The Wicked House of Caroline

“Good evening, everyone. I am Beks Snowy. Please call me Miss Snowy. I’m a distant relative of Lord Deo.” Beks wore a wide, amiable smile on her face as she stood in front of the half dozen people. When they asked for the best earth biha users the Dranga had, they received them. Also, all the Dranga had were six earth biha users to begin with. Earth biha users were somewhat common, which was surprising in a population with higher-than-average biha users. “He’s asked me for assistance in the evacuation.”

Two years ago, a route into one of the smaller farming valleys was approved to be widened and Beks had to pour through various documents outlining the cost of the project. While she was waiting for the earth biha users to arrive, she pulled up the memory of the document and re-read it, as the steps of the widening process had been outlined.

The detail wasn’t great, but it was better than randomly collapsing canyon walls.

Beks elbowed Gerard next to her. “Ahem. I am Gerard, Miss Snowy’s...assistant and air biha user. I will be assisting with the air quality.”

Beks nodded, pleased he’d followed her script for him. She turned back to the crowds.

“Before we begin, I’d like to assess your abilities.” She walked to the side and motioned to the boulder that she and Gerard had hid behind a few hours earlier. It had been moved to the side, so she knew that someone on the team had enough biha to move it. “One by one, please try to move this boulder.”

Torches lit the area and while the light provided wasn’t much, Beks could still see the hesitation on their faces. No one stepped forward, but her pleasant smile didn’t leave her lips.

“Miss Snowy, I was the one who moved the boulder earlier,” a thin young man stepped forward and gave her an awkward bow of his head. “I...I am still recovering biha.”

Meaning he didn’t have enough biha to move it yet. Beks nodded. “What is your name?”

“Efran.”

“Efran, that’s fine. I have also been asked to help, as my biha well is very large and I am able to transfer biha into other biha users for their use. May I have your permission to transfer biha to you. I just need to put my hand on your shoulder or arm; close contact in order for a seamless transfer.”

She didn’t know how close she needed to be to have an effective transfer, but she’d go with what she knew.

The young man didn’t seem to know what else to do, except nod and hold out his arm. “Please.” Beks stepped forward and grasped his forearm, already releasing biha as she held him. He had the same reaction as her brother.

A sharp intake of breath, wide eyes, and a stunned expression. He looked at her with a gaping mouth, as if wanting to ask how she did that.

Beks retracted her arm and waved towards the boulder. “Please move it.”

Still appearing a bit shaken, the young man resolutely stepped forward and faced the boulder. He held out his hands and squinted. The boulder was quite large; big enough to hide both her and Gerard behind it, so it took some effort for the young man to actually move it. It rocked back and forth before it rolled to the side.

Gerard lifted his hand and scratched the side of his bald head. “I’m an air biha user, so I’m not entirely sure, but his method is rather unorthodox.”

Beks glanced over at him. “How so?”

Gerard furrowed his brows and seemed to try to get his thoughts into words. “I can’t see biha like some users, but I can feel it in the air clearly. Jonas, who is an earth biha user,” he said, looking at the six so they understood. “And I often compare. Even on the island, we were comparing and taking notes to the changes in our wells and abilities. Jonas doesn’t manipulate biha the same way I do.”

Beks perked up. “That’s right. Earth is an outlier in terms of technique as earth is typically solid and difficult to manipulate fluidly like the other affinities. Earth has to be broken down into smaller parts and then those smaller parts are manipulated all at once if the biha well is too small.” She clapped her hands together and walked to the boulder. “When Efran moved the boulder, did he try to move it as a whole, like one would a mutable affinity?”

Gerard nodded. “Yes, he concentrated his biha against it.”

“I see...I see....” Bek squinted and paced in front of them. It would take much more biha to move something solid than something mutable, which would result in the biha wells of the six draining much faster. That wasn’t a problem since Beks could refill their wells in an instant; however, she only had two hands. She took a deep breath and faced them. “I don’t know what you’ve learned about biha in your state, but in Sagittate, earth biha users are taught different techniques due to the nature of their affinity.”

In her obsessive state as a child, she’d tried all sorts of techniques in hopes of activating some latent biha inside her. This meant she tried techniques meant for different affinities. None of them worked at the time, of course, but she wasn’t unfamiliar.

She had the small group huddle around her and she began to break down the easiest theory of earth biha use and how it could be applied practically.

For the other affinities, they were different degrees of fluidity that required focus to contain as their biha could spread within it. For earth biha, the main focus was on moving a solid from the outside, not within.

“The larger the piece, the more biha is required, but if this boulder was made into smaller pieces, it is easier to move and less biha is used,” Beks told them. “The first step is to break it. This can be done by first concentrating your biha into your dominant hand, then releasing it into a singular point. The goal is to create a crack that can be used to insert biha and split apart the solid matter. When the pieces are smaller, they can be moved easier.”

She then went around and filled all the biha wells of the six and placed them in front of different rocks with the goal of practicing their concentration of biha.

“For someone who did not have biha most of her life, you are quite good at instructing,” Gerard said, impressed as Beks stepped back from the last person she was instructing personally.

