Secret (Alec Lightwood)

Chapter 2

A couple hours later, I find my way back to the weaponry with my small box in hand. I open it up and take out my throwing runes.

Deciding to go with the blindness one, I grab my stele and walk over to one of the dummies. It's larger than the one I have in my room, more demon-like.

I take my stele from my pocket and draw an animation rune on the forehead.

The dummy springs to life as I turn around and walk across the room.

To try and make it more realistic, as if I were actually taking on a bunch of demons, I animate a few more, give some of them weapons, and lay a few weapons on the ground around the room.

"Attack," I say, giving the dummies the command to fight me.

They all charge at me as I whip out my dagger and start slashing at one that's right about to hit me.

I stick my dagger into the stomach of the dummy, then kick it in the stomach. It doubles-over, simulating what a demon would do.

I put my foot on its back and jump over it, leaping for a weapon I laid on the ground just a few feet away.

I grab the sword and turn around to throw it at the demon. When I do throw it, it hits right in the center of the head.

The dummy falls to the ground silently.

I take my dagger and the sword from the dummy as another approaches me, a knife in its hands. I throw my dagger at it and hit it in the center of the forehead. It falls to the ground.

I grab a sword laying on the ground only inches away from me and throw it at the last-standing dummy, hitting it in the center of the stomach. I run up to it, tear the sword from its stomach, and stab it in the chest.

It falls to the ground, playing dead like the other two.

"Holy crap," someone says from the doorway.

I turn and see Alec standing there, watching me. I turn away and walk over to a dummy while pulling out my stele. "What?"

"That was really impressive."

"I wasn't trying to impress anyone," I say as I draw the rune to make the dummy inanimate again.

"I know, but still. How'd you learn to do that?"

I walk over to another dummy and draw another rune before answering. "Some of it I learned, some of it I've seen, and some of it I taught myself."

"How?"

I shrug as I walk over to the final dummy and make it inanimate while pulling my dagger from its forehead. "It just kinda happened."

"How long have you been able to fight like that?"

I sigh as I begin to pick up the weapons that are scattered around the room. "Three years, maybe? Possibly four? I don't know, I lost track."

"You must've had some really talented teachers."

"I'm more skilled than all of my teachers combined. Every time I bested a teacher, my parents had to hire a new one."

"How many did you go through?"

I count for a moment in my head, remembering all my past teachers. "Six."

"Holy crap." He looks at the small box I have sitting on the table. "What's that?"

"My throwing runes. You wanna see one?"

He nods and walks over as I grab the small box off the table and take out the blindness rune, holding it by a small piece of rubber. "If I touch it directly, I'll get the effect of it. So I put some rubber on for a little handle."