"And we are doing this because?" I half whine, taking my stance in the middle of the mat. I plant my feet firmly apart, hands out defensively.

     "The increase in attacks," Kristoff states firmly. "I have been lax in your self defense training due to you ability. This has left you vulnerable. Aryn plans on utilizing you in this fight against whatever these demons are planning. I don't want to risk you getting killed because I didn't train you properly."

     I nod, signaling that I am ready to begin. He signals me forward and I advance, watching his feet for any sign of his first move. He hesitates, faking left before nailing me in the jaw with a strong right hook.

     "You need to be quicker than that," he warns. He ducks, missing the punch I had thrown at him. Having been expecting to make contact with my target I stumble, feeling my lip split wide open as I slam face first into the hard brick wall of the sparring room.

     "Why?" I wipe away the blood, ignoring the burning as sweat reached the open cut. Ignore the pain in my jaw. "I am a walking self defense mechanism. Demon tries to touch me without permission and POOF! no more demon."

     "What if one catches you off guard?" he asks.

     He shifts and swings. I move to avoid the hit and, just before I have time to gloat, catch the heel of his boot dead center to my chest. It knocks me back a few feet, forcing the lungs out of my air as my back hits the ground.

     "You're reckless," he states. "Just like your mother."  

     I lay there for a moment, half due to the fact that my lungs are burning and the other due to the fact that he just mentioned my mother. Something he has never done before.

     "How well did you know her?" I ask, pulling myself up a bit. "You never really talk about her. Or let me talk about her. In fact, the last time I asked about her you put me on bathroom duty for a whole month."

     "She's not a subject I care to speak about often," he admits. His eyes go a bit hazy, as if he is focusing on a once forgotten memory. "I didn't know her as well as I would have liked to. Your mother she was, withdrawn. She only spoke when she needed to and even then it was hard to get more than two words out of her. You two are...very different."

     "How did you meet?"

     "Your mother showed up here when she was sixteen" he begins. "Despite the fact that we were trying to pass this place off as a 'mental hospital', she knew exactly what we were doing here and why. She had this thing about her...this gift. She always seemed to know when there was something non human near. It didn't matter if it was the lowest level pit demon or an archangel, your mother knew. She could feel them from miles away. It made her an amazing hunter. "

      "Was she...was she like me? Was she-"

     "Mixed with some form of hell demon?" He shakes his head. "I don't think so. She refused to tell me anything about her past. About her family. Just showed up one day and kind of fell into place here. I was surprised when she left. One day she was taking down a horde of demons and, the next, she was gone. Left no trace that she had ever been here."

     I pull myself off the floor, crossing the room to take a sip from my water bottle. The ice water glides across my lips, easing the pain from the swelling.

     "She left?"

     "Yes. She was gone for four years. I reached out to every contact I had but no one could find her. It was like she just disappeared." He motions to the mat and I resume my spot. "The next time she showed up she had you with her. Wouldn't tell me much about your father, just kept saying she had made a mistake. I took her back in without hesitation."

     "And that was it?" I begin to circle him. "She just showed up with me and you took her back in?"

     "Pretty much. I tired to get her to tell me where she had been and why she left but she refused to talk about it. She was different. Jumpy. Reckless. It's what got her killed. That's when she told me who your father was. She was bleeding out in the street after trying to take on one too many demons alone and she kept repeating 'he was the devil' over and over again. I still can't figure out if she was being literal or if it was just from blood loss. All I know is that your father was some form of Hell demon. Now, can we get back to work?"

     I fight the urge to press the issue, ask more questions, but I don't. Kristoff has refused all attempts to talk to me about my mother in the past and I don't wan to risk this being the last time simply because I pushed too hard.

     He swings and I duck, moving so that I am able to deliver a hit to his side. He stumbles a bit and I lunge, shoulder aimed towards his gut. He dodges away from it turns with enough time to take my legs out from underneath me. I hit the ground again, the room now spinning due to the fact that my head hit the floor so hard.

     "See, reckless." He stands over me shaking his head in disappointment. "This isn't the last practice we will have. If I don't believe that you are ready to handle this I will not let you join Aryn. No arguments."

     He walks away, leaving me in pain and alone with my thoughts. For the second time this week someone has let me know exactly how ill prepared I am. Has formed a plan for me to go to war against demons gunning for my throat.

     "Marcus!" I hear Kristoff yell as he exits the room. "Go patch Makenna up."

     I close my eyes, counting Marcus's footsteps as he grows closer. Listen as he lets out an exhausted sigh. I don't need to open my eyes to know the look that is on his face. It is the same one he has every time Kristoff and I train. The one telling me I need to practice more and run my mouth less. I don't need to open my eyes to see all of this, but I do.

     "Stay still," he orders. "This shouldn't take too long."

     "Don't," I argue. I roll onto my stomach, pushing myself up so that I am standing. My muscles cry out in pain, sore from the beating I just took. "Don't worry about it."

     "Mak, stop being stubborn and let me heal you."

     "I said don't worry about it."

     "Fine." He throws his hands up in retreat. "I'm not doing this with you today. You want to suffer? Fine, suffer. I honestly don't give a shit anymore."

      I watch as he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

A/n: hey guys! Don't forget to comment, vote, follow and show this book some love!!!