“I tried it all at one point or another,” Beks told him as she watched the group. “And when I worked at my...previous job, I had to explain everything if I wanted to do anything. One on one guidance can make all the difference when you’re instructing others.”

She watched six throw out their fists, as if punching the rocks a few paces in front of them. Cracks appeared in one location after two or three attempts, delighting them. Beks walked past and let them know she was going to fill their biha wells. She placed a hand on their shoulders, transferring biha in an instant as she stepped past.

“Thank you, Miss.”

She let out a small hum. “Don’t worry about conserving biha. I have plenty to transfer to you. If you’re drained after one movement, tell me. I don’t have such small limitations.”

As she said that, Gerard stood up straight at once. He looked at Beks with a concerned expression. “My la-Miss, I didn’t remember until now, but didn’t you say that Lord Deo and your father had suppression markings?”

Beks nodded. “Yes, they’re placed on the back of the neck.”

“Then...how is Lord Deo able to use his fire biha?” Gerard asked.

Beks gave him a dull look and then slowly curled her lip into a smirk. “Did you know that the markings used to suppress biha are very old and have a limit to what they can suppress?” She’d looked it up in the books she’d memorized and had a feeling that with her brother and father’s massive biha well, the suppression could only do so much. “Both my brother and father far outdo a normal person’s biha well, so they would be able to use at least a small amount.”

Gerard squinted and gave her a look of disbelief. “My lady, he has been controlling the heat of a canyon that takes half a day to go through.”

“It only takes half a day because there are points where it becomes too narrow and causes a backup,” Beks told him with a wave of her hand. She looked back at the earth biha users trying the technique she instructed. “Also, when I embraced Deo, the marking was different.”

He gave her a suspicious look. “How are you sure?”

Beks rolled her eyes. “I spent weeks memorizing tablets and you’re unsure if I can remember what my brother’s suppression marking looks like?” Gerard opened his mouth, but couldn’t seem to find the words to say. “The markings are old and I couldn’t read them when they were applied to my brother and father, but now that I’m familiar, it’s in High Berup, and additional markings have been added to modify it.”

Gerard’s brows shot up. “Who added them?”

Beks motioned to the biha users in front of them. “I have suspicions.” He followed her gaze and nodded, as if enlightened. “Of course, even with the modification, there is still some suppression. If Brother Deo didn’t have the suppression marking at all, I wouldn’t need to use earth biha users. I could just have my brother blast his way through the canyon to expand it.”

She didn’t catch Gerard’s somewhat nervous expression at the thought.

He turned back to the six and took a deep breath and exhaled. He lowered his voice. “Do you think you will be able to clear the canyon in the time allotted?” He squinted at the six in front of them. “They’re not very strong.”

Beks narrowed her eyes. “Strength is second to precision right now,” Beks said as her eyes narrowed. “I need to be able to chip away at the canyon walls and then push the debris out to make room. If we use too much uncontrolled biha, it could collapse too much at once and put us in danger.”

Gerard nodded. “Do you think they’ll be able to do it?”

She took a deep breath. “Perhaps not to the scale I want, but they’ll be able to widen the narrow points enough.”

A crack was heard and her eyes darted to the large boulder that had been split into. Efran had frozen in his spot, his first still outstretched in front of him as he gawked at the split boulder. The others around him stopped to stare and he slowly turned his head back to Beks. “Miss...I did it.”

Beks’ eyes crinkled up with delight. She gave him a pleased nod. “Yes, you did,” she told him as she put her hand on his shoulder and transferred more biha. “Now...do it again.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

She forced herself not to think of her brother as she put all her efforts into widening the canyon. While she wanted to let the six biha users rest, Elder Arash came to give them life biha in order to reenergize them. Beks didn’t know that life biha could do that, but Elder Arash told her that it was not a long-term solution.

Eventually, a person needed actual, natural rest; however, her life biha could keep them energized and awake for the duration of their project.

Beks had cocked her head to the side and looked at the woman with surprise. “It seems that there is much to learn about biha.”

The old woman’s eyes had crinkled up with mirth. “We lost much of our foundation, but for things that our survival required, we kept.”

“What about my brother’s suppression marking?”

Elder Arash had smiled. “A few incorrect strokes can change a word.”

Beks had laughed. “I didn’t think it was that easy.”

“It is only because Lord Deo has exceptionally strong biha that allowed him to bypass the suppression. If not, even changing the marking wouldn’t have an effect.”

It gave her something to think about. Her initial plan had been to bring back her father and brother to the island, put them in the pool in the rotunda, and try to flood them with biha to try to expel the mark, as hers had when she had her biha explosion.

The procedure had yet to be proven effective, and there was a degree of danger, but she wanted to try as she didn’t know how to get rid of it outside of cutting it off. She didn’t know if that would work either. Since Elder Arash could not remove the suppression marking or even negate it by changing the marking manually, the only way to stop it was to remove it.

Beks had pushed the thought out of her head in order to focus.

After their well-received refresh, and as the sun began to rise, she had them take her to the entrance of the canyon.

