Emelri stared in horror at the flaming wreckage.

The sky was clear and sunny, save for a distant swash of emerald disappearing behind white clouds. The three of them stood frozen on the spot as the portal closed behind them and the lights around the arch went out.

“What the hell happened?” Adrian whispered.

“Toulou,” Pepin answered, expression hardening. “I can still feel their magic.”

“We shouldn’t stay here,” Emelri said quickly, leading them to the docks. “There could be Spillers around and—Ziluria.” She halted in her tracks.

Red garbed corpses littered the ocean, floating lifelessly. Many had odd, forked wounds running across faces and exposed limbs. The water was stained crimson.

Pepin came up beside her, a hand over his mouth. “Shit.”

“We need to stop them before this escalates any further,” Adrian said, walking ahead of them with purpose across the wet wood; a scowl sitting placidly on his face.

The two teenagers made eye contact for a moment, then pressed after him.

The docks moved unsteadily beneath their feet as they maneuvered past bodies strewn about the path. When they reached the shoreline, things weren’t much better. The corpses here were marred, displaying open wounds and more scorch marks.

“They’re all Spillers,” Adrian said, kicking aside a severed arm with a black fox insignia branded onto the top of the hand.

Emelri nodded. “This must have turned into a Spiller stronghold sometime between now and when I was here last.” A torn red flag billowed on a nearby tower; the same black fox painted in the center of it. “I’ve heard it happen to other towns before. Spillers showing up and taking over. When the portal opened five years ago, Spillers must have made Yundet a priority—” Her words cut off as they came up a small hill to a burning battlement where piles of flaming corpses waited for them. She covered her nose, blinking with eyes that burned. “Fuck, that smells awful.”

“Burning flesh,” Adrian muttered, nose scrunched up in disgust.

Pepin looked around, a similar expression on his face. “How could they do this? Toulou always killed without mercy, but that was when they found me or themself in danger. This though? It’s a massacre.” He winced, and Emelri caught sight of the mangled corpse he’d glanced at. The neck was only half severed, the mutilated head dangling over the shoulder, and she too, had to look away.

“I don’t know how but we need to shake them out of this.” Adrian continued up the path as he spoke. “There must be some way we can make them see sense.”

Pepin kept his eyes down, not answering.

“We have to find them first,” Emelri said, able to breathe a little better now as they neared the edge of town where the smell was less nauseating. “I have an idea where they’re headed next.”

“You do?” Adrian slowed down, allowing her to take the lead. “You know this place better than either of us. Where do you suspect they’re headed?”

Emelri opened her mouth to reply when something ahead made her stop in her tracks.

Is that…?

A flurry of emotions washed over her. Leaving the others in a hurry, she went off the path, her feet carrying her the rest of the way.

“Emi! Where are you going?”

She halted, breathing heavily in front of a half-destroyed building; the roof was completely gone save for a small, blackened corner. All remaining walls were charred as well.

Her father was quickly by her side. “Are you alright? What’s going on?”

“My house,” she said softly, then stepped forward through the doorless archway.

Everything from the ruined kitchen to her little bedroom that showed through the torn-down wall was all too familiar, and yet she was so entirely estranged to it.

She tripped on something and looked down. Familiar black glass shoes a size too big for her sat on a torn-up straw mat. The sight made her blood run cold. Her breaths rapidly came and went as panic rose into her throat. Turning away, she made her way to the room at the very back of the house.

She glanced over her destroyed sleeping mat, then stooped down beside it, finding the little loose floorboard nearby. To her surprise, the contents beneath were still intact: A small, silver-handled sword resting in a leather sheath.

“This was your room?” Adrian asked, and she looked over to see him standing beside Pepin in the no longer existent doorway.

“My mother never wanted me to take up fighting, so I had to hide my weapons.”

“Why was she opposed to it?” Pepin asked as she strapped the sword around her waist.

“My father was a weapons specialist, and a blacksmith who created and wielded all kinds of weaponry and devices. She hated for him to have his own hobbies if those hobbies did not directly benefit or interest her in some way, so I was not allowed to pursue them either.”

“That… makes no sense.”

She shrugged. “I try not to rationalize anything she did or said, honestly. It never had a rhyme or reason other than her being able to have all the control. Everything about her from her personality to her reasons for doing anything could shift on a whim depending on whatever it was she needed in the moment. Anyway.” She cinched the leather belt securely and stepped over the wreckage, squeezing past them. “We should get going if we want to find Toulou.”

Once outside, it didn’t take long for Adrian to catch up to her. “Emi, I’m so sorry about your house and—”

“Don’t be.” She surprised herself with how calm she sounded. “I had always meant to leave this place. I’m much happier now, with you and Jacques.” She looked over at him, and her expression softened. “You have no idea just how much happier.”

He rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, and it took everything to hold back the tears. “We’re always here to support you, Emi. We’re your family, remember?”

“We’re here for you,” Pepin chimed in. “No matter what.”

Something inside her melted a little. “Thanks, Adrian. Pep. That… means a lot.”

“’Course,” he replied, and Pepin nodded in agreement. “Now then. Where do we go from here? Toulou could be anywhere.” They stopped at the top of the hill, around the same spot where Emelri had first noticed her village was on fire all those years ago.

“Luckily,” she said, some confidence returning as she adjusted the large pack on her back and began walking, “the towns on the island of Quixotryl all stem northward from Yundet with no other destinations to the east or west. They could have only gone north. The next town is Tomptif. I doubt that’s their final destination though.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Someone like Carnadine would likely be in one of the large Spiller strongholds on the main island, not a puny Alchemist town like Tomptif, and probably not a Venwi town.”

“There are big differences between these towns?”

“Oh yes. It’s all quite complicated, trying to establish any kind of alliance between the three communities.”

“Three?” Pepin repeated.

“Spillers, Alchemists, and Venwi Folk.”

“None of them intermingle?”

“Well, the Spillers hate the Alchemists and vice versa, but the Venwi Folk... they can either hate or support one or both. It’s dangerous for Venwi Folk to openly support Alchemists since that paints a target on their backs for Spillers, but it’s also dangerous to openly support Spillers as magic users don’t take kindly to it. There is a lot of suspicion between all of them. Every town we encounter is owned by one of the three. You’ll see a flag hanging in each if you’re ever confused whose territory we’re in.”

“The Venwi Folk,” Pepin began, “their ancestors came from the old world with Hans Fox but were trapped on the Yayma side of the portal during the Great Crossing, right?”

“That’s right, and while Hans Fox and his people waged war against the Alchemists, not all of his followers were too happy about it. Venwi Folk are a tossup really. They can be helpful or dangerous and it’s often difficult to tell which.”

“The Spiller flag is the red one with the black fox on it?” Adrian asked.

She nodded. “And the Alchemist flag is green with a white lightning bolt inside a circle, much like the insignia you find on any Alchemist tech, and the Venwi flag is blue with a golden rooster.”

“Will it be safe to enter any of these towns?”

“Everything except the Spiller strongholds are generally safe, though I’ll need to cover my hair if we go through any Venwi towns, so we don’t attract attention. There aren’t any for a while though. We’ll be traveling through only Alchemist territory for now. If luck is with us, we’ll find Toulou soon and not even have to worry about entering the other two town types.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Pepin exhaled. “Let’s hope so. We only have two weeks to get back to the portal, and let’s face it, my Venwi isn’t very helpful if we needed to ask around.”

“We’ll be okay, Pep,” Adrian reassured. “They can’t have gone far, and if it comes down to that, we know enough between the three of us to get by.”

“You mean I do,” Emelri corrected.

“That’s not entirely true. I’ve studied it a bit, as has Pep.”

“Well, sort of.” The magic user rubbed the back of his arm as he spoke. “Emi has taught me a few phrases is all.”

“Well then, let’s practice while we walk. Might as well use our time efficiently.”

“Alright,” she mused, feeling a bit lighter as they left the smoking ruins behind them. “I’ll make sure you two don’t say anything odd.”

Adrian exhaled quickly. “I appreciate that.”

❀❀❀

“This is Tomptif?” Adrian asked, voice raising in concern.

Emelri’s heart sank as she looked over the beachside ghost town of only twelve or so humble little buildings, the sun nearly setting on them. “Looks like they couldn’t survive out here with Yundet under Spiller control. They must’ve had to abandon it and move north.” Her hand came into contact with a small, palm thatched building. “I used to walk up here with my friend Lula sometimes to get away from things when my mother was being too much. It was such a lively little village.”

“We should press onto the next town then?” Pepin uttered quickly, his eyes darting over to the sinking sun for the third time in the last five minutes.

“The next town is a three-hour journey. S’probably better to stay here, and camp for the night.”

“What? No, we have to keep going.”

“We’ve been walking all day, Pep,” Adrian said calmly, examining a cleared-out barn. “I agree we should rest.”

“But Toulou has clearly been through here and pressed on. We should go after them—”

“It’ll be alright. We’ll be sharper and readier than ever to face them in the morning.”

“Plus,” Emelri added, pointing to the abandoned building, “free shelter.”

He sighed. “Fine, but we’re leaving as early as possible tomorrow.”

❀❀❀

The group of three were swallowed in darkness save for the orange glow from the fire pit. The back door was gone, so a slight breeze whistled inside the shelter but other than that, it was rather cozy as they all sat around eating the last of their rations.

