Nuyani and Cuganwa climbed out of the room and returned to the open area. Both were quieted as they let the gravity of the situation set in. Nuyani now saw the carnage of two civilizations that fell, and more was to come. As she sat on the small stone wall contemplating the dangers they faced, Cuganwa looked about the abandoned huts; a hardened stare on his face. Sifting through the overgrown moss, he found more items of the same ring stone Kelvert corrected as metal. Each one was colored in spots of dark reds, oranges, and browns. As he squatted by the entrance of a hut, he found another piece of metal in a flattened shape. Recognizing it as a blade, he took up the handle studying its weight. The handle had worn away leaving only a small slither left of the piece. Edges of the metal were jagged poking into his skin.

  Gritting his teeth, the boy raised the blade over his head. Just past his ear, he felt it give way as the flattened wide section of the piece snapped from the thin handle and barely missed the boy’s back as the point flipped in its fall and hit the ground. A loud clang came out echoing through the area. Nuyani, on instinct, shot to her feet and grabbed her knife.

  “Cuganwa!” she called out wondering if it were him or another spirit.

  “It’s nothing!” he called back. “I dropped one of those blades!” Nuyani sighed as she sheathed her knife.

  As she stood, she tested her ankle finding the pain had nearly subsided. Looking toward the opening in the ceiling, the sky still held a vibrant dark red signaling that night was soon to come.

  ‘There’s always another danger,’ Nuyani said. As she stood in place, her thoughts dwelled on the final image. The looming figure beyond the sands is the creator of the storms. ‘There’s a will behind all of this.’ A day before, she would’ve thought herself mad for even thinking something could control the winds but, the animal’s behavior and the visions from the child spirit were more than convincing there were forces greater at work. ‘How will I free you?’

  “With practice,” Nuyani’s voice repeated in her mind followed by an echo. The woman turned toward the wisp suspended in the air. “I will guide you with what power I possess, and once you’ve learned, you should pursue this goal. But, I warn you. The village must come first. To learn and grow together. Once things are safe, you will have a home to return.” Nuyani breathed slowly trying to relax with the hope of Kelvert’s words. “Do you feel rested?” Nuyani gave a nod. “Good. We should return to the front. I wish to share with you my past before the night is over. You will learn much about the land and your abilities in that time.”

  The wisp then flew off leaving a sapphire streak trailing behind as he headed toward the tunnel. Cuganwa noticed and returned to the path. He wore what looked to be one of the armor, chest pieces the fighters wore only tarnished and dawning a few holes. The boy turned seeing Nuyani make her way back up the path.

  “What are we doing now?” Cuganwa questioned.

  “We’re going back to the front to learn Lord Kelvert’s history,” Nuyani answered.

  Cuganwa raised his chin. “Why not here?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he needs to be in a different area,” Nuyani answered.

  ‘Great Lord, why do you wish for us to be in the front?’ Nuyani questioned testing if her prayers would reach the wisp.

  “The power that lied here is too great and distorting for my abilities. The front is still weaker in comparison but remains safe. There we will be able to reach my latent power without worry of being hindered.”

  “I see…,” Nuyani said her voice trailing off as she wondered about the different powers before she turned to Cuganwa. “Did you hear?” The boy shook his head. “It will be better there than over here for his strength.” Nuyani then narrowed her eyes at the boy. “What were you doing and why are you wearing that thing?”

  “Hm? Oh, this is for protection. I wanted to be ready for any of the beasts. It’s strange though.”

  The boy turned to her. “This place could fit the entire village even if it were five times bigger, why haven’t the animals taken over? I haven’t…felt any more edria coming from this area. What do you think?” Cuganwa took the chest plate off finding a few holes in the side closer to the lower gut. Unsatisfied it would protect; he put the strange piece down.

  “Maybe a smell then,” the boy said only receiving a shrug in reply. “So, how are you able to run so fast if you only used these gifts a few days ago?” The two were close to the tunnel entrance.

  “I was chased by a blade-jaw and got away thankfully. I didn’t even know I could but, my feet were hurting the first time.” Nuyani answered. “I wondered why myself, but I think I should wait for Kelvert to answer later.”

  “Still…the others,” Cuganwa said. His mind turned to the thought of his father killing a blade-jaw. “None had done so without many arrows and many victims as well. Cuganwa then thought of the witch’s actions. Twice she had saved him yet, the village was just as quick to try and kill her as they did the blade-jaw. “What do you think will happen?”

  “If the storms don’t get us, I’d imagine more infected will come by. Never felt a storm strong enough to shake the ground though. It’s…not right,” Nuyani said as she looked toward the ground. The two were forced to do so ducking beneath the clustering vines overhead. Nuyani then glanced at Cuganwa for a moment. “I do have something. I must tell you.” Cuganwa looked at her wondering why Nuyani was hesitating. “Your sister. She also has our gift,” Nuyani said.

  The boy looked at Nuyani with wide eyes and knelt on one knee. “It’s not something I wanted to keep secrets so, I am telling you now.”

  “How would you know?” Cuganwa questioned.

  “During the festival, she found me. I never noticed her sneak up on me. I talked to her, and she showed me her eyes. I was wondering why she wasn’t scared. But, she is and she’s looking for an answer. Looking to see she isn’t bad,” Nuyani said as she sat down. Cuganwa’s eyes were locked on her intensely. “I haven’t attacked or done anything to her, I promise you.”

  “I know,” Cuganwa answered never changing his expression. “That was before the spirits.”

  Cuganwa nodded and looked to the ground. “Those spirits, infected animals, and that thing across the sands. Let’s see what we can do,” Cuganwa said as he walked faster.

  Nuyani was surprised by his sudden haste but, knew he was right to hurry. It shocked her when he struck the wall with the side of his fist. ‘’What’s wrong?”

  “I-I have to prove that this gift is not a sin,” Cuganwa answered.

  “What?” Nuyani said, feeling somewhat crossed. For her time in the drylands, she was the one bearing the ember glowing eyes, not him. “I think I should.”

  “We both can,” the boy shot back looking at her with a glare.

  Nuyani said nothing. She agreed. The two exited the tunnel and walked toward the elevated shelf. There Kelvert waited above the fire pit.

  “It seems you both are more than ready for the journey ahead,” Kelvert stated as Cuganwa moved to sit by the fire pit. Nuyani first retrieved some timber and flintstones to start a fire.

  “Great Lord, you said it was your nature that weakens you to the being. What is it exactly? What are you?” Cuganwa questioned. He wore a determined glare. “How did you grow weak helping us?”

  “All good questions, child. The simplest I can answer is that I am a haflaj (angel). I am a being of edria, and this being beyond the sands is an unflom (demon), an opposite to my make,” the wisp started.

  “Opposites?” Nuyani questioned. “So, for every lord, there's a monster?” Nuyani wondered thinking back to the masked figure and the strange orb of flesh and stone that flew with it. She never thought of them as separate.

  “No, my child. For every lord, god or deity, there are thousands of rival forces attacking them. Even amongst each other,” Kelvert explained.