The entrances were wide open spaces, but as they walked through, the walls began to close in and rocky outcroppings jutted out, getting in the way of the path.

“We’re going to focus on widening the narrow passages first. Knock down these outcroppings and then push the rubble to the nearest entrance. Once they’re clear, we’ll chip away at the walls. It must be as even as possible in order to avoid funneling, which will slow down the evacuation. Let’s get started.”

She arranged the earth biha users by initial abilities with those who had the most focus to first break down the earth and then less precise users push the rubble.

Gerard’s instructions were to use his air biha to blow dust and dirt away in order for them to see and to avoid inhaling the dust.

Beks started off small, focusing on one of the outcroppings that jutted out and made the ground uneven. One hand was on the shoulder of two individuals and as they gathered their biha to focus, Beks gently walked them through the steps.

As soon as the first earthen pillar fell and Gerard swept away the dust with a gust of wind, revealing the pile of rubble, the narrow portion of the pass filled with the cheers of the six people. Another set of earth biha users stepped forward to move the rubble like a small wave of pebbles to the side to be pushed later.

The process was methodical, with each pair of users having a specific duty and Gerard carefully making sure that they could see and breathe.

If Beks wasn’t giving direction or transferring energy, she was reading through past Kadmus proposals to reference what she was doing.

The widening of the canyon went in stages, but it was going faster than she expected.

“You’re very good,” Beks said. A meal was delivered and before the food runners left, Beks asked them to bring her back something to write with and paper, if they had it. She had instructions to prepare for the evacuation. When the sun set, she would rush out to refill her brother’s biha. Now that they had a moment to rest, Beks wanted to encourage the earth biha users. “Team, I am very impressed with your work. The more practice you have, the more precise your usage and coordinated your movements. Our process is significantly faster than anticipated.”

The late Queen told her that she had to reassure her people and keep their morale up, as well as assure them that they had a strong purpose that was beneficial to them and those they cared about.

Beks took that into consideration as she spoke to the small group.

“It is your biha support that has allowed us to move this quickly, Miss,” one of the users said with a wide smile. Even without her words, they seem to feel accomplished.

Beks shook her head. “Biha is only part of it. Your ability to understand and put into use what I’ve told you, your level of concentration, and quick minds are the most useful. When you reach your destination, you must find a way to further hone your abilities. There are many toppled ruins that only need to be adjusted to bring them back to their former glory.”

“Miss, what is the island like?” Efran asked.

“It is smaller than what it was before due to the natural disaster, but it is still quite large. I’d say a bit dangerous, there are several species of animal that are...well, giants, but they seem to avoid the ruins. I haven’t noticed any particularly predatory animals. At least none that would target humans.”

There was a brief look of concern on their faces.

“It’s hot and humid, even at night,” Gerard told them as he bit a piece of bread. “But the air and water, and the fruits, are all rich in bihar. Your biha wells will likely increase, if only a little.”

Excitement filled their faces at the thought, distracting from Beks’ statement about giant predatory animals.

As soon as they finished eating, they returned to work. Every sunrise, Elder Arash would come to give them another treatment of life biha to keep up their energy.

Two days and 2 nights without any sleep, and somehow, they were still awake and alert, shaving off sides of the canyon to expand it. They had just reached the final quarter of the canyon and Beks made the decision.

“When the meal runners come, I’m going to tell them to start the evacuation according to my instruction,” Beks said. “By the time they reach us, this section will be clear. As discussed, I will leave a pair of you at specific locations to assist. Gerard, you will stay at the exit.”

He hesitated, but nodded. They were short on people and he knew what the plans were, so he could direct them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to give orders at his rank, either.

“Will you facilitate at the entrance?” Efran asked.

Beks shook her head. “I will check. I will need to find my brother and make sure the remaining sentry guards withdraw and bring up the rear of the evacuation. Efran, when you see my brother’s flare, come to the entrance, as we may need to close the entrance of the canyon behind us.”

The young man nodded with seriousness on his face.

The last quarter of the canyon was relatively wide and not much needed to be done, but a lot of debris had to be moved out. That part was more time consuming than actually demolishing parts of the canyon.

Every step was calculated and any adjustment that could save time was taken. In the end, Beks managed to gain half a day. Sentries were placed along the canyon path to give direction and make sure everyone was following procedures.

When the first wave of evacuees entered the canyon, Beks was still making her way to the entrance. She was both pleased and relieved to see that her careful instructions had been followed and there was a neat, organized line of people waiting.

She remained at the entrance for a few moments, her eyes scanning the crowds of people coming through, making sure they stayed organized according to her plans. A certain number of people were let into the pass at a time and they were to stay close to one side of the canyon. A third of the width of the path was to be kept clear, except when one group caught up too quickly and wanted to bypass another.

This would prevent too many people from getting stuck behind a group that proved too slow.

It also kept the funneling to a minimum.

Each group had a leader who was ordered to keep everyone together and pace the group so there was some semblance of order. Each group had assigned a number, which would be checked off when they met at the rendezvous location past the exit.

