“The empty mind leaves the opponent with nothing to grip,” Tanju continued. “The mind slips through the fingers of the psychic crush like an eel sliding through the hands of a fisher.”
“Or a rat slipping out of the coils of a snake,” Arvin said as a memory came to him-one of Zelia’s, not his own. Of coiling her thoughts around the mind of a priest who had threatened her, of squeezing his mind until it was limp. When she was finished with him, the priest had been unable to understand even the simplest of symbols for several days. The snake-headed staff that was in his hand had seemed no more than a carved piece of wood…
Arvin shuddered. “Zelia knows the psychic crush attack,” he told Tanju.
The psion lowered his hands. “I suspected that she would. Empty Mind is also the most useful defense against a mind thrust-the attack I used to render you helpless-and against insinuation.”
“What’s insinuation?” Arvin asked.
“An attack form that forces tendrils of destructive energy into the opponent’s mind,” Tanju answered, raising a hand and wiggling his fingers. “They worm their way in deep and sap the mind’s vitality-and with it, the body’s strength. If the insinuation is repeated enough times, the opponent will be debilitated to the point where he cannot lift himself off the floor, let alone mount an attack.”
Tanju settled into a stance like that of a barehanded brawler, feet firmly on the ground and hands balled into fists. “The second defense form is Shield, which can be visualized like this.” He raised his left arm to forehead level, as if shielding his face from a blow and lifted his left leg, twisting it so his shin was parallel with the ground. He stood like this for a moment, perfectly balanced on one foot. Then he spun in place-whipping his body around to present the shield to imaginary opponents closing in from all sides.
“Shield is most useful against a mental lash,” he told Arvin, returning to an easy standing position. “The lash cracks harmlessly against it and is unable to tear apart the energies that bind mind and body together. Without the shield, the opponent would become weak and unsteady, unable to coordinate his limbs.”
Once again a memory bubbled unbidden to the surface of Arvin’s mind. Zelia lashed out again and again with her mind, reveling in each strike. It was better than sinking your teeth into flesh-better because the mental lash didn’t use up its venom, but could go on and on…
Arvin shuddered. “Zelia knows that attack, too.”
Tanju nodded. “The third form, Fortress, is also an effective defense against a mental lash,” he continued. “Visualize a tower, erected by your own will.” He dropped into a wide, crouching stance and raised his hands to head level, bending his elbows at right angles. His hands were stiff, fingers tight together, palms facing inward toward his head.
After a moment, he relaxed. “The Barrier form is similar,” he continued, “but circular. Like so.” Leaning to the side, he lifted his left leg until it was parallel with the floor, presenting the sole of his foot to Arvin. He drew his hands in tight against his chest, palms facing outward, then suddenly spun in a circle. Returning to an easy balance, he stood on both feet again. “Think of it as a wall. An impenetrable barrier constructed from determination, and strong as stone.”
Arvin nodded, trying to imagine what that would feel like. It might be a second skin, perhaps, one with the toughness of scale mail. One that could be quickly donned then shed as soon as it had-
No. He was thinking like Zelia again. He massaged his temples, trying to ignore the ache that throbbed through his mind. He hissed angrily, wishing it would just go away.
Tanju paused, a wary look on his face.
“I’m fine,” Arvin reassured him, lowering his hand. “Please go on. What is the fifth form? Did you save the best defense for last?”
Tanju’s lips quirked into a brief smile. “The fifth form is known as the Tower of Iron Will. It can be used not only to protect oneself, but also one’s allies-providing they are standing close by.”
“Show me,” Arvin said.
Tanju held his right hand out in front of him, palm up and fingers curled. “The will,” he pronounced, staring at it. Then he clenched his fist. Slowly, he raised it above his head, turning his face to stare up at it as his hand ascended. He extended his left hand to the side, as if reaching for the hand of a companion, then clenched it, as well. “Walled inside the tower, the will can weather the stormy blasts of the opponent’s mental attack. Imagine it as a secure place, as a home.”
Arvin imagined his workshop, hidden at the top of the tower in his warehouse. It had been secure, safe…
Until Zelia had breached it. She hadn’t come in with the fury of a storm, but instead had slithered in, silent as a snake. Any psionic attack she mounted would likely be the same, sneaky-and intimate.
From the brief taste he’d just had of her memories of psionic combat, Arvin knew which attack form was Zelia’s favorite. It was the one that allowed her to wrap herself around her opponents mentally and savor their agonies face to face, or rather, mind to mind.
The psychic crush.
“Empty Mind,” he told Tanju. “That’s the form I want to learn.”
Tanju inclined his head. “An interesting choice. Let us see if you are capable of learning it.”
They worked together for some time, Arvin slowly learning how to “empty” his mind and at the same time maintain his focus and awareness. Under Tanju’s guidance, he began by using the motions that Tanju had, “washing” his face with his hands as he visualized himself erasing his features. Slowly, he learned to imagine replacing his face-himself-with vacant space, hiding his mind from sight in shifting clouds of mist. He felt himself getting closer, closer… and a tingling began in his throat. Suddenly the shelter was filled with a low, droning noise-the same deep, bass tone that had accompanied his manifestation of the distract power. Arvin laughed out loud, realizing he’d done it-and was surprised to hear his laughter overlapping the droning noise. Abruptly, the droning stopped.
“I did it!” Arvin exclaimed. Then he noticed the expression on Tanju’s face. The psion was nodding, as if in encouragement, but there was a wary look in his eyes.
“You learn remarkably fast,” Tanju said, “quicker than any pupil I’ve ever taught-quicker than you should. Under the guidance of the right master…”
Arvin waited for Tanju to finish the thought, but instead the psion turned and picked up the trollgut rope. “That’s enough for now,” he said, undoing the buckles of his backpack. “I must be going. What is the rope’s command word?”
Arvin frowned. “But we only just-”
Tanju stared at him, the rope in his hands. “The command word?”
The lesson was definitely over. Sighing, Arvin told him.
As Tanju tucked the coil of rope into his pack, Arvin saw a glint inside the pack-a shiny surface that reflected the sunlight. It was the three finger-length quartz crystals-one a smoky gray, one clear, and one rosy-bound together with silver wire.
“That’s a crystal capacitor, isn’t it?” Arvin asked, pulling the words from Zelia’s memories. As he stared at it, his upper lip lifted disdainfully, baring his teeth. The human who had tutored Zelia had used one of those to augment his abilities. It had allowed him to continue manifesting psionic powers long after his own internal supply of energy was depleted. Over time, the crystal capacitor had become a crutch-one that gave the tutor a false sense of security. It had been easy, once that crutch was kicked away, to defeat him…