… and ended up on her belly.

"Shit!" Ashley bounced up. "Again!"

Charles didn't even flinch. He pulled out his phone and began texting with one hand.

The next time, she tried grabbing the chain and wrapping it around her hand only to cry out in pain when he yanked hard enough to sprain it.

Ashley struggled for an hour to reach him before bending over, hands on her knees, to catch her breath. "What … am I doing … wrong?" she panted. "Are you going to tell me or just let me keep beating myself against the ground?"

Charles replaced his phone, unfazed while she breathed hard. "Use the chain."

"I've been trying."

"Not the way you've been doing it."

She rolled her eyes and straightened.

"You have athleticism on your side. Pull the chain tight. Use it and me as leverage. There's more than one way to close the distance between us. You don't need to be on your feet."

She frowned, calculating what he was saying with what she thought she could do.

"I saw the surveillance footage of you scaling a wall with nothing more than your speed and strength," Charles added.

"You've been watching me?" She eyed him.

"It always pays to know what you're up against. Now, try again."

Not on my feet. She was a fantastic tumbler and light enough she didn't need much space to generate speed.

Doubting this plan would work either, she dropped the knives and pulled the chain taught. "Okay. Here I go," she murmured to herself.

She vaulted onto her hands and flipped over backwards, touching the ground for a split second before flipping again, this time with the chain in her hands. She landed almost on top of Charles and lashed out with the chain.

He Tasered her.

Ashley gasped and dropped as hot electricity paralyzed her temporarily. The pain slid away, and she lay on the ground.

"Good," Charles said. "Let's try the next level."

Dazed by the shock, she didn't fight him when he blindfolded her and hauled her to her feet. She wobbled and caught her balance, shaking out her arms and legs to rid herself of the shocks.

"You can fight in the dark?" Charles asked.

"Yeah," she replied and keyed in her senses.

"Show me."

"Why are we doing this?" she demanded. "You know I can fight."

"I know you can fight one way. If you're going to help us against Valon, you need to adapt to how a vamp fights."

"I don't want to fight Valon. I want to get my brother back!"

"You can sit back here on your ass and hope we feel like rescuing him, or you can join the raiding teams and look for him yourself," Charles answered. "Jonny asked me to assess you. If I don't like how you fight or act, I can tell him to put you on ice."




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