Page 45 of Marked

"Consider it an incentive to sharpen your instincts." Blair was moving again, light as the shadows that Blake harbored, already gone from where she'd spoken.

"Great. Because nothing enhances warrior focus like fear of an ambush titty twist. "

She smacked the back of his head lightly at his comment and moved her hand to her dagger, pulling it out slowly.

"Okay! See, now that, that was rude," he said dramatically, rubbing the back of his head and then freezing. "No fair, Damien, you can't be in the ring!"

What? Blair paused her dagger now in the air. "What makes you think he's here?"

"Don't be coy. I can sense him , remember ?

His shadow has a certain 'dark and angry' vibe.

So if you guys were planning on ganging up on me.

." He continued, rubbing the back of his skull and frowning.

".. there's probably no way I'll win, but it kind of makes me want to try harder.

" Blake closed his mouth and breathed in slowly.

The air moved as he shifted left and kicked, almost making contact.

It’s like Damien. He senses the same thing for both of them. "Ooh," Blair said, breaking her train of thought and moving her attention back to the task at hand as his foot grazed her. "Close."

"Close doesn't feed the ego," Blake muttered. "Close gets my nipple pinched."

She circled again, keeping her dagger out, and this time, he caught the faintest tickle of movement around his left shoulder. He dropped low and swept his leg, catching her ankle. "If you guys stay next to each other like that, it will be easy."

Okay. So, let’s move it away. Blair let out a surprised "Hmph!" and leaped back, regaining her balance .

"Progress!" he cheered, arms raised in blind victory. "Mark it down, Damien. I'm winning."

A moment passed. Then, whap, another light smack to the back of his head. "Or you're losing." Blair said as she giggled.

"Damn it!" he shouted, bringing up his hands in karate motions, chopping the air around him. Blake scowled under the blindfold. "You know what else makes me sloppy? Blunt force head trauma," he yelled.

Blair laughed again, moving back to her bag and sheathing the dagger, to hide its presence. Now let’s see what happens.

"Focus. You're starting to anticipate. That's good. Now, do it without talking so much." She slipped back into her movements, circling around him.

"Hey, where did Damien go?" Blake paused, moving his head from side to side as if he could see anything in front of him. "I don't like this."

I knew it. She didn't answer but moved again, soundless now.

Blake's brow furrowed. He steadied his breath, pushing out the noise of his thoughts. He felt for the absence. The void. The part of the air around him that wasn't quite right.

He struck out with a palm… and felt his hand brush cloth.

Contact.

Then came another smack, this time square to his forehead .

He froze, a grin slowly spreading across his face. He put one hand on his hip, then popped it out and twirled his finger in a circle. "You're just mad I'm improving."

Blair laughed, exposing her location for a brief second. "You're just mad you can't beat me or Damien," she countered as she continued to move.

"Fair. I concede. I admit, I need more practice." he admitted, clasping his hands together and dropping to his knees. Blair scoffed and removed the blindfold. Leaving Blake blinking into the sunlight. He rose as Damien entered through a thicket of trees.

"Hey," Blake yelled, pointing a glare at Damien as he continued to walk toward them. "Next time, don't join in. You already don't fight fair. At least let Blair."

Damien looked at Blair as he approached and nodded slowly. Blake moved his gaze to Blair, "What's up with that? What's going on?"

Blair reached for her thigh, unlatching the sheath and stepping up close to Blake. His eyes narrowed in on the concealed dagger and then moved to Damien as he walked up beside them.

"Why are you giving me this?" He asked as he picked up the sheath and turned it around, eyeing the fabric that covered most of the blade.

"We thought we would ask for your input," Blair answered, taking a slow breath in and exhaling loudly. "It's my dagger but it's different and I wanted to ask you what you sensed about it. "

Blake slowly raised his eyes to Damien, "Okay?" Well.." he started, drawing out the first word as he continued to analyze the item. "I don't sense anything. It seems like any other piece of metal."

"Good." Blair whispered, raising her voice as she continued, "Now, take it out of the sheath."

Blake looked at her as if she were delusional, but he obeyed the request. Slipping the dagger out, he laid it flat in his hand as he tilted his wrist around in a circular motion, his eyes widening with every second that passed.

After a few seconds, he looked at Damien.

"It's like you... It's the same exact signature.

Dark. It's so strange." His eyes then moved to Blair, "Did you have this in the ring?

" On his last word, he offered the dagger and the sheath back to her.

Blair nodded, reaching for it. "Not to use on you, obviously, but just to see if you picked up on it."

"First of all, your doubt wounds me. Second, I didn’t at first. When I did sense something, I thought it was Damien.

But this..." he implied as he pointed to the dagger in her hands, "It has a strong energy source of some kind.

Everything I sense is based on the strength of the shadow within it.

That's why I can't sense hunters. They have nothing to sense.

But the more shadow, the more I can feel it.

" he leaned into her then, lowering his voice and pulling his hand up as in secret, "Don't tell him I said this, but Damien's energy has been one of the strongest I have ever felt, if not the strongest." He then pulled away as he noticed Damien narrowed his eyes and cocked his head in their direction.

"Your dagger gives off the same exact amount or level.

However, you want to word it. Put him and that thing behind two different doors, and I wouldn't know which is which.

Which makes me think.." he said, wrinkling his forehead and bringing his hand up to his chin in thought, "I would be willing to bet it was forged using some sort of shadowborn ability. "

"You think?" Blair inquired as she ran a finger along the design on the blade.

"Yeah, that's what I figured. I guess you just confirmed it." Damien commented as he stepped up beside them, talking to both but then addressing Blair directly, “It's why we have the same signature. It's like we're made from the same DNA."

"Yeah, I'd put money on it. You don't come across those kinds of things. I'd be careful with it. Hunters get a whiff of that," he motioned to the dagger as he moved a couple feet away and sat down, “...and they'll be on you faster than Damien finishes. Well, I guess not if you keep it sheathed."

Blair rolled her eyes and sheathed the small blade." Right about the hunters, wrong about the Damien part."

Damien followed her movement and then scowled at Blake. "More like as fast as it takes for you to give up." he taunted with a smile, "your nipples a little sore?"

"Like you could do any better, Mr. Fancypants."

Without hesitation, Damien looked over and raised one eyebrow at Blair. He then looked at Blake and nodded, signaling that he needed a blindfold. Blake obliged, scoffing as he kicked his feet out and stretched.

Damien became still, dropping his hands to his sides and placing them in his pockets.

Blair immediately turned up the stealth, giving small smiles in his direction.

She moved constantly, her bare feet gliding across the floor.

Damien was patient, waiting until he could pinpoint her exactly.

A knowing grin spread across his face as she moved to his left, and he struck out his arm, catching Blair by the neck.

She made a startled noise as the wind was knocked from her, and he pulled her close, grabbing her face and kissing her passionately.

He then raised his other arm, directing his middle finger at Blake.

"Jokes on you. I like it when Mommy and Daddy kiss." Blake replied, clapping his hands. Both Damien and Blair pulled away at that comment, giving him disgruntled looks. Blake fell on the floor in a fit of laughter.

Damien kissed Blair one more time, pulling her under his arm. "I think that was a successful training. Let's go get you some supplies."