A Shadow of Scarlet (Book #3)

Eyes burning from the salt, heart hammering and her breathing sounding like a drowning elephant, she gave up and let her legs rest. Her lifecycle slowed and then stopped. Dismounting the stationary bicycle, she grabbed her towel and mopped her sopping face. She certainly needed a shower today. And, right now, no one except an idiot would think she was beautiful. Ugh.

When Wolfe dismounted, Karen touched the screen of her own trainer to add another level of difficulty to her session. Despite the whole gym/fitness thing really being a ruse to help Callie, Karen was actually improving her own fitness. Her physique had changed slightly in even the short time they'd been working out. She'd gotten more slender while adding curves in places she hadn't had curves before.

And, that walk she did. Her strut. It had gotten even sexier. If that was possible. How Karen accomplished it, Wolfe had no clue. Especially since she had no idea how Karen did what she did when walking that made everyone lust after her in the first place. Callie's younger sister Tulip knew, but Tulip wasn't talking. Not even to Rose, who made all sorts of vague threats which everyone knew she would never carry out.

Uncapping some water and taking a sip, Wolfe glanced around the fitness center again. Still no one who looked like a stranger or out of place. Disappointed, she capped the bottle and placed it between her feet as she sat on a bench. She mopped her face again with the towel.

"Hai!" Callie's cry punctuated her Tai Chi workout on the mats in the corner of the fitness center. Gloria followed along silently behind her.

Tugging the zipper of her exercise top down, she opened it a few inches to let some body heat escape. The black plastic zipper went all the way down the center of her spandex top. It made it easier for her to get it on and off with her bad shoulder. Especially when she was sweaty like today.

There were tiny matching zippers at the ankles of her spandex leggings too. The zippers added subtle detailing to, and contrasted with, the dark red of the outfit very nicely.

Wolfe liked the effect. But then, she really liked red with black accents anyway. They were her favorite colors. She wore them whenever Marco would deign to make her outfits in those colors. Not easy since Marco liked to dress her in different colors all the time. Monochrome wasn't his style.

They'd had a discussion about it once. He refused to only make her clothes in red and black. Refused! Then, he'd waited months before designing something else for her to wear. In teal!

She still shuddered at the memory of that experience. The pants were beautiful and fit her perfectly. The blouse was loose and gauzy and comfortable. But, the shade was just unique enough that nothing matched. Absolutely nothing! Shoes were too green. Or too blue. Her jewelry only accentuated the differences in color. Contrasting colors like sand or eggshell should have been ok but somehow weren't. Even black looked awful with the teal. The whole effect was like mixing red and orange. Or plaids and stripes. Hideous when together even though each piece was fabulous when apart.

She'd learned her lesson; do not anger your couture designer with unreasonable demands. You will regret it. It had taken an apology to soothe Marco's temper tantrum. He still frowned at her sometimes when she asked for something red, even though it had been years since their disagreement over color.

Wolfe sighed and toweled her face and neck again. She never did find out where the teal outfit went. It disappeared from her closet and never came back. No way was she going to ask about them either. She was not going to remind anyone of her screw up. She could put up with some golds, browns and blues if she still got a few red things to wear.

Sighing again, she patted her chest with the towel through the vee opening at the top of the zipper as she waited for Karen to finish. At least no one was trying to hustle Karen today. That was an improvement over their last visit.

Wolfe looked over at Callie after scanning the gym once again looking for Chi. She and her shadow were in the final stage of their workout routine. Both of them were standing on one foot. The other foot was against the side of the supporting leg at the knee. Their hands were folded together as if in prayer at chest level. Palm to palm, fingers pointing up. As Wolfe watched, Callie finished. She placed her raised foot on the floor before bowing and saluting. Her right fist in her left open palm. Her shadow followed suit.

Callie opened her eyes. She began to walk over to the bench where she kept her towel. Suddenly she froze, her head whipping around, eyes huge in shock. On the bench, instead of two rolled towels, today there were three.

"You are better than this."

The words came from a man who was lifting weights nearby. Callie fell to her knees, leaning forward to touch the mats with her forehead.

"Master."

The lone word was so softly spoken Wolfe barely heard it.

