Chapter 17:
The Sacred Current
Despite his busy schedule, and the numerous concerns taking up space in his mind, Nameless found time for Booker’s errand the evening after visiting with Sadie.
Having spoken to the older Empath, and more recently Volka, regarding Juni’s problem, Nameless was confident he knew how to help her and sought out the Amazons’ camp after having dinner in the mess hall with the girls.
It took some doing but he managed to convince Milly, and more importantly Nina, to stay at the dormitories. The Amazons’ camp was near enough that having their heartstones attached to him wasn’t a problem, though his real concern was that they might crowd Juni and make his task more difficult than it had to be.
When Yana had left on her quest to hunt down Evadne and Jonathan her second in command, Tiana, had taken up the task of hauling around the Undine in her massive gourd when needed. Privately Nameless suspected there was something else at work, something political, as having Juni so nearby allowed Booker to keep close tabs on the goings on at the academy.
Tiana was the first to greet him when he entered the little strand of woods on the northern end of the academy grounds.
“Hail Valkyrja-data! It has been some time!”
Without complaint he accepted the towering woman’s hug, her hand on the back of his head holding him close to her bosom.
“Hi Tiana.” He mumbled as best he could into the warmth of her cleavage.
As she pulled away she levelled a speculative look at him.
“Are you here looking for Escrya? Or perhaps you came to share in our dinner?”
But he shook his head.
“No thank you, I’ve already eaten, I’m actually here looking for Juni. Aegis Booker said that she was with you?”
She was taken aback for a moment, but quickly nodded.
“Indeed she is! But I’m afraid I lack Yana’s strength to carry her gourd all day, so I left her with the others.”
On their way to meet the Undine he was greeted by many familiar faces and felt a pang of regret at not visiting the two Amazon tribes more as their faces brightened at the sight of him.
He shook off the sudden melancholy though when he spotted Juni’s gourd leaning against a tree, the Undine draped over the side and looking somewhat melancholy.
Though just like the Amazons, her mood brightened considerably when she spotted him.
“Hey! Nameless! I haven’t seen you in ages!”
Unlike the others in the camp she refrained from hugging him, although that was more to do with the cold than anything else: the water elemental was immune to it, but if she got him soaking wet he surely wouldn’t be.
They exchanged pleasantries for a bit, until Tiana and the others clued in that something else was going on and gave them some space.
Not sure how to broach the subject, Nameless cleared his throat awkwardly.
Juni offered him a wry look.
“My darling sent you here to fix me?”
He did his best not to show his surprise at her candid words, instead resonding with surety.
“You aren’t broken Juni. I’m here to show you that, if that’s alright?”
She sighed.
“I’m okay with you trying. But I don’t see what can be done about it. If I stay in my gourd I’m fine. I mean yeah, I want to spend the night with my hubby without disturbing his sleep and it’s been pretty hard since Yana...”
By the time she trailed off she was blinking rapidly in a vain attempt to hold back her tears, her lip trembling.
He offered her his most reassuring smile.
“I think I can help you. But I need to touch your heartstone to do it, is that okay with you?”
With a great sniffle she disappeared into her gourd with nary a splash.
“Um... Juni?”
She wasn’t gone for long, emerging a few seconds later with a cobalt blue ring, her heartstone at its center.
“We have a matching set, Yana made me give her hers. When we go into the field for missions and stuff, she carries it. She left it with our hubby when she took off.”
She sniffed again at the memory of her bond-sister saying goodbye, but shook aside the memory and held out the ring.
With a sympathetic smile he reached out and touched the gem set in the center of it.
“Ready when you are.” She said quickly.
Though somewhat anxious, she knew him well enough to understand how his powers worked.
“Alright then, let’s give this a try.” He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then he nearly drowned.
Her entire mindscape was underwater.
A great gout of bubbles escaped his mouth and he nearly jerked himself out of her mind in surprise, but almost immediately he realized that he was breathing just fine despite the imaginary water surrounding him.
The rushing flow in her mind carried with it snippets of conversation from all over, and for the first time he understood what her people meant when they spoke of the Sacred Current.
This is so weird. Juni’s voice pulled him away from the secret whisperings of the waters; So... how does this work?
He looked to see the Undine floating in front of him...
And saw her scars.
They extended all down her back and left side; in the real world they would be barely visible on her blue skin, but bared before him as she was, she couldn’t hide them from him.
She read his shock and flinched away.
I know, I’m ugly, but-
You’re not! You’re beautiful! Yana and Booker are both very lucky.
Able to feel his sincerity washing over her, she shifted in place coyly.
Why Nameless, I never knew you felt that way!
Though she was teasing him he could plainly feel the anxiety within her, and decided it was time to get to the point.
