Chương 28: More Discoveries of Still more Discoveries

One of the main things I learn while trying to harness my own abilities is that any use of the power whether it's for me or for the good of the element results in hunger. My own need to replenish lost energy. In fact, I'm famished. I've never understood that word like I understand it now.

"Are you okay?" Xan asks, a hand on the small of my back to steady me. I move over a step and catch my breath. I've buried and dug up multiple objects today. The more I do it, the less it exhausts me. And so far, I haven't drained myself even close to what I did when I buried our attackers. Making progress.

"Call it for the day, Ria. There's no reason to push yourself too far."

"I have to report to Lennick soon. He gave me a deadline. He'll make me tell Aarron." And there was that part of me sounding like an alarm in my head. Telling Aarron didn't seem like any type of good idea.

"Just once more. One of each." I say, waving Xalin's concerns away. I nod reluctantly. Because deep down I know they're right to push until I'm tired, not until I can barely walk. But I can see the progress each day brings. Just that little bit more control, that bit more strength. More endurance. Unconscious Recovery Acclimation is so close I can taste it. We've moved ourselves toward the waterfall leaving a winding path of springtime in our wake.

The hope is that anyone coming across it will think there's a stream of underground water underneath it. Or something. My water sense hasn't developed much, but the element seems lazily content with glimpsing me every now and again. It's not as hungry as the earth around me. Today we worked on burying a produce box. It's a wooden crate that's about two feet by one and a bit, I'd say if I was guessing. I've already put it in the ground and retrieved it six times. It works up a sweat when I do.

Sapping a little strength every time. Conduit Expansion is tricky. It's like the ultimate balancing act. Tightrope walking without a safety net.

"Bury." I say, the release of the image and power are seamless now and the ground opens up in less of a showy explosion of dirt and bits. Smooth. When it's down there, underneath us, sitting in its own little tomb, I allow the ground around it to cool for a short while. The more I practice, the less winded I become after each attempt. It's only now that I've done so many today, that I'm really starting to feel it. Progress. I can't stop though.

Now that I hear it all the time, I can sense the subtle shifting in the earth music around me. There's something brewing that I'm uncertain of, but I do know one thing: it's nothing good.

"Ready?" Xan asks, moving away from the retrieval point. This is easier than burying something, but I also have to know it's there. Still, this simple exercise is all I could come up with to strengthen my Conduit Expansion. I envision the ground giving me back what I buried, of it rising back out to me up here.

"Rise," I say, fully aware of the ominous tone to my voice.

"You do that with bodies and they'll burn you at the stake." Xan comments drolly as the ground delivers the crate back to us.

"Shhh." I shush them, still concentrating on the release of power until the crate is all the way clear. It requires a certain amount of finesse to not just explode the ground back out toward us. The more skillfully I can command this, the better I'll become at using it and leaving no traces. It rises swiftly, not too fast though, and then sits on the ground with a soft plop. Beneath it, the surface doesn't look like it has been disturbed in years. Perfect. That one took a bit more effort.

"Nice work. I won't be able to come with you for a couple of days, but now you just need to practice doing two at a time, both ways. And then three, four. And so on and so forth. Until sucking a hundred things down into their earthly graves is easy." Xan flashes me a grin, almost taking the edge off what they said. Almost. Part of that grin is coldly calculating as well. I want to know why.

"That's it for today," I say instead of asking the burning questions I have. There's always time for those after I've had to show Aaron what I can do. Besides, I'm actually feeling tired. And now famished is definitely the right word for me. It's late when we make it back, dark has already fallen. Xan peels off as I make my way toward food. Barely anyone is in the dining hall. There are baskets full of sandwiches, fruit—both dried and fresh—and dehydrated offerings.

