[Valdis lets Ari think she could simply pull away. In truth, she doesn't need to be in contact with someone to kill them in this way. She smiles at the question.]

I can. But I don't need to wait until I'm injured to do it. I can store the energy for a later time and use it for various things, like increasing my strength and speed. Making the shift less painful. I'm running on empty right now.

[Her normal, much-more-than-human strength and speed are intact, but she can't increase them beyond that without soul energy and...it's dangerous to just drain people. She needs at least some level of trust from her fellow kidnappees.]