The Wicked House of Caroline

When Lucian was still a religious student, he had a senior sister who also used light biha. She was the one who taught him how to manipulate light to change the way color was seen, enabling Lucian to change eye color, hair color, and even make his markings disappear.

That senior sister came from the orphanage. She was devoted to the Temple that gave her a home, food, and an education. She didn’t see anything wrong with going to their instructors to show them what she’d self-taught herself after was likely years of her youth, testing.

Lucian had told Beks that she was very excited to show him because there were simply so few light biha users. She had even told Lucian that he would be her first apprentice.

In Sagittate a talent like Senior Sister Levina’s would’ve been encouraged, perhaps even given a master light biha user as a mentor early on in order to not only gain mastery, but to further development of an extremely promising biha variant.

However, the Temple was not Sagittate.

One day, Senior Sister Levina had been escorted out of their lecture.

Lucian and the other students never saw or heard from her again. By the time Lucian had realized something was wrong, no one would answer his questions. Her things were gone. It was as if she had disappeared. The worst was assumed and the boy could do nothing.

This had been Lucian’s awakening to the fact that the Temple was not the pure, righteous entity it portrayed.

Beks’ eyes continued to redden as she searched her savior’s mutilated face.

Sister Levina nodded, pleased that Beks had heard of her, and gave her a bright smile. It only made Beks’ heart ache further. Her eyes swept down to the exposed flesh of her arm with the matching burn marks, and her twisted fingers that seemed locked in unnatural positions, then finally to the right leg that had healed badly.

They had tortured her.

She couldn’t have been more than a teenager.

Beks felt her eyes mist over. A rough hand with knotted fingers rose and gently cupped her cheek. She gently led Beks’ gaze back to hers and gave her a sad smile.

“Why did they do this to you?” Beks said in a low, breathless voice.

Sister Levina stepped back and looked around. She picked up a broken piece of slate she must’ve picked up somewhere and then rummaged through her box to get a piece of broken chalk the size of her pinky.

The way she gripped the chalk had been adjusted so she could properly hold and control it in her broken fingers, but her speed did not suffer. She quickly scratched her answer and then turned it to Beks.

“Asked where I learned. Self-taught. Don’t believe. Punished.” Beks read out loud. She frowned. “But why would they punish you? This is an amazing discovery! This is a variant! You never hear about light biha variants!”

The biha was rare in itself and Beks wanted to kick whoever punished her figuring it out.

Sister Levina’s shoulders slumped and she used her hand to try to wipe off as much of the chalk as possible. She then wiped her hand on the side of her skirt. From the off-colored fabric, it was something she did often.

She wrote again then raised the broken slate. Beks squinted. Perverse use of biha.

Beks almost wanted to choke in frustration. Was the Temple blind? “How is what you’re doing perverse? Anyone can create a disguise with the right dyes and clothes!” She clenched her teeth, trying to calm herself and keep her voice down. Though they were in a stone cell by themselves, she didn’t know how far her voice could carry.

Sister Levina shrugged her shoulders once in helpless defeat and shook her head. She didn’t know why, either, it seemed. She wiped the slate once more and continued to write. She then turned the slate towards Beks, holding out her arms proudly.

Beat me. Threw acid on me. Tossed me in the river. I can swim. Sister Levina smiled with pride, puffing out her chest as if to say that they couldn’t do anything to her, yet Beks wanted to cry.

It was clear that when Sister Levina was thrown into the river, she had been beaten and burned first. Her hands were broken, as well as her leg.

Throwing her into the river was akin to leaving her life and death in the hands of the gods, but they didn’t think a badly injured teenager would survive.

Beks tilted her head and looked at the older woman with disbelief. “Why did you come back?”

At this, the brightness in Sister Levina’s eyes dimmed. She lowered her head for a moment, as if silently asking herself the same question. She wiped the slate clean again to reply.

No protection outside. If caught, killed. Many places to hide here. Beks couldn’t blame her in a way. In fact, it was smart. They’d never think that she’d hide in the inner tunnels and between the walls of the Great Temple complex. There was food, as offerings were left on altars.

In all honesty, if Beks had gone through what Sister Levina had gone through, she would have no problem stealing offerings to survive. Besides, if the gods were the slightest bit merciful, they would understand.

Sister Levina cleaned the slate and scribbled something. She held it up, giving Beks a hopeful smile.

Reading the question, Beks’ lips finally cracked a smile. How is Junior Brother Cian?

“He’s doing well. He’s with his twin,” Beks said. She paused for a moment and debated whether or not to tell Sister Levina what was happening outside. “Things have...happened, so they’re working hard.”

Sister Levina’s brows knit together. She swiped her hand over the slate and tried to blow off some dust before writing again. Beks almost jerked her head back in surprise, but quickly quelled it. Sister Levina was weaving through the inner walls of the Great Temple. She must’ve heard some information already.

Older brother king gone? Beks nodded in reply. Sister Levina frowned more so and wrote another question beneath the first. Who is in power?