Not everyone has the time to just sit and eat every meal in here. And to be honest, a lot of assassins are loners. I mean. Obviously. The kitchen is tightly run, but they feed us well. That's why we pay the order a stipend of our fees after all. It's like rent and all of our bills rolled into one. That's how at least Nightshade and Bryony are set up. We pay a percentage of our earnings for all our living expenses. For the most part we're safe and keep getting work.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Good deal. Time to stock up. Just as I'm loading a bag up with food, I sense someone approaching. Minx, if I'm not mistaken. It's still difficult for me to pinpoint the actual person, but the people I've spent the most time around are easier than others. Minx, Farin, Keliar, Mavix. They're all like extensions of myself almost. We did spend years together. Lennick and Aarron are just as easy to define.

Then some of my teachers. People like Ellir and Sevrin though are more difficult. The more I practice this awareness, the stronger it'll get. It's definitely her, but there's something about her today. Sort of like the ground can feel her minutely quaking. Different The sensations the earth sends me are more alert, more aware of Minx than they've been before. Wary. That's odd and immediately puts me on my guard.

"Hey Taria!" Minx is bright and bubbly, just like always. It's in complete juxtaposition to the guardedness I'm feeling through the ground. Again I wonder why she's an assassin. Xalin, I get. They have this underlying darkness to them. Keliar is adept with anything sharp and takes a perverse pleasure in being the dealer of death. Mavin is quiet, contemplative, and one of those people with deadly aim I'm always cautious around. And now I know Farin had no other choice.

Minx is good and capable, but always seems regretful. Someone so full of life, and wracked by the guilt of killing won't last long. She'll make a mistake one day. It'll either kill her, or her and anyone she's with. We should put a stop to it before then.

"Hey," I reply, pulling more jerky into my bag. Sure, I've still got some from the marketplace, but I can't have too much anymore it seems. Minx won't meet my eyes, and I realize some of what I'm sensing is nervousness. If I hone this skill enough, maybe I'll be able to read intentions from their auras.

"Do you have some spare time?" she asks, far too timidly for a killer from the shadows.

"If you don't mind my devouring food while we talk," I say, bag full, already striding back out of the dining hall as I lift an apple to my mouth.

"Sure." I think that's relief I hear in her tone as she falls in step with me on my way back to my room. I'm not worried about bringing her there. She can't see or find any of the books Lennick loaned me, they're hidden in the wall. Quite literally. It's definitely handy being able to open the walls if I need to. Makes the perfect hiding spot. Yet another way I can practice honing my Conduit Expansion. Although rock isn't as easy to mold as earth. It's less forgiving.

I could probably trap a person in there if I needed to. Wall tombs. There's an idea.

"Will Xalin be there?" she asks, and there's a hint of something I find difficult to define in her voice. Trepidation perhaps? I wonder why.

"Nope. They're prepping for a close combat session with Dougrant and Keliar," I mumble around the apple bite I just took.

"They'll all be testing the Novice levels. Some of the other instructors are out on loan and assignments." Pushing my door open, I lob my food bag onto my bed and jump up easily behind it, turning in one swift movement I drop into a cross legged position facing Minx. She closes the door behind her.

"So. What did you want to talk to me about?" Hesitation. It'd ger her killed in the field. A chill runs down my spine that has nothing to do with how good an assassin she is. It stems from her aura or whatever it is that's bleeding through the usual hum I can hear. Discord. She'd be much better off apprenticing to Velina. It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her so to run from the Nightshade lifestyle, but she speaks first.

"I'm not sure I can do this." Her eyes are wide, and while she's looking at me, it's not quite eye contact. Like she's looking at a freckle on the right-hand side of my face. Disconcerting. The silence weighs heavily in the room. Except for the hum in my ears, even the crickets that usually chirp outside my window slit are quiet. How do I deal with something like this. I'm not this type of person. Whatever gave that impression, I need to stop doing it.

Especially since all signs point toward her needing something other than comfort. Still though, I'm not completely heartless. I just reserve my energy for other things. Usually.

"For killing, or in specific for being an assassin?" I think my tone is cold, but I'm unsure how to make it warmer. It doesn't seem to perturb her at all.

"Both. Maybe? I think I'm great at information gathering. At being sneaky. Even poisons on sheets, in clothes, in food or drink. Those I'm good at too. Where I can be far away before anything goes truly wrong… As long as I don't have to think about…"

"I know what you're good at, and I fail to see why Aarron would make use of your other skills when they're lacking." She blanches slightly.

