“Relax, don’t think. You’re a natural, but you’re trying to kill everything. Just gently tap the sack; don’t try to destroy it.”

Grace growled silently to herself and set her feet as Cedric had shown her. The movements felt natural, and her body and mind quickly picked up what he was teaching. Only one thing remained, and that was learning to control her strength. Every time she punched, it felt like she would destroy whatever she touched.

She almost cried the first time she had tickled Levi so hard it bruised him. He hadn’t complained at first, but when he started to cry, she only then realized how much force she was using.

Taking another deep breath, she focused, looking at the burlap sack again and watching as it swung.

“Focus on when it is going away. Give it just enough of a touch to keep it on the same path. There is no need to send it flying or smash it.”

Nodding, Grace watched the sack as it swung toward her and then away. After two passes, she moved, her hips twisting and her hand coming forward. Her fist connected with the sack and whatever Cedric stuffed it with, sending it forward.

“It’s too hard,” she groaned as Cedric moved to stop the bag from swinging so high.

“That’s why they call it practice,” he answered with a chuckle. “How long do you think it took me to learn how to punch with this?”

She saw the stub he held up and shrugged. “A while?”

He shook his head. “Only about a week. Do you know why?”

Annoyed at his line of questioning and feeling like one of her parents was patronizing her, Grace said nothing, knowing no answer would be correct.

“Because I had spent years learning to do this. All I had to change was how far I moved with my hips. Even then, I trained for hours for a week, just as frustrated as you are. So listen when I say it takes time. It takes practice. Once you master this, though…”

He shifted on his feet, his hips firing forward, and his right arm extended until it stopped. The sack was touching his skin, yet it didn’t move at all.

“Ready to try again?”

Grace nodded. Seeing him do that gave her hope. If he could figure it out, undoubtedly, she could as well.

Cedric smiled, and he started the bag swinging again.

“Finally!” Grace exclaimed as Cedric clapped his hands in celebration for her. “Twenty!”

“Well done! Well done, indeed. I don’t think I would have believed it was possible, but you have managed to learn something that most take months to learn in just a few hours. The good news is you can practice this with any surface. A wall, a tree, a leaf, anything. Move around, bob, weave as I taught you, and then punch. If you are off on your placement, you’ll know… especially against a tree.”

Grace smiled and chuckled as Cedric repeatedly showed her the scars on his knuckles.

“Now, one last thing I want you to think about and then work on. With this control comes the fun part. Actually hitting something.”

The sun was beginning to set, and as the light in the old stable he was training in her faded, the shadows grew long. He moved and lit a single lamp, but Grace knew it wasn’t something she needed. She could see every spec of dirt and old manure that still hid in boards and corners of the place. The rotted wood and the wood that had been replaced were easy for her to pick out.

He brought the lamp to a section with boards wedged between empty stalls.

“Stand here and look at where you want to punch. Get your hand right next to it, and when it is time to strike, send your fist a foot past the target.”

“Past it?”

Cedric nodded. “When you actually want to hurt someone, you aren’t moving to just tap them. You want to strike through them. A well-placed punch or kick will move someone because of the force you apply as you hit them and then push through them. Watch.”

Moving before a pair of boards, Cedric rotated his shoulders twice and slowly extended his hand and nub until they were just an inch from the boards. Then, with an explosive movement, he struck out with his left hand, smashing through the one-inch board, his hand going so far through it that Grace could see he had punched a foot past it.

Without hesitation, he snapped his hips and arms back, shifting his feet, and twisted his hips again, his right stub driving forward and going six inches past where the board had been as it broke in half as well.

“Here,” Cedric said as he tapped his hips again. “All the power is here. A little bit more extension converts to power. That power is carried through your shoulder and to your arm. Finally, it is delivered through your hand.”

“You try,” he said as he pulled out the two broken boards and replaced them with a few thinner ones he had stacked in a barrel.

Grace nodded and repeated what he had done. Measuring the distance, setting her feet, and preparing to punch.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed down the thoughts that continued to rage through her head.

None of these boards would matter how I hit them… I can punch through a wall without this stuff.

Grace destroyed both boards, accelerating her hips, ensuring she drove past them.

“Huh… that did feel different.”

Cedric nodded and pulled the broken halves out. "Let’s do it again.

He went to a different barrel and pulled out boards thicker than the ones he had punched, sliding them into the same spot.

“Uh… why are you giving me those?” Grace asked, raising her eyebrows as she watched him.

“Because we both know you are stronger than me. I can do these sometimes. When I fail…” Cedric tapped the scars on his knuckles. “Be fast, be powerful, and explode.”

Grace frowned, unsure if she should admit what he had said was true or deny it.

Cedric smiled, moved back a few steps, and crossed his arms, watching her and waiting.

“You’re sure about this?”

“You forget that I trained for this for years. I’ve seen men as large as your friend Max fight. I’ve seen power in bodies, and I know how to tell how strong someone is. Max can see it, too. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, and I doubt they would believe me if I told them.”

