He saw himself out and as soon as Craig heard the front door close, he grabbed Sarah and swung her round. “I can’t believe he actually agreed to train you,” he said in glee as he set her back on her feet. He kissed her cheek and released her. “I can’t wait to get your room set up.”
“Thank you for doing this for me,” she said and hugged him tight.
“I had better go.”
Sarah saw him to the door, but had a question for him before he could leave. “Is he always like that?”
“Yes, but you’ll get used to it. Trust me.”
“Why did you ask her all those questions?” Craig asked as soon as he was in the car. “You didn’t really need to know the answers.”
“No, I didn’t. I just wanted to see how she would react. It helped me to judge whether she’s trainable or not.” It was only partially a lie. Some he wanted to know the answers to, others he was genuinely judging her reaction to, though it had nothing to do with his decision to train her.
“Did you have to ask her if she was sexually active?”
JD grinned. “That one was to see how you reacted.”
Craig muttered something unintelligible under his breath and the rest of the journey was undertaken in silence.
Just try not to break anything
“Ready?” Craig asked when he arrived at Sarah’s house on the Wednesday evening. Sarah nodded. “Nervous?”
“Terrified.”
“There’s no need to be. JD will start you off easy. Relatively easy anyway.”
He grabbed her bag, which contained a change of clothes, took her hand and led her to his car. “Before I forget, you’ll need these.” He took some objects out of his pocket and handed them to her. “Front door key to Sanctuary 14 and garage door remote. I’ll tell you the gate combination when we get there.”
They chatted on the way, Craig doing his best to relax her. He could see she was tense and could understand why. It was a big deal for her.
“Jonathon has agreed to stay away again. You don’t get to meet him until Saturday. I thought it might take some of the pressure off you.”
Sarah hadn’t given Jonathon any thought, nor the prospect of meeting him, but she didn’t tell Craig that. He was trying to be nice to her and she didn’t want to tell him he was wasting his time.
As soon as they arrived at Sanctuary 14, Craig led her directly upstairs to the bedrooms. A number of doors had names on them and they went directly to one on the left.
“This is my room,” Craig said. “You have been allocated the one opposite.”
Sarah looked across the corridor at the door and a strange feeling came over her when she read her name. Until then it had all seemed like a dream, that at any moment she would be told that JD was only joking and that she wasn’t really going to be trained. For some reason, seeing her name on a wooden plaque made it all real.
Craig opened her door. “Come on in.” She entered the room and was pleasantly surprised.
“Wow. This is great.” The room was large. The bedding on the king size bed was a pale blue, her favourite colour. There was a bedside table beside it, with a lamp in the shape of a sword, and a vanity unit stood against one wall. A door led out to a balcony and the two other doors in the room opened into a walk in wardrobe, complete with a chest of drawers, and an ensuite bathroom.
She entered the bathroom and found it was fully equipped. Large fluffy towels hung on the towel rail, the shower contained her favourite brands of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel and next to the sink was her type of toothpaste and a brand new electric toothbrush. Deodorant, a hairbrush and a hairdryer were in the corner.
“You’ve been busy,” she said.
Craig grinned at her. “Just trying to make you feel at home.”
“Thanks. It’s much appreciated. You do know I’m only staying here one night a week, don’t you?”
“For now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see. Just dump your clothes in the wash basket if you want them cleaned.” He then looked at his watch. “We should get going.”
They went to the arena and found JD waiting for them. He glanced at the clock on the wall, nodded his approval, then told Craig to get out.
“But−” he started to protest, but one look from JD silenced him and he reluctantly left the room.
JD locked the door behind him then looked Sarah up and down. He glanced at her face, checking her ears for earrings and was pleased to see she had taken them out. He then looked at her arms, which were watch and bracelet free. No rings on the right hand, but when his eyes went to her left hand he silently swore. That wasn’t how he wanted to start her first training session.
“I am going to kill him,” he muttered. He then spoke to Sarah, somehow managing to keep his anger at Craig out of his voice.
“I’m sorry, but you have to remove your engagement ring. Craig should have told you that you can’t wear any jewellery when you train.”
She glanced down at her ring finger and seemed surprised to see the small gold band with the single diamond. “He did. I guess we’re both so used to it permanently being on my finger that we forgot about it. I haven’t taken it off since Alex gave it to me.”
JD winced as she struggled to remove it from her finger. Physically it was an easy task, but he dared not think what it was doing to her emotionally. He wanted to be able to tell her to leave it on, but it was just not worth the risk. If her finger got hit during training it would swell up fast and the ring might cut off the circulation.
She looked around for somewhere to put it and he held out his hand. Reluctantly she handed it over and he slipped it into one of his pockets, closing the zip so it wouldn’t fall out.
“I’m going to teach you how to fight, how to use swords, knives and Bo, how to control your movements and your balance. But I am also going to get you fit and I promise you you will not like some parts of it. There will be times when you hate me and want to call me some very unpleasant names. I suggest you refrain from doing so as I will just make you keep doing whatever it is you hate most.”