There didn’t seem to be any reason to hide it. Sister Levina must’ve heard something already, just not all the details to make the entire debacle make sense in a way. She took a deep breath and looked at the woman, who looked both concerned and curious.

By this time, the entire continent should’ve known that the twins were leading the Red Iron Cavalry into Langshe on behalf of their cousin.

Beks motioned for Sister Levina to take a seat on the pile of rolled up blankets and began to explain, starting from the death of the late Queen. She didn’t know how far she’d get in her story and planned to stop before she got to the part where they’d sneaked in to commit crimes in hopes of distracting the paladin units that had been sent to interfere with Langshe’s war of succession.

However, Beks didn’t get that far. She didn’t even get to how she found Lucian.

“At his coronation reception, the Fourth Prince announced his Wife of Choice despite not yet having married me.” Sister Levina must’ve known about the custom of Kadmus monarchs and immediately frowned. She pointed to Beks, almost determined and Beks shook her head. “No, I was supposed to be his Wife of Convenience. The Wife of Choice is the new oracle.” She noticed Levina’s stern face drain of color. The older woman’s eyes widened before she shook her head. She grabbed Beks’ arm and shook her head frantically. Beks raised her other hand and put it over hers to try to calm her. “What’s wrong?”

Sister Levina snatched her had back and grabbed the slate beside her. She wiped the entire piece against her dress and then wrote in large, bold Esuser characters:she is not an oracle!

Beks’ heart jumped. Strange. Part of her always had a suspicion that the new oracle had just gotten lucky with her prophecies or that the Temple, or the Third Consort, had something to do with making her random visions a reality, despite what she’d prophesied coming true.

However, seeing someone react so adamantly that the new oracle was not an oracle at all was a blow. If not an oracle, who was her enemy?

“What do you mean she’s not an oracle?” Beks looked at Sister Levina with confusion.

Fake! Liar! These words were even larger on the slate.

Beks now found herself doubting the assessment. “But how can you be sure? After all, her prophesies did come true. The deaths of the late Queen and the Empress, and some other things here and there.”

Sister Levina stood up. She reached for Beks and pinched her sleeve, pulling her to the neatest of the dilapidated shelves in the room. Sister Levina turned and held out her arm, making the light pearl glow brighter. It was working so well, Beks almost didn’t notice the crack down one side. It wasn’t enough to split the pearl, but she didn’t know light pearls worked when cracked.

She’d seen piles of broken ones on the island and when Lucian tried to activate them, none of them reacted.

Beks turned her attention back to Sister Levina, who had plucked out a book and flipped through the pages. She turned around, holding one book open and pointing at a line on the page with urgency. Beks took the book from her and looked down.

“You want me to read this book?”

Sister Levina nodded and picked up her slate. She wiped it against her again and wrote once more. Iris doesn’t match pattern. Oracles have two names. Die different places.

The words were unclear with the limited space of the slate, so Beks tried to make sense of it. “First, what do you mean ‘two names’?”

The sound of Sister Levina’s chalk against the slate was all that could be heard in the tense room. Great Oracles pick new names when they wake. Iris no.

“All right,” Beks said and squinted. “What about ‘wake’? As in, waking up in the morning?” Didn’t Oracles simply wake one day and start giving prophecies? The verification process had been explained in the books she’d read, but nothing much before that other than one day, a young priestess in training would suddenly just spout oddly specific nonsense.

Sister Levina leaned forward and tapped the book again, in the spot where she had pointed out previously.

Beks scanned the passage. The book was on the third Oracle, Jeserah, whom Beks had read about before. She narrowed her eyes.

But her previous books didn’t mention that one day, a thirteen-year-old girl had an accident one winter. She slipped on some ice and fell in the river. She was rescued, and even the names of the Temple guard who saved her were recorded. The girl had been in the water too long and developed a high fever.

When she woke up after two days, she said her name was Jeserah and to be called that.

That was strange. The Temple kept records of all the children, students, servants, and paladins in their care. Whoever had been watching over Oracle Jeserah would’ve known who she was. So why would Oracle Jeserah tell them to call her as such if they hadn’t called her something else earlier?

As Beks’ face twisted with thought, another book was opened wide and placed on top of the book she was already reading.

Beks immediately scanned the pages. The seventh Great Oracle Ulrika got heatstroke one particularly hot summer, while doing volunteer work in a village outside the Great Basin. When she woke up, she said her name was Ulrika and began to make prophecies.

Sister Levina gave Beks three more books and the theme was obvious. Each young Great Oracle had some sort of fever, passed out and went into a coma, and then miraculously woke up. Part of Beks couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a coma they slipped into.

The book was plucked from her hands once more and replaced with another. This time it was Heikka, the second Great Oracle, but it noted where she died. On the western banks of the river.

The next book was the sixth Great Oracle, who died in a village outside the Great Basin.

Beks’ hands tightened around the books as she sat on her knees and spread them out in front of her, matching up the deaths of previous oracles to the accident location that seemed to trigger the change to prophecy.

Every new Great oracle seemed to awaken in the spot where the previous Great Oracle died, though at one point, all the Great Oracles were dying and awakening inside the Great Temple complex, as if a deliberate way to contain new oracles.

