The Elementalist

16. Lessons Learned

Lessons LearnedOver the next two weeks, Voi focused on developing her elemental abilities with Milia, making what she believed to be excellent progress. Where before it took Voi minutes to summon any substantial power from the aether, by her third training session, she’d shaved that time to under a minute. By the end of week one, it only took seconds to summon a sizeable gale capable of throwing Mr. Callahan, the designated practice dummy, off his conventionally solid stance—a feat which Voi took great pride in.

Even so, the special envoy was particularly invested in augmenting the force behind Voi’s blows even further, teaching her to channel aetheric energy into a targeted vortex of air akin to throwing a punch. It wasn’t long before Voi grew exhausted by Milia’s repetitive drills, but the diplomat insisted this was key to fending off symptoms of ‘post-Initiation fixation syndrome.’

Whatever that was.

Too fatigued to ask, Voi pressed on. Thankfully, Mr. Callahan—she still used his surname sometimes out of habit and lingering skepticism—had other plans for Voi.

After continued target practice using the revolver without relying on elementalism to make adjustments, lengthy morning jogs, and a not-so-clever obstacle course designed by the ever-indefatigable Ms. Furlan involving chin-ups and hurdles and dodging whirling clockwork with unnecessarily sharp or crushing edges within an abandoned clock tower, Voi finally received her highly sought-after lessons in radio telegraphy. She was even given a pamphlet on codes used by Sector One intelligence agents—to be committed to memory before deployment on her mission, of course.

However, these were the more… pleasant aspects of Voi’s training.

At the end of week three, Voi was introduced to Haran interrogation techniques, which both Ms. Furlan and Mr. Callahan seemed disturbingly familiar with. Often, Milia explained, if elementalists were present in a terrorist cell that captured an enemy, it was those adepts who would typically conduct interrogations. Often, they used techniques that were unique to their elements. Milia’s lurid descriptions of Haran operatives who’d flushed their captive’s facial orifices with water, or singed sensitive body parts with their bare hands, were particularly unsettling to Voi.

When it came time to subject her to simulations of such techniques, Mr. Callahan grew noticeably uncomfortable, his aura growing cold and distant. However, it became clear why such detachment would be necessary.

There was a way to seal a portion of the mind from the physical body, he explained, even while on urche. Emelesiacs were naturally very good at this. ‘Mind over matter’ he called it. In fact, Mr. Callahan pointed out, Voi had already demonstrated this ability during her Initiation. He compared this to a dream, for an awareness that one was dreaming gave a person some mastery over said dream. The dark void that Voi feared she’d lose herself to—the place she used to visit while taking her baths—that was the place she must learn to submerse herself in and return from on command without losing herself.

“Why must I learn this?” she asked. They were sitting in the barn on bales of hay, facing one another as Mr. Callahan injected her with a shot of urche.

She looked away and closed her eyes until it was over.

“The Haran don’t take prisoners,” Mr. Callahan explained, “unless they think they can get certain information from them, trade them for something valuable, or turn them. However, if they see you can separate your mind from pain even after several attempts to break you mentally, it’ll render their interrogation methods useless.”

“And then what?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Depends. Usually, they’ll leave you in a cell or someplace hidden for a while then come back and try to question you more humanely, or they’ll just leave you in isolation until they can trade you for something or someone more valuable. If that doesn’t work, and the information they’re looking for can be obtained by other means, or they believe there isn’t a chance in recruiting you to their cause… it’s possible they might kill you.”

She gulped.

“Still, learning to set aside your mind can buy you some time. Under the right circumstances, it could save your life.”

A few seconds went by. “Ronny,” said Voi, “I’m scared.”

“You should be. These people are dangerous, but that’s why we’re doing this now. I want you to be prepared in case you do happen to come across a Haran operative.”

She thought for a moment. “What if I’m not able to find my way back to the physical realm when I seal my mind away? What if I die from this?”

He sniffed. “You can’t die from this exercise, Voi, unless the death is physical. I mean a coma is possible, but…” He looked away, lost in thought. “You’ll need a kaffka.”

