Reborn (17 page)

Nima was already waiting for her, sitting on her favorite pile of woodchips with a small cloth bag at her side. “Good morning, dear,” said Nima from her usual seated pose, eyes closed and palms facing up. “I trust you slept well. Are you ready to get started?”

Jade hopped on one foot while trying to step over the last thorny bush. “Good morning, Nima. Looks like I got here just in time. Say, what’s in the bag?”

“My goodness, you almost went five whole seconds without asking a question. A personal best, by my count.” Jade forced out a laugh, more to mask her reddening face than anything else. “Oh don’t mind my teasing dear, I love your enthusiasm. Now then, to answer your question.” Nima stood tall and stretched, clearly in no hurry, before reaching down and rummaging through the bag. She pulled out a clear crystal strung on a thin golden chain.

“Oh, you brought one of those crystals,” Jade said, rising up on her toes to get a better look.

“First of all, let’s stop calling them crystals and use their proper name,” said Nima. “We call these ‘dychitas.’”

“Dy-chi-tas,” Jade sounded out.

“Good, dear. Now hold still while I—” Nima reached out and strung the clear jewel across Jade’s forehead. “Now then, let me explain how they work. As we discussed, you must first learn to harness your chi. Although this can be achieved without using a dychita, they make the task much easier.”

“So I assume they are magical?” said Jade.

“Oddly, no, but I can see why you would think that,” said Nima as she finished clasping it on. “There you go, dear. Ah, it looks wonderful on you. You now have the power to control men with your beauty.”

“Huh...what?” stammered Jade as she fumbled around to remove it.

Nima quickly grabbed her wrists, smiling at the flustered girl. “That was a joke, dear.” Jade felt her face heat up once more. “I’m sorry about that. I guess my humor is a little different from yours. Even by my own people’s standards, I’m really not all that funny.”

“No, it was funny, really,” said Jade, laughing nervously at how gullible she must seem right now.

“Well then, as I was saying,” said Nima before clearing her throat. “They really have no magical properties on their own. In fact, in a way they are anti-magic, meaning they control it, rather than provide it. When worn as such, they help to center your chi.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“As I said before, they don’t have any magic on their own—no more than any average chair or tea cup, but when you concentrate on your chi, it flows through them naturally, creating a perfect balance. I guess you could say they filter energy into a steady, manageable flow.” Nima puckered her lips to the side while scratching her head. “Let me explain it in a different way. Imagine having a bucket filled with water, and you need to spread the water around somehow.”

“So the water in the bucket is my chi, and I need to get that energy from one place to another?” said Jade.

“Now you’re getting it, dear,” Nima said with a wink. “Now, without any practical way to spread it around, you could just tip the bucket as the water splashes back and forth. The water can still be guided to some degree, but some areas will get wetter than others. The awkward motion is not smooth, and in the end, the water will still get tossed around.”

“And with the dychitas?” said Jade, wide-eyed and eager to understand.

“Now imagine that same bucket full of water, only this time you decide to poke a hole in the bottom. You can now move the bucket around as a steady stream of water filters out. Even if you shake the bucket, the steady stream doesn’t change much. This way, you have much more control than you otherwise would.”

Jade touched the dychita on her forehead. It didn’t feel cool like she thought it would, but warm, like someone had been holding it in their hand for a while. “I understand. That’s a good way of explaining it. Now, do the different colors mean anything?”

“I was just getting to that, dear. I already told you that they contain no measurable magic, but that doesn’t mean their properties are all the same. The clear one, for example, allows the least amount of exchange between your chi and the power of nature. The power flow between them is so small, the chances of a student hurting themselves or someone else becomes quite minimal.” She smirked as her dark eyes twinkled. “Remember my water bucket analogy?” Jade nodded. “It still applies, it’s just that now the hole is very, very small.”

The two of them laughed. When Jade was finally able to catch her breath, she said, “OK, I think I get it. This dychita is the most restrictive one, which is why I’m wearing it. This should minimize the chance we will both burst into flames.” She snorted at her own joke. “So now what?”

“Alright, Jade, we’re going to take this nice and slow. Here, give me your hands like we did before.” The two held hands, while facing each other cross-legged on the ground. “Now close your eyes and concentrate on my voice. Once we start, there is no turning back.” Jade’s hands grew moist, nervous because of her first real lesson. “You are in a dark room. There is no one here except you, and the sound of my voice. Jade, are you still with me? Can you see it?”

Jade could feel her consciousness falling inward. It felt similar to drifting off to sleep, yet still being aware during those last moments. When she opened her eyes, she could see herself walking through blackness. Although unable to see anything in front of her, she could still see her own body just fine. Jade looked down at her white, flowing gown. Long spidery strips of white cloth hung from her arms, flapping about as if blowing in a stiff breeze, yet she felt no air moving. “I’m here, Nima. Yes. Yes, I can see it.”

Good, dear, now I need you to search for something
. Jade could still hear Nima, but her voice sounded distant and faint as it echoed through the blackness.
Don’t be afraid, the darkness is only a symbol of your open mind. Now go on, dear
. Jade placed one foot in front of the other, walking cautiously as if she might fall through the floor at any moment. Her thin, flowing gown swished back and forth while her black hair flowed straight upward, snaking about as if air were blowing straight up from the floor.

Straining her eyes, Jade thought she saw something off in the darkness, a sort of shimmering blue light.
Do you see it, dear? Good, go on then
. She placed one foot out in front, pressing down in a few spots just to ensure she wouldn’t fall into the blackness. After a time, Jade finally gained enough confidence to walk along at a normal pace.

As she got closer, the source of light began to take shape. The thick, glowing line dancing about soon became a sparkling waterfall. The shimmering blue liquid seemed to flow out of thin air, then crash down against the darkness, crackling out into tiny white crystals before disappearing completely.

