Lessons

The second day Rowen was out of the hospital a group of officers, from the precinct that Mullins and Austin work at, came to the apartment to help pack and move them to the headmasters house. It took half a day to move everything. During that time Brooke took Rowen out to buy more clothes.

The day after that Detective Austin came by with a stack of books as Brooke was leaving for work. Rowen was laying on the couch watching a documentary on the rise and fall of the dwarven kingdom.

"I brought you some homework."

Rowen groaned but did not move from her prone position, "I think I'm already doing enough studying. I could tell you more about our history than most historians."

There was a hint of a growling echo to her words. Austin ignored her and placed the books on the table.

"I brought a math book so that you can look it over and make certain you are where you need to be for Guilari. Public school tends to be a little more lax in the math department. Along with that is a book on basic magic that everyone learns as a freshman, and basic summoning.

"Like with math, there is science, history and language arts to make certain you are up to par with your classmates. I will also be coming by to give you basic self-defense training. It is also part of the freshman course."

Austin crossed his arms and looked at her with a frown, "So, get up. It's time to go out and get in some training."

Rowen rolled her eyes and turned around to face the back of the couch.

"Don't you have some detective work to do?"

"I do, which is why you should be moving. I'm taking time away from work to make sure you aren't behind when you start the Academy."

~You might as well take advantage of what he's offering. I can supplement whatever his training lacks, and it will be lacking, but it is a good start.~

"Fine, fine…"

Rowen turned back around and sat up, she turned off the tv and stood up while rubbing her face.

"You had to come when I was planning to take a nap."

Austin snorted, "You'll have plenty of time to take a nap when we're done."

Rowen looked down at the stack of books and mumbled under her breath, "Not with those books." But she followed him out, after putting on her sneakers and brushing her hair.

Detective Austin took her to Precinct Three, the police station that he worked at, and to the gym they had in the basement. The main level of Precinct Three was where the officers worked. Each one had their own desk laid out in an open floor plan. The only ones who had an actual office were the detectives and the captain, who was incharge of everything there.

The second floor was where the holding cells and interrogation rooms were located. The basement was where evidence was stored, files when to die and the gym was. When they arrived it was empty. Austin had Rowen run through each machine to test where her baseline was.

When she had been tested on everything Rowen had surprised herself; she was faster and stronger than she had ever been. She had been using her own power during the test, which meant that her strength and speed would increase nearly three-fold when they fully melded.

After the tests Austin walked her through some basic defensive moves. What he walked her through were moves that anyone off the street could learn at a self-defence class. It did not take her long to memorize the moves.

Austin came in behind her and pulled her into a choke hold. Rowen immediately shoved her elbow into his ribs with her left hand while her right held the arm around her throat. After the elbow to his ribs she immediately dropped her left hand to punch him in the groin. The moment he was distracted she pulled his arm off her neck and stepped behind him while moving the arm with her.

Rowen held his arm behind his back and hit the back of his knee while she put pressure on his back. Once he went down she stepped back. Austin stood up and dusted himself off. She had already taken him down twice and when she made like she was going in for a third time he raised his hand.

"I think that's enough for today. We'll work on some harder moves tomorrow, maybe look at fighting with weapons."

Rowen's eyes brightened, "A sword?"

"Maybe, but not a real one."

"Fine." Rowen frowned and walked away to get a drink from her bottle.

"Are you sure you've never done this before? You did well for your first time."

"First time fighting in any way, I swear. Now, I was cheating a little, Gabriel was guiding me."

Rowen took a sip of water from her bottle then leaned against the wall. Austin came over and took a drink from his bottle as well.

"In a real fight there is no such thing as cheating. Phrases like 'fighting dirty' only apply to sports that involve fighting and rules. In the real world whatever keeps you alive is all that matters. We still don't know who was behind what happened to you. Whoever it was was not afraid of summoning a strong demon.

"So, demon or not, this training will help you if something were to happen and you were on your own. Don't be afraid to use every advantage you have. Just remember to not go all out while you're at school.

"We went over what they would teach you your first year at the Academy. Tomorrow I'll go over some more advanced moves. Maybe a full on fight instead of just moves."

They cleaned up and headed out. Austin made a point of walking her to the front door and verifying that she went inside.

"Work on those books. Even if you aren't using magic, knowing about it will help in a fight, so don't dismiss it just because it's not related to demons."

"Yes, sir."

Rowen gave him a salute while grinning.

Austin let out a sigh and pulled the door shut, "Don't forget to lock the door."

Rowen locked the door and went to the kitchen to search for some food. She found a package of boneless steaks in the fridge and took the package out.

"What do you think? One or two?"

There were three in the pack and they were hungry after working out.

~Two. Since we're doing lessons, I want you to warm it up yourself.~

Rowen closed her eyes and shivered as knowledge ran through her mind. She could feel heat build up in her hands and it took all her focus to suppress it.

"That's intense."

Gabriel laughed. Rowen smiled back and moved to open the package of meat. She picked up one of the steaks and held it in the palm of her hand. She took in a deep breath and a flame appeared in her hand. It was a blue flame instead of the usual red-orange shade.

Rowen slowly released her breath as she focused on the strength of the flame. The flame stayed around the meat and almost looked as if it were dancing above it.

~Good. Keep it controlled, do not let the heat rise any further. Yes, slow, pull it back and release it.~

She followed its directions and the flame went away. The steak still had a raw appearance, but it was now warm to the touch. Rowen grinned, proud of what she had just accomplished, and took a bite. Her eyes closed and she let out a sigh as she enjoyed the bite, no words were needed.

It was easier the second time, it required less effort from her for the same amount of control. Before she was done they had eaten all three steaks from the pack. Rowen threw away the pack and looked down at her hand as blue flame consumed her hand. She giggled as she watched the flame.

"Does this have a name?"

~Hellfire. It is different from the fire that mages use. Theirs burns hot no matter what, they risk burning themselves everytime they call on their fire. Hellfire is a part of you, it recognizes you as part of it and will never harm you. The hellfire of another demon will burn you, though if they aren't stronger than you it's negligible.~