The last Great Oracle had to return to the Great Temple when it was clear that she was dying. She had lived in Kadmium, in the guest manor for some time up until that point.

Still, even if there was a pattern, so what?

Beks’ hands clawed into the stone beneath her palms as stared at all the open books, willing herself to make sense of it all. “What does this mean? Is it to verify authenticity?”

Sister Levina pushed forward the book on the last Great Oracle, the one who had prophesied the daughter with dawn in her hair. She did, indeed, die in the Great Temple complex.

“Sister Levina,” Beks said as she looked at the eager eyes of the thin woman. “Where did Elpidah wake?”

Levina had her answer ready on the slate and turned it around. North, at the school. No new name.

While the school was close by, it wasn’t so close that it could be considered part of the island complex. It was just an auxiliary building further away.

“No new name....” Beks trailed off. Every single Great Oracle had insisted on being called their name. “She has always been Iris Elpidah?”

Levina nodded and wrote down some things Beks already knew. Iris Elpidah was an orphan, adopted, and was a low-level priestess. If Beks noticed the death and awakening location pattern, then surely someone else might’ve and pointed that to be cautious. However, what did the pattern matter if the new oracle’s prophecies came true?

Results mattered. “No wonder she made so many prophecies so quickly. They questioned her legitimacy after the first prophecy she must’ve given them, so she had to establish her identity quickly.”

Levina lowered her slate and shook her head, still displeased. She scribbled not matching on the slate.

This only supported the feeling that Beks had that something was off about Oracle Elpidah. She looked back at the thin books. The other documents she’d read on oracles were about their deeds and prophecies during their lives, but these books were more like formal records that only recorded fact.

They also included the background of the oracles. They were all children who were taken into the Temple’s orphanage system. They were either orphaned or picked up from poor families who couldn’t afford to feed them with the hopes that they’d have a better life. This wasn’t surprising. After all, the Temple would house, feed, and teach them. If they were promising enough, they could even join the Temple.

Beks began to flip through the pages of the book in her hand. “Can I read these?”

Sister Levina’s face lit up and she nodded, enthusiastic. She began to pull other books from her little collection, and Beks almost didn’t notice as she flipped through each page to memorize its contents to be read later.

Sister Levina blinked, surprised at the speed.

Beks smiled. “I have a good memory. I can read these later, after I memorize them. I don’t have time to read them all now. My friends are waiting and I must go.”

Sister Levina’s hands shot out once more and grabbed Beks’ arm. She wrote on her slate if they were strong.

Beks nodded. “Yes, we’re traveling through. They are very strong.” Sister Levina’s eyes went wide. She tugged on Beks’ arm and pointed at herself with a determined look. She then wrote on her slate. Please. I can help. Can read. Write. Not slow. Eat little. Please.

Beks’ heart quickened just a bit. If Sister Levina didn’t want to come now, Beks planned on returning for her when this was all over. It seemed that she wrote ‘please’ twice and wanted to go.

Beks put the book down and grasped Sister Levina’s hand. “Sister, if you want to come with us, we will take you away and keep you safe. They won’t ever touch you again. I’ll make sure of that.”

Hearing her words, Sister Levina’s eyes misted with tears. She lowered her head and Beks could hear broken, choked noises of her cries. Sister Levina nodded. Her hand was shaking as she cleared her slate. Thank you.

Beks almost wanted to laugh. “You saved me from that lunatic. I should thank you.” This time, she cupped the woman’s scarred face. She felt Sister Levina tense and look away with shame as her face heated up. She lifted her hand and tried to move Beks’ hand from the burns across her face. Beks inwardly winced. She didn’t apologize out loud, afraid of drawing more attention to it. Instead, she tried to lighten the mood. “Lucian will be so happy to see you.”

Sister Levina sniffled. She seemed to try to match Beks’ warm smile with her own. You marry him now, yes? He is a good boy. Recommend.

Beks choked back a laugh. She couldn’t wait to tell Lucian he came highly recommended. “Yes, I’ll marry him.” Sister Levina looked satisfied. Beks told her to get some rest, as they had a long night of escaping. Since she told the Thirnir she’d meet them again if she didn’t return, she guessed that they’d go back to where they camped the night before, which wasn’t far from the northernmost point of the island. Beks couldn’t take the books with her, so she had to memorize them now. “We’ll leave the basin later. We have something we need to do first.”

Sister Levina gave her a serious nod and wrote ‘me, too’ on the slate.

Beks cocked her head. “What do you need to do?”

The malnourished woman hesitated for a bit. She glanced at Beks with some uncertainty, but seemed to decide to tell her. She erased her earlier words and wrote one more.

Revenge.

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

Further down, below the temple dedicated to Imaheg, god of the judgment in the underworld, there was a prison, complete with cells and objects for torture, like whips, wooden paddles, rods, and acid. It wasn’t a prison for enemies of the Temple.

After all, how can the righteous Temple imprison and torture their enemies? It was worse. It was for dealing with unruly inhabitants of the basin, including one then teenaged light-biha user who trusted the wrong people with her talents.

