by David Wind
It took but an instant to recognize the malevolent force that had appropriated his anger. She bent forward, her palms facing Mikaal. She did not set herself; rather, she closed her eyes and released her thoughts. Heat surged through her body like a liquid fire, racing through her veins instead of blood, and she drew all of it into her palms. She opened her eyes and released the full force of her power at him.
A wide flash erupted between them, a curtain-like wall created by hundreds of streaks of lightning. The wall held and then, slowly, Areenna forced the shimmering weave toward Mikaal inch by inch. Carefully, slowly, Areenna built her power.
This was new, and she only had instinct to guide her, yet she sensed what was needed and stepped forward. Her mind screamed a warning to stop before she hurt him. But she knew there was no choice.
Taking two more steps, she pushed her palms forward in a sweeping movement. The lightning spread swiftly, following the guidance of her palms, and seconds later it completely surrounded Mikaal.
It took but a few seconds for the strange burning in his eyes to end. When it did, he sank to his knees.
Areenna closed her fingers into fists and the electrical crackle of lightning stopped abruptly. She ran to Mikaal and dropped to the ground before him. Reaching out, she cupped his face in her hands and lifted it. When she looked into his eyes she saw he was again Mikaal.
“Breathe, clear your mind…get rid of it.”
He blinked several times. His stomach was churning and his mouth tasted of a bitter copper. “How…”
“Your anger. We have not yet had that discussion. Anger dulls your mind and lowers your ability to resist another’s will. When that happens, it becomes easy for others to control you. My mother told me it was how they kept defeating our forces, years ago.”
He shook his head. He could still feel tendrils of possession within his mind. Never in his life had he been so beyond his own control. And it will never again happen, he vowed.
“I am sorry,” he said.
Areenna smiled with an understanding decades beyond her youth. “Anyone with power must feel what you felt. If you never feel the loss, you can never protect yourself against it.”
“But how did it find us?”
Areenna shrugged. “This dark one is old and powerful. She found us before; she tracked us here. I should have known so when we received Layra’s message. The fever was too convenient. It was the dark one’s work.”
“How do we protect ourselves?”
“I am doing such now,” and she explained how she had already begun to set her mind on blocking the area. She would know if any dark powers tried to reach them again. “But I doubt she will try again…tonight.”
Mikaal searched her face, wondering how so young a woman could be so strong. “How can I learn to control whatever powers I have?” he asked.
Again, Areenna shrugged. “I don’t know. No one has ever tried to train a man.”
Mikaal stood and then reached down and drew Areenna to her feet. “Then there is only one obvious choice.”
“Obvious? What?”
“Train me as if I were a woman,” he said.
Her jaw dropped. Areenna stared at him in disbelief. She started to protest, but stopped as an old memory tweaked the edges of her mind and transported her back in time. She had just turned sixteen. Her mother was sick, but Areenna did not know the extent of her illness. They were at the edge of the Blue Desert and her mother was instructing her on the use of her powers for defense.
“Remember, a man is trained to exert control over his surroundings: a woman is trained to not just accept but adapt to her surroundings. This means one uses strength, the other uses understanding and surrender. Most men believe their strength—their physical strength—gives them power over others. This is a weakness because a man will fight with everything he has to maintain control. When a man begins to lose control, he becomes angry. The anger opens him to loss of control, exactly the opposite of what he believes.”
“I don’t understand,” Areenna had said.
Her mother smiled. “Anger is so strong an emotion that any defense within the mind is gone. At that point, a man becomes vulnerable. A woman’s mind works differently. Because we do not have the physical strength, we must rely on our mind’s strength. Surrender in the face of anger defeats the anger. Have you never noticed how, when a man and a woman argue, the angrier a man gets, the calmer a woman tends to become?”
When Areenna nodded, her mother said, “Surrender defeats the anger because the anger has nowhere to focus. This doesn’t mean women don’t get angry and lose control, but a wise woman knows how to not allow her anger to control her, but to find a way to bank the anger and maintain emotional control. When she fails, she puts herself in the path of harm.”
Areenna had listened, had digested her mother’s words, and reached an understanding. Only when she had done this had her mother begun to teach her how to control her emotions.
“You’re right,” Areenna told Mikaal as the smell of burning crave reached her nostrils. “The crave,” she cried and turned back to the fire. The bottom of the bird was singed black.
<><><>
Even burned, the plump and meaty bird satisfied their hunger. Shortly after they finished eating, when the moon had risen enough to light the area with soft, pale rays, Areenna picked up her short sword and Mikaal’s long sword and handed him the weapon. “Teach me.”
He accepted the sword, drew it from the scabbard and bowed. “Prepare yourself…Princess.”
With a lopsided smile, he attacked her. He swung hard and when their blades met, the vibration from the blow raced up her arm with a painful stinging. She back-stepped, whirled away from him, and then planted her feet and prepared for another attack, her arm almost numb from the blow.