  “What is your role in this world?” Cuganwa questioned as Nuyani climbed onto the shelf.

  “Your lord. Your protector,” Kelvert answered. The sky, the fire, the earth beneath you have lords who rule them yet give authority to those with enough power to protect them.” Nuyani’s process was slow as she grew distracted with her questions. “I am haflaj and my natural foe is unflom. With my being constructed from edria. I am urged to fight unflom who are mostly made of flesh and prutosa (spirit), what you may call life.”

  “Wait. Does that mean we’re haflaj as well?” Nuyani questioned.

  “No. Merely jorno (elementals). Your abilities are stronger than normal,” Kelvert answered.

  Nuyani stopped for a moment realizing her divided attention would not bring the fire forth or give her better answers. “Great Lord, what was your plan?”

  “To strengthen the village to what you are today. Edria grows in edvimxarraxalc (mortals). Not in stagnant beings like myself. At least not without changing my own nature to a consumer. I haven’t the will to do such a monstrous thing,” Kelvert said.

  “Why not?” Cuganwa asked.

  “That is the nature of the unflom,” Kelvert started. “Consume. Take. Devour. Their nature is to grow by what they seize. As a haflaj, I grow. Edria strengthens with time and practice. And with one wielder, the potential transfers to their young through time, though a slow process. My wish was to grow my power through our people. With time, all of you would possess the same strengths necessary to fight against the unflom. Though my efforts did not yield the same results I had wished for. Still, you live.”

  “So unflom are bad?” Nuyani questioned.

  “No. Just another aspect of this reality and two others,” Kelvert explained. “There are even unflom who’ve been worshipped and just. The one I attempted to face was far stronger than I had realized.” Nuyani turned away and gave the flintstones a good strike creating sparks. With the timber now burning, an orange glow filled the area accompanying the wisp’s soft blue. “Before we do anything, let’s learn to keep the same rhythm.”

  “Rhythm?” Cuganwa wondered.

  “Yes. The pulses emitted from your cores can do more than move from fast to slow. They are also able to create different patterns that call to the gods themselves and allow you to conjure those elements and other spells at will. Up until now, you had only been using your powers in the rawest form possible.”

  Nuyani sat beside Cuganwa and looked up to the wisp, “The gods?”

  “Others of great power that control the state of existence around you,” Kelvert said. Nuyani looked to the floor. There was something strange to know that greater forces existed beyond their lord. Yet the feeling was already in place after witnessing the battle between the enormous man and woman.

  ‘Rivals?’ Nuyani repeated, thinking such a word would imply that their lord could will them to invade others as well. She bit her bottom lip finding distaste in the thought. ‘What were we doing before Lord Kelvert guided us?’ Nuyani wondered trying to determine when they left two gods for another.

  “First, learn to match and control the same rhythm,” Kelvert ordered. Before either could ask a question, a strong hum from the wisp waves washed over Nuyani and Cuganwa bringing an elated feeling as it bounced off their cores. The waves were neither intrusive or hindering. “Notice how strong your thrum, irboud, is and try to match mine.”

  Nuyani did as she was instructed as she focused on the thrum. Within a breath, her core hummed at the same pace the wisp’s. As the waves matched, the radius of their reach doubled coursing further through the area. New senses bombarded her mind as she could feel the rough surface of the stone all around her as if it were against her skin.

  “Focus on your objectives and your thoughts and all that is not needed will fade away,” Kelvert said.

  Nuyani turned her attention just on the hum itself. With so many vibrant waves releasing and retracing, she noticed the individual rises making up the ethereal force.

  Cuganwa turned his attention to his core feeling the steady ethereal waves pass through his body yet remaining slower than the powerful hum before. ‘I did this earlier. What’s wrong?’ the boy questioned himself as his thoughts turned to his young sister, mother, and father along with the slain village in the empty cavern. ‘I can’t let that happen.’ Cuganwa returned to his stomach flexing the muscles only to gain a burning strain forcing him to release his grasp. The boy breathed deeply as he felt his muscles contract from the strain. “To the waters. What am I doing wrong?” the boy questioned grabbing Nuyani’s attention.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Cuganwa turned to her but looked at the ground. “I can’t get my core to go faster. It’s staying the same.” Cuganwa was breathing hard trying to let his stomach rest.

  Nuyani looked at the boy seeing his brow furrowed as he looked at the floor. “What are you thinking about? Try to block it out.”

  “I-I can’t,” the boy said as he extended a hand outward. “I’ve got my family on my mind and now Caluu is in danger even if the village is safe.”

  Nuyani shook her head. “No. Block those out for now.”

  The boy turned to her. “What?” he replied.

  “The day I used my own edria, I had to block out the dangers and keep my head clear. Focus on the hum. Focus on the feeling and it will be in your control. Clear your head or it will escape you,” Nuyani stated.

  Cuganwa paused for a moment looking at Nuyani in the same stern manner. The boy started to resemble Sutama. He thought back to her words about the howlers. With a nod, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes focusing on the hum. The sensation was ever-present. Yet as he focused on his core, he could feel the waves moving faster. The pulses grew rapid and plentiful. Soon afterward, Cuganwa could feel the other waves emitted by the others start to fade into his own. Another moment and each of the beats were in synch. The gathered waves doubled once more. The energy made his body feel lighter. Each sense was stronger than ever as he felt the grains of sand pelting his skin.

  “As I’ve told, Nuyani. Focus on the thrum itself and the other senses will fade. Only the important things will remain on your mind,” the wisp instructed. Cuganwa did so, focusing and stabilizing his thrum as the rest of the world fell to the side.

  “Splendid you two,” the wisp said. “Next you must focus on a single pulse. See it in your mind and hold on to it.” Nuyani did it with ease thinking of conjuring a barrier. In the same practice, she kept a segment of the ethereal force locked into one place. Cuganwa, despite being new to the practice, managed to focus on a single pulse keeping the hum slightly larger than his core. “Great. Now feed the rest of the hum into the pulse.”

  Nuyani did so first. The captured pulse grew stronger layering over one another. Cuganwa managed the same imagining that her trying to strike a drum at the right time. A short moment later, both had concentrated pulses within themselves.

  “Great work. Next, imagine you are stepping into the sphere, like another room,” Kelvert said. This baffled the two as their concentration nearly broke. “Edria follows the will of the mind. Your very thoughts take shape and form the world to your whim. Imagine yourselves delving into that very space and your will shall make it so.”

  Nuyani imagined entering the strange bubble. It was a small room large enough for her to move comfortably. As her thoughts took shape, she felt her body shiver. As if going numb, it felt as though she were separating from something fastened in place. Nuyani fought on continuing to push against the strange binds until she managed to get free. Cuganwa felt the same, struggling a little with maintaining the ethereal sphere as the bubble shrank in size. Lacking the same experience as Nuyani, he needed more concentration. The corners of the boy’s lips curled as his brow furrowed. ‘Imagine,’ Cuganwa told himself.

