October 4, 2004
She received a branding representing her affiliation to the Shadow Elementals on her right foot arch. Once he was done with the branding, Riwik shaved the hair at the back of her neck to tattoo it, with black light ink, the symbol used to identify themselves to contacts when collecting information.
"One last thing, your mind-link. We all live in different parts of the world and coordination is key to the success of our operation. We are all connected through mind-link and only use the hologram to send important documents. I will create your mind-link connecting you to us, and then we will go eat."
"After breakfast, You and I will spar. I want to know how strong you are in combat," said Whazk as Riwik created her mind-link.
She was now officially a member of the Shadow Elemental collective. She was happy about that and felt she belonged, and was where she was supposed to be at this moment, while they were in a civil war against their kind.
"We will all spar. Today we train and tomorrow we plan our next operation," said Riwik.
"Get used to tight coordination. These guys are a lot more efficient than EBEE ever was in my years with them," said Alejandro through mind-link.
"I guess they need to be if they want to stay alive. We may be hunted by human governments, but they aren't the people who want us dead. It's self-preservation."
She heard a lot of people laughing in mind-link.
"The fact alone that you aren't used to mind-links is proof that the EBEE merely gave the illusion of efficiency but had their interest in the wrong places," said Alejandro through mind-link, but to everyone this time.
"I was an apprentice with them. I did create a mind-link through blood with my protegee but never had group one. I'll figure out how to compartmentalize links so I won't broadcast to everyone," said Coralis, knowing that she was broadcasting to everyone once again.
Once Riwik was done with her initial introduction and formalities, they went to eat. She followed Alejandro and the others to the dining area without paying attention to their conversation. She was lost in her thoughts. She was looking forward to the training sessions. She enjoyed training with Panjik, but in her eyes, Whazk was a legend. She also wondered which of her relatives Riwik knew, if not her dad, and if he was still alive.
She considered calling Frank before sitting down to eat but decided against it, figuring it was best to wait until she had a better idea of when she'd return home. Across the dining area, she spotted Jourmol Pinq, a CMMA agent under General Tobly she had seen a few times when going to their headquarters. She also saw a few AEEA officers sitting next to him, recognizing them as names listed on the Most Wanted Witches list.
"You were not joking," said Coralis to Alejandro as she sat at a table. "I'm recognizing people I met through I don't know how many institutions and I spotted about 12 people listed on global lists as to be killed-on-sight."
"The way I look at it, us being listed high on their list means we've done something right. You're top 10, and I'm right behind you. You know who's top 5. With the Shadow Elementals, we'll give the lunatics more reasons to fear us."
"A CMMA elder told me once the EBEE was right to fear me. That elder was the one to tip me off about people planning something big against me the night of the flyball finals and even provided agents to help me. I know people fear us, but it's nice knowing not everyone wants to take us down out of fear."
When breakfast time was over, they headed back to the central point of the compound for training. As expected, she was outmatched by far when sparring against Whazk. She felt exhausted when their fight ended, as he didn't want her to use her wand.
"Impressive. If you can fight like this at your age, then you're not one to be underestimated. You mainly need to work on your endurance and stealth. I like your versatility and the potency of your spells, which will only get stronger as you get stronger yourself. You're already a force to be reckoned with."
"You should have seen how quickly she took down Critilla Manana. Her coven was all dead before they could process what was happening," said Alejandro.
In a remote area of the compound stood a small open-air temple. Milkya sat in the middle of it, her legs folded under her, with her eyes shut. Cushions were spread around her on the ground, along the wall. Riwik told her to sit on one of the cushions and left.
She sat on the nearest one from the entryway and stayed silent. She was about to drift in her thoughts when suddenly, Milkya stood her and was on her feet in less than a second, which startled Coralis.
"Always expect the unexpected and do not trust anything seemingly dormant. In our world, nothing is as it seems. Today, you and I will spar, but without using elemental magic and with your eyes covered. Hand combats the human way. You won't see me so you will need to rely on your other senses."
Milkya sealed Coralis' eyes shut using magic. Coralis took a deep breath and released some energy to sense her surroundings. She could feel and tell where Milkya was. Before she could figure out how to proceed with her attack, she was on the ground.
She knew Milkya was standing next to her left hand. She pushed herself up and placed her left foot below her chest to make her think she was getting up, but rolled herself to her right, her right hand snatching Milkya's left ankle in a quick movement, making her lose her balance. She jumped on her feet and pushed her left hand on Mylkia's chest to make her fall to the ground on her back.
"Very well. You caught on quick," said Milkya.
Thirty minutes later, Milkya unsealed Coralis' eyes.
"You will go home tomorrow after the meeting and we will meet again next week at our Japan's compound. When off mission, you need to get into any activities a human would do. Observe everything and everyone in your surroundings. They won't see you, but you will see them. You will come to a point where even if you're inner elemental energy is entirely constraining and caged within yourself, you'll be able to sense those of us who are up to no good. You'll know where to look."