Rubbing his stump across his eyebrow, Cedric started to laugh. “If things were a year ago and my instructor found you, he would have turned you into a legend in this sport, traveling all over with you. “Now,” Cedric pointed at the boards, “do what you have been shown. Do it without cutting yourself.”

Swallowing the concern she felt, Grace trusted Max and Cedric. That fat bastard had to know this would happen. Surely, he wouldn’t send her to train with him unless there was a reason.

Lining up again, Grace got into position and focused. She looked at where she wanted her fist to go. Driving with her legs, she drove her hips forward and watched as her hand smashed through the board, the impact feeling exactly as the first one had.

Grinning, Grace shifted and did the exact same thing to the other board with her opposite hand.

As the wood plank fell to the dirt floor, Grace looked at Cedric, who was watching her, his lips slightly pulled up and his eyes partially shut.

“Look, no cuts.”

Nodding, Cedric brought his left hand to his chin and tapped it. For a few seconds, he said nothing and finally smiled.

“Want to hit something harder?”

“What? Something harder? Why would I do that?”

“Because I think that is why Max asked me to train you. You don’t need help beating a normal person or even an average fighter. Your speed and strength will overpower them with ease. I think it’s because he believes you need to be trained against someone more skilled. Until just now, you had no technique at all. With time, you can get better, but something tells me you realize you also need training.”

Cedric ignored the look on Grace's face and tapped his chest and then his legs. “You’re wearing armor. Only one reason to do that, and if Max is having me train you, then I’m certain of it now.”

Crossing her arms, Grace watched as Cedric pulled the broken boards out. “What are you thinking?”

“Oh, it is something you’ll have to see.”

Grace stood in awe of the stone wall he had brought her to. On it were lots of blood splotches, and she could tell where most of the scars on his knuckles had come from.

“Why? Why would you hit this if you know you can’t break it?”

“Who says I can’t break these stones?” Cedric asked. “Look further down the section of the wall.”

Grace moved to the left and saw that on the ground were pieces of broken stone, many with small splotches of blood staining a part of them. “Still, you bled to do this.”

“When you fight, bleeding is part of it. If you don’t want to bleed, never be in a place you have to fight someone. What you need to overcome is in here,” Cedric answered as he tapped his head with his left hand. “Inside, your mind will say it hurts too much or is too hard. You have to ignore that and push through the pain. The day you do that, accept the pain and see what you are really capable of… that is the day you don’t fear whoever you face.”

Cedric moved to a section, and Grace watched as he stood near it, planting his feet and focusing on a stone that had dried blood on it.

The crack that sounded when he struck it made her wince as she saw blood appear on the rock. Cedric didn’t say anything, set himself, and punched again, more blood appearing.

“You don’t ha–”

He struck again and again, ignoring her initial complaint until after a dozen strikes, Grace heard and saw the rock break off from the wall, a one-inch piece tumbling to the ground.

When it landed, Cedric took a deep breath and slowly let it out before looking at his hand and cursing.

“Horse shite, that one was a pain.” Taking a rag out of his back pocket, he wound it tight over his knuckles and used his teeth to tighten it. Then he turned and looked at Grace. “It’s your turn.”

She wanted to say no, but standing there, having watched him do what he did, not giving up and not once complaining. It felt foolish, but Grace knew that he was right. She was going to have to reach a point where she pushed past the pain.

Don’t be a pansy… I need to do this… Max knows I need to do this…

She paused and frowned.

Levi needs me to be able to do this.

With that thought firmly held in her mind, Grace moved to the wall and focused on a shoulder-high stone.

Everything she had seen today ran through her mind. She knew exactly what she needed to do.

The crack that sounded, followed by the dust that eventually blew away, revealed a six-inch hole in the wall where she had struck it. Grace glanced down at her knuckles and saw a small cut that had opened on the skin. It hurt but not worse than the time she had stabbed and cut herself.

“Again.”

Grace turned and saw Cedric nod and smile. “Ignore that wound. Again.”

When the section of the wall she had struck was about to crumble, Cedric finally stopped saying again.

“Look at your hands. Tell me what you see.”

Grace stared down at them. Her knuckles were split and she swore she could see the bones through her black skin where they had come apart. Blood flowed between her fingers and down her wrist. Not sure what she was supposed to say, Grace took a moment and looked at them and then back at the section she had destroyed.

“Commitment,” she finally answered, not caring if it was the one Cedric wanted.

“Good. Whatever you are committed to, now you know that even a stone wall won’t hold you back.”

She felt his hand on her shoulder and saw him smiling at her from ear to ear.

“Let’s get you back to Max. We’ll need to get you cleaned up and taken care of first.”

Walking back toward the well and garden area, Grace found herself centered and at peace for a bit. Whatever Max had hoped she would learn from Cedric, she had gained far more than she expected.