0312: The Vampire's Daughter, Book Three

Normally, Mina would go for a walk while Susan and Mary trained. She would visit with the children, talk to the Headmistress, or, sometimes, just go for a walk around the school's beautiful campus. She viewed the time as an escape from reality, not to mention an escape from Mary. She actually liked Mary, but she wound up spending too much time with the vampire.

Tonight, however, Mina couldn't leave. She had to watch. She had to see what Susan did. Sense why she did it. Somehow, she needed to know Susan better than she did. She didn't know why, but she wanted to truly love this child and the only way she could achieve that was to get to know her.

So Mina sat and watched as Susan and Mary fought. It was a spirited training session. Mary had long ago shown Susan all of the moves she knew. Susan, who turned out to be an exceptional student, learned quickly.

Now it was honing her skills and truly learning how to fight. As usual, the pair went through a number of drills to fine tune some movements and then ended with free form fighting.

Mina watched as Susan performed both defensive and attacking moves with such skill that it seemed the student was on the verge of at least matching the master. She noted how easily and fluidly Susan moved throughout each drill. Her speed was also impressive.

"Very nice," Mina said several times as she watched.

Once Mary and Susan switched to free form fighting, however, Mina saw a noticeable shift in Susan. She wasn't fighting.

It wasn't that the fight wasn't fast paced and spirited, or that Susan wasn't actually fighting, because she was. It was that she never used her true abilities.

Mina didn't say anything for a while and just watched. She thought about what she and Susan had talked about over the time they had known each other. How many times had the little girl really used her powers? A handful, maybe?

Mina knew that Susan had used her powers to make her do things she didn't intend to. She knew that the little girl had read her mind on more than one occasion. But the times that she did these things were not out of some selfish desire, they were always out of a desire to help others.

"Stop!" Mina said loudly, causing the two to stop and look at her.

"Susan, you aren't fighting," Mina said to her.

"I don't know what you mean," the little girl responded.

"Yes you do. You never fight. You don't truly attack. You don't do anything other than what you have to do to appease Mary.

"She tells you to attack her and you make a half hearted effort that kicks off a five minute fight. During the fight, you spend almost all of your time deflecting her attack. But again, all of your attacks are half hearted and ineffectual because that is what you intend them to be."

"Mina, I think you're being too hard on her. She is advancing rapidly. Perhaps she just needs more time to gain the confidence to be more aggressive," Mary said in defense Susan.

"I disagree," Mina said standing and walking over to the combatants. She looked at both of them, and then knelt down in front of Susan. "Do you believe your gifts are from God?"

"Yes," the little girl answered, looking Mina squarely in the eyes.

"Do you believe people should use the gifts they have been granted to their fullest potential?"

"Yes."

"Then explain to me why you don't attack Mary? I can tell that you know exactly what she going to do well before she makes a move. You allow these fights to continue when you could easily dispatch her."

"I am here to train, not win every fight," Susan said.

Standing, Mina said, "I will fight her."


[The Vampire's Daughter: An ongoing vampire story. Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. All rights reserved.]