  His thoughts instead turned to the image of the village canal as the sun’s rays gleamed in the water. Cuganwa was much younger than even his little sister. With a sense of glee spurring him on, he leaped into the water. With his mind on the scene, Cuganwa’s mind separated from his body diving into the sphere.

  “Yes, excellent. You both are free of your bodies,” the wisp said. “Now try to open your eyes.”

  Nuyani and Cuganwa did so. The area had changed. The burning fire, bleached bones, and brown stones had all taken on a blue tint. The edges of their sight shook and quivered with the same hum. Her body felt weightless as she looked toward Cuganwa. She could feel her heart skip seeing two of him as one sat facing forward toward the fire in a darker blue tint with his eyes shut, and the other was a ghostly apparition outlined in bright blue and transparent phasing through his body. Nuyani flailed backward. Her hands and feet passed through the stones as she tilted to the side.

  “What?” Nuyani questioned as the view of her hand had the same appearance with bright blues outlining the edges of her body and slightly dimmer blues toward the center. Nuyani was more concerned however with her body flipping slowly in the air as her head sank through the stone floor.

  “You must calm yourself, Nuyani,” Kelvert said. His voice was different. It held a tired rasp that continued to echo, yet it remained sharp as the waves traversed through the strange plane and met with her body. The waves sank no further than the surface of her glowing form, and her waves traveled not through but, along the surface. Cuganwa sat still watching and fighting the urge to laugh himself, knowing that he too could be sent flipping through the air.

  “Great Lord, how do I take control of myself?” Nuyani asked as she took another flip. She felt as if she were being turned in water. Her mind returned to the blue void for a moment.

  “How indeed?” Kelvert started. Nuyani’s face went blank as she looked at the wisp at first. Wondering if their deity found it amusing. To her surprise, the flame had formed into a pulsing sphere with the same bright outline and fading blue light toward the center and noticed the surface was transparent. She could see a soul suspended at the core of the blue orb. The surrounding area within held a black mist shifting and turning inside.

  “To control yourself, you must direct your body the same way you direct your spells,” Kelvert said.

  “Whuh?” Nuyani replied both unsure of what Kelvert meant and distracted by its new appearance.

  “Guide the pulse as you would a barrier. You will find it easier than raising your hands,” Kelvert assured her.

  Nuyani tried to relax fighting her natural urges to right herself using her arms and legs as she focused on her core. With a weightless feeling enveloping her, she could not feel the wind with its small grains of sand, or the hard ground. Instead, other waves and pulses radiated with light touches against her skin as if she held her hand against the side of a drum beaten incoherently. As Nuyani twisted in the air, she focused on the back of her head wanting to counter her slow tumble. The waves of her ethereal body surged to the point and burst out. The wave was too strong. Nuyani’s eyes widened as her body instead flipped going forward and she returned to flailing. The world became a blur.

  ‘This is weird,’ the boy thought as he looked toward Nuyani’s physical body in a darker hue. He turned back to her as she worked to control herself with lighter bursts. ‘This does sound like the howlers,’ Cuganwa thought remembering Nuyani’s words. ‘I should try as well,’ the boy thought as he concentrated. The rapid pulses were no longer coming from within but, came as a rapid surge running over the surface of his entire body. Each pulse was just as fast and strong as the last. Yet, despite their pace, he could feel every individual ripple making up his being. Cuganwa then looked to one of the pulses and concentrated on it in a curious play. It erupted from his being in a sudden blue orb in all directions. The light then died away leaving the boy bewildered as to why he did not move.

  “You need direction, edya lohtels (my child),” Kelvert said. “Though such moves would be an excellent defense.”

  Nuyani looked at him as she felt the wave. The strength of the ripple was but a fraction compared to her desperate bursts. ‘Lighter,’ Nuyani told herself remembering they were weightless. Attempting to copy the strength, Nuyani released a small push from the back of her shoulder bringing herself upright.

  “Uh…Nuyani?” Cuganwa started. His voice trailed with a small echo as every syllable traveled on the pulses.

  “Err…Yes?” she answered trying to stop herself from moving as she compensated with an opposite thrust.

  “Why are you using so many of the beats?” Cuganwa asked. Nuyani looked to the boy as it dawned on her that she was forcing an exhausting amount of effort instead of the few pulses she needed.

  “I didn’t know not to,” Nuyani answered as she focused on the pulses using one at a time to right herself. The jolting motions turned to gentle nudges allowing her to float in the air.

  Cuganwa smiled at Nuyani. “You did it,” the boy said.

  “Your turn,” Nuyani replied. Cuganwa’s expression grew blank as he nodded his head and looked to the ground.

  After a deep breath, the boy focused on the beats coursing beneath him. Selecting one of the pulses, Cuganwa rose with a light push and floated upward. He looked out around with a gleeful smile. Yet he continued to rise after the initial wave. He started to move his arms and legs as if to brace himself. He continued to climb nearly reaching the same height as the larger opening in the cliff face.

  “Focus, Cuganwa. Come back down,” Nuyani said. The boy gave a nod of his head.

  He looked toward the ground staring at nothing specific as he singled out another pulse ringing through his head and shoulders before releasing it in a burst. With a countering wave, Cuganwa descended toward the floor.

  “Good work,” Nuyani said as she watched the boy descend like a feather. Before Nuyani could say anything, a sudden wave sailed by pushing her away. Nuyani’s eyes widened as she then went flipping once more. Getting a knack for the pulses, she righted herself immediately and looked toward Kelvert.

  “Excellent,” the orb said. “You both are quick learners.”

  “How did that happen?” Nuyani questioned.

  “It is just a different rhythm,” Kelvert said matter-of-factly. “Right now, we match in tempo but, with a different beat or rhythm, you can create an opposing force. Doing as Cuganwa did with a single wave can cancel out most attacks if they match strength but, using multiple beats may be needed at a time.” Cuganwa floated toward them occasionally jerking about as he tried to fight the urge that he might fall over. “Now then. Are you both ready?”

  “Just another question, Great Lord,” Nuyani started. “Why do you look so different?”

  “Ah. I am made of edria and have not had a mortal form such as yourselves. What you see is the remainder of my being, and my soul,” Kelvert answered. “As you are human’s, you see yourselves in the same form as you live making your shape. I could mirror that shape but do not wish to do so.”

  “Really?” Cuganwa asked in surprise. “Why not look this way, Lord Kelvert?”

  “Understand that such a thing is needless, and in this realm, there is no one to see me in such a way,” Kelvert answered. “Now then, anything else before we move on?”

  “Yes. That mist…” Cuganwa said as he gestured with a transparent finger. Nuyani brought up her hand and pushed his down. To her surprise, contact was still possible, though she wondered how much, conaidering she could pass through stone as if it weren’t there. The boy looked between her and the orb before looking to the ground. “Sorry, Lord Kelvert.”

  “Fret not, lohtels. This is spiritual energy, prutosa jafcelbe, the opposite of my being.” Nuyani and Cuganwa looked at the orb in surprise. “Remember, all living beings have both. Your bodies just have a third portion in matter. Now let us become one with the land.” The two nodded their heads. “Great. Match my tempo and we will move together.”