“Don’t watch my sword, and never watch my feet or my arm, watch my eyes! Remember, an attacker will try to break through your defenses by overpowering you. Because you are a woman, a man knows you’re not as strong as he so he will think it easy to break through. You must defend yourself by not allowing me to get close. The eyes will tell you when an attacker is about to strike. Watch the eyes and only the eyes, nothing else!”
He came at her again. Areenna watched his eyes, not his blade. He moved slowly, his blade swinging in figure eight arcs as he closed on her. She backed away, never taking her eyes from his. When his gray eyes flicked toward her sword, she sensed he was about to swing. She spun as he struck, her sword tilted slightly downward to deflect the power of his blow. The instant his blade touched hers, she did a full turn. His blade slid from hers and, as he had shown her yesterday, she came completely around and lodged the tip of her blade at the base of his throat.
“Good,” he said, lowering his sword. “The only way to defeat a more powerful opponent is by letting his own strength defeat him.”
“Yes, exactly,” she said, seizing the opportunity he had just given her. “And like before, you became so angry you lost every defense you had, which allowed her to capture your mind. Do you see?”
Mikaal blinked as comprehension dawned. He nodded. “I do.”
“Good. The difference between a man and a woman is surrender. Surrender, not control gives you the strength to use your power. Control of your power is different from control over your surroundings. You must accept not only who but what you are, surrender to your power so you may use it. Now,” she said in a very low voice, “with what I have said, try to defeat me.”
Confused, he said,” I don’t understand.”
“Attack me, I will defend myself in every way I can. Try to defeat me.” When he started to speak again, she shook her head and lifted the sword. “Do it!” she ordered and swung at him with all her strength.
He barely got his sword up in time to deflect the blow and was knocked off balance. He back-stepped, in an effort to regain it. She charged at him again. He switched to a two handed grip and deflected her next blow. He started forward and as he did, his feet be
came mired in mud.
“What…No!” he cried as his momentum caused him to pitch forward while his feet stayed in the same spot. He dropped his sword so he could break his fall.
“No magic!” he shouted as he gained his feet and glared at her.
“If you had listened to me, my power would not have affected you. Surrender, Mikaal, surrender is the only way. When I attacked you, you not only defended yourself but attacked me as well. Why? Because of your need to control the fight. By doing so, you allowed me to use my power because when you sought to control the fight you abandoned your defenses.”
“And how do I build my defenses?”
“With your mind, how else? Picture a wall around your head, a solid wall built of the most impenetrable materials. Build it, hold it, and let your body take care of everything else. When your attacker comes after you, surrender to the attack, let him charge forward, let him believe he’s overpowering you, and wait for the moment when his weakness is revealed. Even as you are seemingly giving in to his strength, finish him.”
Mikaal took in her lesson, thought about it and said, “Attack me.”
Without a change of expression, Areenna lunged at him, swinging her short sword as if it were twig. Charging him, she forced him back. She attacked, pushing at his mind, seeking to make his thoughts bow to hers, but this time she came upon a solid block that allowed no penetration. An instant later the tip of his blade rested at her breast.
“Yield.”
“Done,” she responded and lowered her sword. “Did you feel me?”
“I felt something, but I was concentrating so hard I couldn’t tell what it was.”
“Perfect. You will learn, but your defense was strong. And you trusted your body to do what it was trained to do.”
“And does this help me with other things?”
She smiled. “I’m a woman, not a mind reader. We’ll see. But understand, Mikaal, it is a beginning, nothing more.”
CHAPTER 13
AREENNA WAS PHYSICALLY worn out. They had spent the hours after eating in sword work. The muscles of her upper arms and chest hurt in ways she had never before experienced. Her calves and thighs pained her no less than her arms. But the results were exceptional. She was learning how to respond instinctively to whatever situation Mikaal presented.
As she lay in the lean-to staring out at the fire, she admitted it was a good exhaustion because it was physical and not mental. She turned to Mikaal, who lay a few feet to her side and was about to speak when she saw he was already asleep.
The two days they had been traveling had been two days of a growing understanding of her abilities. It was different from anything she had learned or done before—teaching Mikaal had opened her mind further than she’d ever imagined.
With every lesson, with every word she had spoken to him, she had gained greater insight into her own powers. It was as if she was teaching herself as well. What was it that Enaid had said in one of their talks? She tried to recall the exact words but could not. It had been something about teaching herself.
As she thought about how to help Mikaal learn, her eyes closed and her thoughts faded.
<><><>
Mikaal lay quietly on his silks, his eyes closed, listening to Areenna’s even breathing. He was not tired, but had not wanted to talk after the sword work. His was rooted in his disappointment at not gaining control over whatever powers he might have, and made even more frustrated because he had never before found anything he could not do once he had made up his mind.
He lay there for several more minutes until he was certain Areenna was in a deep sleep before quietly leaving the lean-to.
Outside, he pulled on his boots and wandered the campsite. He spotted Gaalrie perched on a branch, her cinnamon feathers aglow from the low light of the fire. The kraals were to his left. Hero’s head hung down as the animal slept while standing, as was the way of a kraal. Charka was a little away, and Mikaal saw the kraal was looking at him.
