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Mara rose Is that it? Do I go back to the wall? He looked to the boys Nuht smirked at him Mara had beaten him up only ye

sterday Not s then, were you?

“Twelve,” a Shadow said

No, why ain? Mara walked back to the h not to be able to step away from a punch or kick, only able to block Even then, a blocked strike would still send him down and hurt bad He felt small spots of rain Some appeared on the Shadow’s mask, then ran into lines

“Begin,” a Shadow said

Mara flinched, ready to block in either direction The Shadow hopped back Did it think I was gonna attack?

The Shadow clenched its fists, flicked its arms, and stamped a foot It’s pissed off Mara could see the raindrops on either side of the Shadow, falling slow enough he could count them The Shadow’s front foot stepped forward as its back foot twisted sideways, its left fist pointed at hihtly Here comes the kick

Mara hopped forward and sta it backwards

The Shadow fell, the rain speeding up as it screamed Two others ran from the side to help it “To your rooms,” one shouted

Mara shuffled back, then turned to join the backs of the boys as they ran Number eleven stared at him as they entered their rooms Eleven was older than Mara and had always snarled when their eyes ht Eleven didn’t snarl this time He looked scared

7

Mara was collected fro the corridor he hadn’t seen since his first day Not the chair again, please, not the chair They passed the room he was tied up in and entered a cold, dark roo the walls

The roo stone benches ran across it At the other end, a set of wooden steps led up to a high, large stone It looked like two big black wings had been drawn on the wall above it

The Shadow pointed to a bench “Sit”

Another Shadow entered the rooht him here away