  Kelvert floated closer toward them. Instructing the two, Nuyani and Cuganwa placed their hands on the orb, feeling the vibrations, they traveled through his calm visage. The two adjusted their own thrum to match Kelvert. With their bodies in unison, their thrum fused into one. Despite their ethereal state, Nuyani felt as if she were trembling, and her punch could destroy a stone.

  “Just stay connected to me,” the wisp said.

  As they held on, the group descended into the earth. There was a strange resilience in the stone as if they had broken through another barrier humming within the stone of the cavern floor. Its beat seemed different yet so subtle and rapid, Nuyani could barely notice. The group continued. All around them was darkness until specs of bright blue emerged beneath them. Nuyani and Cuganwa looked about as they could see orbs of blue light coming into view the further they plunged. Emerging from the dark was a dim wall of light growing brighter in their descent. The bubbles of blue light grew countless as they continued.

  Nuyani and Cuganwa felt as if they were going faster with the smaller orbs of light passing them in blurs. Their hearts pounded away as the wall grew near. Fighting fear and instinct, the two clung on to dear faith and the orb. The light was bright as a flame. When the area before them expanded, the orb then struck the surface of the wall of light only to bounce off, ripples revealed only by brighter wrinkles expanded from the impact.

  “What?” Nuyani questioned as the collision did not whip the two forward. The group slowly drifted backward. With the wall before them, Cuganwa and Nuyani oriented themselves to facing it as if it were standing before a sheer wall of light. “Why didn’t we move forward?”

  “We are in unison, child. Resonating together makes us a single constitution and harder to pull apart,” the orb answered. “Though we will need more strength.”

  Cuganwa looked about the area. Amongst the dark, other small orbs of light drifted about. Some bumped into the wall of light before drifting into the opposite direction. Many of the spheres collided with one another unbound by any force of gravity.

  ‘Are those still as well?’ the boy wondered as he eyed a nearby sphere before looking at the surface of his hand. The surface rippled like the heatwaves rising from the drylands but, faster. The orbs of light however were still. The boy then reached out to a sphere no larger than a pebble. Placed between his first finger and thumb, he held the small orb. It felt solid as if it were stone. Its glowing unmoving outline contrasted the humming edge of his fingertips.

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  “Curious child. You’re about to learn the next lesson,” Kelvert stated.

  “Next lesson?” Nuyani questioned as she looked over to the boy seeing the small orb in his grasp. Cuganwa focused on the sphere with his eyes narrowed. The small orb of edria started to soften as the bright edges shook and swayed slowly until they grew faster. Ripples coursed through the orb until it matched the same speed as theirs. “I see. It takes contact to break through,” Nuyani said. She then turned to the orb. “But why did you fly into the wall, Lord Kelvert?”

  “I like to make a point,” Kelvert said plainly. Nuyani and Cuganwa stared at the sphere in silence. “To understand this world, experience is needed. You did not know how edria worked but, here is an example of the two separate forces against one another. One is vast yet completely still as the other is a mere collective resonating at a different pace. Where is the sphere now, Cuganwa?” The boy looked back at his hand seeing his fingertips in contact but, the shifting orb drifting away.

  “It passed through. Why…didn’t it stay there?” Cuganwa questioned.

  “That is a technique for another time. One you would do well to avoid for now,” Kelvert stated. “Though my will is guiding you, if you were to collect edria without understanding the change it would inflict on your body, you may live to regret it. You might grow stronger but, live longer and pass even family. Some mortals have gone mad from such incidents. So young, a choice as that is not something I would not allow such a thing to happen to you. “Kelvert then guided the group toward the wall of light once more. Slow in their approach they stopped once in contact resting against the surface.

  “I don’t understand,” Nuyani started. “Why a lesson in how these things act?”

  “Nuyani, did the spirit's vision not show you why? Others may cast the same spells but, the different tempo and rhythm prevent one spell from passing through another’s defenses with ease. And, I need not warn you about your defenses. If Deyunca and To’anu were to turn and attack others, what would happen when there are more with my gift? There will be others who will abuse what they have and there must be others that can counter them.”

  Cuganwa pulled his lips in thinking of Deyunca. The vengeance-crazed hunter was willing to kill a guard just to send everyone after Nuyani. The boy felt a deep shutter within himself, realizing the danger. His attention then turned to the wall of light. More contrasting ripples rang from the area of contact, stopping only a few meters out in radius. The ripples in the center started to grow faster.

  “Together then. Focus on the hum and we shall pass through,” Kelvert instructed. The others did as the orb had asked finding the waves of their cores resonating at an indistinguishable rate from one another. A larger circle of light formed over the surface until Nuyani could feel the surface budge and become malleable under their contact.

  Her eyes widened as the orb first passed through, then hands, and finally their entire bodies. As if passing through mud, Nuyani felt as if the edria they dived into were pulling at her skin.

  “I sense a question,” Kelvert started. “Remember, this edria is still. We are changing that. If our thrum were any slower, then we would be trapped as I was before.” Nuyani took notice of the heavy pull on her construct the area felt heavy and claustrophobic. Looking about, the area before them was an ongoing plane of light, yet she could feel the edge close to the bordering wall, the darkness, and rocks below the surface. Small orbs were warped and twisted beyond the wall.

  Cuganwa then turned to the orb and asked, “Great Lord, what are we to do?”

  “You’ll help me carry a connection back,” Kelvert said.

  “Carry?” Nuyani then questioned.

  This time there was no answer as the group felt the edria surrounding them start to grow lighter. They were retreating toward the surface of the wall as the twisted orbs shifted on the other side. Yet the light remained all around them. The thrum continued reverberating around them as they moved on stretching a long column through the darkness. Cuganwa and Nuyani said nothing as they watched the bubbles grow sparse in their passing. The group then rose toward the surface passing through the firepit.

  “Why are we back if we needed to go down to see the memories,” Nuyani questioned.

  “We are forming a hafgal (anchor),” the orb stated. “Here we are closer to your bodies and still connected to the land’s edria.”

  “Why don’t you call it yours?” Cuganwa asked.

  “I have pulled a mere pale of water from the river. Should I claim I control the river’s sway?”

  Kelvert answered with a musing low tone to his rasp.

  “Oh,” Cuganwa replied. “I think I understand.”

  “Good. Know this, my child, in time even one being can move a river,” Kelvert stated before shifting the group’s thrum to a slower pace.

  “Well then this must be a canal,” Nuyani said as she looked toward their bodies still sitting on the floor safe and unmoving.

  “Correct. This path will lead us back to the true power but, the portion we hold will allow us to accomplish many things. For now, let us look to the past. Close your eyes and allow the revival of the edria’s thrum call to the past,” Kelvert instructed. The two did so as they let the flow of the edria influence their own energy instead. With such a thin portion, it no longer felt as repressive. As before, Nuyani relaxed her thrum allowing the outside world to influence her mind. As the spirit’s energy pushed and pressed to feed her images, edria behaved differently. Through the patterns hummed and pressed against her construct, it was her own spirit that shaped the visions.