The man on the weight bench placed the bar back onto it's hooks and sat up. Standing, he walked to the center of the mats where he gestured for Callie to join him.

"I am your Master. Attend me. Here!" He pointed at the floor in front of him.

"Defend yourself!" He told Callie once she was standing in front of him. He launched a slap at her face.

The slap landed. Callie didn't even try to stop it. It sent her tumbling.

Karen vaulted off her lifecycle. Wolfe missed her grab to stop her.

"You are better than this. I taught you better than this." The man who could only be Callie's sensei scolded Callie as she lay on the mat.

"Is your opponent's life is worth more than yours? Is that it little flower? Your life has no meaning now? None? What will those who depend upon you do when you are gone? When you are defeated? What will your friends and family do then, die with you? Is that your winning strategy? Is that what you've become? A weakling? A coward who wants to quit?"

Callie just lay on the mats without moving. She did not respond at all to his statements.

Karen dashed over to defend Callie. As she launched herself at him, Master Chi pivoted to block and strike.

Callie seemingly teleported herself to suddenly appear between Karen and Chi. Callie held up her arms out to her sides, like a basketball player trying to block a pass. She was facing the blonde. Facing away from her Master.

"No. No! Stop! Run away! No!"

Karen tried to dodge, but wound up barreling headlong into Callie anyway. The collision sending them both sprawling to land with a crash after tipping over another plastic bench. Karen landed on top of Callie and was the first to regain her feet. She whipped her head around to locate Chi, taking one step toward him again before Wolfe finally caught up with her and touched her arm.

"We are safe. You know we are safe. You do not need to do this. No."

Wolfe's voice was calming. Callie, regaining her feet, moved in their direction. Slamming her body into the blonde's she grabbed and held on.

By the time Himura sorted through what had happened, he realized Callie was kissing the blonde. All three of them were holding each other in a tight huddle.

"I am here. We are here. There is no danger." Callie was telling the blonde between kisses.

"We are safe. There is no need for this. We are safe." The brunette also used calming words to the blonde.

"Who are you?" Himura asked them abruptly. They were interfering between him and his student.

Without speaking, Karen turned flaming blue eyes in his direction. She growled a weird semi-subvocal inhuman snarl. Apparently she was too pissed off for words. Her hands flexed to form claws. Quickly, Callie stepped between her and Chi with her back against the blonde. The brunette held the blonde fully encased in her arms in a light embrace.

"Karen," the brunette chided her softly. "We are safe!"

At the same time, Callie bowed in his direction. One handed with only her open palm. Her other hand was still enmeshed with the blonde's.

"Master."

Himura returned the bow of respect. Fist into open palm. Identical to the way Callie had shown her young student.

"Master Himura. I am Maria Wolfe. I am the one who called you yesterday." The long faced brunette standing with Callie and the angry blonde amazon, spoke clearly. She stroked the blonde's face lovingly even as she spoke to Chi.

At her words Callie looked up at Wolfe in shock.

Four

"Maria?" Callie's question betrayed the hurt in her eyes as she turned to look at the brunette still holding the blonde woman.

"I'm sorry Callie. I had to."

"Why?"

"Because she loves you and is worried about you."

The blonde's voice sounded hollow to Himura's ears. At least she was speaking again. Maybe that meant she was calming down?

"I also worry. Worry that you have given up. On yourself. On us. On our love. On your promise. To me." The hollow words continued.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me."

"You lie." Himura told Callie brutally. "You lie and you know you lie."

At his words, the blonde woman raised her head to look directly at him. Her eyes no longer flamed, but the intensity from the previous moments still remained in her piercing blue gaze.

"Mine!"

The possessive ferocity in that single word took Himura by surprise. He also realized he'd underestimated the woman. She was the human equivalent of a mother bear with cubs. In her, the protective instinct was very strong. Very dangerous to mess around with. Very dangerous because, once aroused, she would not quit until her foe was vanquished and routed. Worse, she would die to protect what was hers to protect. And take her opponent with her if she could.

"Kar-en." The brunette cautioned the blonde, dragging her name out into two distinct syllables.