Everything appeared in order, but Beks could still feel some anxiousness inside her. It was likely that until the evacuation was cleared, she could not rest.

“Miss Snowy!” Lloyd was running from the forest opposite where the line of evacuees came from. “Lord Deo requests your assistance.” He was panting and leaned forward with a pale face. “Brekram is approaching.”

“What?” Her skin grew cold at the thought. “Did they suddenly join forces with Salgul?” That was her first thought, but it didn’t make any sense. Amongst the three warring states, Salgul and Brekram were the largest and would see each other as a bigger threat than Dranga.

Lloyd looked confused. “I don’t know, my lady.”

She frowned. “All right, take me to him.”

He nodded and turned around to run. Beks was still wearing a pair of pants beneath a long dress, which had been tied at the bottom to give her space to move while riding and in the canyon. Long legs and a decent stamina allowed her to keep up with Lloyd, but she was still out of breath when she saw her brother’s figure standing on a jutting rock over the valley.

It was where Deo had stayed the last few days to control a sweltering barrier that kept Salgul back. Not that they hadn’t tried.

It seemed that once every few hours, they’d try to test their luck to see if the barrier cooled enough to let them through, but after a few paces in, they had to retreat. Deo told her that one had even collapsed in the barrier while she was transferring biha to him.

With Deo were three other people, two women and a man, all appearing to be pointing to the area below and speaking rapidly. Their Jasper was heavily accented and sometimes laced with Higer words, but her brother nodded, understanding what they were saying before responding.

He seemed to know she was approaching and lifted his head. From his knit brows and tightened lips, there was a serious change in their plans.

“Brother?” Beks asked as she easily scaled a few large rocks to get to where he was standing.

“Beks, how much longer will the evacuation last?” he asked.

She frowned. “The first group started a few hours ago, but at this pace, we should be done ahead of schedule by at least half a day, as long as there are no accidents,” she replied. “I had asked for two days. Do we no longer have that much time?”

Her brother took a deep breath and grasped her wrist, pulling her forward so she could get a better view of the crowds below before the sun set. “I’m unsure. I didn’t expect Brekram to suddenly appear.”

Beks looked past her brother and at the sprawling valley just past their viewpoint. She took in a heavy breath as she saw the numerous banners and thin pillars of smoke rising into the air that signaled camps.

“My lady, if you look there.” The other man with her brother appeared to be their father’s age. “The blue banners in the distance are the banners for Brekram.” He let out a helpless breath and shook his head as he kept his eyes fixed on them. “This is unexpected. Brekram never comes this far east. Salgul would keep them past the central river.”

“It is possible that with Salgul’s forces concentrated near us to try to regain the east pass, Brekram has managed to move closer,” a woman said with a frown.

“If your greatest enemy suddenly lost ground, and to what is perceived to be an inferior opponent, wouldn’t you see if you could take some ground from them, as well?” Beks said. Her assessment was not without reason.

“What are we going to do?” Lloyd asked as he stood nervously to the side.

Beks looked back at him. “Don’t let word of Brekram’s approach spread. I don’t want to panic the evacuees,” she told him. She then turned to her brother. “What do you propose?”

“We don’t have enough people to fight Salgul directly, what more Brekram, too?” Deo said with a scowl. “We can only hope that Brekram targets Salgul instead of coming after us.”

“What is the backup plan if they attack us instead or worse, arrange a temporary truce with Salgul and then proceed with a joint attack?” Beks asked.

It didn’t seem that the last scenario was even a possibility to the others, but the air had grown tense.

Deo didn’t seem at all bothered by it, as if he’d already taken it into consideration. “Then, we can only do our best to hold them all back while retreating into the canyon.”

“Have you started to recall the warriors stationed further?”

Deo nodded. “Yes, as soon as you gave word that the evacuation would begin, we sent messengers to bring them back.”

“Have them guard the lines of evacuees. Once the evacuees pass them, they can follow behind to allow for protection in the rear,” Beks said. “Also, once the last of the evacuees leave the village, we’ll need to burn it down.”

“Burn it?” The three Dranga people with them appeared filled with alarm. “You can’t!”

“Why not?” Beks asked as her eyes moved over to theirs. “You are not coming back.”

The cold reminder seemed to cut through them and they held their breaths. Deo raised his eyes. “Beks makes sense. We can’t let them use the village after you leave. It needs to be destroyed.”

“They likely won’t expect us to burn the village down on purpose, as they think Dranga is claiming the east pass, not trying to leave. A group that is staking claim to a territory wouldn’t just burn down their own village.” Beks looked back at the valley and frowned. “Set the village on fire and then set other spots on fire to appear as if it’s spreading. They will be hesitant to move closer if there is a threat of fire.”

“It’ll distract them!” Lloyd explained, hitting his palm with his fist. “I understand!”’

“I need to remain here to hold the barrier,” Deo told her. She looked at the younger woman. “Gather the remaining fire biha users to prepare to burn down the village.”

Reluctance was on the younger woman’s face, but she bowed her head. “Yes, my lord.”