Sister Levina hadn’t been the only child dragged off to be punished there. She wasn’t even the last.

Perhaps it was best that at the moment, Beks couldn’t use her biha, else the moment she’d see children trapped in cramped, narrow cells, in their own filth, she would’ve destroyed the entire complex in her rage.

Sister Levina was more merciful. She only wanted to destroy the prison where she’d been tortured by collapsing it with river water, as it was close to the aqueducts, but first she had to save the children being held there.

Beks trembled as Sister Levina used her light biha to cause a distraction for the guard. She had previously stolen the keys to the prison and let themselves in.

The stench of blood, waste, and spoiled food made Beks’ stomach heave. It was good that she hadn’t had dinner.

“Sister!” At the sound of a boy’s voice, movement happened within the dark cells and they scurried forward, close to the metal bars to peer out. A few voices dared to whisper ‘sister’, calling out to Sister Levina who rushed towards them. She pulled Beks, who was still shaking with anger, forward.

Upon the sight of the tall woman in the hooded cloak, the children recoiled at once. The older boy, who was likely just a bit older than Thad, gasped. His eyes widened and looked at Sister Levina with betrayal.

“Who is this!?”

Sister Levina quickly held her hand up to try to quiet his voice. She looked at Beks with some panic.

“I am Beks. I am a friend of Sister Levina, and tonight, we’re taking you away,” Beks said. “Because we’re going to destroy this prison.”

Disbelief was written all over the boy’s dirty face and he didn’t seem to dare believe her. He looked towards Sister Levina, who looked excited. She patted her satchel, where she’d brought her most valuable possessions including the light pearl, to show that she was also leaving.

“Some...some of them can’t walk,” the boy said in a tight voice.

Beks resisted the urge to clench her fist. She couldn’t show anger or any aggression in front of the children for fear of scaring them. She kept her voice gentle and reassuring. “That’s all right. We will carry who we can. If there are any older children who can help, we will need it.”

The boy drew his head back, looking uncertain. “Are you alone?”

“My companions are waiting on the shore. You don’t have to trust me. You just have to want to leave here. Once we’re out of the complex, I won’t force you to stay.” She looked towards Sister Levina without waiting for the child to answer. “Unlock the doors. All the children who can carry smaller ones, do so. I will try to carry who I can.”

Sister Levina immediately went to work unlocking the cells. There were eight total, but there were eleven children, most of whom were older children. Beks didn’t ask what they were doing there. It didn’t matter; they were children. They shouldn’t have been anywhere near that prison.

As they were coming out, Beks used the sharp edge of a blood-stained stone table to cut her cloak. Without any disdain for how they were dressed or how dirty they were, she picked the largest of the injured children who were having difficulty walking and strapped him to her back.

Her heart sank when she saw a toddler. “Why is there a baby here?”

“It’s my fault,” a little girl said as she lowered her head. “I yelled at a nun and tried to run away with my brother, so they put us here.”

“What are they doing to you?” Beks whispered. She stroked the girl’s head before taking the child and strapping him to her chest. “Sister Levina, lead the way. Children, stay close and quiet.”

The toddler was uncomfortably quiet and Beks couldn’t help but be worried. Even if the children didn’t stay with them, she would send them off with some money. Though, if they wanted to follow, Beks would find a way to arrange for them somehow.

Sister Levina also held one of the children who seemed feverish on her back. She was stronger than she looked and wore a determined expression on her face as she squeezed them through door after door, narrow corridor after narrow corridor, with only her glowing hand leading the way.

Every so often, Beks would ask the children who were walking to count off to make sure they were all with them. She’d then whisper “nine, ten, eleven” to count for the three she and Sister Levina were carrying.

The entire time, Beks’ forehead was sweating and her heart was racing. Her chest constricted with the fear of getting caught. She didn’t feel this way when she was trapped in the tower library with that would be second-male-lead-paladin, and he had a weapon and was trying to kill her.

The cool, but stagnant air of the underground tunnels began to lighten and in the distance, Beks could hear water. The air grew fresher and Beks saw a hole made of collapsed foundation stone on the ground. Sister Levina pointed down and Beks nodded.

Beneath the tunnels were the aqueducts, which had embankments that ran along the side for when repairs needed to be made. The space wasn’t wide. It was just enough for one person to walk against the wall at a time. Beks made the child hold hands as they followed Sister Levina forward with Beks following at the tail end. Her free hand was on the wall to guide her, as Sister Levina’s light was faint.

They reached the end and slid down about a story to get closer to the river edge. The air and water were coming in from a narrow slot. Beks frowned. She’d have to send the children she was carrying through one by one.

Sister Levina went through first, showing the first child where to step to avoid being swept by the water and then where to stand when she emerged. One by one, they repeated this process until Beks handed the children unable to walk across the water to Sister Levina before she herself followed.

As the cool night air hit her, Beks leaned back against the foundation stones of the complex and let out a heavy breath. They were right beneath the wooden bridge at the northern tip of the island. Beks recognized it from their earlier rounds. The bridge was held up by a series of wooden poles buried in the water and connected with planks to keep them steady. As a result, one could cross by clinging to the planks and shimmying their way under the bridge.

