“She has to be.” Master Lintaru’s shape shifts and blobs out until he has two arms. He holds up one perfectly formed hand to Kyte. “Step back. We’re already at a point where she must be able to harness her power without any type of crutch. Onin’s serum should have dampened her enough that she can handle it alone.”
The golden orb thickens, skitters of energy crawling its surface like a million tiny spiders. “It’s getting worse.”
“Let go,” Master Lintaru snaps at me.
“Do it.” Jeren’s voice wafts through my mind. “He’s right.”
Ceredes gives me a terse nod.
“You can hold it.” I kiss her hair then step away.
The orb grows even thicker, the walls almost touching Ceredes. He doesn’t flinch.
“Energy—in an engine or in a circle of power—cannot be created or destroyed, Lana.” Master Lintaru’s voice takes on the droning in-class monotone, but it’s tipped in apprehension. Just a hint, just enough for me to know how concerned he is.
“Can you read him?” Ceredes asks.
“He’s worried.” I reach out with my skill, trying to get a better sense of Lintaru’s emotions as he coaxes Lana to control her barrier. “I can only sense emotions, not thoughts, but I can tell he’s scared for us. But mostly for her. And the fear is based on …” I try to focus on his red aura, on the glow of telepathic energy focused around his head. “I can’t see it. Something to do with—”
“If I can’t control myself, the council will take action.” Lana’s strained voice cuts through my mind. “That’s why he’s scared. He thinks they’ll destroy me, destroy the circle.”
Her orb flares brighter.
“Never,” Ceredes growls.
“Remember the virudivan engine. The circle. The energy flowing from one port to the next and the next. That’s what you are, a perfect engine that holds limitless power. Let it pass through your cells, charging as it goes, but not lashing out. Leash it. Make it serve your will, not the other way around.”
“How?” she grits out.
“Be mindful.” He summons an energy orb into his palm, then balances it on his fingertip, rolls it down his arm, onto his shoulder, then on top of his bulbous head. “Think very specifically of where you want the energy to go and of itspurpose.” He tosses the ball into the air and it turns into a small, glowing ship that shoots higher and higher until it hovers at the ceiling. “What is the purpose of your orb, Lana?”
She still trembles, sweat breaking out across her brow. “It’s for protection.”
“Thenmakeit for protection. Tell your energy what to do. Be its master. What do you think of when you think of something that protects?”
The orb changes, the golden energy fading. In its place, a wall of thick metal appears, growing and covering Jeren and Ceredes. “I think of a vault at a bank. Nothing can get through that.”
“Ceredes, can you touch it?” Master Lintaru calls.
“Yes. I think the inside is made of … pillows?”
“Good.” Master Lintaru nods, his entire body rippling. “You have to pull from your life, your memories, your thoughts. That’s how you can mold your power, how you can control it. Now, what do you think of when you think of calm?”
The barrier turns into a calm surface, blue and still.
“Fade it.” Master Lintaru watches Lana. “Fade it until it’s gone and the energy is pulled back inside you, stored somewhere safe, somewhere that no one can access except for you.”
She pulls her hands toward her, and the water rushes toward us in a curlicue twist, then evaporates, leaving nothing but air in its wake. I can almost feel the box inside Lana click shut. It’s a toy box she’s conjured. Thick wooden slats, faded paint and crayon marks on the outside, and inside, a little girl hiding from her angry mother. The only safe spot in the house. The one place where she can hide until she falls asleep in the warm, close dark.
I can feel a drop of sweat rolling down the center of her back, tracing her skin as she finally lets out a breath, her mind clearing, the fear lessening.
“You all right?” I wrap my arm around her waist as Ceredes and Jeren jog up.
“I’m fine.” She wipes her brow.
“We will have classes here every day at eight until the start of formal session, at which time we will work out a new schedule.” Master Lintaru slides toward the sparring room door.
“Classes?” Jeren scratches his forehead.
