The Trials Of Ashbarn ( Book 5) (17 page)

She grabbed a white bag
, unstrung it, then shook it over her hand. A clear-jeweled dy-chita dropped into her palm. Gripping it tightly, she slammed the trunk and headed for the door. But she only managed a few steps before coming to a halt. Opening her hand, she looked down at the beautiful piece. This particular shade of gem was used for training novices. It had a particularly high resistance to one’s Chi, making it safer for beginners. She reached up and touched the jewel embedded in her own dy-chita, a green one. The color used by master Palins. It allowed for far greater flow of Chi, but at the price of rather limited control.

Ni
ma wrapped her fingers around the clear-jeweled piece again, then lightly tapped herself in the forehead several times. “I just know I’m going to regret this.” She went back to the trunk and exchanged it for a green one, then rushed out the door.

The streets were
unusually crowded today, buzzing and alive. As always, folks were spreading rumors involving the Shantie Rhoe. Nima couldn’t help but overhear while moving through the crowds, bumping shoulders with many as she passed. They hardly seemed to notice her. They were far too involved with their gossip.

Admittedly, t
here were more than a few half-truths floating around. A few claimed the Shantie Rhoe had enraged Ilenaya Moki, Empress of the Crimson Empire. Of course, this may or may not have been true. The only thing they had to go by was the desperate word of a tortured Tryad. But at least
these
rumors contained a speck of truth to them.

N
ima caught bits and pieces here and there, but a few rumors turned out to be rather cringeworthy. The Shantie Rhoe had run off to live in the forest alone. He found it safer to live the life of a hermit. The Shantie Rhoe had lost his mind and was now on a mad killing spree. Soon he would hit every town in a fifty-mile radius, collecting the ears and lips of his victims.
Where are they getting this stuff?
Nima thought to herself.
These tales almost make the truth sound believable. Almost
...

After a few twists and turns through the vi
llage, she found the hidden trail, a path she had used many times as a child to escape from life for a while. After a final check to make sure there were no unwanted eyes nearby, Nima began her careful steps into the heavy brush.

When she
peeked her head through the clearing, she saw Jade resting on a small pile consisting of leaves and woodchips. “Hello, dear,” said Nima, smiling. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”

“I started to get
worried. Is everything alright?” said Jade with genuine concern.

Nima’s smile faded,
and her eyes fell to the ground. “Everything is fine, dear,” she lied.
He deserves so much better than that slimy little vermin
. She shook away the thought and forced a smile. “I hope you are prepared to be challenged today. Let’s just say I’m not in the mood to go easy on you.”

Jade nodded. “Nor should you
be,” she replied sharply. The mood became tense. “You were right: I’ve been nothing short of worthless since Eric was sent away.”

“My dear
, I never said—”

“But you were thinking it.” Nima dropped her eyes and said nothing. “And you’re correct.
I lay around sulking while the man I’m sworn to protect walked alone in the darkness. My idleness brands me a traitor.”

“A traitor? Jade, you go too far,” gasped Nima.

“Do I? I will spare you the horrors of my childhood, spent training for this one purpose. I was bred and molded since birth to become a weapon. My only job was to find the Gate Keeper and protect him at all costs. And this I have done.”

“Of course you have
, my dear. No one is faulting you for the lonely road Eric must travel. This day was inevitable. It is his destiny.”

“
But it is a road I can’t follow,” said Jade flatly. Nima nodded. “So what have I done in the meantime? I should have been dealing with issues that are still in my control.” Jade sighed. “I now accept that the gods have smiled on me for some reason, given me a gift I nearly wasted. Is that not treason? A traitor to the Gate Keeper?”

“But
you didn’t waste it,” Nima pleaded. “Mistakes are only fatal if you’ve learned nothing from them. You are here with me now, and that is the first step.”

“Protecting Eric is all that drives me,” said Jade,
her voice shaky. “I need you, Nima. Whatever the gods have done to me—curse or gift—I must harness it. Control it. Use it to aid the Gate Keeper no matter where his destiny takes him.” Her eyes were pleading. “I need you to push me to my breaking point. I’ll do whatever you tell me to.”

Nima searched her eyes, seeking confirmation
. She needed to know that this was what Jade truly wanted. The soul never lies... “Very well, then. I will accelerate your training from this point forward. But remember, this was at your request.” She grinned again. “Let’s just see how dedicated you really are.” Nima pulled the green dy-chita from her pouch.

Jade stared at the chained
jewel dangling from Nima’s fingers. “I...I thought the green was only for master Palins.”

“They are
indeed,” said Nima. “I don’t think we have much choice in the matter. Your Chi rages like an untamed river, smashing over rocks and carrying off anything in its path. It’s wild and chaotic. Worse yet, it’s unpredictable. You simply do not have enough control over it yet, and this is the only dy-chita that can harness its fury, without shattering.” She handed it to her.

Jade strung the stunning piece around her forehead. It glittered boldly as she moved her head back and forth. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”

Nima just laughed. “Don’t thank me yet. I gave you a masters’ dy-chita out of necessity, not because you earned it.” Jade blushed. Nima seemed to have that power over her. She was so confident and sure of herself. Jade wished she could be that way too. “You remember what happened the last time you tried to use the arts unsupervised.”

Jade’s
blush deepened. “I broke my dy-chita,” she muttered.

“And you’re lucky that’s
all that happened,” barked Nima, sounding a bit angry. Or was that fright in her voice? She lowered her tone. “You just don’t understand what you’re capable of. Your Chi became liberated because you let your anger get the best of you. Never mind that your control was already limited, due to your lack of training. If you ever let your emotions take over like that again—” Nima shivered. “Jade, you could have killed us all.”