Show me?
She shifted in place again, the mental projection of herself gnawing on her lip.
It sucks, like, a lot.
I know, but I need to see it, which means you need to remember it. I’m sorry but there is no other way. I could get Volka if that would help?
As if on cue the golden being flooded their shared consciousness.
I am here, Husband.
Juni yelped and the water around them turned into a rushing roar for a moment.
By the Current! Give a girl some warning Volka!
Apologies, I was in the common room with the others when I felt my husband’s desire for my presence.
Nameless felt her warmth envelop him and took a moment to once again appreciate how lucky he was to be able to bask in the love of an angel.
But he couldn’t spend all day inside of Juni, so with some gentle prodding he encouraged her to remember the single most painful day of her life.
It was like being torn out of the ocean and thrown into a furnace.
The water around them vanished, replaced with searing flames that made his mental eyes water.
Dimly he could see the memory of Yana and the others, chasing after the woman who set the fire, the Amazons trusting Juni to put it out.
But she was out of water, and the flames that she sought to control rose ever higher, the heat likewise rising in the Undine’s mind.
Have no fear Husband, a memory can only hurt if you allow it. It is this truth that we must share with dear Juni.
The water elemental in question was curled up in the center of the inferno, whip-like flames now lashing her back and side over and over again as she whimpered and flinched.
As Volka said, it was just a memory, if a powerful one, and on some level Juni knew this, but the trauma she experienced that day kept her from escaping the lashing flames.
They clung to her mental flesh like burning pitch, and even worse, they came with the fear that Yana and Booker would both be consumed as well.
Juni, it’s just a memory.
She grunted as she struggled to respond.
I-I know! But it’s always here in the back of my mind! Even when I’m underwater I can feel the fire! It hurts Nameless! It always hurts so much!
With Volka’s words, he no longer felt any discomfort at the heat, so he stepped closer.
Stay back! You’ll be burned too!
No I won’t, there is no fire, and you know that too, look.
Without hesitation he stepped into the inferno, his arms outstretched.
He could feel her mind trying to convince his that his flesh should be burning away, but he would not be fooled.
Juni shook her head vehemently, her eyes half closed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She had lived with the trauma for years, so waving his hand through the fire wasn’t about to convince her of anything.
He pondered over the problem with as much patience as he could, watching her torment herself with her own memory all the while.
A moment of inspiration struck him then and he implemented his idea without a second thought for the consequences.
The fire, Juni, is the fire a match for the Sacred Current?
He thought back on the whispering he had heard in her mind, tantalizingly out of his reach.
At first it was merely her memory, but as if accepting his invitation the rushing water and all of the secrets it carried suddenly flooded his mind, the whispered voices from a multitude of Undine sang out in greeting as they flowed around his psyche.
This, he had not intended.
Husband! Beware! You risk losing yourself in this rush!
But the innumerable Undine sharing his thoughts spoke as one voice in response to the Valkyrie’s warning.
He does not. He is welcome in our waters, as are you, Daughter of Light.
Whoa.
It was hardly the most intelligent thing he had heard Volka say, but he was just as overwhelmed.
In all her years she had never experienced anything like this; the sublime beauty of the surging swell of elemental power, the source of Undine magic, was awe inspiring as it flowed through them, carrying with it the voices of all of Juni’s people.
The vast network of Undines, both living and dead, had welcomed them with a joyous chorus that drowned out all other thought, yet left in its wake understanding: they had always wanted to help Juni, and with Nameless to serve as their conduit, they finally could.
But the Sacred Current could not be contained by one young Empath, or even the ancient Valkyrie, so it inevitably flooded out of them into Juni, the water instantly drowning the feeble flames that were searing her mind as it dashed into her nightmare with implacable force.
Her expression was one of absolute bewilderment.
And her relief was orgasmic.
Several moments passed as the current subsided, leaving Nameless and Volka’s minds altogether as it took up its usual place in the back of Juni’s.
H-Husband, what have you done?
But it was the little Undine that responded.
He... he touched the Sacred Current. No human- no one other than a water elemental can do that!
Her mind was filled with swirling water again, the whispering of the Current calling to her as her sisters bade them all farewell for now, leaving behind a promise to return if necessary.
A spike of apprehension filled Nameless’s mind in the wake of what he had done.
Is that... bad?
Juni giggled at the anxiety he couldn’t hide from her.
It’s impossible! But no, not bad.
Are you well, Juni? The flames...
The Undine took a moment to check herself over, right away noticing that the scars had vanished from her mental form.
“Their gone... it’s all gone!”
With a gleeful giggle she swam towards them and wrapped her arms and legs around Nameless in a mental hug.
Apparently she was well.