"He's trying to toughen me up. He said sometimes we don't get to pick what we're given." Whatever that means. It's good to know I'm not the only person Aarron is cryptic with.

"Why are you here, Minx? Why did you come to Nightshade in the first place?" It's not just that she echoes some of my sentiments. Because there are reasons I don't want to excel in close combat. But there are elements to her that I sympathize with.

"Because I had no other talents. I've always been great with knives, you know? And good at sneaking around. But my ability to pick a pocket on a living, non-sleeping target? Not the best, you know?" She laughs, and it's one of those sad sounds.

"There has to be something else." This makes no sense to me. What is she hiding?

"You're good at scrying, aren't you? Couldn't you just ask Aarron to let you man the scrying center?" Aarron was always looking for people to offload the administrative work to. Like Lareny, who was good in the field but better as a teacher. Dougrant who'd grown a little long in the tooth for the field but was excellent at bringing the best out of our newer recruits. In my eyes, it was the perfect role for someone as reluctant as Minx. Sure, she wouldn't earn as much, but it's better than cooking.

Maybe the latter was just a reflection of how bad I am at it. I can't imagine anyone liking it.

"I could. You're right." Now she's fidgeting with her fingers. Suddenly I wonder if her nervousness is that she's about to attempt to kill me? I mean that doesn't even make sense, after all she never bested me once in classes. Still though, maybe that's why. But no, that's not the sensation I'm getting. I'm not in danger. It's something about her aura, about the way she's holding herself tells me that was just fleeting paranoia on my behalf. Right now, right here, is where my patience snaps.

"Minx. Talk to me or get out and let me eat in peace. I have been training endurance all day, and I don't have the time for you to beat around the bush." There. That was more like me. Extra-blunt Taria. A modification on the nickname I earned through my Novice and Apprentice years. Frankly, I value honesty. Never a problem with it that I can see. She snaps up tall, her eyes somehow widening even more.

"Sorry. This is difficult to say, and I'm quite certain you're not going to believe me. It sounds so fantastical. Improbable even." I sit back, ripping into one of the sandwiches I grabbed.

"You wouldn't believe the things I've seen lately, Minx. Just go on, tell me. At worst you'll make me laugh, right?" She still seems so nervous. Xan would be able to calm her down, I know it. With a sigh, I sit up straighter.

"Seriously. Just tell me. I'm not about to harm you for telling me something." Minx nods, like she's finally decided something for herself.

"Okay. Well. You see. The reason I came here, to Nightshade, is because I get glimpses of the future. Fragments really. Odd things…but this one was clear. I came here because of you and what I know you're going to have to do soon." I blink at her.

"Because of me? What because of me?" Now she's flustered again, probably because I snapped at her. Calming down for other people isn't my thing, but exuding calm, that I can usually manage. So, I try it now. It barely works though, just taking the edge off. I hope it's enough. There's a lot of noise in my head. The humming is more like a clamoring.

"Start from the beginning." It looks like I won't be getting any wall molding practice in tonight. Minx sighs.

"At least you didn't laugh. Farin would have had a field day."

"I'm not Farin." Minx nods, and cocks her head to one side.

"Definitely not. Still, she's not all bad. You aren't exactly the most approachable person Taria. You tend to wall everyone off. The only reason Xan is around you at all is they totally ignore cues."

"I've noticed," I mutter between bites.

"Anyway," she starts up again, before I can interrupt. Her confidence is coming back as I listen.

"I've always had these strange visions. Things I can see that come true. Sometimes they happen in the next three minutes, sometimes in three years. I can see who and where, but never what. Which makes it sort of difficult."

"You've been able to do this your entire life? Why didn't your family insist on sending you to the sages, or even Rowan?" I'm a little shocked by this. Because that's where I'd expect a rare gift like that to be nurtured. A shadow passes over her, it's like her mood plummets and her happy bubbly mask slips back on. But not before I see what's underneath. And in that moment, I know that maybe, just maybe, Nightshade is a good fit for Minx after all.