“So, in seven days, we’ll make the trip back to Yundet,” Emelri clarified as she nibbled on the grilled lamb of her kebab, “to meet up with Jacques if we don’t find Toulou in time?”

Adrian hummed in agreement, taking a moment to swallow before saying, “We’ll need to plan our time wisely. Hopefully, we’ll reach Toulou soon, so this won’t be a major issue.”

“How are we going to bring Toulou back once we reach them?” Pepin finally spoke, having been quietly eating from his end the last half hour.

“We’ll talk to them,” Adrian said carefully. “If that doesn’t work, well, we’ll need to be a bit more assertive.”

“Assertive?” Pepin finished the last grilled onion slice on his stick and cast it aside. “You saw what they did to Yundet. If things get violent, none of us stand a chance.”

“That’s not true.”

“Pep,” Emelri chimed in, “the reason those Spillers went down so easily is because they don’t have Teptrite here, but we have something they don’t that would give us a fighting chance.”

“We have Teptrite?” he exclaimed, eyes widening.

She blinked. “Uh, no. We have you, Pep.”

His face fell and he exhaled. “Oh. You’re referring to what Jacques said earlier? Emi, he was just saying that to make me feel better. I can’t actually take Toulou on by myself.”

“Pep, Jacques never says anything in vain unless it’s about himself,” she snapped. “He’s not the type to give false flattery.”

Adrian gave a small snort. “That is true.”

“You’re perfectly capable.”

“But why does it have to hinge on me? I’m supposed to talk sense into them and battle them and win? And what if I fail? They’re completely out of their mind right now, willing to murder anyone and anything that gets in the way of their goal. I know better than any of you what they’re like when they’re like this. They dragged me across Venwick when we were just kids as we did nothing but hunt down Carnadine. Nothing is stopping them and certainly not me.”

“I have to disagree,” Adrian began softly. “They calmed down the moment you confronted them at the portal. Yes, things escalated after that, but for that moment, they had returned to some sense. You’re the only thing that’s grounding for them right now. If things do turn aggressive, you know they won’t land any kind of fatal blow on you that you can’t recover from. They care about you too much. On top of that, Jacques is right. You possess more power than you think. He’s seen it and so have I. We all have.” Pepin swallowed, looking down at his hands. “Besides all that, Emi and I are here with you. Toulou doesn’t have anyone to rely on right now and that leaves them at a disadvantage. There’s no reason to give up yet. We can still bring them back home.”

“Thanks... Adrian,” he finally said. “I don’t fully believe your words, but I do appreciate them.”

He wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Hey. We’re all going to get through this.”

Pepin gave a small nod in response, and nothing more was said. Only the sound of chewing could be heard now as Adrian and Emelri finished eating, all three gazing distractedly into the flames in silence.

A hand went to Pepin’s forehead as he wiped at the sweat there. “It’s so humid here.”

She tried not to stare too much when he pushed damp curls out of the way, revealing his perspiring neck and jawline. “It takes some getting used to. It’s nice not to feel so dry though.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Adrian cut in, shifting long blond hair over his shoulder, “but I think I prefer Venwick’s hot and dry weather to this.”

“Ha. It’s not that ba—” Her words were cut short when, through the open doorway, she spotted dark shapes moving across the beach.

“Emi, what is it—”

“Shhh!” She stood, and walked over to the doorway, motioning them over. “Look.”

When the two men had tiptoed to her side, she pointed ahead. A herd of barebacked animals trotted over the sand, a white stallion leading them.

“Horses?” Pepin whispered in her ear, and she shivered at how close he was.

“How are there horses here?” Adrian whispered on her other side. “I don’t remember reading about them in the Alchemist journals or seeing them on any murals. Are they a part of Alchemist culture?”

She shook her head. “During the Great Crossing, dozens of them were trapped on the Yayma side of the portal, brought here by Hans Fox and his followers. It’s difficult to transport them between islands plus donkeys are cheaper to feed and easier to house anyway, so most of the horses they brought became wild. They’re not very scared of humans though. They’ll come to you on occasion. You want me to try it?”

Both men nodded enthusiastically.

Grinning, she made her way out of the building but not before snatching a pear from her bag. Holding it out, she clucked and kissed at the herd. Most of them ignored her and continued after the head horse, but a few caught sight of the fruit and changed their course.

“Okay, you two stay very, very still. Don’t say a word.” They stood quietly behind her.

After several seconds, a horse with a blue roan coat and black mane and tail trotted up, slowing to a walk to approach them. Sniffing and tossing her mane for a second, the mare finally took the fruit. Two other horses came up behind her and pushed forward, searching Emelri’s now empty, sticky hand.