Watching Charka, he remembered Areenna’s questions about the way his kraal had behaved. He went to him and stroked his neck. What does she see?
Charka gently pushed his snout against him. Mikaal leaned in as the kraal nudged him, smiling at the familiar feel of the large head against his chest. It was something Charka had always done but… Carefully, thinking about when Areenna had explained how she and Gaalrie communicated, he sent a thought to the kraal exactly the way Areenna had shown him—more asking than ordering.
Charka pulled back and raised his head. The kraal stared directly into Mikaal’s eyes and a sudden flooding of colors filled his mind and took his breath away. He stumbled back two steps before catching himself.
Charka tossed his head once and then moved toward Mikaal.
Above him, the treygone’s wings fluttered and an instant later Gaalrie dropped from her perch and landed on Charka’s back. The kraal stood unmoving when the giant bird settled onto his back as if Charka were but another branch.
Transfixed, Mikaal could only stare at the two animals. Then he reached out and stroked Gaalrie’s head.
When his fingers touched the silky feathers, his mind was flooded with abstract thoughts he could not understand, but soon realized the bird was trying to communicate with him.
Reminding himself of Areenna’s lessons, he closed his eyes and settled his mind, doing his best to wipe any thoughts away. A moment later he saw himself through Gaalrie’s eyes while a soothing energy spread through him as Areenna’s aoutem showed him something. Images crossed before his mind’s eyes of Areenna, Gaalrie, and then Charka.
He wondered what Gaalrie was trying to do and then, somehow, he knew. He grasped Charka’s head in his hands and gazed into the kraal’s eyes while opening his mind as he had moments before for the treygone.
It took but a fraction of a second and he was joined with Charka. The feeling of warmth and of soothing energy was so overwhelming he broke the connection and dropped to the ground where he knelt in front of the kraal in an effort to accept what had just happened.
Mikaal had no idea of how long he knelt before Charka, but when he stood again, he knew exactly what had happened. He had found his aoutem.
<><><>
Areenna woke with a start. It had been a dreamless night and she did not remember falling asleep, only that her last thoughts were about Mikaal and how to help him. She turned and saw he was still asleep and slipped from her sleeping silks.
She went to the small pond and washed her face and then went deeper into the surrounding woods. Ten minutes later she found a succulent tree and gathered the deep yellow ripened fruit from its branches.
When she returned to the campsite, she found Mikaal kneeling at the pond and washing his face, the fire at the campsite rebuilt. “Morning meal,” Areenna said, holding up one of the golden succulents.
He turned and smiled at her; the water dripping from his face sparkled in the sunlight. “Good, I’m starving!”
She threw one of the fruits to him. He caught it as he walked toward her, and using both hands twisted it until it split in half. When he reached her he handed her half and then took a bite of the half he’d kept.
They walked to the fire he had rebuilt while she was gathering the fruit and sat. Seated near the fire, they ate their fruit silently. When they finished, she turned to him and was about to speak when she felt Gaalrie push at her. Closing her eyes, she opened herself to her aoutem. A moment later her eyes flew opened and she stared at the giant treygone.
Show me, she asked. In seconds, Areenna saw what had happened during the night between Gaalrie, the kraal, and Mikaal.
“You learned,” she said, turning to look at Mikaal.
“When were you going to tell me?”
“I wanted to say something, but I was waiting…no, hoping you would discover what Charka was. You needed to learn for yourself. How did it feel?”
“Amazing,” he said.
“It is. And now you know why he did not run from you when you fre
ed him from the bramble. He had already chosen you.”
Mikaal looked at the kraal before answering. “I guess he did.”
<><><>
Before leaving the campsite—and following Queen Layra’s advice—they put on traveling cloaks with hoods to hide their faces from the travelers they would most likely encounter on the road. The hoods proved effective as they passed others, none of whom appeared interested in them.
They reached the turn-off Queen Layra had instructed them to take just before midday. Above, Gaalrie circled effortlessly. When they started on the northwesterly road and Gaalrie showed Areenna the way ahead was clear, she turned to Mikaal. “I want to try something if you’re willing.”
“What something?”
“Listening.”
“How do you try to listen? You either do or you don’t.”
“Not that type of listening, but a listening within your mind—tuning your mind into everything around you.”
“Such as?”
Areenna inhaled slowly. As she did, she opened her thoughts to what was around them. To her left she heard the skittering of a rabt scratching at the base of its warren. To her right was a dar nibbling on the leaves of a low hanging branch, its mate standing behind her watching for any danger.
“The rabt in the woods to our left, and a dar foraging to your right. Join me,” she said and opened herself to him. This time she was fully aware of drawing him into her mind. “Listen, feel, see,” she whispered.
She heard his sharp intake of his breath and smiled as he pulled back from her.
“I...”
“No, just listen.”
Mikaal did as she commanded. This time he was able to control his ranging thoughts. It soon became clear to him how this form of listening had nothing to do with hearing; rather, it was a feeling of whatever living presence was near. It was about knowing what surrounded him without having to see or hear or feel. It was…magic.