Callie didn't try to soothe the woman. Instead, she hugged the blonde tightly with both arms, her face pressing into the other woman's chest.

"Is it over?"

The tiny nasal question was unexpected. Chi looked over his shoulder at the young girl who peeked around the row of lifecycles.

"Yes. Are you done trying to wreck my place?" The older voice of the man who owned the fitness center followed the young girl's question.

Wolfe turned to face him. "We're sorry. Things got a bit out of hand. If there are repairs necessary to fix any damage or replace equipment, please send the bill upstairs to GreenWood. We will take care of it immediately."

At that moment, a half dozen men arrived. Running into the fitness center they fanned out to surround the trio of women.

"Stand down." Karen told them before they were in position, her words still hollow sounding.

"Ma'am?" One of the men asked as they all paused.

"I am fine. By my Word and Seal, stand down. It is over."

Yes Ma'am." The man who had spoken directed the rest of the men to continue to take up stations surrounding the trio.

"No." Karen's command made them pause again. "Return to your regular duties."

"Ma'am?"

Karen's eyes blazed for a moment as she looked at them. Instantly they dropped to one knee before her, eyes to the floor.

"Dismissed." Her voice was careless, almost bored sounding. Only her blazing eyes indicated that she wasn't.

The men jumped up and left without looking back.

What? Who are these people?

Wolfe looked at the fitness center owner after they left. "Nick, really, I am sorry. We didn't mean to damage anything. Master Chi is here for a martial arts evaluation. Things just got out of hand." She repeated her apology.

"Out of hand?" Nick was incredulous.

"Yes." Wolfe explained simply. "You already know Callie is her bodyguard. Master Himura is here to test her."

"A test? All of this was just a test?" Nick pointed at Himura. "Who are you?"

"[INSERT NAME HERE] Himura. I own the karate dojo where Callie trains. I am here at her invitation," he pointed at Wolfe. "To evaluate Callie."

Nick looked from one to the other then the next until he had looked at all of them. He sighed.

"All right. I'll let it go. This time. But, no more. The last two times you've been here, something like this has happened and I won't let it go on. If you're going to do this stuff, take it someplace else. Ok?"

"Certainly. We understand your concerns completely."

Wolfe tried to reassure Nick. Temper, temper. Watch your temper, Wolfe thought to herself as she concealed how she really felt. She bit her tongue instead of telling Nick they'd be glad to take their business elsewhere. Except that the entire mall was their business. And if he didn't like it, he could go elsewhere and they'd find someone else to run the fitness center who wasn't an idiot.

Nick had grumped to himself, but as he left to go back to his office he called out to the other patrons of the gym.

"Everything's fine. Supposedly it was a demonstration and a test to see if her bodyguard was up to snuff. No one told me either, but they say they're finished. So, everyone, go back to what you were doing before the ruckus started. It's all over now."

As the other members cautiously and carefully went back to their own workouts, Callie, with Himura's help, located their missing towels and water bottles. They righted the plastic bench which Callie and Karen had tumbled over when they collided. It was broken along the edge of the seat and would need replacing.

Finished, they looked for Karen and Wolfe. Finding them seated in the center of the training mats, Callie lead the way over to them. Folding into a lotus next to Karen on the other side from Wolfe, she immediately laced her fingers through the blonde's. The blonde kept her eyes on Himura as he walked restlessly back and forth in front of the trio.

How do I frame this? Himura didn't really know where to begin. Callie's problem wasn't her physical abilities. Yes, Callie was weak, but physical strength could be improved. It was her inner confidence that was the problem.

And, it was a problem. Callie wasn't just a martial arts champion. She was a believer. Old school believer. Really old school. More like ancient school. With oaths, honor, etiquette, blah, blah, blah. Comparable to the whole Japanese Samarai Bushido code and commitment. To her it didn't matter that her martial art was only karate, she believed in herself and her honor like the Samarai. Everything was tied to how well she performed and kept to her oaths and beliefs. Change one thing, shake her commitment to her honor or integrity, and it all fell apart.

The problem, as Himura saw it, was that was what had happened. Something had changed for her. Consequently, she'd stopped believing in herself.

