Channeler's Choice (23 page)

“
Eren has an uncle in Ireland, and I’m sure I have family over there. I thought maybe we’d spend some time there. I was hoping to find somebody who might know more about channelers who can use both sides of their power,” Aiden said.

For a few moments the only sound that disturbed the night was Zolin’s quiet snoring and the crackling of the fire. Alin was so deep in thought that it almost startled Aiden when he finally spoke.

“
Sylvia once said something about a Society in Mexico that knew a little about it. That might be a good place to start. I’m impressed that you’re already thinking of the future, Aiden. I couldn’t have chosen anyone better than you for Eren.”

Hearing Alin, of all people, say that choked Aiden up. It was a moment before he could respond. “Thanks. That means. . . everything to me.”

Eyes full of pride, Alin smiled. Soaking it in, Aiden smiled back. No one had ever looked at him that way. He had to turn away as tears stung his eyes.

“
We’d better get to sleep. We have a long day of tracking tomorrow,” Alin said as he stood.

“
Yeah,” Aiden agreed, suddenly too excited to sleep.

But when he climbed into his sleeping bag and laid his head back, the busy day they’d had caught up to him. Not even thoughts of taking Eren to Mexico could keep his eyes open. It wasn’t long before the rhythm of his breathing matched Fane’s.

“
A channeler’s focus and motivation

must first come from within.”

~from
Life In A Society

Chapter 21

Up to her waist in water, Eren was beginning to question the wisdom of her aunt’s plan. In places, ice still clung to the banks of the river so to say it was cold, was an understatement. Caitlin stood before Eren in a relaxed fighting stance, seemingly oblivious to the freezing water rushing around her legs. She wasn’t even shivering.

“
You have to focus. Push your energy down into your legs and keep it there,” Aunt Sylvia called from the shoreline.

Through teeth that chattered, Eren mumbled, “easy for you to say.”

It wasn’t like jumping high or landing after a fifty foot drop where she had to channel energy down through her legs for a moment. Now she had to keep it there and it was proving to be a lot harder than it had sounded when she’d been warm and dry.

“
You aren’t allowed to use your power when fighting healer channelers anyways so resist the temptation to call it up,” Aunt Sylvia said.

They had gone a few rounds and each time Caitlin started swinging, Eren’s power rose up to her hands in preparation to fight. Her power didn’t care that Caitlin was a healer channeler. Aunt Sylvia called it a lesson in control, and Eren was failing. She wanted to get better—had to get better—so she could protect her Society. Well, that and beat Bridget. But as the sun moved across the sky, she wished Aunt Sylvia would stop acting like her instructor and start acting like a concerned aunt.

Can channelers get pneumonia?
Eren didn’t think so but she was starting to wonder.

“
Again!” Aunt Sylvia said.

Groaning, Eren raised her hands in a defensive posture and tried to focus on holding her power down in her legs. Warmth spread through her lower body, driving back the numbness that had started to settle in.

“
Now focus, feel your center. Control your power, don’t let it control you.”

The wiry smile Caitlin gave her, coupled with the eye roll, was almost enough to make Eren smile back. But Caitlin was turned sideways, away from Aunt Sylvia, and her long blond curls hid what her position didn’t. Eren didn’t have that luxury. Aunt Sylvia looked straight at her.

Instead of join in on the funny face-making, Eren did what her aunt instructed. The bite of the cold water disappeared. Her power heated her to the point where the river felt good. Steam rose off the white caps of the water that lapped around her.

Caitlin lunged in and threw a jab at her. Power rushed up from Eren’s legs, headed toward her fists. Centered as she was, it was easier to stop it this time, and even easier to push it back down into her legs despite the barrage of punches Caitlin threw at her. Controlling her power and blocking strikes at the same time, still proved to be too hard to do effectively. A punch landed in her stomach and another in her kidneys. They were light, not even half-strength, but the touch was enough to let Eren know her reactions were too slow.

Like easing open the tap of a water faucet, she let a little bit of power flow up into her arms, using it to increase her speed. That small amount was enough to allow her to keep up and block Caitlin’s strikes with ease. A little more would make her faster…

“
Excellent! That’s good for today girls,” Aunt Sylvia said.

Giving Eren a wink and the thumbs up sign, Caitlin stepped toward the shore.

Eren’s energy dropped. “But I just figured it out!”

Pride sparkled in Aunt Sylvia’s brown eyes. “You did, and it was great. But if I don’t get us back before the pizza delivery boy arrives, we’ll miss dinner.”

A smile pulled at Eren’s lips. Yeah, that and she’d probably destroy some poor bread dough trying to do it herself. But now that Eren had it down, the water wasn’t freezing and she didn’t want to stop. Thoughts of both Luke’s letter and the upcoming tournament made her stomach churn. She wasn’t good enough yet, she didn’t want to stop.

“
Did I mention I got ice cream and a girl’s movie for us to watch?” Aunt Sylvia asked as she handed Caitlin a towel.

