Mari stared up at yet another wall, squinting at the bright sunset. It differed from other walls. It was gray, but it was much larger than any other wall. Not to mention, there was only one wall, and they were outside. She turned to Rekema, squinting in the bright, but fading light. "I don't understand."

Muraad wrapped an arm around her and ruffled her hair. "Don't even think about it."

Mari's stomach always turned when he said that. She knew she wasn't good at thinking, but the idea of not doing it wasn't pleasant. Rekema crossed her arms. "Just trust us."

Mari bit her lip, but before she could respond, Balak had taken control of her. Everything hazed over, and her skin crawled. Mari stumbled forward as Balak moved his hands with a grin. Mari felt him channel his power through her. She rushed forward and thrust her hands out, crashing into the wall. A large crack appeared, and the small pieces of the wall hit her.

"Good, keep going, Balak," Rekema ordered. Mari's stomach turned. She couldn't think straight, but she wasn't fond of this power flowing through her. She was human, even if the Seven weren't; her body wasn't made for this.

Balak pulled her back; her head lolled to the side. Her arms fell limp. Mari just barely realized he was about to do it again. A surge of power hit her body, and she stumbled forward.

She stifled a grunt as a large piece hit her shoulder, and another hit her head. She heard Muraad mutter something behind her. Bidkar chuckled as a response. She blinked and looked to see the crack was almost to the top of the wall. Mari wished she could shake her head to get rid of the ringing in her ears.

People above her yelled. Mari saw more of the polished men on the top of the wall. Mari wondered what they were doing up there and if they had a name. There were so many; it seemed they were a group, and groups had names, like the Seven. As she pondered, one of them held up a thin wooden thing Mari had never seen before. He was doing something with it. She saw him hold it with one hand and pull back with the other. Something settled in her heart; it was telling her to move, but she couldn't. Her mind didn't even register the strange instinct. Mari idly wondered what the wooden object did.

"Balak!" Muraad shouted.

"Move her!" Rekema shrieked. Mari had never heard Rekema shriek about anything, ever. Her mind couldn't keep up with these new discoveries and objects.

Something flew towards her. It was small, wooden, and had a sharp tip. Mari wondered if it would hurt. Balak jerked his hands, and her body flew to the side. She hit the ground, rolling several times from the force Balak used. She hissed at the stinging pain in her arms and legs.

"You reckless idiot!" Mari saw Rekema shout at Balak, storming over to him. Her fists were clenched so tightly that Mari couldn't believe Rekema wasn't hurting herself. She wondered if Rekema would hit him. She would be okay with that.

Rekema grabbed Balak by the collar. "Pay more attention! Do you need a reminder of—"

Mallory cut her off, "I don't think this is the best place to have this discussion. Those guys aren't going to stop shooting just so you can yell at him."

Mari staggered to her feet unwillingly. The men on the wall continued to yell, but Mari's mind was too clouded, the pain too loud, for her to make anything they said out. More of the sharp sticks flew towards her.

"Balak!" Muraad said. Mari heard him rush towards her.

"Lay off, I got her," Balak said. He moved his hands. Mari's legs moved, and she tripped backwards, seeing the sticks hit around where she used to be.

"Take down the wall!" Apep shouted, "I want to see them run."

Balak let out a savage cry, and it tore through her throat. He made her run; she slammed into the wall once more. She heard a crunch in her shoulder. Mari opened her mouth and let out a soundless cry of pain. She gasped as more pieces fell and hit her on their way down.

Meeko giggled, and out of the corner of her eye, Mari saw Mallory tug on his arm. "It's coming down!"

Bidkar took a deep breath, tilting her head back. "I can hear them scream. One of them is crying. Isn't it beautiful?"

Balak released her, too absorbed in what he created to notice. Mari staggered back, wiping dirt and dust from her face. Muraad ruffled her hair. Rekema stepped in front of her and looked at the remains. A hand stuck out from under the pieces. It twitched. Rekema took control of Mari. "Let's keep going."

Mari stifled a whimper as she stumbled over chunks of wall. Rekema wasn't precise or careful with Mari's steps. Mari kept quiet as it didn't take her long to finish climbing over it. The rest of Seven stuck close by. Muraad stayed a step behind her the entire time. They stopped at the sight that awaited them on the other side. Rekema loosened her hold, and Mari's mind cleared slightly. She flexed her toes; the ground was much harder, and there was no grass. She shivered, having never seen so many people like her. They were running away, and Mari was certain that pleased Apep to no end. Mari could tell by the way her eyes and markings glowed brighter. Mari turned her attention back to the humans and one of them started to fall at the sight of her. Another person rushed them away, not even daring to look at Mari.

Mari had enough control of herself to be able to look at Rekema. Her voice came out raspy and soft. Her throat burned, but she had to ask. "Why are they—"

A familiar voice caught her attention. "Shoot her down."

"Balak, take over!" Rekema scowled, and she let go of Mari. Balak didn't even give Mari time to blink as he pulled her back. Mari's mind dulled again, and his disgusting power filled her veins. Mari had no doubt. Balak was the strongest of the Seven which only made it worse when he took over.

Muraad glared at the men on the sections of the wall that still stood. "Don't let them hit her."

Mari's head was jerked back, and she saw the man from earlier, the one with the headpiece. He was on a horse. Mari remembered seeing one once. She forced herself to hold onto the thought. She strained her mind. It had been lost and stumbled across the cottage. Muraad had told her what it was and to leave it be. It would leave soon enough, and the sooner it did the better for them. Mari didn't understand then, and she certainly didn't at that moment. She was surprised she could even remember that in her current state.

