JESSIE
I receive a sharp pain in my right cheek, and when I fall to the ground, I receive the same pain on my left cheek, so now my whole face is burning.
I hear a collection of oohs and ahhs from my friends, and I feel so embarrassed right now. I feel like I'm being bullied by my dad all over again.
"Come on, get up! When you're fighting a demon, you don't fall and have rest, you get up immediately and fight back." Paul orders. I listen to his voice and I rise to my feet. The pain went as quickly as it came. Being a nytheri is cool and all, but this training thing is so not me.
I've always been a lover, not a fighter. I've always hated the idea of fighting; violence has always felt icky to me because I was at the receiving end of the violence when it came to my father, so I just thought it was pointless.
But this level of violence is needed to protect people. It's not like I'm training to fight people, I'm training to fight demons. I can't kill people; if I do, then I'll be executed. This is my life now. I didn't ask for this, but there's a reason the universe or the Goddess Bastet gave me a second chance at life.
I have to use this second chance wisely.
I clench my fist, and Paul and I circle each other. I wait for him to attack me, and I try my best not to be distracted because Paul is very fast.
"The idea is to fight with your head, not your fist," he says
Easier said than done, well, it is easier for him but not for me. I'm new at this, but the point of this training is for things to be easy, to fight the demons and kill them with so much ease.
So I try to fight with my brain, not just my fists. What attacks can I use on this demon? What are their weaknesses? How do I distract them?
Paul quickly throws his leg at me, but I grab the leg, and he looks at me with shock in his eyes, and then there's a smile on my face because I feel on top of the world that I dodged his attack. Then the next thing he does shocks me because he uses his other leg to pin me straight to the ground.
I groan.
Damn, I did not see that one coming.
"Pride should have no place in your heart when you're fighting a demon." He says. And I got it, fully noted. I got a bit cocky there.
Sorry. I hear Sebby's voice, and my face twists.
Don't tell me sorry.
Paul releases me, and then I get up quickly. Paul nods his head, impressed.
I'm impressed with myself as well.
We go back to seeing who is going to attack each other. The plan is to fight a demon, kill a demon, protect a human from a demon, not smile when you hit a demon on the stomach, because that's when you'll receive a sharp sensation on your stomach.
And if we're going up against the Sekmetra, I have to be fully prepared and also be prepared to look for the knight who is going to actually kill the monster.
Paul attempts to punch me on the stomach, and I take his hand, then I try to kick him, but he grabs my leg. I use my other hand to punch him, which takes him by surprise, and I shove him, but he grabs me and pins me to the ground. But do I give up? No, I turn him around, and now I'm the one who is on top of him, and I have my claws out.
"Whoa!" I hear Sebby applaud, and so do Pilar, Michael and Serena.
"GO JESSIE!" Michael yells. And I've got to say, hearing them praise me like that is an ego boost, and it makes me feel like I can do just about anything. Like killing a demon or Sekmetra.
Oh, slow down there, Jessie.
I get up and I bring out my hand for Paul to take it, he takes my hand and then gets up.
He pats me on the back. "Well done," he says. "You'll be a pro at demon killing in no time," he says, and I smile at this.
I'll be a demon hunter soon, and I feel good about it already.
Who says I can't be a lover and a fighter at the same time?
I always keep Sebby company when he stays behind to take a look at all his assets. When he's not busy being goofy and making so many weird ass jokes. His nose is in his logbook, and that's when he's the most serious.
I'm serious as well. While he's taking a look at his book, I'm focused on my laptop light illuminating my face.
Sometimes this is what we do with each other: we don't talk, we just sit in silence while we do our own thing. There were times when I'd go to his house, and I'd just jump on his bed, and I'd write poems or story ideas in my book while he did his own thing, like create projects or anything of that nature.
We're friends, so we love each other's company. We feel more connected when we're both silent. Especially him because he talks too much.
And like I said, everything he says just stirs up these emotions inside me. Emotions I don't want to feel. So he should keep quiet. Or we talk about other things not related to us, like our dreams and our past. I'm dating someone else, and he should respect that.
And honestly, he should just forget about me and date or have sex with someone else. So many people would do anything to be with him. So why doesn't he just take that opportunity?
"So you want to look for this knight who fought that monster." He says.
I look up from my laptop. "I know it sounds crazy, but I do believe that that knight is out there somewhere. Either we need to reach out to him to tell him to fight the monster. Or he knows and he's on his way. Either way, he has to research who this knight is."
"Is that what you're doing right now?"
"Oh no, I'm writing new ideas for my next book."
"Ohh, I loved your other two books." Which is crazy to me because Sebby isn't the kind to read fictional books. Well, maybe he's not the kind to read other people's fictional books, but he will read mine because. . . We're friends.
"So what are you writing. A memoir about your life as a werecat." He does a scratching signature and makes a tiny roaring sound.
"No, it's something else," I say, shaking my head at this clown.
"Can I see?" He walks away from the counter and heads to me, then he leans over me. Why do I have a feeling he didn't just want to see what was in my laptop, but he wanted to just be closer to me?
I can smell his cologne, and I can feel his skin. It leaves electricity running through me and I feel, I feel like. . . Fuck, I feel like kissing him.
But no, I shouldn't. I have a boyfriend. This has to be a dream, but it isn't. It's real. Why do I have the urge to kiss Sebby right now?
"You're so talented." He says, looking at me with those seductive eyes of his. Sebastian De La Rosa, you know exactly what you're doing, and I fear it's working.
My eyes slide from his eyes down to his full, luscious lips. I'm going to grab this Hispanic man by his hair, and I'm going to kiss him right now.
Thankfully, we're interrupted when someone opens up the door.
"We're closed!" Sebby yells, annoyed.
"Sorry, I'm looking for Jessie Humphrey." My eyes go wide when I see who is standing before me right now.
What the hell?
"Jeremy!?" I'm stunned, I stand from my seat. He's here, my boyfriend is actually here.
But he's not looking at me; he's looking at Sebby with so much anger.
Sebby hisses, and I'm taken aback by that.
"Sebby, what are you doing?" A serious question because he is planning on exposing himself.
I hear a growl next, and it's not coming from Sebby but Jeremy.
I look at Jeremy, then Sebby and I don't know how to close my mouth.
What the actual fuck? Jeremy's a fucking Veyrath!???