  The world rippled and shifted around them. With Kelvert in control, the two found themselves soaring through the air from the north over the red cliffs. Nuyani looked to the side and gawked at the enormous crystal flying onward. A deep thrum permeated the area around it. Her thoughts returned to the similar crystals sitting atop of the towers in the vision. ‘How are you…prutosa,’ Nuyani remembered as the faint black clouds barely contrasted the inside of the enormous crystal.

  “How are you doing this, Lord Kelvert?” Cuganwa then asked.

  As they passed through a cloud, the orb replied, “Every portion of my energy is at my will. As such, even this form of a stone can fly unhindered.”

  Nuyani looked from the front to the back as she remained on the opposite side of the structure. Kelvert’s earthly form was pointed in a spearheaded shape as he raced on. The size of his entirety looked large enough to cover half the village. Looking forward, she saw the approaching break in the cliffs and the sand dunes down below. Through every structure, they were just as transparent as Nuyani and Cuganwa looked. Yet smaller clusters of the same black clouds shifted, wafted and twisted in areas beyond the walls. Nuyani looked at her body finding even sparse shades inside her own body and wondered if Cuganwa’s shared the same. As the group sailed toward the southwest, the sand dunes grew dimmer. The outlines were obscured. Some of the shadows grew darker.

  Ahead of them, the light blue clouds had grown darker. Everything in view slowly was devoured by black shadows. Before Nuyani could ask why things were changing, the flying crystal veered to the side as a column of black shadow and fire rushed forth like a tide wide enough to consume the entire crystal. Nuyani could feel her body tremble as whatever they managed to dodge, reduced to a thin line before disappearing altogether. Nuyani looked further only finding a curtain of the black mist coming into view.

  “What was that?” Cuganwa then asked.

  “That is prutosa in its simplest application,” Kelvert replied with an even, controlled tone. Yet, Nuyani could hear a sense of anger hidden in the lord’s words. “Spells can be applied with both forces and are doubly effective against one another.”

  Before Kelvert uttered another word, the enormous crystal veered toward the opposite side as the group continued toward the darkness. Another column of rushing shadow fired from beyond the veil almost striking the crystal. Nuyani could feel her form slowing down in the memory as she passed through the column. Her heart raced as she expected herself to die.

  A different sense then came over Cuganwa and Nuyani as they looked to the horizon. The mist itself grew darker and raced forth. Their hearts pounded heavily. A stronger thrum rose from the crystal creating an encompassing orb. The wall of shadow washed over them. The orb and crystal shook violently as it broke through. Nuyani and Cuganwa could feel the thrum slow for a moment before the crystal continued.

  “That’s prutosa, right?” Cuganwa asked.

  “Yes,” Kelvert answered as another wall of darkness emerged from the horizon racing toward them.

  “The same things creating the sandstorm?” Nuyani asked.

  Once more, Kelvert answered, “Yes.”

  The dark veil struck the orb. Everything trembled as they passed through. In the collision, the crystal turned slightly and slowed. Before Kelvert’s old form could get its bearing, another wall of shadow rushed onward battering the sphere hard enough to keep the crystal still. As the third wall passed a fourth rushed on, striking the defense, and pushing Kelvert back. The thrum emitted from the crystal weakened. A fifth washed over them, Nuyani and Cuganwa could feel a chill passing through their bodies. The construct then broke as a sixth wall came.

  “What? How come it didn’t hold?” Cuganwa asked. Nuyani knew the answer. Either the walls were stronger or Kelvert could not concentrate. Nuyani then looked to the small sphere sitting in the center of the massive crystal.

  Kelvert did not answer. She did not expect one for their deity was reliving such an event. Sharing such a tragedy, Nuyani looked on as another column sailed forth striking the crystal as it turned, dead center. A chill worse than the blade-jaw’s roar or the banshees’ touch enwrapped Nuyani. She was certain even her body was shivering from the memory. Even in ethereal form, she forced herself to curl in a ball looking for some semblance of warmth. Kelvert’s old form shook violently, twisted and flipped as the stream of darkness pushed him back. Licking spurts of shadow parted from the column like flame tendrils.

  Cuganwa looked toward the crystal clenching his fists as if he could brace himself for such an event. The boy looked on toward the horizon shrouded in darkness.

  ‘What kind of demon is this? The world itself is ruled by stronger things?’ the boy questioned.

  Cracking started to form on the crystal’s surface. As the bombardment continued, large chunks of the crystal broke off and fell. Small pieces of Kelvert chipped away as they sailed backward just as fast as they had arrived. The column of shadow began to thin. Kelvert then collided with the side of the stones as another blast of shadow emerged from the horizon. This time, Kelvert created a barrier and blocked the torrent of darkness. Though the large crystal shook under the barrage, it still held. Nuyani and Cuganwa looked at the remainder of Kelvert’s form. A tenth of the size, Kelvert was sent back miles beyond the cliffs they passed. Cuganwa looked to the north seeing the faint northern line making up the cliffs and a small gap marking the waterfall.

  ‘This far?’ Cuganwa thought as his body shuttered.

  The crystal then lowered itself as another stream of the blasts came only for another of Kelvert’s defenses deflecting it. Nuyani looked down seeing several animals that looked similar to tall horns but smaller and shorter horns. They fled the area as the cascading shadows reached the floor. Several animals were caught in their fleeting tendrils as their bodies went limp and souls flew toward the southwest. Kelvert increased the strength of his thrum reinforcing his defenses as the barrier surrounding them expanded. Reaching the very edges of the drylands, Kelvert sat in place as the beam continued to fire. It stopped only for several large waves of shadow to wash through the land. The walls dissipated on contact with the barriers but, Nuyani noticed the animals below them swept away by the wind and others further west landing in the area with mangled bodies.

  More souls flew toward the southwest like shining arrows. Kelvert’s thrum increased in speed. Both the shadow and sands stopped but, the pressure continued. Strain met the enormous barrier. Nuyani and Cuganwa could feel the rapid pace growing sporadic in its act. Another blast of shadow rushed forth tearing through the ethereal defense striking Kelvert. The crystal shook under the attack as new cracks formed yet Kelvert no longer broke apart. Instead, the deity released several more thrums toward the surrounding areas controlling his edria and feeding it into the area. The animals and land changed as their bodies were imparted with the strands of edria.

  Nuyani and Cuganwa looked to the ground below. Compelled by curiosity, Nuyani flew to the ground watching as several animals grew larger in moments and with thicker coats. Cuganwa realizing he was free to move flew low racing toward the cliffs. He saw the charge-horns, whip-necks, blade-jaws, heavy-horns, and blood-manes all change under Kelvert’s influence. Despite even the lines of the water bites and shrubs grew thicker to take on the onslaught of sandstorms.

  ‘They are opposites. That’s why it affects him more,’ Cuganwa thought as more waves of shadow swept over the land. The animals changed their tactics and withstood the barrage. Some perished but, the numbers of those lost were greatly reduced. ‘He didn’t create the life but, saved it here.’

