The Heart Fountain

 
Night Wings
Sunset comes, and we assemble in an open space behind the house.
Our packs lie on the floor of the deck.
Today the winds are gentle.
There are a few wispy clouds in the night sky, visible in the light of the watchtower.
“Master Balshown,” says Shazira, raising her hand and facing her palm toward Balshown, “you [...]

 
Waiting
I’ve been training for almost a month.
And I haven’t seen a tournament.
Today she asks me to wait again.
“Two more months, Neebol.”
“Why, Master Vala?”
She glares at me.
(Just yesterday she asked me to stop calling her Master.)
“In the tournament,” she says, “the moving energies seem visible to physical eyes.”
“But the most amazing aspects are hidden.”
“In two months, [...]

 
The Birthing
The door to the school is closed and locked when I arrive at day’s end.
I raise my hand to knock on the door.
A soft green light rises from the green line around my wrist.
The door opens.
There is no guard here now.
I remember the way.
The lights come on as I enter the small room.
Vala appears [...]

 
Broken
I stare at the red eyes of the Krale as it approaches, a vicious expression on its hard stone face.
This time, facing the Krale, Berek finds his voice.
He screams an inhuman scream, and it wakes me.
I feel a storm inside me, wild energy flashing within me like lightning.
I feel it, and I feel myself holding [...]