Pushing down with her energy to launch her, Eren jumped, leaving a trail of water droplets as she cleared the twenty feet to the bank with ease.

“
No, you didn’t,” she said as she snatched a second towel from Aunt Sylvia.

Sylvia’s raised an eyebrow, lips tight as she fought back a smile. “Oh, well I did.”

“
Aunt Sylvia! I might have got the lesson faster if I’d known that.”

Behind Sylvia, Caitlin made a face and shook her head. But it was too late; the words couldn’t be taken back. Sylvia’s face turned serious and her eyes narrowed. Shaking her head, Caitlin balanced on one foot as she put her sock on.

“
And that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Aunt Sylvia said as she stepped closer. “You have to find the motivation inside yourself, not from trivial things.”

“
But Aunt Sylvia, you and grandfather are always telling me to think of my Society first, and girl time is good for the Society,” Eren half-joked.

The hard line of Sylvia’s jaw didn’t relax, which made Eren’s playfulness wilt a bit.

Caitlin cleared her throat loudly. “I’m gonna run ahead so I can hit the shower before dinner. Meet ya there.”

Before Eren could get out a word of protest, Caitlin took off, leaving her glaring at bouncing blond curls as she sped away. It was totally unfair that she got to escape the lecture, even if Eren had been the one to provoke it. In hopes of shortening the inevitable, she pulled her shoes on as quickly as she could.

Aunt Sylvia looped an arm through hers as they started to walk, slowing her down. Her energy hung heavy about her. So much for making this quick and relatively painless.

“
By finding motivation inside yourself you
are
thinking of your Society first.” The tone of her voice made it sound as though that were only the beginning of a very long lecture.

Stifling a groan that she knew would only make matters worse, Eren steeled herself.

“
Focus during fighting is the single most important thing for a warrior channeler to have.” She took a breath and Eren jumped at the chance, knowing that with Aunt Sylvia, she wouldn’t get many.

“
But I’m not just a warrior channeler.”

Sylvia nodded and squeezed Eren’s hand tight. “True. As a healer channeler and a Rector as well, you must also possess compassion and wisdom.”

Knowing she didn’t want a verbal reply—and probably wouldn’t give her time for one—Eren just nodded.

“
Your and Aiden’s ability to control both sides of a channelers’ power is the biggest thing to happen to our kind in nearly a thousand years.”

Eren leaped in on the end of the last word, determined to stop her. “I know Aunt Sylvia, the ancient prophecy.”

Sylvia stopped walking and turned Eren around to face her. Sadness and concern swam within her chocolate colored eyes.

“
Our ancestors may have been a bit savage at times, but they weren’t fools. Their prophecies have come true in the past and they need to be taken seriously. I just want to make sure you’re prepared. It’s the only way I can protect you,” she said, dropping her watery gaze at the last part.

Guilt wrapped around Eren’s heart and squeezed until she let out a shuddering breath. Even after almost a year since her parents’ murders, it was still hard to have someone care about her so much. Wonderful, but hard.

“
I know,” she said in a voice that was barely more than a breath.

The half-frozen yellow and orange leaves beneath her hiking boots suddenly captivated her interest. If she looked up at her aunt’s face, into her eyes that looked so much like her mom’s, she’d start crying and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop. Harder than having someone care about her, was caring about them.

“
How can I possibly be ready in time? Most channelers have been training for years,” she said.

Lilting laugher made her look up. Aunt Sylvia’s huge smile bewildered her.

“
Honey, the war won’t necessarily start in 2012, only what sets it into motion will. It could be something unseen by most. The actual battle might not start for years,” she said.

The weight of the apocalypse lifted off Eren’s chest, allowing her to breathe, even if only for a little while. Maybe she and Aiden would have a few years together before all hell broke loose, maybe a few dozen.

“
Then there’s time,” she whispered.

“
Yes, but you still have to train hard. For now, dinner,” she said as she threw an arm around Eren’s shoulders.

It would do no good to argue about how she wanted to spend her time, she knew. Closing her lips against a reply, she nodded and let her aunt lead her down the forest path. This was one bit of good news that she was determined to enjoy, even if it meant holding her tongue.

“
The elders shall teach the young.

In this manner our ways shall never be lost.”

~from
Life In A Society

Chapter 22

The next few days blew Aiden’s expectations away. Together, the four of them tracked a herd of deer, watching them from a distance. They were like ghosts amid the spruce trees, the deer never knew they were there. Using the creatures’ energy made it effortless to track them and keep up with them. So easy, that they took time to stop by the river and fish in the afternoons. Zolin made spears out of branches and was unflinchingly patient in teaching Aiden how to spearfish. While he couldn’t come close to matching Fane’s skill level, he did manage to catch a few. Knowing they’d be taking down the deer with bows and spears, he did his best to become at least competent.

On the fourth night when they returned to camp, Zolin used a rake to carry hot coals out to the sweat lodge. He stretched a blanket across the small opening and then began a prancing kind of dance around the lodge. Aiden and Fane gravitated toward him, sitting down on a nearby rock to watch.