  The boy flew into the cliffs watching through the transparent shape of the stone shifted about with several figures traveling through. Short men wielding strange light sources on poles were at the front waving the lights before them. Cuganwa could feel a faint thrum rising as their light touched the stone pushing it away as if burning away brush. The people made their way in a quick march toward a natural cavern in the cliffs. In moments relative to Cuganwa, they created their large inner village and moved toward the rest of the cavern creating an outpost and several other caverns in the cliffs. Before they could go further, Cuganwa watched as a blood-mane was knocked down by a single column of shadow aimed for it and not Kelvert. Another long, slender creature nearly encased in shadow emerged from the sand and struck the blood-mane. The animal’s body wriggled and expanded in size in a violent transformation as the creature burrowed into the blood-mane’s flesh swelling the area before the beast stood up once more and flew over the cliffs.

  ‘Wait. That’s like the charge-horn,’ Cuganwa said. The blood-mane approached a few other animals attacking violently as the scratches it left created more solid forms of darkness within them that eventually grew. One by one, the strange shadows spread to other animals until the cavern played the same way as the spirit's memory. ‘There’s a sickness spreading through them,’ the boy thought before flying back.

  Nuyani watched as the people came through the ravine cutting through the cliffs. Tattered clothing, broken items, and scarce food were carried on their backs as they tried to get through the drylands. They followed Kelvert whose size drastically shrank as the deity continued to feed energy into the land and some of those who approached. Nuyani watched as the elders and fighters of the group cast away their metal pieces into the river and turned toward the crystal. Nuyani’s brow furrowed as she looked at the pieces. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings all bearing markings and figures of the other gods, tossed away to be forgotten. Kelvert started to impart his edria on to them only to reduce further in size with a small handful gaining his power. The crystal then broke apart in the act turning into an enormous flame and instead of feeding some of its power into the three rings.

  “Lord Kelvert, why did you give away so much?” Nuyani questioned as she looked at his shrinking form.

  “I was being torn apart. The best I could do was protect the life that was around me as my power dwindled,” Kelvert stated.

  “Why not flee? Why not go somewhere to strengthen your power?” Nuyani asked as her eyes grew hot making her wonder if her real body had tears. A fleeting thought made it feel strange that her vibrant ghostly form could still feel such a sensation.

  "There is always a hunt for strength, Nuyani. It is a game of survival even your old gods knew and played,” Kelvert started. “This was merely the safest place to stay and grow. But as I’ve said before, haflaj seek out the unflom to fight, and though one seeks death, the other creates life.” As Kelvert spoke, the energy stopped separating from the crystal and a barrier was formed around the area. The village started to grow. Nuyani watched as souls then descended toward the village. She looked toward the crystal seeing small plumes of darkness appear as the souls flew out of them and to the swollen bellies of women.

  “You did create us,” Nuyani said.

  “No merely guided you as is my nature,” Kelvert corrected.

  A sense of relief grew in Nuyani as she watched the same lives created then grow and thrive. More of the black waves passed through the area and Kelvert’s form dwindled further. Nuyani watched as the energy dissipated. Cuganwa then arrived with a stern glare.

  “What’s wrong?” Nuyani asked.

  “There’s more to those animals than we realized,” Cuganwa said.

  “Alright. Let’s discuss it later. For now, watch,” Nuyani said as the history of the village came into view. The waves continued to pass on as Kelvert weakened. Eventually, the deity was merely flame and used the last of his power to the edria stored within the land torn from it. Though many animals wielded the edria, they did not possess the will to use it as their instincts served their needs. Nuyani and Cuganwa shook as they watched the first wave strike the village claiming many in its wake. Many hid under their tents to escape the harsh winds. The two dived toward the land seeing the mass of magic grow still with the passing shrouds of darkness.

  Over time, the two witnessed the change of the village's structure as it grew wider and lower. Animal pelts were toughened to withstand the storms. Nuyani watched eagerly as those with orange eyes then appeared only looking brighter in comparison to others in the blue world. The people steadily grew in numbers until the first sinner arrived. With his display of power, he turned against the others and practiced the same abilities Nuyani barely understood as he moved in and out of the world with ease. Cuganwa wondered why Kelvert did not escape then only to see his abilities were not dependent on the same energy as Nuyani did.

  He somehow was separated from the great lord. Yet, held the same tempo and thrum. Nuyani and Cuganwa watched a desperate chieftain race off on the back of his whip-neck through the terrain passing heavy-horns and blood-mane territory. Kelvert’s small semblance of power sent out waves of energy toward the beasts warding them off. As the chief reached a cliff and climbed to a nearby cave, he found his family in the sinner’s clutches. Brazen and fool-hearted, the sinner tried to flee in and out of existence only for the chief to cut him with a slice to the man’s leg predicting his movements. The cavern was not empty as the sinner looked to use his powers to control hidden blade-jaws to attack.

  Nuyani and Cuganwa shuttered as they watched the chief fail to reach his family as the sinner tried to attack him. Rage filled the chief’s actions as he turned and sliced through the sinner’s throat. With some power in the blade, he turned to the freed blade-jaws and killed them as well. Cuganwa floated forward to the sinner. His mind flashed back to Deyunca but, he ignored the thought as he watched the man’s soul fly from his body peering through a solid shape in a dark cloak of prutosa.

  ‘He was infested too,’ Cuganwa thought.

  The man wept for a moment mourning the loss of his family before carrying his kin out of the cavern and riding back to the village. Nuyani said nothing as she watched with a cold expression. Cuganwa followed her stealing small glances at her as they traveled on. Once at the village, they hung in the air above the village like clouds watching time slip by. For a fourth time, Nuyani saw a slaughter, a purge of their people with different eyes as the distraught chief declared such abilities to be demonic, no better than the beasts that could kill dozens of men. Nuyani’s stomach twisted as she watched. She wanted to retort such thoughts. To change the time and choice. The chief held such secrets as to wield edria much like the warriors they descended from. Yet here, one ability was taboo compared to another. Cuganwa glanced at her fists clenching tightly as she looked onward.

  ‘Damn these beliefs. To the sands with them,’ Nuyani thought. She looked at the man as he rapidly aged with the passage of time. People gathered to hear the new rhetoric as the chief stepped down to become an elder and another came forth filling the role knowing that he was sacrificing his blood and name for the survival of the village. Their demons were gone but no sway would easily be held over the chief who must lead. Nuyani’s scowled at the man wanting to hate him, to wish his passing was stuck in the world like other spirits for the lineage of pain and fear that she was born in. The anger would not flare. The hatred did not stick. Even as the passing time claimed him and his body sent to cremation and returned to the river, she could not see a monster. Just a man who lost his family to another whose greed and pride made him that way.

  Time continued. Nuyani looked about recognizing the setting of the villages as the villagers passed by in trailing blurs. She descended to the village as the rushing visages of time seemed to slow gradually. Cuganwa blinked several times as he looked about. Night claimed the sky as the villagers held a festival. The large bonfires were alight. Cuganwa followed Nuyani looking between her and the path ahead.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Cugnawa thought.

