Chapter 7

“I need to drop something in my room quick,” I told the guard at my side. I figured my sidearm would be enough for now. As we walked up the stairs, I asked a question that had been bugging me, “What kind of animal are you, Petra?”

“River otter,” was her reply. I jumped when something smacked my ass hard. I looked over to see the mischievous grin on her face and the tail swinging quickly back and forth. “Nice ass,” was her only remark as we continued up the stairs.

When we entered my room, I noticed the weapon cases were stacked at the foot of the bed. Petra seemed intrigued by them but chose not to ask. I grabbed a rifle case and opened it to store the M4 I’d been carrying. “What are those,” asked Petra as she took note of the other three M4s in the case.

Still in military mode from the meeting, “Colt M4 fully automatic carbine chambered in 5.56 caliber. The primary weapon of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.” She looked puzzled as I stopped and reset myself. “Sorry, that kinda just came out on reflex. Back home, I was a Marine for my country before becoming something like a city guard, and these are some of the weapons I used in both.”

“We should get moving; the testing needs to be completed. Training can wait until after shopping tomorrow, but the testing needs to be complete. Our first stop will be the armory. It’s back downstairs and outback by the training field. Now follow me.” She motioned for me to follow as she walked out of my room. After I finished locking the case, I followed Petra down the stairs and back outside.

As we walked the halls toward the back of the house, I decided to make small talk, “I’m curious how you know everyone. I’m sure Shalyndria told you how I met everyone, even the difficult parts,” I started off the conversation.

With a small, sad smile, she started, “Well, I grew up in a small village just outside the capitol. As is tradition, when I turned 15, the mayor tested me with an espial orb similar to you. They gave me two choices to learn to control my magic, either the mage academy or the Royal guard. I chose the guard and spent two years learning and honing my skills. I took my place in the ranks three years before our Princess was born.” I froze at this tidbit of information. I knew Shalyndria was only 19 from our previous talks. Doing the math in my head, I was shocked to realize Petra was 40 years old!

After going a few yards down the hall, she realized I wasn’t beside her anymore and looked back. I asked the question burning through my brain, “How old are you, Petra? I’m 25, and I’m hoping my math is off, or I misheard you. I’d guess you at around my age.”

Chuckling, she replied, “I was born on the 13^th day of the 8^th lunar cycle of year 298 of the current era. I am 40 years old as of last month, and I’ll take the compliment with a grain of salt since you have no idea how to tell the age of a beast-man.” She laughed with that musical quality while I caught up as we continued out the door into the training yard. We entered the armory, and I was awestruck. Every bladed and blunt weapon I could think of, and a few I’d never even imagined, lined the walls with wooden counterparts for training beneath them.

Petra walked over and grabbed a longsword before turning to me, “Grab a longsword, spear, halberd, and one or two others you are already familiar with or that speaks to you, then meet me outside. We’ll see how good you are when I put you on your cute ass,” chuckling as she walked back outside. I grabbed the requested weapons before looking around the room again. I took my time, running my hands over some while checking the heft and feel of others. I was overjoyed when I found a katana and immediately placed its bokken counterpart near the door with the others before looking again. I did one last round before leaving.

Back in a corner covered in dust, I found a pair of kukris with 24-inch blades. I had limited experience with these weapons, but my gut said to take them. I pulled the wooden ones off the wall and walked over to the door. Petra was looking over my selections when I walked up behind her. I admired her taut ass and wondered how her tail worked for a moment before she turned, finding me staring at her ass. A glint of mischief followed the smirk that crossed her face, “Find what you’re looking for finally?” She asked as she grabbed the swords and spear from the ground and walked outside.

I grabbed the halberd, following her into a large ring, and laid the weapons next to the others. I unhooked my duty belt and drop legs, placing them on the ground outside the circle, and started to stretch for our sparring. Once I stepped back into the ring, she was suddenly there, throwing a punch at my face. I jumped to the side, shocked when she started her instruction, “They claim you mastered three martial arts. Let us see if you’re as full of shit as I think.” The look on her face was severe and mocking. “No magic enhancement either. These tests are your base skills that will tell me what you need to learn and what you need to maintain. Magic enhancements will give you the edge against most enemies. However, if you face someone trained and capable of using enhancement, unless you’re a match for skill, you will die.” Petra then shot forward again with a flurry of strikes.

I used my experience and skill to read her movements, but her unfamiliar body-type gave me trouble. Fortunately, my reflexes were up to the challenge, and I was barely able to block and dodge her strikes. Defense was all I could muster as I started to look for openings and weak spots I could use to launch an attack of my own.

Her stance and guard were near perfect. I then realized I’d have to do something drastic and risky to get an edge here. I had been looking at the center of her chest the entire time, to see the whole body, and realized a weakness. She never used her feet or knees to attack or defend. Her footwork was superb, but they never left the ground. I took a chance and looked her in the eyes. Finding them focused on mine, I formed a plan.

I dropped to my hands and one knee using a spinning sweep to take both her legs out from under her. I executed an in place rolling ax kick as soon as I felt her feet leave the ground against my calf. Her back hit the ground at the same time as my heel collided with her chest plate hard. I jumped to my feet, settled into my stance, and waited for her to stand.

As she got to her feet, I noticed the mocking look was gone from her face while the seriousness seemed more profound. She nodded to me before speaking, “I see you’re not all talk. That was impressive. One more round before we switch to weapons.” I nodded then surged forward myself taking the initiative this time, hoping to impress her. She was ready, however, and sidestepped the front kick I had aimed at her midsection. The following muay thai kick with the same leg slipped through, impacting her rib area. This time I was on the attack while Petra could only defend. After a few exchanges, I noticed her stamina starting to flag, and I capitalized on that. I slid inside her next punch, grabbed the sides of her breastplate, then threw myself back in a sacrifice throw, sending her over my head.

I kept hold after pushing her over with my foot. I then rolled, so I was on top of her in a mount position, striking toward her throat. She froze beneath me as she registered my fingers lightly pressed on her throat. I noticed her pupils dilated, and her breath quickened when she registered my weight on her. After a moment, I stood and offered her a hand up that she took gratefully.