It showed in her workout routine. It showed in how little she practiced certain Tai Chi poses and omitted others. It showed in how easily he was able to defeat her because she refused to defend herself. She wanted the punishment he gave her. Her own mind prevented her from being what she once was because of her belief she was unworthy for some unknown reason.

"Master Himura, if you don't stop pacing, Karen isn't going to settle down." Wolfe's voice was calm but he could hear her exasperation. "It would be better if you sat with us."

"Please Master." Callie's request followed on the heels of Wolfe's.

Himura began to sit near Callie. At Karen's steely look, he shifted to a place a bit further away. Karen continued to gaze at him without speaking.

"Who are you? Who is she?" He pointed at Karen.

"Why? Is it important?" Wolfe asked the question.

"It could be. It could affect what is happening to Callie."

"Very well. She, is the CEO of GreenWood Enterprises." Wolfe introduced Karen by her title. "My friend. Callie's friend."

Karen turned her head and smiled at Wolfe. Leaning over, she drew Wolfe closer with a gentle touch along her jaw to land a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Co-CEO. With you. Forever."

Wolfe smiled in return and gently squeezed Karen's hand. Himura cleared his throat in confusion and the hope that more information would be forthcoming.

"They are the head of the company that owns and manages the mall. Both of them. They are my employers." Callie's answer was short and to the point.

"And?"

"And, now, you talk to Callie and to us. About what is bothering her. About what is wrong with her." Wolfe spoke carefully. She didn't need to screw this one up.

"I told you, nothing is wrong with me." Callie rapped out to Wolfe. "Nothing."

Himura only looked at Callie. Callie stared back for a moment then dropped her eyes. Chi continued to wait. Callie did not look up again.

"So, another demonstration then."

Karen's eyes instantly intensified as he rose to his feet. Himura paused before looking around. The blonde was really on guard. Against everything.

Callie stroked the blonde's arm again. She was aware of the blonde's lightening fast mood change at least. How and why, Chi had no idea but maybe he could use that to show them what was happening.

"It's ok. I promise." Callie spoke to the blonde to try to keep her calm as Chi stood over them all. His position was a superior fighting position. Everyone knew it. And, the blonde did not like that one bit.

Finding Callie's shadow still watching them, Chi gestured for the young girl to come over. Hesitantly she obeyed.

"Master, she is deaf."

"Quiet." Himura scolded Callie without looking.

"It will be simpler this way to show you what I know. What I saw." Himura had the girl stand in front of the trio before addressing her directly.

"I watched you earlier. You learn well. Do you know who I am?" He spoke slowly to the girl.

The girl shook her head.

"My name is Mister Himura. I am Callie's teacher. Do you understand who I am now?"

The girl nodded.

"Good. Can you show us what Callie has taught you? Just some of the movements?"

The girl looked at her feet and scrubbed her shoe on the mat. A moment later she raised her eyes again.

"No one will laugh. We want to see how well Callie teaches you. To help her teach you better."

"Will you help us help Callie to be a better teacher? So you can learn better? Will you help us?"

The girl once again looked at her feet but nodded. Himura waited until she looked up again.

"Good. Can you show us what Callie taught you with White Crane Spreads its Wings?"

"I don't know all the names yet." The girls nasal voice was soft.

"Ok. How about if I show you where to start and you can go from there. You think you can do that?"

At the girls nod of agreement, Himura set his body and hands in the beginning of the transfer from Part the Horse's Mane, into White Crane Spreads it's Wings.

"Ready? Begin."

He began the flowing movements into the position. The girl following along behind him. Himura stopped part way through the pose and let the girl continue on her own. She wasn't exactly graceful, but even Wolfe could see that the potential was there. In a few years, she would be very graceful and talented. It was obvious.

"Now the next position; Brush Knee Push."

"That doesn't come next." Again the girls nasal voice was soft.

"It doesn't? What comes next?"

"The monkey one comes next."

"The monkey one?"

"You know, the monkey one. Where we step back." She demonstrated what she meant.

"The correct name is Repulse the Monkey. Can you say that?"

The girl nodded and repeated the phrase.

"Do you know why Repulse the Monkey comes next?" Himura asked her after she was done.