Julian let out a sharp, involuntary gasp. His entire right arm

went completely dead, dropping to his side like a piece of wet rope.

The grip on Elara’s shoulder vanished instantly. He stumbled

forward, off-balance from his missed shove, his face twisting in

sudden, uncomprehending shock.

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"What... what did you do?" he stammered, grabbing his limp

right arm with his left hand, trying desperately to rub feeling back

into the suddenly paralyzed limb.

Elara stood perfectly still, her breathing steady. "Transient

neuropraxia," she stated clinically. "A temporary interruption of

nerve conduction caused by blunt trauma to the radial nerve. You

will regain motor function in approximately three to five minutes.

Expect severe tingling."

The dojo was graveyard silent. The students, who had expected

Elara to be thrown to the ground, stared in utter disbelief. The

quiet, timid woman had just disabled the head instructor’s arm

with a single, seemingly effortless tap.

* * *

15

Chapter 4: The Challenge Issued

Julian’s face flushed a deep, mottled purple. Humiliation

burned hotter than the pins and needles now exploding down his

right arm. He, the young lion of the gym, had been made to look

foolish by the weakest gazelle in the herd. This was intolerable.

"That was a cheap trick," he hissed, his voice trembling with

rage. He backed away, shaking his arm violently as feeling began to

return, bringing with it a deep, throbbing ache.

"There are no tricks in anatomy, Julian," Elara replied, finally

stepping back to check on Toby, who was being helped to his feet

by two older students. "Only biomechanics. And yours are severely

lacking."

"Lacking?" Julian laughed, a jagged, hysterical sound. "You

think because you got lucky and hit a funny bone you know

something about fighting? I could destroy you."

Elara finished wiping the blood from Toby's face. "Take him to

the clinic," she instructed the students helping him. She turned

back to Julian. "You do not know how to fight. You know how to

perform athletic routines and bully people who are smaller than

16

you. True martial arts, at its core, is about preserving life and

structural integrity. You only know how to recklessly damage it."

"Prove it," Julian spat, pointing his now-functional right hand

at her. The dojo held its collective breath. "You think you're so

superior? Prove it. You and me. Right now. Full contact sparring

rules."

Murmurs rippled through the spectators. This was madness.

Julian was a black belt; Elara hadn't even tested for her yellow belt.

It was a mismatch of epic proportions.

"I decline," Elara said simply, turning away. "I have no desire to

fight you."

"Because you're a coward!" Julian shouted to her retreating

back. "You pulled a parlor trick and now you're running away! If

you walk out that door, you never come back. I'll ban you from this

gym."

Elara stopped. She looked at the door. It would be so easy to