The Mayaware's reign has to end.
In a world of demonic beings with a hunger for human flesh, and thirst for blood, Hesi Renen knows it well. When her siblings are taken to the harvesting farms, she must do everything she can to get them out, even if...
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Hesi raised her arms to protect her face. "Pretend I'm a Mayaware," she instructed. "Where would you hit?"
"From the side," Tagara said, her mouth set in a thin line as she ran her eyes down Hesi's frame. Out of all the brides, Tagara was the quickest study when it came to close combat. It was as if, like Hesi, she was born for this.
Hesi bobbed her head. "Correct," she said. "Where exactly?"
"Between the frills and the cheek," the bride answered.
Hesi pursed her lips. "Do it."
A blur of umber sped in Hesi's periphery. She raised her arm and blocked a significant punch. Pain shot up her wrist but it didn't break. Thankfully. Something rustled and another woosh of wind shot towards her. A leg? She gritted her teeth, pivoting her wrist around Tagara's arm at the same time, blocking the bride's knee aimed for her gut. With a grunt, Hesi tightened her grip on both limbs and swung the Tagara down, pinning her to the floor.
"I didn't tell you about the kick," Hesi grinned as she edged off Tagara and offered the bride a hand. Tagara took it and Hesi helped her up. "Are you watching Isueri?"
Behind them, the other brides whom Hesi paired together were practicing the basic maneuvers she taught them. They were the least these women needed to know when facing off with a demon. And as she found out earlier, none of them save for Hesi had an actual encounter with a Mayaware, much less fought one and lived.
"I figured I should learn as much as I can," Tagara rolled her shoulders. Sweat glistened on her neck and dotted her hairline. Unlike the times they attended Yobekh's lecturers, all of them were back to their desert attire—much to the chagrin of their maids—and had been going at it since the midday meal was served.
They all had been more than eager when Hesi brought the topic of their next trial and offered to teach them experiential wisdom in dealing with an overgrown snake. She then had them demonstrate their strongest punch and from there, she determined which trajectory to approach each one of them from.
As she had taught Pai and Unsu for the briefest time they could spare in between foraging, traveling, and running for their lives, she had honed her material to a fault. It shouldn't be too hard to coach more people.
That's how they ended up turning their communal room into a practice hall. They had covered the windows with all the spare fabric they could encounter. They didn't want to have a Mayaware maid walking in on them and discovering their activities. It would prompt the question of why they're training as if they knew the next trial. And when that line of inquiry popped up, fingers would start pointing to Hesi.
It wouldn't be a far-off outcome. Hesi was using them just as much as they were using her. And like her, they wouldn't hesitate to rat her out should she prove to be a source of their downfall. She knew, because she was prepared to do the same.