The problem was that it was a long bridge and there were some areas where the children were too small to reach a plank to use as a handrail to keep them steady.

Sister Levina then looked at Beks. She made a motion to carry one child across at a time.

Beks pursed her lips. That would take too long. She didn’t know how long they’d spend in the complex and she wanted to leave before the paladins came to light the torches and signal the waiting pilgrims and servants to rush the gates.

She narrowed her eyes. “Stay here and wait for me. I’m going to find my Thirnir.”

“Your what?” the boy who was the oldest of the group and had been defensive back in the prison looked at her with disbelief. “You're abandoning us?”

“No, I need to find my Thirnir. They will be able to help carry everyone out faster.”

“What are Thirnir?” the boy asked, seemingly asking the question for everyone else.

Beks took a deep breath and looked at him as she covered the thinnest dressed children with the remains of her cloak. “The personal guards of my family.”

Before he could say anything, Beks jumped off the ledge and grabbed on to the nearest plank. She situated her feet on the blank below and began to make the long trip across. She made it past one support pillar when she remembered she had gloves and used one hand at a time and her mouth to put them on.

Gloves made the process much less painful and faster.

When she reached the shore, she climbed up the embankment, staying close to the shrubs to try to slip back into the forest. Where they camped wasn’t far, but Rid Callan was closer. He was waiting close to the road and almost fell back when he saw her.

“My lady-” He opened his mouth to scold her, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for Thirnir when their charge put themselves in danger, but Beks cut him off.

“There was a prison and I rescued children. Injured children.” Beks stressed as she gave him a pleading look. “They can’t get across by themselves.”

The severity of the situation took priority at once. Rid Norddottir all but dove into the river. Beks went with her in case the children and Sister Levina doubted her. When they were crossing beneath the bridge, all Beks could do was hold on to Rid Norddottir’s waist as the water moved an oval sheet of ice under her feet over the water, as if they were sliding, but as they approached, more ice began to form beneath their feet.

If it weren’t such a dire situation, Beks would be impressed once more at her control and use of her variant ice biha. When they reached the ledge where the children and Sister Levina were waiting, Rid Norddottir had created a boat of ice.

She and Beks helped the children and Sister Levina in.

“Tell them to sit down and hold on; I’m going to move us across quickly so the ice doesn’t chill them for too long,” Rid Norddottir told her. Beks translated and everyone obediently sat down. Beks clutched the smallest children against her in an effort to keep them warm.

As soon as she was settled, the boat was turned and they were flying across the water, hardly leaving a ripple behind. The children covered their mouths to keep from crying out. Whether in fear or excitement, Beks wasn’t sure, but they didn’t let out a sound until they were not only out of the river, but warming up in front of a fire.

Rid Callan prepared food for them to share and Rid Haal purposely heated the area around them to keep them warm. The children didn’t need to huddle together as they devoured the grilled fish. Rid Callan looked at the children with pity and shook his head.

“They’re only children...what is the Temple doing?”

“If we cause trouble often, we are sent to prison,” the oldest boy said. Even if he did cause trouble, there was gratitude in his eyes to them. “Sometimes, we break things, we fight, or argue with one of the instructors. They will put you in the prison to think about what you did. If you did something really bad, or came more than the first time, they will paddle you.” He lowered his eyes. “To make an example of you.”

“I ran away and they caught me,” the little girl said, looking down as she tried to feed her brother, who kept reaching for Beks. Beks sat down beside them and put him on her lap, helping the little girl feed the toddler who she’d carried against her.

“Why did you run away?” Rid Norddottir asked in a gentle voice. Her Esuser was also heavily accented.

“I don’t want to live here,” the little girl said. “They hit us when we make mistakes.” Beks lowered her head and gently rocked the toddler against her. It wasn’t her first time with someone that small; she’d played with many children when she was volunteering in the slums.

“My lady....” Rid Callan looked at her and then motioned to the sky. It was a subtle reminder that they had something to do.

“How much time do we have?”

“I estimate two hours before the paladins come,” Rid Callan replied.

Beks nodded. “Is that enough time?”

Rid Callan chuckled a bit. “It isn’t as if we have to be gentle.”

“All right. Then, let’s go.”

“Where are you going?” The boy who’d been so defensive sprung to his feet. “Take us with you!”

Beks smiled softly. “Your name is Ihsan?” The boy nodded. “We came here to do something before we leave. Afterwards, if you want to come with us, you can. I can arrange for a safe place for you to recover. After you recover, you can leave if you wish. But first, we need to finish our job. Sister Levina has to settle debts with the Temple, so she is coming with us. Can you wait here for one of us to get you?”

The boy’s lower lip trembled. “Can’t I help?”

“Yes, you can,” Beks said before Rid Haal could reject the boy. He looked at Beks with surprise. “You are the oldest. I need you to stay here and protect the younger ones until one of us returns. Can you do that?”