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The man with the headpiece was surrounded by the polished men who were also on horses. As Mari staggered, the men pulled out the long knives and the wooden tool that shot sticks. Balak's grip tightened on her. Her head hurt, and it became even further clouded. He moved her arms and flexed her wrists. The house near her broke, and the pieces flew out around her. Several of the horses reared up. Balak rushed Mari forward, avoiding the sticks shot at her. His power surged through her. It hurt. She tore through the first line of men on horses. The men screamed, and the horses' high-pitched cries made Mari want to cover her ears.

"King Dainan, get back!" one of the men said to the man with the headpiece. Her thoughts were cluttered and constantly moving. It was like anything that entered her mind slipped from her grasp. She had trouble keeping up in this state; she didn't know what a king was, but Dainan sounded like a name, so she held onto that. This was something she wouldn't forget. It seemed important, and she didn't want to be stuck calling him the man with the headpiece forever.

Mari couldn't but let out a cry of her own when one stick hit her arm. Muraad growled. Mari saw the Seven out of the corner of her eye. Bidkar had her eyes closed with a smile on her face, feeling Mari's pain just as much as Mari did. Rekema gestured to the wall, where the stick had come from. "Do something about them!"

Balak raised one arm, and Mari followed. Through his revolting power, the shards of the house lifted into the air. With a shout, they hurled the shards at the men on the wall. Balak's savage satisfaction surged through her, causing her head to throb.

"Kill her!" Dainan ordered. A group of his men charged towards her on the horses. Balak had her meet them head on. Mari watched herself break the horses' legs. The men fell off the horses as they collapsed. Faster than Mari could blink, she was tearing through their protective clothing, hurling them into walls, and seeing them go limp under her stained hands.

Apep watched with an approving eye. "Should we kill the king? Cut off the head and watch them flail about?"

Rekema chuckled as Mari was stood up. Rekema shook her head. "Not yet, but I promise once we're done here, you'll get your fill."

"What if we kill him?" Bidkar pointed to the man on Dainan's right.

Rekema nodded her approval, and Balak let go of Mari. She pitched forward, unable to stand on her own. Her chest tightened; Mari could hardly breathe. Bidkar took over and pulled her back to her feet. Her mind hazed over once more. Bidkar sent Mari hurtling towards the center of the men. She blew through them, grabbed the man beside Dainan, and pulled him to the ground.

"Stop her! Do something!" Dainan shouted, as he was pulled away by his men. Had Mari been in control, his voice would have made her stop. It struck her chest, causing her to wonder if it were possible for words to physically hurt her.

"Get the king away from her!"

Mari pinned the man to the ground, and Bidkar had her plunge her hand into his chest. His expression tore at her heart just as much as Dainan's words did. She forced herself to close her eyes and waited for Bidkar to finish, trying desperately to ignore, to forget what Bidkar was doing to the man. If she had control of her hands, she would have shredded her ears to pieces to get the sound of his scream out of her head.

She felt him go still beneath her, and Bidkar cackled behind her, ecstatic beyond belief. Dainan's voice hit her ears, strained and hoarse. It was so distant to her. Her mind so far gone. She had the fleeting thought he had been screaming too. Dainan gestured to his men. "Fall back! Get to the castle!"

Mari opened her eyes and saw him leading his men toward a huge, complex gray building. Mari assumed that was the castle. She watched them go, their horses moving faster than Mari thought possible.

The Seven approached Mari. Bidkar loosened her control. Mari crawled for a moment, scraping her hands and knees before retching onto the ground. Muraad patted her good shoulder. "We did good."

The twins laughed, dancing around the rest of them. Bidkar tightened her control, forcing Mari back onto her feet. Rekema sauntered up beside them. "Oh this is very good. The city might as well be ours. That castle can't stop us."

"May I?" Apep asked, facing Rekema, "I can practically smell their panic. It's killing me."

"Of course." Rekema turned to Bidkar, her face said everything. Bidkar let go, and Mari swayed. A second later, Apep controlled her.

Apep spoke in a language Mari did not know. Her own voice joined with Apep's. Mari was kneeling, arms out, with a strange sickly green light enveloping her. A wave of strange, foreign emotions engulfed Mari, going through her to Apep. She didn't know what to call any of them, but they made Mari feel absolutely wretched. She wanted to run for as long as her feet could carry her, to throw up until she had nothing left in her stomach, to curl up into a ball, and to cry until there were no tears left to shed.

Mari couldn't move, but she felt drops of water roll down her cheeks, clearing away the grime on her face. She continued to chant with Apep, but her voice shook. It was too much. She felt too much. It was as if all the feelings from the humans in the city were in her. She couldn't stand it. How could anyone handle it? These feelings? Mari wished she would never feel again. Not if emotions could do this, not if they hurt like this.

To Mari, it seemed like she was in this state for an eternity, but Apep had to stop eventually.

Mari was vaguely aware of Apep's voice halting. Apep let go, and Mari fell onto her face. She only had just enough strength to curl into herself. Her chest burned, and she took great gulps of air, shaking. She forced one hand under her, pushing up. In the distance, far up and far away, Dainan looked down at her. Mari didn't know the name of the emotion, but it reminded her of shock and what Apep had just made her feel. Was there even a name for emotions so terrible?

"Come on, Mari." Rekema took over, dragging Mari up by her shoulders with a few hand motions. "We still have work to do."

Mari watched Dainan and his men head inside the castle, unable to generate a single thought, everything in her was so heavy.