Sarah listened to him, carefully absorbing every word. Craig had warned her what to expect so nothing JD had said surprised her.
“Grab a sword and let’s get going.”
They started off slow, with him correcting her positioning as she went through each move he told her to make. Instead of telling her how to place her arms or legs, he manipulated her body for her, loving the feel of having his hands on her.
Once he was satisfied that she was understanding what she was doing wrong and how to correct it, he picked up the pace, making her block, stab, cut and parry over and over again. By the end of the hour she was dripping with sweat and her arms were killing her.
“Had enough yet?” he asked when he heard movement on the balcony. The clock on the wall above their heads showed it was just past seven and he wasn’t surprised when Craig came into view.
“I had enough half hour ago,” Sarah said, but she had a smile on her face.
“Then go and get showered. Dinner will be about another half hour.” Once she had left, he looked up at Craig.
“How did her first lesson go?” he called down.
“Good, if you ignore the fact that I had to confiscate her engagement ring.”
Craig winced. He was in trouble.
“Here,” JD called out and threw it up to him. “If she wears it again I’m going to blame you.”
Sarah spent longer in the shower than she had planned on as her arms were aching so much it made washing her hair difficult. When she entered the dining room, everyone was there, except for Jonathon, and the topic of conversation appeared to be her training.
She took a seat next to Craig and he passed her ring to her. “Thanks,” she said as she slipped it onto her finger.
“How are you feeling?” Katie asked.
“Fine,” she replied. “As long as I never have to move my arms ever again.”
“Wai
t till the morning,” Simon said. “They’ll hurt even more.”
“Couldn’t you have taken it easy on her?” Silvia asked JD.
“I did.”
As soon as the meal was over, Craig drove her home. Despite the fact that it wasn’t a long journey, she fell asleep.
“I bet you’re glad I drove now,” Craig said when they arrived at her house. He stayed in the car, waited until she had shut her front door, then drove home.
As soon as he got there he went looking for JD and found him in his office.
“She’s exhausted,” he said. “But is looking forward to coming back.”
“I’m not surprised. Her fitness level isn’t actually that bad, but it needs to be a lot better if she’s going to stick with the training.”
“She will,” Craig said. “How did she really do?”
“Better than I was expecting,” JD admitted. “She has a good foundation I can work from, she listens to what I tell her and picks things up quickly. She seems to have a natural talent, with a sword at least. She doubts she will become good enough to hunt with us. I doubt we are going to be able to stop her.”
“How long will it take?”
JD tilted his head to one side as he thought about it. “Eighteen months, two years. Maybe a little less, depending on how much effort she puts in.”
Craig grinned at him. “The next couple of years are going to be fun then.”
————————————-∞————————————-
Sarah’s next training session was on the Friday night. She felt a strange sense of belonging as she entered the code in the keypad, watched the gate swing open, then drove down the driveway. She hadn’t been expecting her own spot in the garage, let alone a room in the Sanctuary, and she still found it hard to believe the effort these strangers were going to for her.
The hour long session was just as exhausting as the first one had been, but at least her arms didn’t hurt as much when it was over. This time it was her legs. JD had concentrated on stances and balance and her muscles were screaming at her by the time he said she could leave the arena.
After dinner, JD went back into the arena while the rest switched on the Playstations. Sarah declined the offer to join them and staggered to her room.
“Don’t forget to set your alarm,” Craig reminded her, making her groan. She really did not want to get up in time to be in the arena at 5 o’clock the next morning.
She slept well and it took her a moment to realise the noise which had woken her was the buzzing of her alarm. Reluctantly she switched it off and dragged herself out of bed.
She was the last one to enter the arena, but a quick glance at the clock told her she was on time. Just.
Craig was way too cheerful for such an early hour when he greeted her. Her reply was just a grunt.
“Well aren’t we grumpy this morning.”
“There is only one 5 o’clock on a Saturday and it sure as hell isn’t the AM one.”
JD listened to the encounter with amusement. “Is she always like this in the morning?”
“No,” Craig replied. “Usually she’s worse.”
Sarah growled at him.
“Get your Bo. As this is Sarah’s first 5am session we will go easy to start with.” She didn’t like the way JD smiled at her. She had the distinct feeling his version of easy was a lot different to hers. She just hoped he took into account that her legs were still hurting.
Everyone grabbed a staff from the urn and Craig handed one to Sarah. Once they were back in line, JD gave a brief explanation. “This is a Bo staff, usually just called a Bo. It’s six feet long. You place your hands at the two and four feet points so it’s evenly balanced. They can be a very effective fighting tool, but it’s extremely hard to kill a vampire with one so we just use them for fitness training. We have set routines for these, our knives and our swords; all Sanctuaries do. I, however, have put ours to music. I’ve done this for two reasons. Firstly, it keeps everyone in time so I can easily spot the mistakes. Secondly, it makes it more fun. Any questions?”
Sarah shook her head as she stifled a yawn.
“You can tell what mood he’s in by what music he puts on,” Craig whispered to her.
