When War Calls(86)

‘We would hope so!’ retorted Vennoss. He came forward to speak with Jaden, causing the Daijuarn shields to disappear as he passed. He picked up Jaden’s arms from his sides and slapped the underside of them just in front of his biceps. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘and here. That is where you must feel the energy build. Emotion is the key to using the power. Your ancestors before you have used fear and hate, and even love to know how to use their energy. This is no different. Master your emotion, master your mind, and then you will master the use of the essence. Feel something, child, anything, and then let it out through the endobraces!’

Vennoss walked briskly back to his place near the target. ‘Now,’ he called out, ‘thinking of something that has harmed you, feel, and then release. Understand?’

Jaden bowed his head slightly and repositioned his feet so that he was standing side on to his target. He began to think of what he could feel. There was anger from being pushed so hard to train to be something he didn’t even want to be, but it didn’t seem enough. He knew if they were going to let him rest, he would need something more powerful, something that caused absolute hatred within, and there was only one thing he could think of that could work. He had relived the memory too many times already, but he had to try. He had to think of the attack once more, just to put an end to the constant hounding by his grandfather to learn how to use the endobraces.

Slowly, the memories floated by, jabbing at his mind and bringing the pain he needed. He saw the faces of the people who had died, and the merciless execution of the old and gentle man, Don. He saw the fort over the Tennagen field, the soldiers guarding his sacred place, and then he remembered his family and how their lives were taken.

He looked up, his eyes red as the tears threatened to surface, and then repeated the motions he had been taught. He felt the energy build inside him and focused it into the parts of his arms his grandfather had slapped. He imagined the rocks as if they were soldiers coming toward him and ignited the endobraces in white light. As he imagined them beginning to fire upon him, he released the building energy and pushed his hands forward.

The Daijuarn shields ignited, and he felt his success. The light coming from the endobraces was too bright to look upon. He closed his eyes as he continued to push the energy through his arms. But he heard no sound in the coming seconds; no stone falling, nothing burning, not even the hum of the Daijuarn shields was alive anymore.

Vennoss alerted him to his failure by calling out again. ‘They’re still standing, you can open your eyes,’ he said, looking up and down the target.

Jaden thought hard. He had failed. How? He had done everything they had told him and nothing had happened. Why couldn’t he do it?

‘You’ll never become a sentinel with that sort of effort,’ said Vennoss.

With a second blinding flash and a sound that was almost as an explosion, Jaden’s arms had risen in an instant, sending a wave of fiery energy racing forward from them. Vennoss quickly ducked out of the way while the two Daijuarn shields were erected once more, but they had not come fast enough, and all three had fallen to the ground along with the stacked stones.

Vennoss turned, gasping in shock as he peered through the dust and smoke at Jaden. But Jaden was no longer there. He had left them. His arms throbbing with the same ache as his mind, he had walked quickly away, not knowing where he would go or what he would do, just that he wanted to be alone, away from the Daijuar, away from his grandfather, and away from the training.

‘I will go talk with him,’ said Tarsha, getting up to follow.

Vennoss was still in shock, but managed to nod to her before glancing at Adonis and Blair. Both were getting up, shaking their heads from side to side with wide eyes, as if they were dizzy after taking a powerful blow to the head. When all three recovered, they walked toward the centre of the shrine to speak with one another.

‘He is lost,’ said Blair. ‘Why do you continue to help him?’

‘I must do what I can for him,’ replied Vennoss. ‘He is the last of his people … a people that were in my care.’

‘But he has power unlike our own,’ said Adonis. ‘He could be dangerous.’

‘Yes,’ said Vennoss, now deep in thought.

‘You knew that would happen, but still you pushed him,’ Blair observed.

Vennoss nodded. ‘If a box containing a secret is locked, you could spend hours, maybe years trying to open it, and you would not know if the secret was worth the effort. Or you could smash it open, learn the secret and then worry about putting it back together later. Unfortunately, time is not a luxury we have at this moment.’