Blue Dragon

Could be something else there, but it’s so well hidden it’s hard to say. Probably just exceptional talent. I have seen humans this talented before. If a talented human suffers such as she has, it can also bring forward the energy control. He smiled. Suffering brings wisdom and control.
    The ring rose above Gold and returned to me, and I picked it out of the air. Gold took his hands away from Amy’s shoulders and rose.
    Meredith crouched beside Amy and put her hand on Amy’s shoulder. ‘We’re finished now, dear.’
    Amy shook herself out, then heaved a huge sigh and pulled herself to her feet, swaying slightly. Meredith held her elbow to help her.
    ‘That was weird,’ Amy said. ‘You knocked me out or sedated me or something, didn’t you?’
    Meredith smiled but didn’t say anything.
    ‘I thought I could hear people talking but there wasn’t a sound,’ Amy said.
    ‘You are quite correct, Amy,’ John said.
    I went to Amy and took her arm. I looked her right in the eyes. ‘You are a completely normal, talented human who has had her talents boosted by a prolonged period of suffering.’
    Amy’s eyes widened. ‘You know about that? You know?’
    ‘Nothing to be ashamed of, Amy,’ Gold said. May I see her back to the Folly?
    ‘Go,’ I said. ‘Amy, Gold will escort you back.’
    ‘The long way,’ Meredith said. ‘Not directly; she wouldn’t be able to handle it right now.’
    ‘Oh, I’m taking the long way,’ Gold said, smiling into Amy’s eyes. He gently took her elbow to lead her out. ‘Are you free Friday night? A group of us grown-ups are going to Lan Kwai Fong to try out the new Italian restaurant there. And to get away from the little ones for a while. You’re welcome to come; you spend a lot of time with the younger students as well.’
    ‘Little ones?’ Amy said. ‘You look the same age as most of the students.’
    ‘Appearances can be deceiving. I’m slightly older than I look,’ Gold said, amused. ‘You are a very interesting person, you know that? A lot of depth to you. I’d love to see more of it.’
    ‘Tell Gold I heard that and he’s seeing somebody already,’ I said quickly, and the stone relayed the message.
    Broke up with him a month ago, Gold said.
    ‘He’s to tell her all about himself up front. And if she’s too traumatised by what she’s been through then it’s strictly hands off.’
    Of course.
    Another bolt hit me. They would be great together. Totally made for each other. And she was something special, but it wasn’t ready to come out yet.
    I shook myself out of it. Meredith and John stared at me. ‘What?’
    ‘We saw that,’ John said. He pointed at the floor. ‘Your turn.’
    I hesitated, then moved to sit cross-legged in the middle of the room. Meredith took up position behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
    I relaxed and let her in.
    It didn’t take long. She flipped through me like a magazine, then put me back and released me.
    ‘Well on the way there,’ she said, rising. She reached down and helped me up. ‘Impressive.’
    ‘Have you had any flashes about us? You and me?’ John said.
    ‘No. Only the students.’ I gestured towards the door. ‘Amy and Gold are made for each other. They’ll be great together.’ It hit me again. ‘In fifteen or twenty years, their kids will be some of the best students you and I have ever seen, and we’ll teach them together.’
    I heard what I’d just said and dropped my head as my throat thickened. John looked away, but Meredith grinned broadly.
    ‘See?’ she said, and linked her arm in mine. ‘It will be. Let’s go and buy the young Immortal-to-be some lunch.’
    The next afternoon I paired up my energy students and they worked with chi together, one manipulating the energy and the other supervising. It was incredibly satisfying to have half a dozen students all taking their first steps together.
    I paired Amy with Brad, a hefty young black man from Argentina. We didn’t recruit many young people from South America; there wasn’t much interest there in the Asian Arts. But the movie industry was helping us immensely. Young people saw Hollywood wire-fu and wanted to learn some for themselves. Many were disappointed when they realised that the stuff they saw on movies was pure fantasy, but others were intrigued by the real Arts and continued. And some eventually came to the Mountain and discovered that the stuff depicted by wire-fu was the least of what they could do.
    John said