  Nuyani’s disposition changed as she stopped just before the boy’s tent. He looked at it and to her, his eyes widened. The woman grabbed both of her arms and hunched over as if struck by a sudden chill. Cuganwa looked about wondering what was happening only to focus on the tent, his tent. Time seemed to be normal as people walked at leisurely paces conversing with one another. Nuyani kept her attention on the tent. The thrum of the world warped and twisted around her as she flew forward.

  “I…have another secret, Cuganwa,” the woman said as she passed through the tent.

  ‘Secret?’ Cuganwa stared, looking at his home. The boy took a deep breath and sailed through the spaces separated by canvas only to find his home, his space, occupied by a sleeping Nuyani. A younger version of her lying on her sleeping mat. Next to her lay a pile of chips shaved from ivory lying around a knife as a whetstone and carving tools sat by the side. The current Nuyani turned to the other room before the sound of the tent’s front flaps could be heard. The soft, yet heavy, footsteps on carpet made the boy’s eyes narrow.

  “Hello love,” came a woman’s voice. Cuganwa blinked several times, not recognizing it. His chest expanded and contracted heavily as he listened to the center space with firelight showing through the entrance.

  “Why’re you two cooped up in her? Join us. It wouldn’t be much of a celebration if my two treasures did not accompany me,” Sutama’s voice answered after loving laughter from both. Cuganwa’s eyes widened as he stared at Nuyani. He could feel his chest pounding like a finale of drums.

  “Well let me wake her and we will join you, hunting leader,” the woman teased.

  It was too late as the other Nuyani had awoken with a smile on her face and brighter eyes than the others as her surroundings pulsated. The young girl retrieved the ivory knife and rushed toward the entrance.

  “Father,” Nuyani called out. Cuganwa was dumbstruck as he flew swifter than the howlers into the other room.

  There his father’s eyes bulged from his younger, thinner frame as he pointed to Nuyani.

  The young girl halted in her approach as she read his shocked expression. Beside him, another woman resembling Nuyani in all but, her hair, attire, and age started to weep as she stood between Sutama and Nuyani.

  “Love. Please. We had to hide it. We must…” the woman said.

  Her words fell on deaf ears as the man marched forth changing his expression from shock to pure rage. Cuganwa knew his father to be as devout as any man, even the elders, and chief. To find a demon, a corrupted one of blood stirred many questions and fears in the boy’s mind. Cuganwa shook his head as he watched the fury of his father rush for Nuyani grabbing her hair and pulling the ivory knife free of her grasp. Nuyani’s mother yelled and pulled at his arm pleading for the man to release her, to spare her. Tears welled in Sutama’s eyes as he looked at the knife. His face wrinkled with fury as his wife beat his head and back trying to free Nuyani struggling to free herself.

  The man tossed the item to the floor and pulled Nuyani away as if she were a mere bundle of clothes. Her mother fell to the floor calling the man to reason as she crawled to the stairs. Sutama had already pulled her out of his home and into the opening. Nuyani watched as her mother scrounged for the knife she shaved as a gift for her father and ran outside. Cuganwa was breathing heavily. Shock and horror mixed on his face as he clenched his fists. Nuyani said nothing as she sailed by and glanced at him. She flew outside. Cuganwa glared at her as his breathing slowed and he followed. The two were outside watching as Nuyani’s pleading drew in a crowd.

  Several villagers and guards started toward the man wondering what madness fell upon him only to see the gleaming ember eyes of his daughter. Their concern transformed into resentment. A young girl they knew for her entire life was now just a demon. Her mother continued to fight as two other villagers grabbed her arms.

  The festival stopped. Instruments and songs halted as only the roar of the bonfires and Nuyani’s cries could be heard.

  “Please! Father! Let go!” Nuyani howled as she tried to pull away from his stone strong grip.

  He found a rock large enough to sit in his hand, heavy enough to kill.

  “No!” her mother called out twisted her wrist to cut into the villager’s wrist who was trying to hold her left arm and slashed at the other cutting his cheek. Sutama raised the stone and forced Nuyani to kneel. Cuganwa’s breathing grew deeper as he looked at his father, the villagers, Nuyani, her mother. These were the devout people to Lord Kelvert. His father paused hesitating to deliver the blow only for her mother to stab into Sutama’s shoulder in desperation.

  Sutama bellowed in pain as he released Nuyani but, not the stone. He whipped around blinded by his turbulent emotions and striking the woman in her temple. Sutama’s eyes widened. He froze watching his wife fall to the floor and lie still.

  “M-Mother?” Young Nuyani whimpered in disbelief as she crawled to her. The woman lied still. Nuyani made her way to her as the village watched silently.

  Sutama dropped the stone on the floor and started to kneel as he whispered, “Huloat…”

  Nuyani saw him from the corner of her eyes and swung out toward him. They could feel the thrum rippling through the air but, to the others it was as if she had command of the winds, blowing the man away. Sutama fell to the floor by the sudden force bewildered by the power. The villagers exploded in an uproar rushing toward her. Young Nuyani protectively reached over her mother watching as the dozens of hands were silhouetted by the bonfires behind them creating out-reaching shadows. Before a single person could reach Nuyani, the air bent and warped into a dark void like water draining from a hole. Nuyani and her mother disappeared leaving only the confused villagers and Sutama on the floor weeping.

  ‘Congratulations, hunting leader,’ Nuyani wanted to mouth, wanted to shout. She wanted to hammer the lesson into Cuganwa and show him the pain. She stopped knowing both he, and their sister, were all in danger if Sutama was still the same man. With time nearly reaching the current day, the two returned to Lord Kelvert’s orb waiting above them.

  The group remained silent as they sailed toward the cliffs. Time sped up once more as animals and shrubs below shifted. Once they reached the cavern, Nuyani and Cuganwa returned to their bodies as they ached from the constant use of edria. Cuganwa turned to her with a glare.

  “Is that why you saved me? Did you know who I was, sister,” Cuganwa chided.

  Nuyani glanced at the boy in annoyance as she simply replied, “No. Just thought I’d help a fool who ran through the snare. Cuganwa’s glare deepened expressing his rage as he bared his teeth. The boy’s breathing grew harsh as if he were being choked as he moved forward propped up on his knees and toes. His fists were balled as he began to hammer the floor. Nuyani looked away as the world Cuganwa knew shattered. She drew her lips in as her eyes shined with tears.

  “Great Lord, why?” Cuganwa questioned. “Why’d this happen?”

  “Survival, child,” Kelvert answered.