What you see before you is your life force. See how yours rages on like a waterfall? All that energy regenerating itself over and over with no place to go… I’ve never seen anything like it before
. Jade reached out, gently placing her hand into the stream. What looked like water at first, sprayed out into tiny crystals, particles of energy that bounced off her hand. Although the stream was moving fast, the flow felt soft and gentle against her skin.

Now, dear, you must submerge yourself within your chi. Only then can you begin to master its power
. She pulled her hand from the stream and watched as thousands of white diamonds fell between her fingers, then clacked along the floor. She took a deep breath, lowered her head, and stepped into the stream.

Its icy touch washed over her in a wave of cool energy. She looked up, smoothing her hair back as the frosty stream covered her body. She tingled all over as the crystals seemed to cling to her, then melt down instead of just bouncing off.
Now just stay calm, dear. You need to accept their energy, become one with your chi
.

“I’m fine,” said Jade. “Why would I need to stay ca—” she looked at her arms and watched as the clinging crystals began to sprout thin legs. Like little spiders, they crawled toward her face. “Wha-what’s happening?” she shrieked.

You must stay calm and accept the bond. There will only be one opportunity, and when it is gone, it is gone forever
. Jade watched on in horror as crystallized insects crawled up her body and buzzed along her neck. She instinctually moved to smack them off, but stopped at the last second.

“I must accept this now, or I’ll never get another chance. I will do whatever is necessary to protect Eric.” She reached her hands upward and opened her mouth. In an instant, the spidery diamonds flooded down her throat and buried themselves in her ears while skittering around her eyes. Ice-cold pain shot through every inch of her body. The agony was so intense, she feared losing her mind. Then, slowly but surely, the icy torment began to ease. Frigid cold was soon replaced by a warm, pleasant sensation, a feeling of peace. Just as she stepped out of the stream, a blinding flash forced her to cover her eyes.

“Are you alright, dear? Wake up. Wake up,” came the familiar voice as Jade’s shoulders rocked back and forth. “You did it. It’s over.”

Jade’s eyes slowly fluttered open. There was Nima, shaking her lightly. “I–I did it?”

“Yes, dear, you did,” said Nima as a look of relief washed over her. “I have to admit, you had me worried there.”

Jade wiped beads of sweat from her forehead as she shakily got back to her feet. “That was incredible, Nima. You should have seen it. It seemed so real.”

Nima rose to her feet, brushing clinging woodchips from her clothes. “I was there, dear. I saw the whole thing. I’ve guided many down this path before. Some have no problem forming the link with their life force, but others are not so lucky.” A look of dread darkened Jade’s face as she suddenly wondered what she had been toying with. “No, no, dear,” said Nima quickly, recognizing her friend’s look. “No physical harm has ever come to anyone. Even if that were a possibility, I would pull them out long before that. The only side effect of failure is that they are unable to try again. The link is permanently broken, and their potential, no matter how substantial, is wasted forever. They will never be able wield the forces of nature.”

Jade swallowed hard before nodding her understanding.
Funny, a few days ago I didn’t even think I wanted this. Now I have this feeling of relief, knowing that I can continue on with my training
. “So now what? Where do we go from here?”

“Oh, that’s quite enough for today, dear,” said Nima, brushing off the last chip. “We’ve made tremendous progress, and you’ve cleared the toughest test. Let’s start fresh in the mor—”

“No, wait,” said Jade urgently. “There is one more thing I must do. Please, you have to help me. I don’t know how to do this on my own yet.” In a subconscious act, she began rubbing her finger, the same one that once held her special ring—the only link she had between Berkeni and herself.

Nima just smiled, then sat back down on her pile of woodchips. “Have a seat, dear. Now give me your hands.”

* * *

The little man sprinted down the halls, slipping and skittering across the polished floor like a cat with no traction. He blew past Addel, who had to turn sharply in order to stay facing him. With her mouth hung open and one finger up in the air, the poor woman stood dumbfounded and speechless. Were they under attack? What was going on? “Quickly, follow me,” Berkeni called over his shoulder, but continued on at full speed.

The old woman took off with all the speed she could muster, which was considerably more than her former broken body would have ever allowed. However, it was still not enough to keep up with the shockingly spry old man.

He blindly whipped around a corner, nearly knocking one of the maids to the ground. She spun about as freshly cleaned sheets flew into the air. Watching the back of his head as he disappeared around the next corner, she sniffed and shook her fist in the air before picking up the mess.

Past the hanging silk tapestries and up the wide red stairway he sprinted. Down the hallway he went, past the thick, colorful, stained-glass windows with red curtains, spurred on by the warm happiness burning within him. He ran up to the large golden double doors, with black and green grapevines painted around the border. A swift, heavy kick allowed him entrance to the throne room as the doors sprung open, and a shocked queen looked up from her throne.

The beautiful woman’s eyes were red and bloodshot. Days without sleep? Days of nonstop crying? Most likely both. Deep lines of age seemed more apparent these days, as well as a shortened temper. In a gravelly voice, she rumbled, “You had better have a good reason for this intrusion, or by the gods, I’ll have you—” she stopped in mid-sentence, reading the little man’s glowing expression. Her lip began to quiver as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “My heart can take no more,” she whispered. “Please, tell me what I need to hear, or I don’t think I shall survive another day.”

Addel ran through the doorway, then bent over with her hands on her knees. She was unable to speak as raspy breaths came one after another. Berkeni approached the throne and dropped down to one knee. “Rest easy, my lady. I’ve found them.”

Chapter 11

Morcel leaned heavily against the blue wall, his massive arms crossed over his chest. His blank gaze looked to penetrate the white frosted-glass window, as if he could actually see outside. He, as well as the others, had seen quite enough of this room already.