Page 68 of A Mastery of Monsters

I leap back as Margot darts toward me, swinging at my body and head in quick succession.

I’ve gotten faster, because it’s not as hard to duck out of the way as it used to be.

I see an opening and take it, driving forward with an uppercut.

I get her, but all she does is grunt and kick my shin.

I’m expecting it and jump. She raises an eyebrow, and I grin.

I’m rewarded for my confidence by a kick to my opposite shin, which lands. “Don’t get overconfident,” she says.

We’re training on Wolfe Island today, because we’re supposed to be doing the bulk of the setup for the community dinner next Saturday. So this Saturday, the secondhand place where Isaac works will be dropping off everything, and we’re going to head over there after.

Corey and Virgil are on standby for the second and third portions of my training. And since Isaac was already coming to help Mia, Margot insisted that he participate too.

Margot comes at me again, and I lift my guard up, bouncing on the balls of my feet. The moves don’t feel as foreign anymore.

She says, “The last test is always a monster run. You have the basic building blocks of everything you need, but you have to go harder. They’re going to throw in a bunch of experienced Master-monster pairs, who will become obstacles.

But your real challenge will be the other contestants.

This is full combat. Meaning anyone can come at you with weapons.

The society never wants to lose potential Masters, so the aim is for you to focus on the run, but if Caden decides he wants to waste time trying to kill you, they won’t stop it. ”

I falter. “You think he’d go that far?”

Margot throws a hard right hook, and I duck out of the way. “It would not be the first or last time a candidate tried to permanently retire another one.”

Great. And Virgil won’t be in this test with me, so if I go down again, I’ll be on my own.

“Corey,” Margot calls, backing off me.

“Yup!” Corey stands, and we bow to each other before we begin. She’s got on the prosthesis she uses for taekwondo. “Let’s see the high kick. I’ll demonstrate, and you go after.” When she shoots her leg up, she’s able to keep her form and balance better than the first time she showed me. “Now you.”

I stifle a groan and tilt my body, lifting my leg up as high as it’ll go while she walks around me and checks my form. “Not as straight and I’d like, but you could make up for it with power.”

She runs me through drills and then calls out forms while I do my best to keep up.

It’s all things we’ve done before, but her standards for me are higher.

Boxing is difficult because I have to use every ounce of my concentration to counter and anticipate the next move.

But the kicking drills are exhausting and repetitive.

Even so, like with Margot, I know that I’m getting stronger.

“Don’t forget your kihap,” Corey says.

Sometimes I get distracted and forget. I was kind of skeptical of it when she first explained kihap to me—the shout as a focus of energy and power, and an intimidation tool—but I do feel like I kick harder when I do it.

Corey has us do a couple of spars to break up the drills.

She’s at a disadvantage, since she can only kick me with her right leg.

A kick from the prosthetic leg might do some unwanted damage.

Still, it’s difficult to keep up and counter.

She’s fast and when her balance throws her off, she recovers quickly.

I feel like I’ve gotten faster as a result of training with her.

After we finish our last spar, she crosses her arms.

“What?” I ask.

“You need to go to classes when we have more time. My dad would freak out if he knew I was teaching you piecemeal like this. You only know basic forms—”

“Not the time,” Margot interjects.

“It hurts my soul,” Corey groans.

“I’ll go to proper classes after!” I say.

She beams at me. “Good. Next drill!”

While I run through it, Margot continues to discuss the test. “At the beginning of the run, a bunch of monsters will appear and try to stop you from getting past them. Avoid them if you can, and if not, only fight enough to slip past. You’re not at a level to beat anyone.

The challenge is that we don’t know who will be there, and their monster partners will have different specialties. ”

“Like your sparky fists?” I grunt, jumping with a kick.

“No. My ‘sparky fists,’ as you so elegantly called them, are a monster evolution three ability. Not relevant to you until next semester, and Masters in the run don’t have clearance to use any evolution two or three abilities.

Meaning they won’t use speed or strength either.

It’s unfair otherwise, since you won’t have even achieved the first evolution, so don’t worry about it.

This will also be the best time to team up if you’re going to. ”

“I’ll text Violet and Bryce,” I say. She presses her lips into a thin line. “Is that a problem?”

“No. It’s fine. Henry’s seen to their loyalty.” I don’t miss the bitter edge to her words.

After we finished the second test, me and Virgil learned that Margot also wasn’t aware of what Henry set up with them. I don’t know why he wouldn’t tell her, and maybe she doesn’t either.

“Good enough,” Margot says. “Thanks, Corey.” Me and Corey bow to each other to finish. “Virgil, get on your gear and get into position. Isaac, you’ll need to transform. August is going to run down the middle of the field, and you two try to stop her.”

While Virgil gets suited up so he doesn’t get stabbed when I throw knives, and Isaac sets about shifting forms, I catch my breath and stretch.

It’s strange to try to act normal while a person is becoming a giant dog, but I do my best. I’ve been wearing the holsters and knives for all of training, and though they’re lightweight, they’re still a weight, and it gets draining after a while.

Margot continues, “After you get past that first hurdle of monsters, the Master-monster pairs are going to break out into different sections. Do not forget that, first and foremost, this is a race. Do whatever’s necessary to rush to the finish.

Avoid conflict as much as possible. Do you remember Corris from the nomination ceremony? ”

“The one you said to avoid?”

“Yes. Do that. No one ever gets past him. If you see him, backtrack and try another route. He’s the only Master who I can guarantee is in it.”

“He’s that strong? What makes him so special?”

“Despite being on the smaller side, his partner is very good at defense. Their size is a strength, actually. They’re faster than larger monsters would be, and that also means you can’t dart between their legs.

And the tusks on them are the worst bit.