She released a soft giggle as their velvety lips brushed over her fingers. “Hello,” she said quietly, reaching out with her other hand to stroke the roan-colored one’s neck. “They’re not in the least bit afraid of us. The people of Tomptif must have made them used to accepting treats and pats. You want to try, Pep? Adrian?”

Pepin stepped forward without hesitation, joining Emelri by her side. He lifted a hand and traced it over the horse’s neck. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.

Looking over at the soft smile and gentle features, she asked, “Are you going to name her?”

His eyes traced over the blue-ish gray coat with white speckles on it. “Lumi.”

“Lumi? That’s a good name.”

“Maybe we can bring her along,” Adrian’s voice sounded, and they both turned to see him bringing over some rope that’d been tied into a makeshift bridle. “Could save us some time.” The horse was hesitant but allowed the bridle to be slipped over her face. “There, there, Lumi,” he cooed.

“Er, I don’t know how to ride, Adrian,” Emelri said nervously, “and besides, we can’t all fit on one horse.”

“No, but two should suffice. You and Pepin don’t weigh very much. This palomino seems well mannered.” He brought more rope from his shoulder bag after giving Lumi’s reins over to Pepin, walking up to one of the other horses with a golden coat and white mane and tail. “We can teach you how to ride, Emi. Pepin and I both have experience.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you should just teach me how to hold on to the back of one of you and I’ll try not to fly off.”

He chuckled, putting a simple loop over the horse’s neck and leading her over. “It’s not so bad.”

“What will we feed them? We just used the last of our rations tonight and horse feed costs money.”

“I suspect they don’t accept Nebrasian coins.”

“No, they do not. There’s a trader at Zmeyal that we can sell some of our things to. If you have any extra energy crystals, Pep, they take those for a hefty price.”

He nodded. “I have one I can spare.”

“Let’s hope Zmeyal isn’t also a ghost town,” she continued. “If Toulou isn’t there, we’ll have to cross the ocean to the main island.”

“How do you travel between islands?” Pepin asked, stroking Lumi’s neck in a slow, methodical pattern.

“We use canoes. We could also teleport.” He blinked at that. “Now that you know magic users can do it, do you think you could figure out how to make jumps like Jacques does?”

Uncertainty crossed his face as his hand froze over the grey withers. “I... don’t know. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I can teach you what I taught him,” Adrian chimed in, by now tying both horses to the gap between the window and open doorway of their shelter. “I brought all the journals and one of them happens to have the chapter on teleportation. What do you think?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. I would like to learn. We’d be at Toulou’s location by now if I knew how to teleport already. Can we train tonight?”

“Sure. The process is pretty straightforward. Performing it successfully will be difficult, especially since Jacques didn’t even teach you how to use superspeed, which is simply a slower version of the jumps.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Alright. Listen carefully.”

While Pepin trained, Emelri put away everything they’d used for dinner, and set up their humble beds for the night. When she was finished, she sat and watched Adrian work with the young man, though so far, progress was slow which was to be expected.

As her eyes lingered on the magic user, she couldn’t help but remember the feeling of her hand in his the night before. They still hadn’t talked about or even acknowledged the quiet, intimate moment. It almost felt like it never happened.

Did this mean her feelings for him were being reciprocated? She bit her lip. He’d been pretty upset the night before and with good reason. With emotions running high, she really shouldn’t suspect anything past him just needing comfort. That was why they were out here after all; to try and salvage this family issue.

“You’re doing well, Pep, don’t worry,” Adrian’s comforting voice distracted her from her thoughts. “You just need time and practice.”

“I’ll keep working on it.”

“Good. While you do, I’m going to work with the horses to make sure they’re safe to ride tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late training. It’ll be of no use if you are completely drained the next day. We’re leaving bright and early in the morning.”

He nodded.

“Remember to channel energy from the crystals and not your core. You’ll burn out quickly if you don’t.”

Another nod.

“Goodnight then.” They exchanged a cheek kiss and a hug before the blond walked over to the shelter. “Emi, you should get some sleep as well.”

She nodded, then stifled a yawn as she stood. “I’ll watch you tame the horses for a bit first.”

“Okay.” He patted her on the shoulder before untying Lumi from the post. “Goodnight.”

She came up and gave him her own peck on the cheek before sitting back down on an overturned bucket.

Adrian tossed the reins over the horse’s neck and hoisted himself onto her back. Lumi backed up unsurely as he took control. Giving her belly a squeeze with his ankles, she started forward giving a few frustrated kicks with her back legs before trotting off.

The process was awkward and looked exhausting, but after an hour or so, the mare was following his commands and directions well enough, and Emelri found herself growing sleepy watching them ride circles along the beach.

As she turned in, lying on the wool blanket, the last thing that crossed her consciousness before drifting off was her destroyed house in Yundet and the black glass shoes still sitting in the entrance on the front mat, clean compared to all the surrounding wreckage.