Finale

back on my feet, determined to shove him off a steep slope the first chance I got. There were plenty of ravines around; I just needed to get close enough to him to do the job.
    At last Dante stopped, and by the time I caught up, he was stretched out on a large boulder with his hands clasped loosely behind his neck. He’d peeled out of his tracksuit bottoms and
Windbreaker, leaving him in knee-length shorts and a fitted T-shirt. Other than a slight rise and fall of his chest, I never could have guessed he’d just sprinted what must have been about
ten miles gradually uphill.
    I crawled onto the boulder and flopped next to him. “Water,” I said, gasping for breath.
    Dante rose up on an elbow and smiled down at me. “Not happening. I’m going to wring you dry. Water makes tears, and tears are one thing I can’t stand. And once you see what
I’ve got planned next, you’re going to want to cry. Lucky for me, you won’t be able to.”
    He hooked me under the armpits and dragged me to standing. Dawn was just beginning to light the horizon, coloring the sky an icy pink. Standing side by side on the boulder, we could see for
miles. The evergreen trees, spruces and cedars, spread like a towering carpet in every direction, rolling over hills and into the basin of a deep ravine that cut through the scenery.
    “Pick one,” Dante instructed.
    “Pick one what?”
    “A tree. After you’ve uprooted it, you get to go home.”
    I blinked at the trees, at least a hundred years old and as thick around as three telephone poles, and felt my jaw drop slightly. “Dante . . .”
    “Strength Training 101.” He gave me a slap on the back by way of encouragement, then settled back into a relaxed recline on the boulder. “This is going to be better than
watching the
Today
show.”
    “I hate you.”
    He laughed. “Not yet, you don’t. But an hour from now . . .”
    An hour later I had deposited every ounce of energy—and maybe my soul, too—into the uprooting of one very stubborn and unaccommodating white cedar. Other than
making it slant slightly, it was a perfect specimen of a thriving tree. I had tried pushing it over, digging it out, kicking it into submission, and futilely beating my fists against it. To say the
tree had won was an understatement. And all the while, Dante had sat perched on his boulder, snorting, laughing, and hollering carping remarks. Glad one of us found this entertaining.
    He sauntered over, a slight but very obnoxious smile tugging at his mouth. He scratched his elbow. “Well, Commander of the Great and Mighty Nephilim Army, any luck?”
    Sweat ran in rivulets down my face, dripping off my nose and chin. My palms were scraped raw, my knees were scuffed, my ankle was sprained, and every muscle in my body cried out in agony. I
grabbed the front of Dante’s shirt and used it to wipe my face. And then I blew my nose in it.
    Dante stepped back, palms raised. “Whoa.”
    I flung an arm in the direction of my chosen tree. “I can’t do it,” I admitted on a sob. “I’m not cut out for this. I’ll never be as strong as you, or any
other Nephil.” I felt my lip quiver in disappointment and shame.
    His expression softened. “Take a deep breath, Nora. I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it. That was the point. I wanted to give you an impossible challenge so later, when you finally
can
do it, you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come.”
    I stared at him, feeling my temper boil.
    “What?” he asked.
    “What?
What?
Are you crazy? I have school today. I have a test to study for! And I thought I was giving it up for something worthwhile, but now I find out this was all just to
make a point? Well, here’s me making a point! I’m throwing in the towel. I’m done! I didn’t ask for this. Training was
your
idea. You’ve called all the shots,
but this time it’s my turn. I QUIT!” I knew I was dehydrated and probably not thinking rationally, but I’d had enough. Yes, I’d wanted to boost my endurance and strength and
learn how to defend myself. But this was ridiculous. Uproot a
tree
? I’d given it my best shot, and he’d sat back and laughed, knowing full well I’d never be able to do
it.
    “You look really pissed off,” he said, frowning and stroking his chin in a perplexed manner.
    “You
think
?”
    “Consider it an object lesson. A benchmark of sorts.”
    “Yeah? Benchmark
this
.” And I gave him a stiff middle finger.
    “You’re blowing this out of