She ducked her head. “I beg your pardon?”

“A safeguard,” he said, “something that reminds you that you’re still alive and tethers you to the physical world. You need a memory that evokes a very specific physical sensation. The more extreme, the more effective. Maybe it’s the taste of blood in your mouth when you bite your tongue; maybe it’s suffocation, or something you experienced during your Initiation. Whatever the feeling, you have to immerse yourself in it if you feel like you might be slipping away. If you can’t experience the feeling as you remembered it in the waking world, then it’s a sign that something’s off. It’ll remind you that you’re still detached.

“Kaffkas are a Maelt concept, though most advanced elementalists use them to recover from psychic attacks. Only you can know what your kaffka is, what it means to you.”

She thought on this for a minute.

“Think you’ve got one?”

“I think so.”

“Alright. Close your eyes.”

Just as during her Initiation, Ronny talked Voi into a state of serenity until she was no longer aware of his voice. Instead, she found herself enjoying the weightless oblivion that came before the void. Hours seemed to go by before she found herself doubting her reality, and she remembered her kaffka—holding her breath until she thought she would suffocate. Oddly enough, it didn’t seem to work while she was in this state of mind; she felt she could hold her breath forever because actual ‘breathing’ didn’t quite exist where she was.

And then she understood.

Voi opened her eyes and exhaled, Ronny staring back at her. When she realized he was holding her hand, she looked down.

He held a large sewing needle by its head, the tip at least an inch deep into her palm.

“Hey!” Voi gasped and snatched her hand back.

“You didn’t feel that before?”

“No! What are you trying to—” Angry, she plucked the thing out. A bead of blood seeped through. She sucked this away, giving Ronny an annoyed look.

“I think you’re ready for something more intense,” he said.

Voi didn’t like the sound of that.

Over the next few days, during several more mind-distancing exercises, Voi was subjected to a simulation of t*****e by water—the most common method used by the Haran, Ronny informed her. With her hands tied behind her, Ronny held Voi by the back of the head over a trough full of water. “Sometimes they won’t give you much time to mentally distance yourself. You have to be able to go there quickly.”

“How? It takes ti—”

“Don’t struggle.” Suddenly, he thrust her face into the trough.

Voi struggled initially, occupied with the fact that she’d swallowed water, until she realized how pointless this was. Instead, she closed her eyes, recalling the serenity of her bathtub experiences as her mind gradually drifted to a dark place…

She gasped, breathing air again, though she was cold and wet. She searched around frantically until she realized she was sitting in a chair, a towel wrapped around her shoulders.

Ronny stood across from her, a nondescript expression on his face.

“I thought I’d died!” she said.

“In a way, you did.”

A chill went through Voi, and she immediately stood up. “I don’t want to do this anymore!”

“It’s what you’ve been doing, Voi. Your little bathtub experiments… I’m just showing you how to control it.”

Her eyes widened. How does he know about that? Disturbed, Voi quickly left the barn.

Fortunately, Troy was still parked outside.

* * *

Ronny was walking home from his café of choice that night when he paused at the door with his keys in hand, detecting a lingering aetheric signature he’d come to know well over the past several months. He’d sensed her a few blocks back but was curious to see how far she would go. “Alright, Voi,” he said, turning around. “You can come out now. I know you’ve been following me.”

Her lightly frazzled hair was the first thing to ease out from behind the corner of the building. Then she paused, revealing herself only up to her large, seemingly innocent eyes.

“Come on.” Ronny waved her out, hoping he didn’t sound too bothered. Honestly, he thought her attempt at spying on him was cute.

At last, Voi came out of hiding, biting her lip. She was wearing her wool coat and gloves and a pair of round pumps, a scarf slung around her neck. There was something undeniably cat-like in the way she sauntered towards him—slow yet hesitant and indirect, her soundless gait winding in and out of itself in a subtle circular pattern. Ronny unwittingly took in her slim legs, which were sheathed in stockings a shade darker than her skin.

Voi kept her gaze low in a modest demeanor, one he was sure she’d practiced well.