“I’ll come by to transfer more biha to them in order to facilitate it faster,” Beks told her. “Any buildings, remaining frames, and the outer wall needs to be burned. Before that, I want a steady check of the village to make sure no one is left behind before the fire starts.”

“Elder Arash can help with that,” the middle-aged man told her. He looked at the other woman and Deo. “I will go speak to her.”

He rushed off with the younger woman and Beks looked back at her brother. She put her hand on his shoulder and transferred more biha to him. “You’ve used a lot.”

“I haven’t allowed it to cool since I started,” Deo told her. He frowned. “If I wasn’t suppressed, this would’ve been over already.”

“What? You would’ve set the entire valley on fire? Don’t be so extreme,” Beks said.

Deo snorted. “I’m not a monster. I simply would’ve had enough strength to control my fire’s distance and could’ve used it to push them back. Suppressed, if my fire gets too far, I’ll lose control and then the valley really will catch on fire.”

Beks remained standing beside him, looking at the evidence of two warring states’ armies below. Her eyes crinkled up. “I’d feel more comfortable if they would fight. At least that would take attention from us.”

“I want to know what they’re planning,” Deo said in a low voice as he rubbed his chin. After a few moments, he looked at her. “Will the evacuation go through the night?”

Beks nodded. “Yes, we won’t stop to rest. I gave instructions to organize the groups and make sure they are rested in preparation. The walk through the canyon won’t take as long. It gets darker in the canyon faster, so by now, they should already have started using lanterns. The process won’t stop.”

Deo gave her a small nod of his head. “Go back and prepare the village. The sentries that were posted out will be assigned when they return to the village gates.” He looked back at the valley took a deep breath. “The sooner this is over, the sooner we can leave and find Dad.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

In the short time that Beks had been away from Kadmus, she began to believe that when things were going too well, something was bound to go wrong. Despite her calm and collected presence, there was a tightness in her chest, anticipating something, though she wasn’t sure what that something was.

The sentries that had been posted had been accounted for and as soon as they reported to the entrance of the village, they were reassigned to escort the trail of evacuees. Elder Arash and three others who had life biha combed through the remains of the village for any remaining people, including elderly who refused to leave, forgotten individuals who’d been left behind in the rush, to those who had rushed back to retrieve something forgotten.

For the population of the Dranga, to have four life biha users remaining behind to sweep through the village was enough to show that their ratio of biha users was far greater than normal. Beks associated it with their bloodline going back to Gurani. Though those users didn’t have what Beks considered formal training, they could use their life biha to heal, which included giving life biha to a wounded or tired individual, and to sense signs of life within a certain area.

Elder Arash explained it as an increased sensitivity to the energy that humans naturally omitted. Their sensitivity range varied, and it was not that wide to begin with, nor could they tell you how many individuals there were when they sensed something, but they could tell if the remnants of a tent or ramshackle hut still had someone within.

Beks had hoped that no one had been left behind, but in the end, a few sentries who were guarding the village had to assist in forcibly carrying out frail elders who insisted that they would only hold their families back and those who appeared deathly sick.

All Beks and Elder Arash could do was feed the life biha in hopes that it would give them enough energy to get through the pass. They were carried out on cloth hammocks tied to a branch resting on the shoulders of two sentries each. As they were carried out of the gate, they were still refusing to go.

Elder Arash would not hear of it.

As the last group left the village, and the last of the life biha users followed with confirmation that the village was empty, Beks sent in the fire biha users. They were start in the center of the village and worked their way out, heading out to the gates. Then, they would circle the walls to set the walls on fire.

Beks had filled all their biha wells first.

She looked at Elder Arash who stood beside her, a good distance from the open gates of the village as she watched the fire biha users march in .

“Elder, you should follow the evacuation line now,” Beks told her.

Elder Arash took a deep breath and shook her head. “No, I will stay until the village goes up in flames.”

Beks squinted, but nodded. Perhaps this was part of the mourning process. The Dranga had migrated north and lived in the valley since the fall of Gurani, unable to return. Even if they had always believed that they would one day return to the peninsula turned island, the valley inside Giant’s Ridge was their home, and the only one they’d known for generations.

Who wouldn’t have some regret leaving?

There was a spark of fire in the darkness and Beks took a deep breath as the tents in the center caught on fire. Beside her, she heard Elder Arash take in a sharp breath.

Beks glanced over at her. The fires slowly came closer and closer as the users moved further away from the center. They emerged from the gate; their bodies silhouetted against a hazy orange-yellow glow. A familiar scent of burning filled the air.

Beks approached them to transfer more biha before ordering them to split into two groups and set the wall on fire. They rushed to finish their job and as Beks walked back to Elder Arash, she heard the choked cries of those at the very end of the evacuation line. Villagers had paused to look back and see their former home up in flames.

Beks raised her hand and Lloyd rushed forward. “Tell them that the village is being destroyed to distract the enemy and ensure time for them to leave.”

Lloyd bowed his head and rushed towards the line.

“Even if this one burns, there are several other villages that remain. Abandoned, but hold traces of us,” Elder Arash said.