JD heard the comment, but ignored it. “As this is your first time,” he continued, “we will keep it simple. Don’t worry about getting the technique right; I’ll correct that later. Just try to keep up.”
He then demonstrated what he wanted her to do. “Straight up under the chin, down on the top of the head, swing it round into the ribs on the left, then on the right. Repeat. Got it?”
Sarah nodded her head, though not enthusiastically. JD could see the others trying to work out which music that particular routine fitted with and had to suppress a smile. They were not going to be happy.
As soon as he pressed play on the iPod there was a collective groan.
“In the Hall of the Mountain King?” Sarah asked in surprise.
JD grinned at her. “As I said, just try to keep up. Listen to the timing of the music and make sure you strike your imaginary opponent on each beat.”
It started off nice and slow, giving Sarah time to get the hang of moving her Bo around, but as the tempo increased she found her accuracy was rapidly deteriorating.
By the time the music had finished she was sweating. “That was fun,” she said breathlessly. “Ever done one to Zorba the Greek?”
As soon as the words were out she felt Craig’s hand clamp over her mouth.
“Craig,” she heard Katie hiss. “You were supposed to speak to her BEFORE she started training.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll do it later.”
“Have I done something wrong?” Sarah asked once Craig removed his hand.
“Big time,” Simon said, “but we won’t hold it against you. Craig, on the other hand, will be made to suffer.”
Nobody noticed that JD had to turn his back so they didn’t see him struggle to suppress his laughter as he pretended to be selecting the next song. “If you have all quite finished,” he said once he had composed himself. He knew exactly what Craig would be talking to Sarah about later and was amazed that they still all thought he had no idea about their ‘rules’ for dealing with him.
He demonstrated the next routine, then pressed play. He barely glanced at Sarah; he would work on her later in the day. As long as she was doing something, he was happy; it didn’t matter at this stage if it was right or not. For her, for a while, these morning sessions would solely be about fitness.
He watched the others closely, looking for the slightest mistake. They very rarely made any anymore.
“Sarah, stop singing,” he said when the song was finished. “If you’re singing, you’re not breathing correctly. We’ll need to work on that.”
They continued on for the full hour, then JD dismissed them. Sarah made to go to her room, but Craig pulled her into his own.
He sat her on his bed then began to lecture her.
“We have rules for handling JD. They are for our benefit, not his. I was supposed to tell you these earlier, but I forgot. It’s going to make your life a lot easier if you memorise them. Do not write them down, just in case he sees them.”
He then proceeded to list them for her.
Rule 1. Never encourage him. He can find plenty of ways to torture us on his own without us making suggestions.
Rule 2. Never let him know you don’t like something. He will make you do it all the more.
Rule 3. Never try to get out of training without a very good reason. He will make you pay for it.
Rule 4. Never argue with him. It’s pointless. You will end up doing what he wants eventually anyway.
Rule 5. If you are injured, make damn sure you tell him. He will adjust your training to take it into account. If you don’t tell him and injure yourself more, he will make you pay when you recover.
Rule 6. Never lie to him. Somehow he always finds out and he will make you pay.
Rule 7. Never touch his sword.
Rule 8. If you skip training because you are sick, you had better make sure you are really sick.
Rule 9. Never get him angry. He goes cold and when he does that he becomes lethal. He is always in complete control and would never hurt any of us, but it’s scary as shit when he gets like that.
Craig went through them a few times until he was sure Sarah would remember.
“One other thing,” he added before he let her leave. “Never forget that everything he puts us through is for our own good. He’s just trying to keep us alive.”
“You have a lot of respect for him,” Sarah said, but Craig shook his head.
“It goes way beyond respect. We idolise him. In our own way, we love him, but never ever tell him that.”
“I won’t,” she said then went to shower.
Breakfast was a noisy affair. Other than Doc and Silvia, everyone was there, except for Jonathon, who hadn’t made it home the previous evening. Various cereals had been placed on the table, along with a steaming pot full of porridge and bread for toasting.
Sarah always had yogurt on her cereal instead of milk and wasn’t in the least surprised to find cartons of her usual brand available.
“Thank you, again,” she said to Craig as she started to eat. He just winked at her.
“So these routines,” she said. “How many are there that I need to learn?”
Nobody could give her an answer. “Lots,” was the best that Scott could do. “JD keeps making up new ones to keep us on our toes. Most are relatively simple, but some can get quite challenging.”
“They’re nothing compared to the ones he sets for himself though,” Katie said. “One of these days one of us is going to piss him off enough that he makes us do one of those.”
JD didn’t mind that he was being talked about while in the room. He was used to it. As always, he remained quiet, listening closely to the conversation. He had discovered a long time ago that the others sometimes forgot he was there and let things slip that they didn’t really want him to know about.
Once he had finished eating, he glanced at his watch. “Sarah, today your lesson will start at ten. As you get fitter they will get longer and start earlier. For now, we will stick to an hour. Make sure you get to the arena on time or that hour is going to feel really long.”
Vampire Hunters, #1 Page 5