Pan dodged the first boulders. The next volley she caught with boulders of her own. Pieces flew from the collision and crashed into powder.

Pan had warned Alban that Era could heal fast. The Soffigen’s speed of healing, even under threat from multiple wounds, dwarfed the speed of most healers. That’s why Alban suggested Pan smush her. It was hard to heal from such a state.

So, Pan found herself in a quarry, imagining Alban’s voice: Have you tried pummeling her with rocks?

Pan almost laughed. She dodged through a portal and came out. She crouched somewhere in the quarry field.

Of course, Pan didn’t have to kill Era. She had a small sample of suppressant. She didn’t want Era to know she had it. Wouldn’t that be fine if Pan had the suppressant turned on herself?

“You are so cowardly.” Era called across the rocks. “Is this how you killed the old reaper? By hiding?”

Pan waited and waited.

“I will find you!” Era’s footsteps came closer.

Pan swirled the nearby rocks into a little shelter. She wondered how it would appear to Era.

“I can do this. I can do this,” Era repeated to herself. She stood close enough for Pan to hear the low words. Era’s steps and words stopped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Heat burst through a crack in one side of Pan’s shelter, but the fire didn’t reach Pan. A roar came from above, and Pan felt the heat. It bore down on the ceiling she’d made herself.

I built a kiln. Pan laughed silently.

She pushed the pile of rocks outward. They flew off Pan, and a little fire got through. It singed Pan’s sleeve, and sparks brushed her hair.

But, Era took a pile of rocks to the face and stomach – hot rocks. With so little time to scream, Era made a sound like ‘oof.’ Era ripped the rocks from Pan’s control. Her face twisted with anger; she sent the rocks to Pan.

“So mad,” Pan said. She drew a portal, caught the rocks, and let them out behind Era.

Era took a pile of rocks to the back. She went down under her own offensive efforts and hit her head hard.

Pan winced. She felt squeamish about killing Era. Pan backed away but scooped up more rocks. She swirled them around herself in a storm. If Alban, Aria, and Sotir could see Pan now, they might scream “finish her” or “trap her”. But, Pan just couldn’t decide what to do: injure, kill, or suppress? So, Pan toyed with Era.

“Good,” Brynn called from the sidelines. She nodded. “Wear her down a bit. Remember she’s a small opponent, save your energy for bigger.”

“She’s a small opponent?” Pan called. “You think I can end her that easy.”

Brynn tilted her head and smiled. “No. Let me rephrase that. She’s bait.”

Before Pan could answer, Era got to her feet.

Era yanked on Pan’s rocks. She got every single one. The rocks fled to Era’s side and swirled.

Brynn laughed. “You two – fighting over the same rocks. Just get more. They’re everywhere!” Brynn threw her arms wide.

Pan glared. Era sent the rocks back to Pan, but Pan drew a portal and ducked. She slipped inside and out of sight.

Pan rested a moment, wishing Brynn away from the fight. She looked out over the quarry. She’d brought herself to a rise. So high up, she could see the entire valley. A rock hurtled through the air. It groaned and searched for Pan.

In the quiet, Pan hugged her knees and waited. She had to fight Era, a girl similar to herself, because Pan had killed Brynn.

I earned this. I killed the one person like me, and now that there’s another, I have to do it again. Then, the Scaldin will welcome me back and all will be fine.

But, people served decades for murder. Pan was getting off easy. It didn’t seem fair.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Pan whispered.

Brynn joined Pan on the rise. She sidled into Pan’s peripheral vision, glittering a touch in the sun. “Oh, you can. You think this is bad. Just wait.”

Pan turned. “Do you ever think about how I killed you?”

Brynn’s eyes narrowed. She seemed confused. “No, of course not.”

“I…” Pan looked up to find Brynn gone.

She tried to bring her mind back to the fight, but she couldn’t help wondering if Era should be allowed to kill her and complete the circle. It was fair. It was simple, but then, who would kill Era? Who would provide the appropriate punishment? It’d go on forever. Pan would prefer they could both make it out.

Meanwhile, the rock soared against a backdrop of sky. It searched for Pan. Atop the large boulder, rode Era. Pan needed to practice moving an item and riding it. She still struggled to keep it level and smooth.

Pan ducked into a crevice. Inside, she debated the merits of moving to another location.

“Pan,” Sotir’s voice piped into her ear.

Pan didn’t answer. She just listened.

“Come to my shuttle.”

She shrugged. Why not? Alban went to all that trouble to get her the pictures, and she didn’t want them to go to waste. Maybe, she would try a place with less stuff for she and Era to hurl at each other. Pan flipped through her laminated pages and struggled to find the right shuttle. The rock headed her way. Pan scrambled and kept her images concealed between her knees and her breast. She heard the whistle of wind from the approaching boulder. Then, she found the right picture and drew a portal beneath her.

Pan landed on the shuttle floor. Pictures flopped through the air, as she dropped them to catch herself. She gathered the papers and made sure all seven were present. Then, she sighed and took a moment to sit.

Sotir knelt by her.

Pan finally looked over. She saw her friend, the pilot and a couple of navy guys. They all stared.

“Hi,” she said.

“You look like shit. It’s barely been ten minutes,” an officer said.

Pan got up and dusted herself off. “Are you allowed to swear?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She looked at her options. She could reach the beach easily. Maybe, she could reach the snowscape, if the shuttle traveled close enough during its circular course.

“Where are you going?” Sotir asked.

“Don’t you know?”

Sotir spoke low, “You know I don’t. Pan, it’s not that unusual for a battle to get foggy, but I can’t see you at all. I only see the other elements. Me, Aria, Irini… I want to do a read around those elements. Are you doing alright without me?” Sotir touched her arm.