Beks looked up at her and saw the glistening tears sliding down the old woman’s wrinkled face. “If you stayed, there would be no guarantee that your people would survive against the other states and the volcanoes.”

Elder Arash gave her a slow, solemn nod of her head. “I know. Our destiny is the island, as you call it. Not here.”

“But it was still your home.”

The shadows of the fire fell across her face as the crackling of splintering, burning wood filled the air in the background. “Indeed.”

“Miss, we have completed the burn points!” The fire biha users rushed towards her.

“The five of you assigned to provide light to the evacuation line proceed to your position,” Beks said as she placed a hand on each of their shoulders to refill their biha. Each time she did, they seemed to get a burst of energy from it and nodded enthusiastically. “The rest of you remain here in case we need to add more flames.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Elder Arash smiled a bit as she looked at her. “You give orders well,” she said with some warmth in her voice.

“It was something I needed to learn to do,” Beks said. “Though orders are only as effective as the power that the giver has.”

Elder Arash was quiet for a moment and looked back at the burning walls and smoke filling the sky. Her voice was even. “They made a mistake forcing you away.”

Beks followed her gaze. “I made a mistake thinking I was useful enough that they wouldn’t.”

“You are young,” Elder Arash told her as she lifted her chin. “It is good for you to learn now. It is an experience.”

“The island will be your home,” Beks said. “But I wish to use it as a base.”

“For how long?” Elder Arash asked, not defensive or suspicious, just curious.

“One...two years. If we haven’t moved past the island in two years, we’ll have larger problems.”

Elder Arash let out a small chuckle. “My lady has done in less than a week what we have been trying to do for months. If you haven’t moved past the island in two years, my assessment of you was wrong.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

Elder Arash smiled. “Lady Rebecca,” she said as she gazed at the fire. “It is not unheard of, amongst our history, for one to have both a biha well and a spirit core, you know.”

Beks furrowed her brows and looked towards her. “I’ve read many history books and consulted with a priest on the matter. Neither of us had heard of such a duality.”

“We only have an oral history, my lady. You would not have read it in any books in Kadmus,” Elder Arash told her. She glanced over. “You mentioned that you had memorized books on the island?”

“Yes. My translations aren’t perfect, as I’m still learning, but I’ve also looked over what I’ve memorized and I haven’t read anything regarding an individual with both,” Beks said.

“Have you read anything about Inheritors?” Elder Arash asked.

Beks furrowed her brows. “I remember you mentioning them when I arrived. I haven’t had a chance to search for anything on them.”

“Well, you’ve been busy. I don’t blame you,” Elder Arash replied knowingly. “Inheritors are an anomaly in our legends. They control vast amounts of biha, enough to move mountains and control the tides.”

“That sounds like a legendary figure indeed.”

“Yes, after all...who else can be born with both a biha well and a spirit core?”

The amused grin on Beks’ lips slowly faded and she turned her head towards the old woman. “They have both?”

Elder Arash nodded. “You indeed have both a biha well and a spirit core, Lady Rebecca. That is why you have what appears to be a bottomless well.”

“Then, when I had my biha explosion on the island...that’s really what triggered the light pearl?”

“I believe so,” Elder Arash told her. “Inheritors were said to be exceedingly rare. You may be the only Inheritor in existence at this moment.”

“Isn’t it possible that someone suffered the same problem as I had, and couldn’t use biha or their spirit core? They might not know what their potential was.”

“Yes, of course it is possible,” Elder Arash said. “But you were in a position that allowed you to survive. You said you were feverish before the biha explosion and had ‘flare ups’?” Beks nodded her head once. “That is your body struggling to deal with the biha it has accumulated. That biha is unlike other biha that can be sensed by skilled users. Biha users wouldn’t likely know that what you were suffering from was related to biha. You were very lucky, my lady. Under the attention of the late Queen of Kadmus, you had medical attention to keep those incidents from becoming fatal.”

Beks drew her head back. “Then...if someone has both, their body can’t control their biha, and...they die?”

Elder Arash nodded. “The Dranga is led by a council of elders,” she said as she looked towards the tail end evacuation line. It was going further and further away, which was a relief to see. “And while we belong to that island, it is not our duty to govern it. Inheritors governed the island and protected its people. I don’t believe it is a coincidence that you arrived on that island and are an Inheritor.”

Beks shut her eyes and knit her brows together. “I...even if I wasn’t a citizen of Kadmus, I’m not from the island.”

“At this point, are any of us actually from the island?” Elder Arash laughed. “The island resonated with your biha explosion. It has claimed you; it and everything on it is your destiny.”

“I can’t stay on the island,” Beks said in a firm voice.

“You don’t have to stay on the island to govern it,” Elder Arash said. “We will need assistance in integrating with the rest of the world. The last thing we need is the island to be fought over in a messy territorial war between neighboring countries. We’ve had enough of that and do not have the strength to defend the island. We’d only be forced to flee once more.”

Beks tilted her head and looked at the woman with suspicious eyes. “Are you saying you want us to claim the island as a territory not necessarily to govern it, but to keep it geopolitically stable?”

