UNSHEATHED

Chapter Forty Three

The following evening came quickly. Elena had found only a little time to practise her forms before the testing, and had spent it with Ergin in the circle in the fortress courtyard.

"Show me again, Elena."

Ergin leaned against the outer rampart wall with his arms crossed. Elena had been showing him for the better part of two hours, but didn't feel she was getting any better at creating and lobbing fireballs at the target. Her aim was terrible. The hot fire made her flinch each time she worked up a bundle of flame and held it floating in mid air as she took aim. It felt so unnatural.

She decided to go back to focusing on her thoughts. Ergin had shown her many techniques to keep her concentration. To gather up matter and form it into something such as a shield took a great deal of focus.

She would have preferred a different challenger. Having practised together many times, she felt that she knew Liran's moves, knew his thinking and his reactions much too well, and for that matter, he knew her equally well.

"You're flinching at the heat of the fire. Don't fear it, Elena, its yours to control."

Easier said than done. She thrust the ball with her thoughts, mimicking the movement with her arm, as if she had actually thrown it like an ordinary ball. The idea was ridiculous, yet she could do it, so why should she question the ability? She watched as the ball breezed by the target, going wide. Ergin furrowed his brow, something he'd been doing an awful lot these past few days.

"You're too stiff, Elena. Relax!"

Elena made circles with her shoulders to relieve the stiffness that was setting in. She was too tense, that was certain. She needed to go back to Ergin's teachings about using her instincts rather than her reasoning when in combat situations. Instinct was more natural, if only you could shut down from thinking too much, you might just be able to react in unexpected, effective ways.

She realized she had to forget her intention and just do it without really thinking.

She reviewed the exercises he had given her. Not exercises for creating fireballs or shields, but mind exercises to keep herself open and relaxed, and to keep from over thinking. Breathing through the nose and out through the mouth. Breathing more on through one nostril, then switching to the other, as odd as it sounded, was also very helpful. Counting backwards from one hundred kept the organized, analytical part of her mind busy so that the other part, the instinctual part, was able to gain dominance. It felt very odd, but was surprisingly effective.

She gave a quick thought to forming another fireball, and there it was, floating above her hand. She resisted the desire to pull away from it. It was fire, hot and dangerous, but it was under her control. She looked at the target, a metal bull's eye on a tripod at the other end of the courtyard. Without thinking about it too much, she simply decided it must head for the target as fast as possible. She left out the arm flourish she had been affecting. It wasn't necessary. The fireball took off at a great speed and broke apart as it hit the metal plate. Sparks skittered across the stone floor.

Elena lifted her arms up into the air in a sign of victory. Ergin smiled broadly and clapped.

"I think you're ready now, if you can manage to repeat that last move tomorrow."

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Cheers!

Rebecca