“Yes, but sometimes trying a different approach can help refresh your senses.”
I nodded and tried not to argue, even though we had tried this months ago and it hadn’t helped. Nothing did.
“The pulse points are where you can connect with the rivers and streams of blood within someone, following it to its source. The blood will always reveal what needs to be mended, whether it is sickness or injury. Now find my pulse with your fingertips.”
I did as she asked. This part was easy. Anyone could feel a heartbeat in a pulse. Her wrists were warm, her heartbeat steady, as I pressed down gently with both hands.
“Close your eyes and go into the part of you that’s connected to Shazeera.”
In my mind, I reached for our bond, that gleaming chain of light that was unbreakable. I could sense Shazeera’s emotions—hopeful and anxious that I would finally succeed. If I went deeper, I could even sense what she physically felt. Right now, the scent of the sage filled her nostrils, the smell so much more complexthan I detected. Beneath the typically herbal scent were notes of rich loam and spicy peppercorn.
“Are you there?”
“Yes,” I murmured, keeping my eyes closed tightly in concentration.
“I want you to reach into yourself where that same power comes from and reach for my pulse point instead.”
But when I reached for my mother’s life force, the one I should have been able to sense if I had healing abilities like her, there was only darkness.
“There’s nothing there,” I told her, barely able to keep the frustration from my voice.
“All you can do is try again,” she said gently. “Our life force shines as brightly as the sun. With your inner eye, you should be able to detect the light radiating from my bloodstream. You must reach out with the part of you that’s connected to the Earth Mother.”
Determination filled me. I wouldn’t fail this time. I reached deep inside myself, searching for the light, and the farther I went, the more the pavilion with all its familiar scents and sounds disappeared. Even Shazeera seemed far away. My head pounded along with my heartbeat. This was usually the point where I pushed too hard and ended up with a nosebleed. But I had to keep going. I couldn’t bear to let Ama down again, to see that look of disappointment on her face. I pushed past the pressure in my head and waded through the darkness in my mind, searching for any hint of magic.
Soon, I went so far I couldn’t sense Shazeera at all. It was like suddenly not being able to feel my legs anymore. Fear grabbed hold of my chest, making it hard to breathe. Why couldn’t I sense Shazeera?
But before I could return to the surface of my mind, the darkness cleared. I stood on top of a cliff overlooking a dark ocean, waves crashing against the rock. Above, the clouds raced across the sky as a powerful wind howled. The primal scene made my pulse jump. Wind danced over the water until it swirled around me, lifting my hair and whispering in my ear.
In all the years I had tried to reach for the earth magic Ama promised lay dormant within me, this had never happened. I only ever stumbled around in the darkness of my mind, powerless. Ever since I was little, though, I had sensed a presence in the wind, just like Ama spoke of earth magic being present in every living thing. But I had never been able to reach inside myself and make a connection with it. I stood frozen, unsure how to react. The whispers grew louder…I could almost make out what it was saying.
But then a voice called out to me, pulling me back to reality.
“Zara,” Ama said, her eyes wide, “did you sense it? Could you see my life force?”
“I saw a powerful wind,” I answered without thinking, still a little dazed from the scene. My head pounded with a splitting headache at the effort of going so deep within my own mind, but at least I didn’t have a nosebleed this time. “I think it was calling me.”
She dropped her hands from mine with a frown. “Tell me what you saw.”
I described the stormy scene, but my words didn’t seem to adequately express the depth of the power I had sensed. “It seemed like a force that could make a difference in this war.”
Ama looked unimpressed. “I thought we went over this years ago. You are a First Daughter born from a First Daughter, going back generations. The power of the Earth Mother flows stronglythrough our veins, and it is the source of every ability I have that keeps our people safe. There may be lesser abilities in our lineage, but it is the healing and warding skills that are most needed.”
“I’vetried—”
“Our people are dying, Zara,” Ama interrupted. “We’ve lost over sixty percent of our population, and if it keeps going like this, our entire culture will be wiped out. Years ago, I could keep nearly the entire grasslands covered by my wards,” she said, sweeping her hand toward the map of Equnox hanging against one wall, “hiding us from the Eagle Riders. Now, I can barely shield our camp. So when you say you’ve tried—you haven’t if you’re wasting time trying to connect with lesser magic and ignoring the defensive abilities given to us by the Earth Mother herself.”
“You’re not listening to me, Ama,” I said, frustration gripping me so hard my eyes welled with tears. “Thereisno other magic within me! I’ve spent years searching for it, and this is the first time I’ve found anything at all. Only the wind.”
Ama’s eyes flashed. “It’s there! You’re my daughter, so of course you have the ability. Your people need you, Zara, and you’re letting them all down.”
I winced like she’d physically slapped me, and Shazeera stamped her hoof and tossed her mane with an indignant snort.
She may be the queen and your mother, but she’s taking it too far,Shazeera said, anger darkening her tone.
Nafalla must have heard Shazeera’s words and passed them on to Ama, because my mother whipped her head around at Shazeera. “You should be using your bond as a tool to help her harness her earth magic, not indulging her in chasing after whispers of a lesser ability that will only end up costing lives.”
You don’t know that,Shazeera argued.What if this magic is more powerful?
