by F. E. Arliss
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lighting
The next few weeks were tense between Kimi and Emery. Kimi thought the magic Emery used was too nebulous and too dangerous to use again. Emery insisted it was exactly what she’d come to the Badlands to learn.
After a long conference call with the crones back home and Eagle Rising and Circling Wind and the elders in Canyon de Chelly, the consensus was that Emery should be allowed to continue the study in the way she wished.
Kimi, while amazed by the work, disagreed, and her grudging silences as Emery meditated and began to improve her control of the technique of walking air, as she called it, began to wear on both of them.
Finally, as an enormous storm was coming up from the south, Kimi said they would give up the work for the day and asked Emery to pack up. She only had another week with Kimi and the forecast was for numerous thunderstorms and high winds. Emery could see that Kimi was relieved that this would prevent her from working further on the air.
Kimi had taken the mules down to the canyon floor and waited for Emery at the bottom of the enormous bluff. The winds were building and the sky had darkened. Emery could see Kimi motioning urgently with her hands for her to land. Beginning the descent, Emery could see lightning zinging out to the south. It was so beautiful, a stunning array of fireworks from the Goddess.
Slowly, the hair on her arms began to rise straight up and she could feel the flow of energy all around her. Before she could even think about descending the last fifty feet, a long, jagged bolt of lightning streaked from the sky and hit her directly in the chest. Emery was flung backward. Her energy tether broke loose from the ground near Kimi, where she’d directed it to anchor, and was suddenly swept high into the sky.
The last Kimi Chatan saw of Emery Harlow that day was the swirling mass of a raging fireball as it streaked over the horizon.
Three days later and a number of seriously strained phone calls later, Kimi sat numbly on the step of her cabin, a cup of cold coffee dangling in one listless fist. The crones had assured her the girl wasn’t dead. They’d know. Kimi had snorted loudly at this pronouncement from the three old white women. Dumbasses, was all Kimi could think. Nothing could live through being struck by lightning and then hurled into space.
The decrepit plane carrying Circling Wind had landed a day later and he now rode out each morning on one of the mules, chanting a finding spell from the saddle, and then proceeded to disappear into the horizon. Kimi didn’t even bother. This girl’s supporters were all out of their minds.
The morning of the second day the old man had trekked out, his shambling outline came into view around mid-afternoon. The mule appeared to be moving more slowly than usual. Kimi lifted the dusty binoculars to her eyes and studied the image emerging over the horizon.
Circling Wind had grown another pair of arms and legs.
Muttering to herself, Kimi picked up the satellite phone and dialed a number. “He’s found her. She might be alive. Call you back in an hour.”
An hour later, Emery was fast asleep in her sleeping bag, having been washed in the trough, force fed a bowl of mush, and drowsily told them that since she had no fire in her astrological chart, she’d simply demanded the lightning not harm her. It hadn’t. She’d been flung into the ground at the side of a crumbling bluff and woken a moment later with small fires burning in the silvery-gray rocks she’d landed on. A strange silvery-white coating had appeared on much of her skin, a reaction to the lightning, fire and whatever minerals she’d been hurled into, she supposed. It still hadn’t washed off completely even with a good dunking in the water trough.
She was the boss of fire, she’d sleepily told Circling Wind. Air helped her. Earth loved her. Fire was hers to command. The old man had patted her cheek gently and said, “Well done, Shield Skin. I’m very proud of you.”
“No need,” Emery had muttered, “it's all because of Deira and all the spirits that help me. I just put them together.”
Circling Wind smiled wider. This girl was a good one. Humble. Aware her power came from outside and within.
The next morning, the plane lifted off with four passengers. Don Juan was snuggled into a pocket and Deira had hooked herself into the small space behind Emery’s ear.
Emery had hugged Kimi enthusiastically and said, “Thank you so much! This was an awesome apprenticeship. You were great!”
Kimi simply shook her head and said, “I wish I could say the same about you, wild shield skin girl. I personally think they should have named you, “She Who Will Not Listen!” Emery had only giggled and squeezed Kimi’s hand.
Kimi made a call and immediately withdrew her offer to apprentice young witches. This was way out of her comfort level.
