David woke to warmth and the noise of the stream. His face was covered in dirt and everything hurt. He turned on his back, wincing as pain spread through his limbs and back. He didn’t want to think about what he’d broken. He turned sharply to the tree he thought he’d killed. It was missing leaves, but it wasn’t completely dead. He pulled himself up, groaning with every movement. The ache wasn’t all that plagued him. He felt emptied.

Essence, David realized. He’d pulled so much from himself and nature. And all of it had exploded. He would have to do better.

Once he was leaning against the tree he crashed into, he tried to stop his racing heart. His side felt tender. At first he was worried there might be some kind of internal bleeding, but then he convinced himself it hadn’t been that hard a crash.

There was no way to tell how long he’d been there. He was lucky he hadn’t been killed. He considered dragging himself back to the house. The thought made him wince. Moving anything would make him scream.

You are lucky, Ignis said. The dragon’s voice seemed to come from everywhere, making David’s head ache. David closed his eyes, trying to pull himself to Ignis. Perhaps there the pain would be less. He tried, but something pushed back, locking him out. Ignis?

“What is happening?” David asked.

You can’t control essence in that state. You will have to wait for a while.

David heard the pity in the dragon’s voice. As if he was talking to a child, one still naïve, thinking if leapt from a cliff he’d sprout wings. David hated it.

“I thought I could control it,” David said, more to himself than the dragon. He couldn’t feel Chaos, but he knew the boy was there—and the others. They were always with him. Ignis was a little more physical than them, real.

You had a terrible teacher, Ignis said, annoyed. I could hear some of what that…well, I could hear. Essence is volatile. In itself, it is life. It can soothe and overwhelm. It gives and takes. A moment more and you would have undone the fabric of your existence. Just like the fishes downstream, you would have died.

“What is he?” David asked. Ignis was silent for a moment. David couldn’t tell if he imagined the dragon’s hesitation, or he actually felt it. But soon, Ignis responded.

For you and I, we draw from the energy that knits life and nature. We borrow, briefly, and only little. Our capacity differ, but still, we do not touch much of this power…

“Chaos is the source?” David asked, interrupting Ignis. The dragon hissed.

Chaos huh? Good name. But no. He is a channel, one of many. A direct link to the source grants you access to pure, terribly horrifying power. And your friend, Chaos, is one of the oldest and most brutal ones. I have never seen anyone with a channel before. Do you understand what I am saying, boy?

David had a feeling he did. He wanted to be excited, but after what just happened, he wasn’t sure. He could just as well be a time bomb waiting to explode.

“He scares you?” David asked, a grin spreading on his face even as his head ached.

I do not fear anyone, boy, not even the gods. Yet, I will concede that he…worries me. Not many can mask themselves from me, even in my fragmented form. Yet I can’t see Chaos. I can only sense him and he…they make my scales itch.

David chuckled. He couldn’t shake off the feeling too. The form Chaos chose was supposed to be harmless, yet the boy gave him a scare he wasn’t sure he felt when he fought Nurend. David sighed. Annoyed by how vulnerable he was at the moment. He’d expected Chaos to continue their lesson, but he could see why he hadn’t.

David tried to move his fingers, curl them into fist. His body trembled slightly and a groan rattled in his chest. He leaned back, breathing hard.

His reaction was slow and stiff when he heard footsteps behind him. He sighed when he saw that it was Hanna. She walked past him, going for the stream when David called her. She whipped around, a naked blade appearing in her fists so fast David didn’t even see her pull them. Then she saw him, her knives fell to the ground and she rushed to him.

Her swollen eyes looked better now, but not completely open. She knelt in front of him, one good eye roaming around him, searching for where he was wounded. David flinched when she tried to touch him. He hadn’t expected her to look so worried.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Where does it hurt?” She asked. David grinned and shook his head.

“So many places, but I am alright. I was careless, and distracted.” The last part was directed at Ignis and by the growl that echoed in his head, David felt like he knew. “I just need to go back in.”

Hanna nodded. She pulled him up gently, with such tenderness that David wondered if the woman holding him was the same blood thirsty Mad Whip he’d known. She walked slowly, accommodating his limping.

They cleared the woods and then walked through the back gate. There was a horse in the stable. Its head swayed to regard them and then it went back to ignoring them. David grunted, hissed and gritted his teeth according to the pain he felt at a specific moment.

“What happened?” Hanna asked. David tried to shrug and hissed. “Were you attacked?”

