Black Magic Rose (9 page)

Jankin nodded. “I think you’re correct, lass. You do need some skill to help you. What kind of employer would I be if I didn’t teach you what you need to know?” He turned her to face the wolves. “Osgar, here’s your new recruit.” He nudged her forward.

Osgar grinned, but judging from Sofia’s response, she didn’t read it as a welcoming smile.

“Not like that!” She spun out of Jankin’s grasp and stood behind him. “As a human.”

“Oh, no. The wolves train in wolf form first. The human training for this group won’t begin for several weeks,” Jankin explained. His tone was much lighter than seconds earlier. “I don’t want to wait. I should have thought of this weeks ago. You need to be conditioned for battle and not because you’ll ever go onto the field. That you will never do. But, it appears I’ve given you a job in which you’ll need battlefield strategy as well as the ability to physically endure each round with the staff.” He pursed his lips and inhaled. “Aye, you’ll need this type of training after all.” He rubbed his chin.
 

“Well…” She glanced at the wolves.
 

Rick growled, making it very clear she’d be in for a rough go if he were forced to take her. In Sofia’s short tenure at Cader she hadn’t endeared herself to the wolf. In fact, Dragomir was certain she’d made an enemy for life. His line of vision narrowed on the wolf.
 

Rick snapped at Dragomir, baring his teeth.
 

“Maybe training with the wolves isn’t the best idea,” Jankin said. He paced a few feet, scratching his beard. “Maybe I can find someone else.” He smiled. It was a smile that made his typically pleasant face appear entirely vampire.
 

Rick growled.

Dragomir snarled, his fangs cutting into his lip.
 

Jankin nodded. “Dragomir will train you.”
 

The room suddenly smelled like a funeral parlor that had just received a fresh delivery of floral arrangements.
 

Chapter Eight

“Perfect. Just perfect.” Sofia scrubbed the ink off her face with more gusto than required. “You are something else, girl.” She stared into the mirror, no longer focusing on the ink smudged over her nose or the rosy cheek she’d nearly rubbed down to bone. “Train me. I don’t want to be helpless. Blah. Blah. Blah.” She did her best damsel in distress imitation. “Sometimes you amaze even me.” She bandaged both her knees, using those flexi-bandages that promised to withstand hours of movement. “Well, we’ll just see how flexible you are,” she taunted the bandage box. “Can you stay on while I spend my night being trained by Vlad? I’ll bet he really is The Impaler. The real Dracula.” She jerked her jeans up, tied her sneakers, and with an angry huff, slammed her fist on the bathroom countertop as she glared at herself in the mirror one more time before walking into the bedroom.
 

She left the lights off and snuck up to the window to peek out at Dragomir. He stood leaning against Osgar’s giant truck, staring up at the window. “Oooh! Just how many people have you killed, Vlad?”
 

He mouthed something.
 

“Can you hear me?” she whispered.
 

He nodded.
 

“It is completely inappropriate for you to eavesdrop on my conversations! You’re a miscreant.” She stomped toward the door, yelling, “Have you no manners? No respect?” She clomped down the stairs, half shouting and half mumbling. “
Disrespectful
. Inhuman. Dead.
What next?
” She threw open the door.

He hadn’t moved from his spot behind the truck.
 

She pulled on her sweatshirt and descended the steps down to her walkway. “And furthermore—” She found herself on her ass in the mulch bed.
 

Dragomir glanced at her from the same place she’d last seen him.
 

“You did that on purpose! What was the point? Obviously, you can knock me down. Just about any one of you can knock me down. Did that make you happy?” She stood up and dusted off her backside. “How is that supposed to help me? What? Is there a certain technique to landing on one’s ass that will save me from a werewolf attack? Frankly—”

She was on her ass again, and he was back at the truck when she looked up.
 

This time when she got up, she didn’t bother to say a word. Instead, she marched over to the truck and punched him straight in the gut, sending him doubling over.
 

“My hand. My God that hurt!” She shook her hand and hopped up and down. “What the hell do you have on under your coat?”
 

Dragomir stood up, clutching his abdomen. “Nothing.” He coughed and gasped. “You’ve got a good power punch. Let’s see what else you can do.” He stepped back and circled her.

“I think my hand is broken. I must have hit your belt buckle.” Sofia opened her hand and stretched her fingers, then tried curling them back, but stopped midway due to the pain throbbing in her knuckles.
 

“I am not wearing a belt and stop whining.” He removed his coat and tossed it into the open truck window. “Do you think a thirsty vampire will wait for you to ice your hand? What else can you do?” He disappeared into a shadow.
 

“Where the hell are you? What else can I do? Nothing. I didn’t even know I could do that. Had I known, I’d have punched you in the head and knocked you out, then called the police to have you removed from the property. No. Maybe I’d have called Rick to come get you. Yes, that’s what I’d have—” She fell on her ass again.
 

“You know, bruises do form on butt cheeks. And I did not hear Dr. MacDuff say anything about knocking me down every chance you got.” She climbed to her feet but didn’t bother to dust herself off.
 

“Where are you?” She couldn’t see him at all. Oh, but she could feel him. She knew he was watching her from not too far away, trying to stare
into
her. “Cut the crap. I can feel that and I don’t like it. Have you ever heard of sexual harassment?”
 

He laughed and not just a single chuckle. It was a full belly laugh that echoed in the night.
 

He was standing not three feet from her.
 

