Read A Beautiful Evil for Free Online

its eyes at the line I’d fed her. It was more complicated than that. I planned on using my power for vigilante justice, for vengeance, and I wasn’t so sure whether that would put me in the “good” category or not.
    After finishing with the braids, I gathered them with the rest of my hair, twisted a tight bun, and secured it with the plain black band from around my wrist. And then I went into the handicapped stall to change.

 
Six
    “Y OU’RE EARLY .”
    I let the door to The Dungeon bang closed behind me and gave Bran a shrug. “I’m ready to train.” And I’d rather be worked into the ground than feel the sheer despair and helplessness I’d felt moments earlier in the bathroom. A good workout always helped put me back on track, even if it did come with a few bumps and bruises.
    I dropped my bag by the door, went to the center of the room, and sat down to stretch. It took less than a minute for Bran’s shadow to fall over me. I glanced up. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me with a gruff expression. “At least you’re wearing appropriate clothes this time.”
    “Brought them with me.” The loose cargo pants and sport tank were oldies, but the most comfortable training gear I had.
    “Get up.”
    I got to my feet, cracked my knuckles, and gave him a cocky smile that I knew he’d appreciate. “Ready to have your ass handed to you, Ramsey?”
    A slow grin split his face. “Bring it on, Snow White.”
    “Snow White has black hair. Know your Disney movies.”
    And so began thirty minutes of relentless physical training. Bran wanted me prepared to fend off any kind of attack, and I couldn’t exactly use my power if I couldn’t keep Athena’s minions or hunters from killing me first. It was all part of the training, he said. Blocks, kicks, punches. Offense. Defense. Learning to bend my enemy’s body parts in new ways that would stop them in their tracks.
    Then came the blade training.
    I was to the point where I could barely breathe, and my hand, wrist, and forearm burned with exertion and the constant vibration of steel meeting steel. Bran tossed his training blade behind him. It slid across the floor and hit the wall. He grabbed my shoulder with one hand and slugged me hard in the gut with the other.
    I doubled over, dropping my blade, straining and gasping for air that wouldn’t come.
    “NOW! RIGHT NOW!” He circled around me, intensity coming off him in heavy waves. “Use that shock, that one-second burst of fear! Tap into it at that moment when there is only reaction, then fling your energy, your emotions, back out. Your power will come with it. Don’t think about it; just do it.”
    I raised a hand in surrender, still doubled over, unable to speak, the pain spreading through my torso in a severe cramp-style ache.
    He continued circling. I knew he was coming in for another hit. Suck it up! If you can’t handle him, you can’t handle whatever Athena will throw at you! Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them back and straightened.
    And then I blocked.
    “Use your power!”
    We went round and round like that for what seemed like hours. I kept trying to use my power, to make something happen, but failed at every turn.
    “Stop holding it in!” he yelled at me. “Stop relying solely on your physical defenses!”
    Punch. Block. Jab. I couldn’t help it. I was human; this was what I knew how to do.
    “When pain hits you, you strike back! You’re too in control, that’s your problem. Your ability to take the pain, swallow it, and stay focused is the problem.”
    I dropped my defensive stance and let my arms fall limp at my sides. “What the hell kind of fighting is that?” I said irritably, trying to catch my breath at the same time. “That’s the first thing they teach you: Stay calm and focused. Now you’re telling me not to?”
    He stopped moving and put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you, Selkirk. Even a baby could understand what