Jade
knew it was a stupid thing to do and felt ashamed. That day was nothing but a blur, a mixture of distorted emotions due to the impending death of Eric. She had nearly lost her mind with rage. At the time, revenge was all she lived for. “It was stupid of me. I was out of control and didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Very stupid,” Nima
said with a wink. “So the first thing we are going to do is force a little discipline into that stubborn head of yours. You must learn to control your emotions and remain functional under stress.” Nima began to scoot woodchips into a pile using her foot. When she was done, she dropped to one knee next to the pile. “Are you ready, Jade?”

“I...
I guess so,” said Jade looking around, confused. “What do you want me to do?” A large woodchip ricocheted off her shoulder. “Ow! What are you doing?”

“Like it or not, your training has resumed.” Nima threw another woodchip.
It glanced off Jade’s shin, making her wince.

“Hey, stop it.”

“
You
stop it,” she taunted in a whiny, mocking voice. She began flinging them in groups of three and four, causing the warrior to duck and dodge. Nima wasn’t throwing with any particular proficiency, and the skilled assassin could dodge them all day if she needed to. But she didn’t want to. This childish act was infuriating.

“How long are
you planning to—” Another chip blurred past her ear. “Stop it!”

“You can stop me anytime you want
, Jade. Believe it or not, you’re not a
complete
novice. Deflecting these chips away should be a simple task.” Nima threw another. “I’ve seen students do this on their first day. Just concentrate.”

“How am I suppose
d to concentrate like this?” Jade sidestepped another bit of wood.

“This is nothing, Jade. Imagine having to deal with
something like this.” She scooped up as many as she could and scattered them in Jade’s direction. Impossible to dodge them all, Jade just turned around, letting them bounce harmlessly off her back, then sighed in defeat. “You see, my dear, power doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know how to use it,” Nima finished.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to prove here,” said Jade, dejected.

Nima looked down at the next woodchip she was holding, then tossed it aside. She went over to Jade and threw an arm around her shoulder. The two walked over to what was left of the pile. “Stand here,” said Nima. She walked back and took up Jade’s former position. “Now you throw one at me.” Nima’s dy-chita began to glow faintly.

Eager to take revenge fo
r what she felt was an uncalled-for humiliation, Jade threw one. Nima held out her hands and flicked her fingers. A moment before the bit of wood hit her, it seemed to strike something in the air. There was a dull flash of white, then the chip vaporized into smoke. A white light hung in the air for a second longer, much like the afterglow from staring at a lantern too long. Then it, too, vanished. “Throw another, Jade. Anywhere you want, as hard as you want.” Jade grabbed another and flung it at her friend’s face, hard. Nima didn’t do much; a flick of her fingers, a dull white flash, then smoke with a hanging afterglow were the results of Jade’s effort. The piece of wood never even came close.

Jade smiled impishly.
She scooped up several woodchips with both hands and flung them at Nima. Eyes wide with surprise, Nima flicked her fingers in rapid succession while moving her body backwards. There were white flashes all around her. Puffs of smoke everywhere caused an instant haze to form in the air. White spots surrounded her like ghosts, then faded away. When it was over, the lingering smell of burnt wood wafted around the small clearing. Her brightly glowing dy-chita dimmed, then faded out.

Jade frowne
d despite the impressive display. “You used some kind of invisible shield,” she accused. “Each one disintegrated just before touching you.”

“Oh really?” mocked Nima. “Very well. Throw another.”

Jade grabbed another and wound up. With a flash of white, it burst in her hand, leaving a stream of smoke behind. Her fingers tingled, but it wasn’t particularly painful. Jade kept shaking her hand, trying to relieve some of the tingling. “Well, that’s how it looked to me. None of them touched you, and— I mean, you weren’t actually striking them down one at a time, were you?”

“Indeed I was,” said Nima
proudly. “The amount of nature’s energy used to eliminate a woodchip is quite minimal. But to harness that energy quickly, lock onto your target, apply it, and then repeat the process over and over with efficient speed... Well, that’s what takes years of training.”

“I don’t have years.”

“And that is precisely the point I was trying to make. You asked me not to take it easy on you. Make no mistake, you are most certainly a prodigy, and the possibilities for you are endless. But you must crawl before you can run. You must learn to control your energy before anything else.”

“Alright then,” said Jade, determined.
“Control, right? So show me what to do first.”

“Yes
, dear. Now, did you notice anything unusual before our exercise took place?” She tapped the green jewel on her head as a clue.

Jad
e thought hard for a moment. “The jewel began to glow with energy, but it always does that,” she mumbled, more to herself than to Nima. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. “It began to shine, even before I threw anything.”

“
Correct. You’re catching on, Jade. The link between yourself and your Chi energy must be established before anything else can happen. So that’s where we need to start. First, I want you to close your eyes.” Jade nodded, then shut her eyes. “Good, now tell me what you see.”

Jade paused a moment. “Well
, nothing. Just darkness,” she said, not sure how to answer.

“That’s right, dear. Every
masterful painting ever created started with a blank canvas. Now, do you remember when the two of us journeyed into your subconscious together to link you with your Chi?”

Jade nodded. “Of course I do. It was frightening.”
She could still remember the crystallized insects crawling around her face and covering her body; the frigid, icy pain while they scurried down her throat, so cold it seemed to burn.

“You just need
to re-establish that link. Visualize your Chi, Jade. Flowing down like a waterfall. The same way you saw it the first time.” Jade pressed her eyelids together tightly, trying to concentrate. “Relax, dear. I told you before: The easy way is the correct way. Let the energy come to you.”