She didn’t know why, perhaps it was because the boy had been so thoughtful of the other children, but she knew he’d accept. He appeared hesitant, but nodded his head. They were all in a desperate situation and she had to go with her instinct to entrust the children to their most senior member, as much as she’d rather someone stay with them.

Ihsan swallowed hard. “How long will it take?”

“We’ll come get you by morning,” Rid Callan told him in heavily accented Esuser. “Remember our faces. As long as one of us comes to get you, we’ll bring you out.”

“In case something happens to us,” Beks said as she reached into her tunic. She took out a small bag of coins. “Take this and find a safe place.” The boy’s eyes went wide. His jaw dropped as he stared at the rough bag and then back at Beks. “We are trusting you, Ihsan.”

He nodded and looked at them again. “Do you...do you all have biha?” Beks nodded. “There are a lot of guards.” He shrank back. “Be careful.”

Sister Levina touched his head. She touched all their heads one by one and slung her bag across his body. The boys’ eyes reddened and called her name in a quiet cry not to leave them. She smiled and stepped back.

They headed towards the river and when they were far enough, Beks’ expression hardened. “Rid Norddottir, we’ll need a boat. Sister Levina, we will return you to where we picked you up.” Beks switched languages as she spoke. Sister Levina nodded with firm affirmation.

“Wait until the bridges are out. When you’re done, Sister, jump in the water,” Rid Norddottir said in her broken Esuser. “If you are in the water near here, I can find you.”

Sister Levina nodded. She pointed to the northernmost wall of the complex. Rid Norddottir and her exchanged affirmative looks.

“Once we send off Sister Levina, we proceed as planned.”

They got into another ice boat similar to the one that carried the children over. Their first stop was the ledge where they’d picked up the children. Sister Levina climbed off the boat with a determined expression on her face and anger in her eyes. Beks reached out to stop her, causing the other woman to turn back to look.

“Remember to wait until all the bridges have completely collapsed and the water has returned to normal before you jump into the river,” Beks said, holding on to Sister Levina’s arm firmly. “If it is too dangerous, just return here and we’ll get you. I don’t want to have to tell Lucian you vanished again.”

Sister Levina’s eyes softened. She touched Beks’ head and tried to speak, but it only came out as low, breathy grunts. Sister Levina frowned with frustration, but Beks released her arm and smiled.

“Be careful, too,” she replied. “We will see you soon.” Sister Levina took a deep breath and nodded before pulling herself up and hobbling back into the tunnels. Beks narrowed her eyes and turned to the Thirnir. “Let’s go. We’ll do rounds around the riverbanks, under each bridge. Rid Callan, proceed with your tremors. When the foundations are ready, go with Rid Haal to the paladin compound. Continue to prepare the ground to be soaked with more water than it can manage.”

He hit his first to his chest. “Yes, my lady.”

“Rid Haal, go to the paladin compound. When Rid Callan finishes, one long flare. Rid Norddottir will release the water to knock out the bridges and liquify the earth beneath the compound. When the compound collapses, start a fire, and keep the compound sealed off. I want those paladins trapped until we’re out of the basin.”

“Understood, my lady.”

Beks sat at the back of the boat, ignoring the coldness of the ice beneath her, just separated by a few layers of clothing. They remained close to the shore, stopping to let Rid Callan off to shift the ground beneath the bridge foundations. The boat bobbed up and down with the slight tremors affecting the river.

Despite the measured biha usage, cracks appeared in the stone and a few pieces of debris broke off and fell into the water. Beks refilled Rid Callan’s biha well after each bridge, as while the usage was very precise, a lot was used to go through the length of an entire stone bridge.

When they finished all the bridges, including loosen the foundations beneath the servant’s bridge, Rid Callan and Rid Haal were brought to the eastern bank of the river. They jumped off the ice boat as soon as their wells were filled and ran off into the dark forest beyond the embankment.

“My lady, hold on,” Rid Norddottir motioned for Beks to stand. Beks stood behind the woman and hugged her waist as the shape of the ice around them melted and changed back into an oval disc. A moment later, they were gliding upriver with wind cutting their faces.

They passed the tip of the Great Temple complex island, towards the point where the river split, and continued further up, to where the river was widest before it split. From this location, they were still south of the school.

The oval disc reached the center of the river, unmoved by the rapid current as Rid Norddottir positioned them over the river and turned them towards the island illuminated by lights like a glowing beacon in the dark.

Water spread around them until their feet landed on the soft riverbed.

Beks’ eyes turned towards the direction of the paladin camp. It wasn’t far from the shore, so the other two Thirnir should have reached it by now. Remaining close to Rid Norddottir, the water rushed but an arm’s length around them, avoiding them as if they were in a protective bubble the water couldn’t penetrate.

Beks knelt down and could feel the slight shaking of the earth.

“Dam the water,” she said in a low voice as she stood up and put her hand on Rid Norddottir’s shoulder to provide a steady stream of biha.

Rid Norddottir’s eyes narrowed as her arms flew out to the side. A stream of biha seemed to shoot out on either side of her, cutting the water across the width of the river. Beks looked around, a bit breathless as an invisible wall seemed to have been created where they stood, reaching across one bank to the other.