“It is the Lady of Caroline who claimed it on behalf of Kadmus,” Elder Arash told her. “Perhaps if you apply for it, your true king will give you a title and it as your territory.”

“You trust me too much,” Beks said in a deadpan voice.

“I trust the Inheritor.”

Beks lifted her hand and rubbed her head. “We’ll discuss this at another time. For now, you should go and join the-”

“Miss!” Another voice filled the air, over the roar of the fire in the distance. Beks looked over her shoulder at the sound of the voice. She saw the middle-aged man that usually supported her brother running towards them and she frowned. Her chest tightened. Her name would not be called so urgently if there wasn’t a problem.

“What is it?” Beks stepped away from the elder and towards the man.

“Brekram bypassed the barrier.”

“What? But my brother hasn’t lowered the temperature of the barrier yet.”

“No, no.” The man shook his head. “Lord Deo’s barrier forms an arc around our location here and the east pass through the forest, but it seems that Brekram has sneaked a party along the side of the mountains.”

Beks heart sank. “Which side?”

“The south.”

“Oh, thank the gods....” Beks let out a breath of relief. The man gave her a look of disbelief.

“You’re thanking the gods?”

“South of here we can still defend the east pass, but if they came from the north, there is nothing but sheer rock cliffs to keep them at a distance from the mouth of the pass,” Beks said. She turned towards the remaining fire biha users and waved her arm. “You three, send out the final return flares. Guard team eleven! Escort them to the southern tip of the village and set the forest on fire. Return and bring up the rear of the evacuation line. Guard team twelve, escort Elder Arash through the canyon.”

“I will stay at the rear to comfort my people,” Elder Arash told her in a firm voice. “If I leave them behind, even if they follow, what kind of elder am I?”

Beks always felt that there was something about this old woman that deserved her respect and she was not disappointed. She bowed her head. “Then, I will see you on the other side, Elder.”

Elder Arash looked at the middle-aged man with a firm expression. “Since you are here, it means Lord Deo sent you to guard his sister.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Guard her well.”

The middle-aged man bowed his head at the old woman, watching as she turned around and was escorted by six men and women to the end of the trail. The time it took to get to the mouth of the canyon was almost doubled when there was a line.

“Where is my brother?” Beks asked.

“Lord Deo is retreating and bringing the barrier back with him as a precaution.”

Beks frowned. “That takes more biha than keeping it up.”

“He assures you that he will be able to hold.”

Beks grit her teeth. “I trust my brother.” Three fireballs shot into the sky in the distance at once: the final return flares. It was a sign for the remaining warriors to close in on their posts around the path to the canyon.

Flames began to fly into the sky as smoke coiled against their light. The forest was on fire.

Before she could be satisfied, another fireball shot up, higher than the flames of the forest fire. She waited for a moment. No other one accompanied it and her heart dropped.

“That’s a distress flare!” Beks took off in the direction of the fireball.

“My lady, wait!”

“If there is a fireball, then they’ve breached our barriers!” Beks shouted as her arms pumped beside her.

Up ahead, to one side, the log walls of the village were burning in place as smoke and flames shot up from the engulfed structures behind them. Directly ahead, trees were glowing with flames and the meager half dozen guards trying to send back the three fire biha users were surrounded by at least a dozen armed men with singed clothing.

The fire was just starting and while it was raging in some places, there were still plenty of open spots that they could come through if they were fast enough and covered their noses and mouths.

“Miss, run!” one of the guards shouted in horror when they saw her. His momentary distraction gave the man in front of him an opening and he let out a yell as he was slashed across the chest. He stumbled back, but remained standing. Beks didn’t know how deep the wound was.

“Guard eleven fall back! Fire users, come to me!” Beks shouted, skidding to a stop.

Someone yelled and fell back, dropping their spear to the side. A sword swooped down at their head, but they managed to roll to the side. The middle-aged man rushed forward and cut down his sword, sending the attacker back before grabbing the guard’s arm and dragging him up.

“Miss!” Two of the three fire biha users reached Beks and she grabbed their shoulders, transferring biha in an instant.

“Gather your biha in one hand and then launch it forward, focusing on one enemy’s face at a time. Once they fall back, expand the fire biha around their hair and clothing,” Beks told them. “Do not stop releasing biha at these points until I tell you to move to the next one!”

She kept her hands on them and they followed her directions. They aimed at the men closest to them and screams filled the air as the men stumbled back and tried to cover their faces, only for their hands to blister under the intense heat of the onslaught.

“Cover the Miss!” the middle-aged man ordered the guards.

“Leave an opening for these two so they can use their biha!” Beks shouted. “When we move, the closest guard is to strike to kill the closest enemy that’s been burned!”

It was an odd sight to see one woman in the center, her hands on the shoulders of two other women, who were acting as fire shooting weapons to be moved at her will, as if some sort of miniature fire-breathing phalanx. Anyone who got too close was either held back by the middle-aged man or the guards, or was trying to get out of the way of the fire.

