror as she got dressed one morning. It was a casual-dress day since that night was the school-wide Halloween party, and didn't need to wear her uniform. Liv didn't know what to do with this freedom, but she saw her black wings through the white fabric of one of her shirts.

She sighed—it was after Veteran's Day anyway. She took the shirt off and threw it across the room into a box full of Spring and Summer clothing. She pulled on a plain black t-shirt and headed to school.