“Your true training will take a long time, and will be a combination of constant practice and combat experience. But there are some basic attacks and defenses that you can, and must learn before you risk going back home.”

We’d moved from the stone dome-shaped room and now stood in a large empty space with padded floors and walls. It was a bizarre cross between a sparring dojo and a gymnasium. It was on the same floor as the previous room, and though we heard people passing by the entrance at regular intervals, we were not disturbed.

“What martial arts have you learned in life?” Mikel asked me. “I need to know what skills you possess already.”

“He’s a wrestler,” Marisha answered for me. “A pretty good one, too.”

Mikel looked at her, his eyebrows raised. “Is that so?”

Marisha nodded, throwing a smirk in my direction. “Yep. Nowhere near our level, of course, but among normal humans, he’s top material.”

I threw her an annoyed glare. “I seem to remember locking you in place in a second.”

She only grinned, annoying me more. “You had an unfair advantage. You may be physically stronger than me, but this will be a spiritual matter. Also, I was not allowed to kill you.”

The casual nature of her reply, filled with such a direct statement, sent a shiver down my spine. Pretending not to care, I turned back to Mikel.

“Will my wrestling experience be of any use here?”

To my surprise, he nodded. “Wrestling is about controlling your opponent’s body, as well as your own, right?”

I nodded in agreement, and he continued. “You will find that the principle transfers to these techniques. To triumph in spiritual combat, your soul must be strong and unmalleable. If your resolve is strong, you cannot perish.”

I took a moment to think that over, nodding slightly to myself. If I just swapped my thoughts from controlling my body to my soul, it did make sense. Wrestling was indeed about maintaining a strong stance and finding the weakness in the person you’re going against.

“The first technique is the easiest, but it takes a little effort,” Mikel continued. “It is called shifting. You change between your physical form and your spiritual, or Reaper form, at will.”

“Is that what Marisha did to me, then?” I asked. “She forced me to shift to this?”

Mikel nodded, and I thought, just for a second, that his eyes flashed with a little approval. “Yes. But you must learn to do it on your own.”

“I assume I can’t knee myself in the gut,” I quipped, smirking at Marisha. She smirked back. “Alright, let me give this a try.”

Marisha and Mikel each took a step back, and I took a moment to gather my thoughts. What had I felt when she’d forced me to shift? Hot winds had seemed to batter my body, swirling inside and trying to burrow deeper. Only after I’d stopped resisting did the process go smoothly. So something had gone inside me, then. What if I tried to do the same thing, but in reverse?

It was easier than I thought. I visualized those hot winds billowing to life within me, and surging round once more. Then the winds burst out of me. But instead of fading to nothingness, as they’d seemed to come from before, they hovered about me with less power, like a personal breeze that circled me.

A sharp intake of breath distracted me, and I opened my eyes to see Marisha staring at me, her mouth open in surprise. “What?”

“You made that look easy,” she said, almost accusingly. “That took me hours to get right.”

Well, that was interesting. Still, I couldn’t help but swell a little with pride at the thought. “I just remembered the sensation from when you did it and tried to do the same, but backward.”

I looked at Mikel. “It’s about controlling my soul, right?”

He nodded. He looked a little surprised by how quickly I’d achieved the first task, but not as troubled as Marish. “Indeed. It is the most important rule. But do not be too proud of this. Natural talent is rare, but if squandered, will only lead to ruin.”

“I only have a natural edge in this,” I said. “I don’t actually know how to fight.”

Marish seemed to brighten at that. She opened her mouth to doubtless say something snarky, but at a glance from Mikel, she held it back. Letting out a quiet sigh, she nodded to him and took up a combative stance, her arms raised to protect her face.

“Next is your defense,” Mikel said. “Marisha will strike you. I want you to conjure your aura around your body in a defensive cover. If you are successful, she will be unable to stun you as before.”

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This one took a little longer to learn. Marisha struck too fast for me to react, and each time she landed a shot, my body took a minute or so to recover, and let me clamber back to my feet. I had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t trying to take it easy on me, but was striking with unnecessary ambition. Mikel surely noticed it too but made no move to chastise her.

On the eighth attempt, I managed it. Marisha came at me with a straight punch to the gut, and I forced those winds to gather tighter around my body. With inches to spare, I felt a dull impact in my stomach, but she hadn’t hit me. Her fist had made contact with an invisible barrier, then struck off at an angle and stumbled slightly.

