Inama took several crossover steps, planted her heel and threw the spear. The wood launched from her hand and rushed through the air above her and out at the open grassland. Almost a fraction of a second later the spear stopped, remaining still in the air. After a second or two, Kirsten let the spear drop straight down onto the ground.
Inama looked back and said with a grin, “It worked.”
Kirsten stepped toward her and held out the crystal, “Now you try.”
Inama accepted the crystal, rolling it over in her hand and closed her eyes.
Kirsten looked back at Bo and Thomas, who smiled, then their expressions changed as Kirsten noticed something flash out of the corner of her eye. She turned back to Inama, who stood smiling with her eyes open. “Did you just?” Kirsten started to ask.
“I think I am ready to try,” Inama said confidently.
Kirsten retrieved the spear and stepped back even with Inama. Gripping it in her hand, she said, “Whenever you’re ready.”
Bending her knees and dropping into a fighting stance, Inama nodded to Kirsten and said, “Ready.”
Kirsten threw the spear as hard as she could. She saw it leave her hands and pass the point where she’d stopped it. The wooden spear continued to distance itself from them and started dropping toward the ground. The more the spear arched, the more she lost faith that the flicker she’d seen had been Inama syncing with the crystal. Just as the spear was a few feet from digging into the ground, it stopped, hovering just above the grass. After several seconds, Inama released it and the spear hit the ground.
“Holy crap! You did it,” Kirsten gasped in disbelief. Inama walked up to where she’d planted and thrown the spear. “That was a small target and you managed to lock onto it.”
“You explained it well,” Inama said.
Bo and Thomas jogged up to congratulate Inama. “You did that on your first try and you’ve never used one before?” Thomas asked.
Inama nodded, “I could feel the energy inside it when you placed it into my hands. it just tingled through my arm.”
“That’s incredible,” Bo said.
“Lucky,” Thomas added.
“Can you do it again?” Kirsten asked.
Inama nodded.
“What about making the spear come back?” Bo asked.
“That would be impressive,” Kirsten said.
“Let me try,” Inama said.
A moment later the crystal glowed in her palm and the spear floated back toward them. Kirsten thought the spear might fly out of control into them, so she stepped out of the way, but Inama slowed it and caught it in her hand.
“How can you do that so easily?” Kirsten asked.
“It’s like you said, the energy that flows inside all things. I have been imagining what it is to sense it for so long, now that I can feel it, it just makes sense to me. I feel the tingle in the crystal and find the spear, then I just imagine it happening and it goes,” she said.
“You make it sound easy,” Thomas said.
Inama handed the crystal back toward Kirsten. Kirsten refused, “You keep it. You’re already as good as anyone else who has one. In fact, take a couple more. I only need two anyway.” Kirsten put her pack down and began digging through it.
“I couldn’t take it from you,” Inama said.
“Yeah, listen to her,” Thomas added. “Anders was in charge of that.”
Kirsten frowned at her brother, “Anders is too busy to see what we just did.” She dug two more crystals out of her pack and handed them to Inama, “Please take at least two. If you don’t use both, try to find another among you who can do what you have done.”
Inama accepted one more crystal, “I’ll take two back to my people. If I find someone who is capable, I’ll give them one.”
“Good,” Bo said. “I hope you find more who can do that. We’ll need them.”
“Thank you,” Inama said with a polite bow. Inama backed away and walked along the Army back toward the Southland people at the rear.
Kirsten picked up her pack and looked at Thomas and Bo while shaking her head, “Can you believe that?”
“No,” Thomas said, pouting slightly.
“And that’s just one of them,” Bo said. “What if there are more like her among the Lumbapi?”
“What if there are more like her among all of us? We should start passing these things around to everyone and see who can use them.”
“If we had the time and energy,” Bo said. “But sadly, I don’t think we do.”
“Didn’t Anders say that the crystals were meant for non-magical people to use?” Thomas asked as they rejoined the march.
“Yeah,” Kirsten said.
“I’ll get the hang of it eventually then,” Thomas said.
“I hope you do,” Kirsten said, then a moment later cursed.