Any way you get close, you’re more likely to get skewered.

Plus, they’re not offensive. When you go on the offense, you also leave yourself open.

They never do. It’s like combating an impenetrable wall.

You’re more likely to both waste time and end up exhausted.

It’s better to just run. Depending on your second test scores, you might not even need panel votes if you come first.”

I wish they would release the scores at the end of the test so I would know where I stand.

Instead, I’m in this weird limbo. Not unlike everything with Jules, which I’ve been avoiding thinking about so I don’t get distracted.

But it’s hard not to. Virgil and Isaac didn’t find anyone.

The other monster and Jules got away. And the only thing I got is “You know.” What does that even mean?

I know what happened to Jules? Or I know who the Masters are?

Or I know who the other monster is? Or I know… something else?

“Let’s run it!” Margot directs me to the beginning of the long expanse of field.

Virgil and Isaac are positioned at different spots.

I swallow, looking at Isaac in his monster form staring down at me.

Even knowing he wouldn’t hurt me doesn’t change how unsettling it is to be face-to-face with a monster.

“It’ll be wide open like this to start. You’ll have foliage cover after to help, but this will be the roughest bit.

” Margot blows the whistle around her neck, short first, and then the long one.

I dart forward and am immediately met by Isaac, who I throw several knives at as fast as possible. As he moves left to avoid them, I sprint right. But he’s unfazed and spins around and gives me an almost insultingly gentle shove with his front paw. I stumble back onto my ass, caught off guard.

“You can’t fall,” Margot says. “It is extremely difficult to get back up. Any candidate who wants to take you out will have an easy job if you fall. Restart.”

Isaac gives me the most ridiculous sad puppy dog look. I’m being pitied by someone who currently has almost as many teeth as a shark.

“Stop looking guilty! She’s training!”

We set it up again, and this time when I start the run, I stick with the strategy of unleashing my knives.

None of them actually hit, but they’re good distractions.

I also keep one in my hand to make Isaac evade while I attempt to sprint between his legs.

He stumbles, and I falter to avoid cutting him.

Margot says, “He’s a monster! He’s tough! There’s no time to hesitate!”

For my concern about him, Isaac rewards me by sweeping my legs out from underneath me with a casual swish of his tail. I go down.

“You can’t f—”

“I know! Fuck.” I get to my feet and start again.

And we do this over and over. I finally manage to dart between Isaac’s massive legs and reach Virgil when someone barrels into me from the side. I tumble onto the grass. I look up, my mouth wide open at Corey.

“Sorry,” she says, holding her hands out in front of her. “Margot told me to.”

I glare at my trainer.

“Pay attention to your surroundings!” Margot says. “You think Caden won’t use this chaos to take you down? Restart!”

By the time we finish, my legs feel like Jell-O, I am bruised, and any ego I developed in the beginning of the session when I realized my progress has died a long, painful death.

“I think you did pretty good,” Corey says as we pack into the car.

I shoot her a look. “How did that meeting with the book guy go, by the way?”

She rolls her eyes. “He didn’t show.”

“Seriously?” Virgil asks.

I say, “So is the one you have a fake or a copy?”

Corey asks, “What do you mean?”

“Well, does Henry want the authentic book to collect, or does he just want to know what’s in it?”

She bites her lip. “He never said. I assumed he wanted the actual journal, but if it’s about subject matter… then I just need to confirm the contents. August! You’re a genius.”

I grin. “I know.”

When we arrive at the barn, Margot zeroes in on Mia, crossing her arms while she watches Isaac almost fall over himself rushing toward the girl.

“Are you going into battle?” Mia asks, and I look down. Shit, I forgot to change out of my holsters. I guess I’m getting more used to the weight than I thought.

“Just practicing,” I say.

She slips one of the knives out of a holster and runs her finger along the edge. “I can sharpen these for you too.” I ignore the aghast look that Margot throws me.

Mia tests the weight of the blade in her hand, and then tosses it hard at the opposite wall.

It sticks. And though she did it fast, I swear she had perfect form.

I stare at her, open-mouthed. “You can throw?”

“Beginner’s luck,” she says with a smile, then whispers so only I can hear, “Also, don’t tell anyone, but I kind of wanted to impress his sister.”

As Mia retrieves my blade, I glance out of the corner of my eye at Margot, who’s appraising the girl differently now. Mia hands it back to me with a smile, and I slip it into my holster.

I’m shocked that she’s actually into Isaac. I hate to say it, but maybe Virgil did successfully teach him something.

Or Mia just likes nice boys who work at antique stores.

Still… that throw was a lot more than beginner’s luck.

“How are you doing?” Virgil comes up next to me. Mia is doling out orders, and we’ve been tasked with helping move in the tables. Virgil lifts one with me, though either of us could have done it alone.

“Fine, I guess.” Though he’s checking on me, Virgil himself isn’t looking too hot. For one, his pants are wrinkled instead of perfectly pressed with a crease down the front, and there’s a strain around the corners of his eyes. “You?”

He shrugs. “You know, exams coming up. Though I guess that’s more for you. Lots of essays for me. Also, a test that’ll determine the fate of my life.”

“Right. How’s stuff with Henry? Is he still pissed?”

“I haven’t spoken to him since, but I’m sure he’s fine. I know it’s taken me a bit to come around to it, but some rules are meant to be broken.” His eyes meet mine, holding my gaze. “Sometimes it’s worth it.”

There are multiple feet between us, but it’s like we’re only an inch apart.

My hands get sweaty, and I struggle to keep a hold of the table, licking lips that aren’t even dry.

I need to win on Friday. There’s no other option.

I can’t lose my chance to help Jules.

And I can’t lose Virgil either.