The Water Howlers - Book II ✔

Chapter 6 - Ki

The day after, all four of them were gathered on the open ground nestled away from anything damageable where they trained their gifts. It would be the first time since Emmie was released from the healers that they would all connect again.

Training Master Sarko met them with his usual grim expression that made Ki think he'd lost all hope on them, but knew it was far from the truth. She sent him a reassuring smile that he chose to ignore.

"Now that everyone is back on their feet," Master Sarko started, glancing towards Emmie where she stood next to Ori, "we should continue your Howler training and work on strengthening your minds so you'll be better prepared for whatever comes next. I refuse to have The Four get trampled like that again due to lack of training."

"Way to set the mood," Thatch muttered under his breath and Sarko sent him a pointed glare, but his features softened by a fraction.

"You are Aethorin's first line of defence. You four are what this nation's people look up to and expect to help protect them against dangers that lurks beyond the border. You are only as strong as your weakest link, so you need to work as a team, to the best of your abilities, to be able to lift you all up to a higher level. Apart they are strong-"

"But together they are stronger," the four of them said in unison, finishing the line from the Howler History.

"Form a semi-circle."

Ki shook herself in preparation and took a place between Emmie and Thatch, the latter, who turn his head towards her and sent her a wink before straightening himself, looking serious for a change.

"As usual," Sarko said from somewhere behind Ki and away from them, "clear your minds and let your gift reach out to find the others. You've done this plenty of times so it really shouldn't be a problem."

It didn't take long for Ki to sense the others around her with her gift; the warmth of Thatch's, the solidness of Emmie's and the flowing of Ori's. She reached out to them all and felt a surge when she tapped into all three of them at once. Ki could feel the others' gifts inside her mind and it made her feel content, like this made all the sense in the world to be connected.

From a distance, almost as if muffled by water, she heard Master Sarko call out instructions. A large pine tree stood a good fifty feet away from them across the training ground and was to be the target of today's training. All at once she saw flickers of images from the others, but she could also hear them, as if they whispered to her.

"Burn the tree crown," Thatch's voice whispered.

"Suck the moisture from the trunk," Ori's whispered.

"Shatter the stem," Emmie's whispered.

And then Ki's own voice joined in, whispering, "lift the needles from the branches."

They were each to do one of the tasks using the other's gift and Ki instantly moved to Thatch's mind, feeling it beckoning her more than the others. Burn the tree crown. That was her mission. She reached closer with her mind, her senses tinkling as the air around her heated up. She focused her eyes on the tree in the distance as she simultaneously reached into Thatch with her mind to pull a string of his gift from the pool of fire in his centre. The string of fire flowed from his body and Ki guided it to the top of the tree.

As all of this happened, she felt a presence reaching into her own pool deep within her, it felt calm and reassuring and she knew instantly that it was Ori. A small tug in the centre of her body, Ori drawing out a strand of her own gift, but she returned her full attention to setting the tree top on fire. She felt the fire and with a flick of her hand she sent it soaring at the tree, hitting the topmost branches and burst into flame.