Later, Emery would wonder where the town of Red Shirt actually was. She’d never seen it. All she’d seen were hills and bluffs and strangely convoluted mineral coated hills. It had been wonderful.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Aftermath
As soon as the three crones could, they had a ceremony to hook the small Fijian pearl earring Letty had made from Don Juan’s gift into Emery’s ear. Bertha had matter-of-factly punched a hole with a sharp needle through the cartilage of Emery’s ear. The popping sound as the needle pierced the gristle of her ear grossed Emery out. As soon as Letty washed it with a pump of Dial foaming hand soap, put the studded earring through the hole, and let Emery see how it looked in the mirror, she forgot the spine quivering sound and just admired the creamy glow of the pearl stud.
It had hurt only for a second and the flat back of the special earring Letty had chosen simply screwed into place and was from then on out never removed. It didn’t take long for the puncture to heal up around the 22k gold post and the flat back never dug in or reminded Emery that it was there. Most of her friends had cleaned their pierced ears with peroxide. Letty assured her Dial was far superior. Not that she needed it, Emery realized, as the whole point of the pearl was its healing power. It had probably healed itself instantly!
Between the gentle glow of the pearl in her upper ear and the twinkle of the large amethyst at her throat, Emery was beginning to see that she had a very particular look. She was odd. And she was beautiful.
After the earring ceremony, Emery began to relate how the “walking air” really worked. It took Emery a week to explain thoroughly to Dorothea, Bertha and Letty, how all of the air element control and lightning commanding magic had worked for her. She’d given up not saying that it was magic. It certainly had been magical!
Deira preened at her brilliant idea contribution and Don Juan grumbled about his lack of anything to do in the ‘wasteland’. Deira had snickered and said, “You were too busy chasing girls to worry about magic.”
Don Juan had waggled his tiny eyebrows and said, “I was creating my own magic, insect!”
On two very windy nights, Emery and the crones had retreated to the top of the mansion house and they had watched in wonder as Emery spun an energy silk from her power chakra and floated into the wind, walking down the tether to the ground as she’d redirected the strand after takeoff. All of them were so excited, it was the most fabulous control of wind they’d ever seen or heard of!
When lighting began to erupt around them on the second outing, Emery had concentrated hard and drawn a ball of fire to herself as she hung suspended in mid-air. Would she be able to do it again? She certainly hoped so, but had hardened her skin as much as possible just in case she got jolted with a zillion megavolts of energy.
Once again, the lighting struck her in the chest. Once again she was catapulted into the air. This time, she was ready and commanded the lightning not to damage her tether. Blazing with a glorious glow of white fire, Emery walked the air down to the ground where the old crones waited for her.
She stood a moment blazing with fire, then gently thanked it and extinguished it. Once it had gone, her aura smoked for a few moments, then clarified. Emery sank to the ground. “Well, I didn’t get burned to a crisp! That’
s good,” she whispered. “One break in concentration and I could be turned into a tater-tot.”
The three crones gleeful expressions turned slowly to concern. “Yes, well! You better practice more,” Dorothea said sternly, hiding her concern behind her usual brisk no-nonsense advice.
“Also, this weird grayish-white stuff hasn’t ever gone completely away after it got sorta fried into my skin in South Dakota,” Emery said, extending one arm under the glow of the porch light. Small sparkles of mineral appeared to dance and shimmer beneath Emery’s skin.
“Hmmm,” Bertha murmured, peering at it intensely. “I’ll take a sample and send it off to Iona for analysis. Then we’ll see if it needs to be treated or can be left alone.”
Dorothea clapped her hands to gather their attention, “Come girls! We’ve got plans to make for Scotland.” With that, the four of them trudged back into the ramshackle mansion house to prepare for the next chapter of their lives.
Having lived through the last few years, Emery wondered if it could possibly be more exciting than this had been. She doubted it, but it would be fun to find out.
Other Books by F.E. Arliss
The Alien Alliance Series:
Renegade Redhead
Alien Queen
The Chronicles of Clyde: Unaffiliated
The Chronicles of Clyde: Ghost Ship
Winter’s Galaxy
The Force Paradox: Maodun
The St. Lo Series:
The High Life of Simone St. Lo
Simone St. Lo Raises Hell
Simone St. Lo Hits the High Seas
The Shield Skin Almanacs:
Shield Skin
Great thanks to my husband Andrew for his editing skills. Kudos once again to Susan Krupp for her brilliant art work for the cover.