Distance proved to give them little safety, as when one tried to flee, the fire seemed to grow stronger and thicker before searing his back and sending him to the ground, screaming in pain.

The air around then began to grow hotter and Beks frowned. The land around the village and its walls had been cleared, but if the trees toppled forward, it could send embers their way.

“Fall back!” Beks screamed and took a step back, bringing the two women still burning their closest attacker with her. The group around them seemed to understand this and remained close, keeping her protected as they retreated.

A loud crack was heard and what Beks feared came true. One of the trees cracked and fell forward, knocking over another tree, and sending it towards them.

“Move faster!” Someone grabbed her around the waist, squeezing the air out of her, as she was pulled away from the fire. Her hands slipped from the women, who were also grabbed and pulled back. “What are you doing here?”

Her brother’s scolding voice filled her head and she grimaced. “Utilizing my biha in the only way I know how.”

He looked over her shoulder and shot her a glare. “Why didn’t you stay with the evacuees?”

“A distress flare went up!”

“And you went towards it?”

“They needed help!”

Deo seemed to want to admonish her, but held back. “That’s why I came back!” He scowled. “Never mind that. Amir, is everyone else at their posts?”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Beks-”

“I know, I’ll go to the mouth of the cave to prepare any defenses,” Beks said, confirming the agreed-upon plan. Deo let her go and sent Amir, the middle-aged man, with her. Beks immediately began to run to get to her post.

The end of the evacuation line had moved up quite a bit. It wouldn’t be long until the last of the group entered the canyon. She could see the mouth of the pass, as a line of lanterns led into it. Before she could relax, another fireball coming from the mouth of the cave shot up.

“No....” Amir gasped behind her and Beks grit her teeth.

“Don’t tell me they breached the north, too!” She quickened her speed, passing dozens of people as she ran up the path. Amir could barely catch up to her.

“My lady!” Gerard was in a defensive stance with Efran at the entrance along with another fire biha user. Behind them, designated sentries were urging the groups to enter, no longer pausing between groups, just instructing them to stay to one side.

“What’s going on? Have they gotten close?”

“My lady, we saw spots of light across the cliffs. They couldn’t get past the barrier below, but they may have tried to come around through the north,” Gerard reported.

“Even if they can see us, they can’t cross the gap between the cliffs to get to us so easily,” Beks said with a frown. Her frown fell and her eyes widened. “Gerard, use your biha like we did in the valley and focus it towards the cliffs.”

She grabbed his shoulder once more. He turned to give her a confused look, but they heard the whistling.

Above the low shuffling of feet entering the pass, there was a whistling coming from overhead.

Gerard narrowed his eyes and threw his arms back before bringing them together. A large gust of wind swept around them, kicking up dust and debris before a force strong enough to uproot trees shot forward.

Arrows fell uselessly to the ground in front of them, but Gerard didn’t stop.

“How long do I continue, my lady?” he shouted over his shoulder.

“Until the last evacuee enters the pass!”

“Understood!”

Her hair flew up around her as the loose fabric of her clothes moved in all directions. Anyone who got too close, even if the wind were not directed at them, could feel gusts strong enough to push them back.

“Beks, hold!” She pulled her hands off of Gerard’s shoulders and he took it as a signal to stop.

Suddenly, several fire balls shot out from either side of them, illuminating the areas around them as they passed. She heard her brother swear somewhere behind her.

Beks sucked in a sharp breath as she saw the vague shapes of people littering the cliff side across from the mouth of the pass. The heat barrier was below them, but even if they couldn’t pass, they didn’t seem to give up and were waiting in ambush across.

The pale cliffs were littered with figures waiting with bows and arrows. They were close enough to hit the evacuees. Gerard’s eyes widened.

“There are so many...I can divert their arrows, but I can’t knock them all down if they’re braced against the cliff....”

Beks narrowed her eyes. “You don’t need to. Efran!”

The young man who had rushed further away to avoid being thrown off his feet returned at once. “Miss?”

“Stand behind me. Gerard, do it again for twenty counts. Brother!”

“Yes?” Deo asked. “Do you want cover or light?”

“Light,” Beks said. “I need to see the cliffs so we know where to aim.”

Deo nodded. “A bit of biha?” She grabbed her brother’s hand and he chuckled. He took a deep breath and held out his hands and threw out several balls of fire below the cliffs. Before they went out, he poured biha into them, increasing their flames until they began to catch on the trees below. An orangey glow came up from beneath the base of the cliff. “How’s that?”

“Good enough. Gerard, now!” A roar of wind filled the air and several yells of surprise came from the evacuees behind them. Beks kept her hands on Gerard’s shoulders, but looked back at Efran. “Collect biha in both your fists. When I tell you to, release your biha directly at the cliff in front of us. I will grab your shoulder and transfer biha so you won’t run out. Don’t stop until I tell you, understand?”

She watched his head bob up and down. “Yes, Miss!”

“Good!” Beks said. “The goal isn’t to just make cracks, Efran! The goal is to loosen the earth!” she shouted. “I want you to make a landslide!”