  Cuganwa’s head shot up from the floor as he looked at the floating blue flame. His eyes gleamed in ember. “But where were you!” the boy demanded. “We could…”

  “Enough!” the wisp commanded. Cugnawa could feel his body freeze. Nuyani looked at him and to the blue flame. Controlling them was not something she thought the wisp could do. Cuganwa shuttered trying to break the freeze. The thrum emitted from his body halted, one Nuyani was not aware it was acted upon. Cuganwa could move as he took several breaths. “I placed my faith in you all as I withered away. I was dying as your ancestors destroyed all that I placed in them, and all my efforts lead to you two as the most capable. I see your anger. You fear that this power will turn everyone against you, or Young Caluu.” Cuganwa was silent, closing his mouth as he looked to the ground. “I could do that but, that merely means that every defense and effort I gave will be for nothing and the others will die with my strength severed.” Cuganwa sat on his heels and looked to the side.

  ‘How do we survive this?’ The boy thought as he gripped his knees.

  “If you wish to live, then fight. You know the truth now, all truths. Now, will you fight?” Kelvert asked testing the boy. Nuyani watched.

  ‘Don’t give up, Cuganwa,’ Nuyani thought.

  The boy looked up to the wisp before lowering his head and placing a hand on his heart and raising his other hand, palm face up. “Please guide me, Great Lord,” Cuganwa replied. Nuyani let out a breath unaware that she had held it.

  “Then speak to one another. Share more and learn,” Kelvert instructed. “As I wish you to be free, you must fight to do so.”

  “Yes, Lord Kelvert,” Cuganwa replied in a softer tone. He looked to Nuyani waiting for her to meet his gaze.

  Nuyani sensed the boy’s attention was turned on her and looked back to him. “What’s wrong?” she asked sensing something else disturbed him.

  “The sinner. He was infested,” Cuganwa claimed.

  Nuyani blinked several times before replying, “What do you mean infested?”

  Cuganwa looked down at the floor as he tried to find the right words. “You know how the shorter people were attacked by the animals?” Nuyani nodded her head. “Something is in them. Something without a soul but, had a shape of spirit when it entered a blood-mane that fell in the demon lands. The blood-mane grew, and the spot swelled like… like that charge-horn. W-where is that thing?” Nuyani’s eyes widened as she retrieved her crystal and directed the lights toward the wall. The pink and gray mass streamed from the stone in a twisting spiral before lying on the floor. Cut chunks exposed to them and rotting smell filling the area.

  “What do you mea…” Nuyani started only to stop as her thrum radiated through the carcass. Several new pressures sat on her core. “There’s something there now,” Nuyani said. Cuganwa felt it as well and the two stood.

  “Caution you two. The enemy may have more abilities than we realize,” Kelvert said. The two then turned to the inside of the carcass as the flesh slowly bulged and shifted around the spine. Nuyani removed her knife, a usual act Cuganwa noticed. He copied her actions trusting her years of survival as they looked at the dead hulking beast.

  “Do you know what it looked like?” Nuyani asked. Cuganwa stole a glance at her. “The thing that was in the animal and the sinner.

  “N-No,” Cuganwa answered. “Time passed too fast. I only saw it attack the blood-mane before that started attacking others.

  “Right,” Nuyani rasped. She readied her thrum.

  Before anyone could utter another word, the flesh burst, releasing blood as a maw of pincers shot out like a spear thrust toward them. Nuyani reacted with a barrier between them and the strange creatures as she raised her knife. There was little need for the defense as the creature snapped and wriggled several feet from the construct giving Nuyani and Cuganwa a good look at the strange parasite. Clicks and clatter filled the air as the segmented worm wriggled about trying its best to reach them. Its beady eyes trained on the two. Nuyani shivered. A similar sensation rose from the odd creature as the howlers, an example of a foul perversion of life made her feel sick. From the corner of her eye, Cuganwa trembled. The same boy who stared down a large charge-horn, and even tried to attack her, was shaking. She knew he had to feel the same terror.

  “W-what do we do?” Cuganwa asked.

  “It must be destroyed,” Kelvert answered, “Its abilities to spread are a poison to the land.”

  Nuyani looked at the turning flesh as several more lines moved separately from the clattering worm head. Before she could say anything, another of the creatures shot from the corpse’s front leg. Nuyani created another barrier despite the first defense already erected and enclosed the second worm’s head in a sphere. Its head was severed by Nuyani’s construct. The body went limp as a rope, yet the head continued to click and move.

  Nuyani and Cuganwa gawked at the creature in disgust as it continued to move. The shells were filled with a yellow puss much like the blemish on the charge-horn. The two turned to the head as the worms feverishly clattered and moved in the confined space toward them. Pressure still sat on their cores. Nuyani shook her head. Controlling the sphere, she levitated the wriggling worm head toward the fire. The tenacious creature continued its ill-gotten pursuit of the two as it clicked at them. Nuyani felt cautious of the creature creating a second sphere partially open as the edges cut into one of the pincers. The larger sphere dissipated leaving the beast's head to dangle. Flames licked at the animal head. Now it noticed the pain and wriggled even faster, attempting to escape the fire. The two shivered as they watched in horror of the severed head managing an ear-piercing screech. When the body stopped moving, Nuyani released her hold on the creature’s head letting it drop into the flames. Cuganwa glanced back at the other worm still reaching for them unconcerned with the death fallen onto one of its own. The flesh continued to twist and shift signaling that more were inside the carcass. The boy did not wait and grabbed a stick from the fire pit and maneuvered around the construct. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the burning twig into the charge-horn’s rib cage.

  A flame belched from the gutted creature making Cuganwa fall behind Nuyani’s construct. Wide-eyed, they saw the inferno rise only to die out before it towered almost halfway up to the ceiling. The carcass itself burned swiftly. Bone, sinew, and fat fed the fire like a field of grass. Cuganwa and Nuyani watched as two more worms burst from the animal’s carcass to join in a desperate dance for survival as their flaming bodies scratched at the ground.

  Nuyani narrowed her eyes. ‘They really are parasites,’ she thought taking note of the worms refusing to leave their host’s burning body. Even the river bites were willing to hop and flounder on the round looking for another pool of water in the occasional drought.

  The air filled with both the succulent smell of roasted charge-horn and putrid rot. The mixed aroma hit their noses making the two cover themselves in retreat. ‘Can’t tell if I should be hungry or disgusted right now,’ Cuganwa thought.

  Nuyani fixed the barrier wall around the beast realizing it was the best they could do at the time. As the dome enclosed the burning beast, the smoke covered the space hiding the charred creature.

  “We eat,” Nuyani declared as she lowered her hand from her face. “No sense in going hungry when we could be attacked at any moment.” Retrieving her crystal, Nuyani then released the other charge-horn. Knowing better, she released a thrum passing through its body ensuring it wasn’t infested. No disturbances met her call and Nuyani sighed as she strolled to one of her baskets and retrieved more knives and spicks.

  Cuganwa waited by the side as she prepared the food. Curious about his abilities, Cuganwa instead looked toward the dome and tried to replicate the construct. Unlike the others, he found he could follow their instructions but, did not like that he needed a guide. Holding his hands out with palms facing one another, he tried to control the thrum once more. As the rapid pulses coursed from his stomach, he tried to guide them through his hands. Remembering the sensation, he felt trying to heal Nuyani’s leg, the boy smiled as a blue light shined in both palms.