“And that we might be able to figure out where Lokesh is, which could lead us to Ren.”
“Yes. I know it’s a long shot, but it may be the only clue we get.”
“Alright, I’ll go.”
Kishan growled and changed into a man. “And I’ll go with you.”
“Don’t feel obligated to chaperone me, Kishan.”
He hissed, “Of course, I’m obligated. Ren charged me with taking care of you, and that is exactly what I plan to do. I’m no coward.”
I put my hand over his. “Kishan, I’ve never considered you a coward.
Thank you. I’ll feel much safer with you around.”
His tight face relaxed and he said, “Good. Now that that’s settled, would you like to train for a few hours?”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
Mr. Kadam waved us off. “I’ll work with you a bit this afternoon, Miss Kelsey, perhaps after lunch.”
“Okay. We’ll see you later.”
I met Kishan in the dojo after changing clothes. He worked with me on throwing someone much larger than myself. I had to practice on him several times, and then he put me through a stretching and strengthening circuit. When he finally decided our session was complete, he chucked me under my chin and said he was proud of me.
Just as I was about to head upstairs to have lunch with Mr. Kadam, Kishan ran up behind me and tossed me over his shoulder. He took the stairs two at a time while I pounded on his back. He laughed.
“If you aren’t prepared to throw off your attacker, you will have to suffer the consequences.” He deposited me in the chair across from Mr. Kadam and grabbed some lunch for himself.
I was sore and tired. “I don’t think I’m going to have the energy for another workout in sword fighting today, Mr. Kadam. Kishan really put me through my paces this morning.”
“That’s okay, Miss Kelsey. We can try a different kind of workout instead. Let’s try practicing your lightning ability.”
I grimaced. “What if it was just a fluke? Maybe it was a one-time thing.”
He countered, “Maybe you’ve had the power all along and just never had the motive to use it.”
“Okay, I’ll try. I just hope I don’t end up zapping you.”
“Yes. Do try to avoid that.”
We finished lunch and headed outside. I’d never been out on the grounds before. Patio steps led down to a cleared open area the size of a football field that was surrounded on all sides by jungle. Mr. Kadam had set up bales of hay with target boards at different distances, like the kind in archery tournaments.
“I want to try stationary targets first, and if that is successful, I’d also like to attempt moving targets. Now, you had said that you were angry and needed to protect Ren. It felt like a burning fire that started in your stomach and moved out to your hand, correct? I want you to think back and try to capture that feeling again.”
I closed my eyes and pictured myself in front of Ren as he faltered behind me. I let the feelings rush over me again and created a mental image of his captors approaching me. A hot spark nibbled at my stomach. I focused on it and encouraged it to expand.
It burst like a lava bubble, flew up through my body, and shot out my hand. Thick, white, pulsing light surged from my palm toward the first target and hit. The entire target exploded like a fiery bomb, leaving only fragments of smoking hay, which burned themselves out as they floated, peppering the air. All that was left of the target was a black blast mark on the ground. Tiny black curls of smoke lifted, rose into the sky, and then slowly dissipated.
Mr. Kadam grunted and stroked his beard. “Very effective weapon.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to do that to a person. It didn’t seem as destructive as that on the people.”
“Let’s not worry about that quite yet. First, let’s work on distance. Go for the next target and the next.”
I blasted both of those targets in succession without any waning of intensity.
“Kishan, will you be so good as to set out more targets? This time, I’d like you to set them farther back and side by side.”
Kishan headed down the field, and Mr. Kadam explained, “I’d like you to try to expand your range to encompass all three targets. Try to imagine something large like an elephant or a dinosaur, and you have to hit the whole length of it.”