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The fourth ti zapped, and her resolve and focus firot through The praise she gave Christine, as well as the approbation of the group, bolstered the woman She’d also been able to detect those shiave a hundred extra miles for even the most minute success from their hard work It spurred the teacher as well, such that Ruby found herself grinning, genuinely proud of theroove She anchored the shield and held it for a solid h five, which Christine returned with a pleased smile and a shaky hand "Now, in a few moments, we’ll break out into pairs and let you all practice that"

"But we don’t kno to do the zapping part," Sally said

"Yes That’s a et this down Right now, you guys are like rookie cops No chief in his right ive you a Taser until he was sure you have the control skills to curb a quick trigger finger Sally, you were getting a little heated in your political discussion with Georgia last night You ht decide to zap her to prove your point about Middle East policy decisions"

As the wohed, Ruby moved back to the center of the circle, to the laundry sack she’d laid there earlier with tools for today’s lesson "Here you go One for each pairing" She pulled out an assortment of colored Nerf balls, tossed them to every other woman in the circle "You can do this at home as well, with a trusted fa, the ball will veer off when it’s thrown at you, as if a stray wind caught it It’s best to use Nerfs, particularly for the hoshotting the hundred balls your husband shoots out of his pitching raduate Hogwarts"

More laughter She could see each woht" Ruby sobered "Get to practicing"

DAY SIX

"All right, this lesson is hoe’re going to spend uarantee you’ll all hate h"

"If we say we hate you now, can we go ahead and break for Danish?" Sally joked

Ruby snorted "Obviously too y in this crowd, if I have a smart-ass before I’ve finished"to class" like Aerous tie of their capabilities than they’d knoas possible, but little practical experience However, like fighter pilots, they just needed a certain alad to see their spirits were holding It had been a tough week, and today was going to be even tougher It was good for theh

She was tired, too, but for different reasons Each night, when Linda was asleep and the women were safely away froh to call hi incursions here, she was sure she’d feel so in the area She felt the incursions, but not from him From that nebulous, unknown threat that Derek had detected If the deh, she’d show him what her capabilities were now They’d settle what lay between them, with no one else in har this group was keeping her occupied, diluting the frustration Sort of The thorny possibility of hi to dig into her consciousness

"Okay What if this circle was broken and one of you was dragged out of it? How do you get that person back inside and the circle recast, the fault line reinforced? Say Sot knocked out, so the line is broken I’ht next to her, so I pivot, move forward and anchor that perimeter withSally lightly as she did so "I am the circle It’s not separate from me, so when I step out, that circle comes with me I know you’ve all seen Gladiator Seriously, who can resist Russell Crowe in a short tunic?" There was a quick titter, but thirteen pairs of serious eyes remained fastened on her

"Reed Battle of Carthage? It’s the saround "This is the starting point of a new circle Get away froic use, it’s a concept When you adjust your position, you will align with ular dia the sides like a current A spell or energy casting, once released by the user, can’t change course It has to unfold as intended So I plant my ‘shield’ in front of the fallen s her back into the periether even htly, back into a closed shape Then you hold"