“No,” David said firmly. “I was trying something out and it didn’t work.” Hanna nodded.

“You were trying to get stronger,” she said. “You shouldn’t do it yourself. I thought that was what we agreed on?”

“I know,” David replied. They used a door at the back of the house that led into a narrow hallway. The wood creaked under them as they moved slowly not to call the attention of anyone else. David thought he could hear the sound of someone laughing in front.

Claire’s head peeped out in front. She was given a room to share with Zoey while Elisha and David shared the one opposite.

Claire made a face, then came out fully as Hanna took David past his door to hers. Claire followed behind quietly, yet David couldn’t help feeling uneasy. There was more about Tara he still didn’t know, but Claire gave him the creeps. She was silent, with dark glares and a power he knew nothing about.

She had sliced through Elisha’s shadow like it was nothing.

Once they were inside, Hanna placed David on her bed. He sighed, happy to take pressure off his feet. Then he closed his eyes, waiting for the questions that he was sure they would ask. When none of them spoke, David decided to try what Chaos had taught him again.

He could feel the tiny flow of essence. It wouldn’t heal him, but it would help him with the pain.

“Tell Tara to help us with a hea…”

“No,” David said, startling both women. “Get Chloe. She can help.”

Hanna seemed confused for a moment shrugged and left. Claire stared down at him. She looked different now, less of a maniac, but still a killer. She had a small dagger strapped to her waist, but David knew enough to know that the woman was dangerous with or without the blade.

“You look at me like the others,” Claire said, smiling. “That is good. I thought you would be different, less scared…or cautious. You seem stronger. Not right now, of course. But back then. And Tara said you shattered Galan's hidden world and that is supposed to be really difficult.”

David scoffed, stopping Claire from rambling on. The silence that ensued was difficult to bear, so David cleared his throat to get her attention.

“You want people to fear you?” David asked, half curious and half trying to erase the awkwardness. Claire shrugged.

“They don’t fear you, they kill you,” she said. David nodded and hissed. The pain had reduced. He could talk freely and move his hand somewhat, but his head seemed like it was trying to torture him.

“Tara taught you that?” David asked. “Or Galan?”

“That old bag of horse dung didn’t teach me anything,” Claire spat. “Tara did.”

David smiled. He was about to say something when he heard footsteps coming…running. Chloe ran into the room and stopped suddenly when she saw him. David smiled, trying to show his sister that he was alright.

“What did you do?” Zoey asked. She was behind Elisha who folded his arms over his chest, frowning like their father.

“What else?” Elisha said. “Except try to get himself killed?”

David ignored them, keeping his eyes on Chloe. She walked slowly to his bed. She looked different in the pants and loose sleeved shirt Tara found for her. Her long hair was tied up in a way Chloe would never have tried back at home. She looked grown, until she started to cry.

“Can you help me, Chloe?” David asked. Chloe nodded through her sobs. David sighed. He had hoped she would, but Chloe was hard to predict.

She summoned her lute, the strings gave off a haze of essence as she wiped her face. Then she cleared her throat, hit a string and the flurry of music sheets slowly formed in front of her. Essence surged from her, blinding everyone in the room briefly, and when it dimmed there was only one sheet of the phantom script hovering in front of Chloe.

Then she began the song.

Spell: Daromir’s Ballad

Daromir’s Ballad is a bargain with god of scales Lirath. It consumes essence according to severity of injury at the cost of your soul. If your essence is completely expended, Lord Lirath holds ownership of your soul.

Essence: Essence consumption is unknown!

Spell level: High

Her voice was slow, but as it climbed and became more soulful, the essence covering her body undulated to her voice. Bright clusters of essence flared and cracked off her like sparks flying. They filled the room, soaring randomly. Then, suddenly, as if possessed, they descended on David. They gathered like moths rushing to a bright, burning flame.

David could hear Chloe's voice fade as more essence reached him. The pain didn’t stop all at once. It happened slowly, and he felt it like a distant sensation. The rest of a bone, flesh knitting…the pace was agonizing, but the gradual relief was enough to ignore it.

“Amazing,” Claire whispered as he watched the spell work. Behind her Chloe’s script had vanished. She’d almost fell but Elisha quickly caught her. Claire looked from David whose breathing was not leveled and clear, to Chloe who was shyly pushing Elisha’s hands away. She hadn’t seen something like that before—not a complete healing at least.

Who are these people?