Some entrance. If it weren’t for his aetheric awareness and training as a spy, Ronny was sure he wouldn’t have noticed Voi, her step being as light as it was. He shook his head then stared up at the starry sky, stuffing his keys into his pocket. “If you’re looking for a get-out-of-hell-free pass, I’m fresh out,” he said, only half-joking.

She suppressed a laugh then lowered her face, as if to hide her amusement. “I have no need for your pity today, Mr. Callahan. Quite the contrary.”

He frowned. “What do you want?”

She wrung her hands together and approached him. “I was hoping you could teach me something.”

“Teach you something?” he repeated incredulously.

She paused and nodded, a hopeful light in her eyes.

Ronny furrowed his brow. “What is it you want me to teach you?”

Voi gave an uncomfortable half shrug as she fumbled through her words. “I, well, it’s just… I’m not exactly fond of the way you were able to take advantage of me when we first met in the barn. The choking incident.”

“Good.”

“Um… okay. Well, anyway, I was hoping you could teach me how to avoid that situation.” Her eyes darted surreptitiously. “That is, in case I were to come across someone else who could do those kinds of things to me. You know, someone like, well, you.” She cringed, her shoulders contorting into tense angles.

Ronny took a deep breath. Now she wants to take things seriously.

She spoke faster. “Look, I know you and Milia are doing everything you can to ensure my success on this mission. It’s just that—”

“Voi, I can’t teach you how to out-maneuver someone who knows everything I know. Besides, we don’t have a whole lot of time.”

“I don’t need to know everything, Ronny. Just enough to give me an edge. The chances of me coming face-to-face with an operative may be slim, but it isn’t fair for you to exploit me then fail show me how to properly protect myself afterwards.” There was a certain level of impatience in her tone that made him realize just how serious she was.

For once.

Well, she’s got a point. He had professional reasons for not teaching Voi certain kinds of defenses. Reasons he intended to keep to himself. But he also had personal ones—like the fact she was already an unbridled elementalist and held an unfair advantage over him, thanks to Sector One’s blessing. Still, unnecessarily leaving her open to too many weaknesses wouldn’t bode well for the mission, if things went wrong.

“You’re asking me to put my hands on you again, Voi. I thought you didn’t want that.”

She scoffed, half in disgust and half in disbelief. “This isn’t about your ridiculous hands, Ronny. It’s about me being prepared.”

He looked at her outfit. “What are you wearing beneath that coat?”

“Excuse me?”

Damn, was he rusty. “Alright, don’t get your panties in a twist. I just need to know if you’re actually wearing something you can move around in. Something flexible.”

“Oh.” Her eyelashes fluttered as she recovered from the initial shock of his request. She looked down and peered inside her coat, tugging at the lapels. “Well, I suppose this could be flexible…”

Without another word, Ronny started walking and passed her by.

“Where are you going?” she called.

“Somewhere I can actually teach you.” He heard her rouse to an urgent trot to catch up to him. Shoulder to shoulder, he could feel her gaze. He passed her a guarded look, but she returned a smile—a friendly, grateful smile.

Harmless.

Ronny looked away, doing his best to ignore her charm.

He was sure now that his superiors had severely underestimated his emotional preparedness for this mission. Then again, it was possible they didn’t give a damn, considering the circumstances. What the Agency and Sector One had asked him to do—what he was required to do—was to essentially activate a dormant demigoddess and weaponize a self-proclaimed pacifist under the guise of self-defense. No pressure, Callahan. Problem was, the last time he’d worked with a fully trained elementalist, she took advantage of him and almost killed him.

Twice.

Fortunately, he’d survived—ultimately besting the pyro when he caught her in the act of treason the last time, disabling her with his government-issue urche g*n then turning her in to face execution. In the eyes of the council, that counted for something because, in the end, Ronny always got the job done.

Even if it cost him.

Voi was simply a test of his loyalty after two years of inactivity in the field. Regardless, Ryan was right: maybe assigning a cynical, reformed playboy to a wide-eyed helpless beauty wasn’t such a good idea…