“Good,” Mikel said quietly. “Again.”

Regaining her balance, Marisha swung again. And again. And again. Each time, her attacks were deflected at an angle. I was even getting faster with it. Finally, just as she’d unleashed a barrage of five or six strikes, Mikel raised one hand and she came to a halt.

“Good work,” He said. I felt ridiculously pleased with the praise. “One more.”

“Offense?” I asked. It was a logical assumption, and he nodded to confirm.

“You will strike Marisha now,” he explained. “She will maintain a defense until you either break through or run out of mana.”

“What is mana?” I asked. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned it.”

“Mana is the life force of a Reaper,” Mikel said. “It is also the fuel for use in combat. If it runs out, you will be in mortal peril.”

“How do you increase how much aura you have?” I asked, sensing the answer.

“Practice.”

And so we practiced. The technique itself wasn’t hard to pick up. I visualized those hot winds gathering in my arms, and each time I swung at Marisha, a little burst of wind exploded upon contact. But after eight minutes of constant attacks, I failed to break through her guard. She seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of mana, and my fist never made it closer than an inch or two from her body.

Breathing heavily as if I’d just run a marathon, I felt my legs give out from under me, and I collapsed to the ground. It felt the same as when she’d stunned me, but this time I knew that I was to blame. Or rather, my lack of man was to blame. Forcing myself into a sitting position, I shook my spinning head in an attempt to clear it.

“That is enough for today,” Mikel said, and Marisha relaxed slightly.

He dropped to one knee beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder. I felt a sense of warmth radiating from him and felt a little more invigorated. Figuring that he’d given me some of my aura back, I got back to my feet. My body was still aching and sore, but that was only normal after such an intense workout.

“So I can go home now?” I asked. “I did learn the basics, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Marisha agreed. “But we can’t let you leave like this.”

“What do you mean?” I exclaimed, instantly defensive. “So you were lying, then?”

Mikel placed a hand on my shoulder again. “No, Silas. It is for your own protection. If you were to leave the Gray Palace now, you would be an easy target to any Gray Clan members that decided to target you.”

“Oh,” it was all I could think to say. “Sorry, that makes sense.”

“It is not a problem,” Mikel said. “Marisha will take you to one of the empty suites. I want you to rest there until you are fully recovered.”

I nodded and allowed Marisha to pull me away. At the entrance to the room, I felt a sudden urge to turn and bow, so I did. Mikel copied the movement smoothly, and, wondering what had caused that, I followed Marisha down a long hallway. She led me to an elevator, which I was sure didn’t belong in an ancient castle. As I brought this point up, she laughed.

“The Gray Palace has two forms, depending on where you enter from. This is the form that resides in our world. It is a massive luxury hotel, so it has elevators.”

“This is a luxury hotel?”

She laughed again. “Technically, this is a massive stronghold under a luxury hotel. You know about The Nook Inn, right?”

I nodded. The Nook Inn was a five-star hotel in downtown Toledo, the city where I lived. It was one of those ridiculously expensive places that I could never hope to afford.

“Wait,” I said as the elevator doors opened onto a floor of a red carpet, smooth walls, and tasteful decor. “So not only are we in the real world now, but I’m also staying at the most expensive hotel in the city?”

“Yep,” She threw over her shoulder. “It’s not a bad deal, right? Reapers can stay for free, as long as they want while they are in town. For those of us who live here, it’s basically a free home.”

“So you live here, then?” I asked. It was hard to imagine this sarcastic wild child roughing it in the lap of luxury.

“I’ve lived here since I was a child,” she said. “Both of my parents were Reapers, so my needs were taken care of even before I became a Reaper myself.”

“They were Reapers?” I asked, noticing her use of the past tense. Then I immediately regretted it. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“It’s okay,” she said, coming to a stop in front of an unmarked door. “It happened when I was too young to remember them, so I’m okay with talking about it. Besides, the Reaper Clan is my family, and it’s a good one.”

She pressed her hand to the middle of the door. There was a soft electronic ding, and the door swung open of its own accord. I noticed there was no handle. What if I got stuck inside?

“Your aura is all that’s required to gain access to the Gray Palace,” she said as if reading my thoughts.”

Then she grabbed me by the arm and pushed me inside. I got a brief glimpse of a massive open space, with a huge bed and glorious view, before she shut the door behind me. I heard her call through the door as she walked away.

“See you tomorrow!”