River water rushed up, rising higher and higher, going far over her head as the water collected behind them. Beks glanced at the water biha master who stood rooted in place, like an immovable part of the wall. To hold back an entire river for that duration was no small feat. Not only did Rid Norddottir hold back the water, but she contained it to keep it from spilling over the banks.

Beks could feel the amount of biha being used with each passing moment. Had she not been feeding Rid Norddottir’s biha well consistently, the river would’ve swept them away almost immediately.

“How are you holding?” Beks asked.

“As long as I have biha, my lady, I will not falter,” the older woman replied with her eyes fixed straight ahead. Sweat had collected on her brow, but she remained in place.

Beks frowned and fixed her eyes on the horizon, waiting for the flare signal from Rid Haal. She silently urged it to appear and almost held her breath.

Then, in the darkness to the right of the glowing Great Temple, a tall pillar of orange fire few into the air and held for three counts.

Beks yelled as loud as she could.

“Release!”

The roar of water filled her ears as her hair and the edges of her clothes flew forward. Beks shut her eyes, bracing herself as she felt the moisture from the rushing wall of river water around hit her cheeks. As long as she remained within the space Rid Norddottir recreated, they would remain untouched. The earth shook and for a moment, she remembered the flash flood that killed two paladins.

Her father’s head had snapped up and a flash of urgency had filled his face. Beks realized now that he must’ve heard the water coming, which was why he shouted for them to leave.

Beks didn’t think she’d forget the deafening sound in her entire life.

Rid Norddottir grabbed her shoulders and suddenly, they were thrown up. “Hold on to me!” Beks didn’t need to tell her; Beks had grabbed on to Rid Norddottir for her life as the ice disc appeared beneath their feet and they were thrown forward with the current. “I need more biha! I have to increase the speed of the river!”

“Done!”

Beks shut her eyes as they wove over the surface, falling and tossing as if caught in waves in the open ocean. Crashing could be heard around her and Beks dared to open her eyes. They were nearing the glowing complex, and in the dim light, Beks could see the reflection against the water as the waves reached the top of the towering walls and breached the ramparts.

Her eyes went wide as her breath caught in her throat. The bridges were completely submerged and some of the water had risen over the banks of the river.

They didn’t pass the surrounding road, and this was likely the effort of Rid Norddottir to keep damage centralized to their targets, and avoid impacting the pilgrims.

A bright flash of light caught her eye and she looked up, past where the water was slamming against the veneered walls. She didn’t notice it from further away, but pillars of black smoke were coming from somewhere in the Great Temple complex. Her brows furrowed. Rid Haal was too far and most of the complex was made of stone. Aside from doors, furniture, and texts, Beks hadn’t seen many wooden structures inside.

She took a low breath.

But Sister Levina would know where there was something to burn. Still, Beks squinted. “How did she start a fire?”

“Light biha can heat things,” Rid Norddottir said, also staring up with surprise. “Under the right conditions, fire can be started. However, the amount of biha needed for such a thing is immense. For her to even create a fire using light biha...Sister Levina is powerful.”

Beks nodded in agreement. “If only she’d been born in Sagittate. She wouldn’t have had to suffer....”

“My lady, look!” Rid Norddottir suddenly snapped her head to the right and Beks followed her gaze.

Throughout their journey thus far, Rid Haal had been somewhat limited in his biha usage. Light, campfires, and flares for the most part. She knew he was one of the best fire biha using Thirnir, which was why her father had assigned him to Beks, but she still couldn’t help but be impressed when she saw the towering wall of fire that rose stories above the tree line.

The wall of fire spread. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as noticeable on the ground, but from where they were floating atop a crest of water from a distance, they could see the wall of fire appearing to circle a large space. It was moving steadily, as if controlled.

Seeing the fire and the dark smoke filling the night sky meant that the water rushing under the aquifer beneath the paladin compound had soaked the ground and created a sinkhole. The paladins would be consumed with dealing with the aftermath for the time being.

Beks’ eyes drifted back to the Great Temple. Though the fires were nowhere near as intense, at least from what they could see, as the one in the forest, the pillars of smoke were coming from different areas, suggesting that there were multiple fires.

“When the water recedes, take is to the meeting location,” Beks shouted above the water. Rid Norddottir nodded. “We’ll wait for-”

Trumpets began blaring overhead and Beks looked back towards the island. She couldn’t really make out the figures, but the loud trumpeting sound was low and long, coming from the ramparts.

Rid Norddottir narrowed her eyes. “What are they doing?”

“Lucian said that those are alarms. They’re calling for aid from the paladins!”

Rid Norddottir almost sneered. “Then can paladins fly?” They looked down as the river water began to settle. The high wooden gates to the complex had been bashed in and hanging off their hinges. The bridges in front of them had completely collapsed, heaving portions of the very edges of the structures and some protruding stone in the river. “My lady, stay close. The river is filled with stone and debris that had been washed down. I will need to be more careful and ready to avoid anything.”