“Sexual harassment is not a laughing matter.” Sofia turned to her right to slap him.
 

But before her hand made contact with his face his fingers curled around her wrist. His laughing stopped. “I was not sexually harassing you. I have never mistreated a woman in all my years. And I have no intent to begin now.” His breath was warm on her face.
 

He pulled her closer to him, pressing her body to his and slowly twisting her arm behind her back. It didn’t hurt at all as long as she didn’t fight him.
 

She stared up into his face. From this proximity she saw the crescent-shaped moon reflecting in his dark pupils. His eyes weren’t black. They were the darkest blue she’d ever seen, easily as dark as the midnight sky. Long black eyelashes made his eyes appear gentler than she’d ever noticed, almost human.
 

She assumed from the bump on the bridge of his thin nose that it had been broken at one time. His face was shaved smooth, and she was tempted to press her finger to the deep dimple centered in his chin.
 

 
A mild breeze blew and his hair danced across her face.
 

She closed her eyes and inhaled. The woodsy scent of autumn, crisp evergreens, and mossy forest mixed with dewy grass flooded her mind. It was a pleasant aroma, one that made her think of home, of all the years she’d spent in the woods hiking and photographing animals, bird watching.
 

But that other scent was there, too. Clean, but artificial.
Soap
.
 

She sniffed.
What is that? Lever? No.
 

Dragomir released her arm. “I think you’ve had enough of a break. Back to work. What else can you do?” He stepped away from her, once again vanishing into a shadow.
 

Sofia stumbled back from him, legs wobbly, arms rubbery.
Damn it! Why does this keep happening?
She landed on her ass once again. “Thanks a lot. Next time why don’t you just throw me down?”

“It was not my intent that you would fall.” His voice came from behind the truck.
 

She glared over her shoulder. “Right. Just like the first two times were accidents.”

“No. The first two times were meant to help you focus.”
 

“So, let me understand this. You think by knocking a woman on her ass you’re helping her focus? Also, you do know that knocking a woman down is typically considered mistreating her, don’t you?” She shook her head but managed to get to her feet and remain standing in spite of the fact that she was pretty sure both kneecaps had melted into gelatin.
 

“I do not claim to know what helps every woman focus. I simply know that you seem to focus best when on your ass. And, it’s not mistreating you when—”

“What?” Sofia’s voice was caught between a shriek and a growl and she didn’t know which part was more upsetting—that she was acting like a silly girl or turning into an animal.
 

“In every situation that has occurred, I’ve found you on your ass. It seems this is the best position from which you should learn to defend yourself.”
 

She couldn’t tell if he was serious or if this was some sort of joke.
 

“Isn’t the whole idea of this training to help me avoid landing on my ass in the first place?” Was she the only one with any logical thought process?
 

“That would make sense if I thought you could avoid it.” His voice came from right beside her and down she went.
 

She bounced back up and spun toward where she heard his voice, then promptly landed on her ass again. She clenched her teeth, and for a split second, considered going back into the house to call Dr. MacDuff. Training was turning into a night of fun torment for Dragomir with her ass well on its way to becoming so sore she was certain she wouldn’t be able to sit at her desk in the morning.
 

“I’m calling—”

Down again.
 

“Your other option is the wolves. I am fairly certain you will not survive a trip off the roof,” his voice called from the distance.
 

“Where are you?” She stood up then went down again.
 

“That is for you to discover,” he whispered in her ear and then vanished.
 

“How the hell am I supposed to discover where you are if I can’t see you? Damn vampires.” She stood up again, knowing she was going down, but also aware Dragomir was correct. She wouldn’t survive a trip off the roof, and she knew Rick would ensure she’d take one.
 

“I believe you have other senses. Use them.”

She bounced back up, faster than before and turned toward his voice only to be spun around and land on her ass again without so much as a thud.
 

“Close your eyes. Let your body decide.” His breath in her ear made her shiver, and any attempt she made at controlling her body was useless.
 

Her eyes closed and something else took over, something she’d never experienced. This time when she landed, she noticed Dragomir wasn’t simply knocking her down. He was picking her up and placing her on the ground. Because he moved so quickly, she’d thought he was kicking her feet out from under her.
 

But really he seemed rather thoughtful about placement. He scooped her up, cradling her legs on one arm, the other arm catching her back, then he placed her on the ground. No dropping. No pushing. No pain.
 

She bolted back up to her feet, but before her new awareness told her where he’d gone, she was down again. This time he didn’t leave her side so quickly.
 

He lingered and she felt it, him, his presence all around her. He silently called to her like a long lost friend welcoming her. She waited, focusing, listening as if some secret was about to pass between them. But before she could think to ask what was happening, he was gone.
 

His scent wrapped around her and she clung to it, inhaling as deeply as she could and following it thirty feet to her right and up into the maple tree in the corner of the yard. Her head tilted back, and she opened her eyes to find him bathed in moonlight, standing on a sturdy branch.
 

Dragomir nodded. “Up.”

She stood and before she’d even gained her footing she went down again.
 

This exercise repeated itself several more times until Sofia followed his every move around the yard, behind the house, into the woods, and down the drive. There was nowhere he could go she could not detect him.
 

“Good. You can track. You must practice.” Dragomir appeared at her side. “The wolves will be easiest for you to recognize. Like trying to find an army tank hidden among jeeps. Practice during the day.” He pulled her to her feet. “It’s late. You must rest. We continue tomorrow at sunset. I will wait for you in the lobby.”