Beks nodded. The ice disc they were on moved slower along the water, once more unaffected by the current as they carefully moved around branches, dislodged tree trunks, and massive pieces of the stones that once made up the bridges.

They waited beside the building, just out of sight from the chaos happening beyond the walls as shouting could be heard coming from within. Torches were seen on one side of the river as pilgrims had come out to see what was going on.

Beks kept looking into the aqueduct entrance where they’d emerged from earlier, hoping to see Sister Levina reappear. Her chest began to tighten as the time passed. For the paladins on the shores who managed to make it to the river, everything was happening to fast, but for Beks, waiting for Sister Levina was painfully slow.

She didn’t want to tell Lucian that she’d found Sister Levina and then lost her. She’d seen the desolate look in his eyes when he first told her about his senior sister who taught him the variant. Losing her would crush him all over again.

Just the thought of it was making her heart ache. Sister Levina had saved her. The look of excitement in the woman’s eyes when she showed that she knew who Beks was and how she wanted to leave and save the children who had been put in the same place she had been hadn’t shown any sign of willingness to die.

What if Sister Levina wasn’t willing? What if they caught her?

“It’ll be all right, my lady,” Rid Norddottir told her. “If she dies here, then the Temple has won. She will not allow the Temple to destroy her.”

Beks nodded, but was unsure if she was convinced.

She kept her eyes fixed on the aqueduct. She didn’t notice the soft glow of light in the darkness above her until she heard Rid Norddottir cry out.

Beks whirled around, looking for what the Thirnir was talking about. Her eyes caught the glow of light from the ramparts above them. It was faint and fading, but the light of the flames behind her outlined the shadow of a woman looking back over her shoulder as she peered over the waist high rampart walls.

She heard Rid Norddottir’s earlier words repeat in her head: the amount of biha needed was immense.

The glowing began to fade into the darkness. The tiny figure could be seen teetering over the wall. Shouting was heard and Sister Levina looked towards the interior.

Beks took a deep breath and screamed. “Sister, jump!”

Sister Levina launched herself from the rampart walls.

“Hold your breath!” Rid Norddottir raised her arms and water rose from the river like a serpent. The human figure was swallowed into it, cushioning her fall before being pushed to the top. Rid Norddottir pulled the pillar of water towards them. “My lady!”

“I’ve got her!” Beks leaned over the side the side of the ice boat they were waiting on and gathered the wet, shaking woman in her arms. She cradled Sister Levina against her before sitting down. She grasped Rid Norddottir’s calf and filled her well once more. “Go!”

The boat rocked. They didn’t move as fast as before, as they were cautious of the debris in and protruding from the water, but it was still quite fast.

Beks wiped Sister Levina’s wet brows and frowned. She was breathing, but she was cold and unconscious. Beks searched for her biha well and sucked in a sharp breath. It was empty. Beks had never felt a completely empty well. Without question she filled it at once and then refocused her biha as energy to warm the body.

She hardly paid attention to the chaos on the banks of the river as people shouted and screamed, confused, and frightened, as well as frustrated that for the time being, the Great Temple complex was isolated.

“There they are.” They were further south of the island when Rid Norddottir moved the boat to the west shore. Rid Callan had his hands in the water, and he and Rid Haal were waiting by the water’s edge.

“It’s done,” Rid Callan said as they climbed into the ice boat. “There are two sink holes.”

“Good,” Beks said as she held Sister Levina against her. “How long will the fire last?”

“Considering the amount of fuel to burn and their lack of equipment to put out the fire with river water,” Rid Haal said as he looked back while they crossed the river. “It’ll last at least through the day, but by then, the area will be scorched.”

She nodded and looked towards the eastern bank. “When we get to the shore, you stay with me. Rid Norddottir, Rid Callan, go and bring the children to the edge of the village we entered from. We will meet you there.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Three of them were dropped off on the shore. Rid Callan carried the weak, sleeping Sister Levina on his back as they trudged through the forest, avoiding the roads to get to the village.

Occasionally, they would see torches through the trees. The roads that led to the river had people running down. Beks could hear cries of fire and concerns, but in their urgency of the pilgrims and villagers, no one noticed three people sneaking through the forest.

They neared the village at the pass and Beks motioned for them to stop and rest.

Rid Haal gently laid Sister Levina against some protruding boulders and covered her with his cloak. Beks stayed on her feet and looked out towards the basin.

The earliest rays of light had yet to peek over the hills and all she could see below were the pillars of black smoke and the raging fires illuminating patches of the forest and creating a haunting glow against the white marble walls of the Great Temple. Glowing dots of torches were seen hovering around the banks of a dark river.

She narrowed her eyes as the scent of burning wood pierced her nose. She glanced at the orphanage, school, and the servants quarters on the untouched western side of the river and let out a low, relieved sigh.

“Do you think this is enough, my lady?” Rid Haal asked with a hint of concern, as if they didn’t complete their mission.

Beks raised a brow and looked at him. The glow of the fire light revealed his uncertainty and she almost wanted to laugh. “Not enough?” she asked as her hair flew around her face. She motioned her hand towards the flames below. “Rid Haal, this is a little more sacrilege than I intended.”