“I’m doing fine.” Pan’s heart beat fast. “You’re going to tell me what the results are when you’re done with your read, right?”

Sotir narrowed his eyes. “Of course.”

“That’s good. At least one of you is forthright,” Pan mumbled.

“What was that?” Sotir leaned close.

“The beach,” Pan said. “I’m going to the beach. I better leave before she travels along her tracking band.”

Now came the tricky part. She could wait for Era or send Era there herself. Pan thought she would try moving Era, just to get the hang of it. She needed to do it without taking Era aboard.

“Hold the shuttle still,” Pan ordered. She ran to a window and stared hard at a distant point in the sky. Pan glanced between sky and pictures. With her eyes, she drew two portals: one from the quarry to the air, and another directly below it from the air to the beach. She left only a sliver of space between the portals.

Pan waited and hoped Era would hop through willingly. She doubted the angry Soffigen would just stay at the quarry alone. Pan stared hard and watched the space between her portals.

I might have to make the portal big enough to grab Era. Oh boy. Then, all the rocks will fall through.

A dark shadow streamed between the portals, and Pan sighed.

Had to be Era.

Pan let the portals pop out of existence. She organized her pictures, tucked them away, and took herself to the beach.

Sand grabbed at Pan’s small boots. She hated that Era arrived before her, but she felt confident she could move Era if she needed to. This time, Pan picked the battleground, but Era got to make the first move.

Era strolled along the water’s edge. Her face twisted with anger, and Pan startled to see such strong emotion on a face that wasn’t her own.

Pan tried to grab a hunk of water. She succeeded only in making a messy splash onto the sand, drenching herself and sprinkling Era in the process.

Era laughed and showed Pan how it should be done. Water jiggled into Era’s telekinetic grasp. It sloshed as if held by an invisible bowl. “I can’t believe that you’ve been telekinetic for years longer than me, and I have this figured out before you?”

Pan didn’t want to find herself in a wave, so with her own telekinesis, she formed the sand into a castle around Era. To be more precise, Pan just covered Era in sand, from her feet to her neck. The water drizzled onto the sand and made the process easier.

Era started to laugh. She laughed so hard, the sand almost covered her face, but Era brought the water down and washed Pan’s malformed sand castle away. Era shook out her locks.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“A fun day at the beach.” Era grinned. She sent the pile of water crashing towards Pan.

It loomed like a wave and created a shadow.

Pan crouched beneath a portal, curving it to protect her head and feet. She’d made herself an umbrella, one that redirected water from her location to a spot three feet away. Water gushed through her portal and hit the sand hard. Pan cowered in the splash zone and got very wet.

Sharks. Got to get me some sharks.

But, all she saw were a few bottom dwellers and a lot of seaweed.

Pan left them where they lay and reached for the water. She failed to grab more than a few droplets and prayed Era would do the work for her, maybe enough to reveal that shark Pan wanted so bad.

Era did scoop up more water, and Pan looked close to see if anything swam inside. Things did. As the water sloshed, Pan grabbed jellies and fish and seaweed. She pulled them free and threw them all on Era.

Era staggered under the weight of the fish and just dropped her water. It swept both Pan and Era off their feet, a veritable tidal wave. Pan landed in a pile of seaweed. She swirled it into the air, and kneeling, plastered the seaweed to Era’s exposed body parts. She made a mummy of Era or an overly indulged spa guest.

Pan checked her pictures, thankful for the lamination. She wiped droplets from a shuttle image and left Era behind.

Irini sat in her own little shuttle. In the corner, she had pictures taped to the wall, seven of them. She arranged them in a pattern: landscape, shuttle interior, landscape, and so on. Pan could use one shuttle to get to two locations. Irini studied the photos. She’d put a little sticker on her own location – a smiling feline. She put another sticker where Aria and Alban hid – two stern potatoes. She put yet a third on Sotir’s vessel – a sighing flower.

Irini felt jitters. They originated near her heart and extended to the ends of all her limbs.

Where should Pan go next to win? That was the main question.

The golden thread snapped to the snow. It danced over the picture, spilling its golden fibers from edge to edge. Another thread extended off in the real direction, where Irini could find snow.

Cool, so the snow is where Pan should head next. Now, where is Pan?

Irini watched her golden threads. At first, they stayed steady and calm. One pointed at the quarry picture, and another at the quarry itself, somewhere off the back of the ship. Then, the threads shifted. First to a shuttle. Second to the beach. That made sense. Pan moved down the row of pictures, taking the easiest paths.

Irini would have reported Pan’s location, but she heard someone else do it over the com.

A crash sounded behind Irini. She jumped and saw Pan get up from the floor. She’d knocked over some cannisters. One of the officers offered her a hand, but Pan batted it aside.

“Why are these here? What are they?” Pan pointed at the cans.

“Food,” the officer answered.

“How long do you think this will take me?”

Over her shoulder, Irini cried, “Pan! I’m glad you showed up. I think I know where you should go next?”

Pan squeezed out her shirt. Water dripped to the floor. “Where?”

“The snowy island.”

“Really?” She waved a hand up and down her person. “I’m sopping wet. I’ll freeze...but so will Era. But, she can shape ice.” Pan knit her brow. “Are you sure about this?”

Irini felt her confidence waver. “Yes…doesn’t Sotir agree?”

“He’s doing a complicated reading and taking himself out of the fight for the moment. Bad things are ahead for me.”

Irini frowned. “Well, I asked my thread where you should go next. The thread points to the snowy island.” Irini hoped that Pan would take her word. She trusted the golden thread, and she wanted Pan to trust her.

“Alright. I’ll move Era first. Might as well let her get cold.”

One of the officers reported to Alban on Pan’s next location.

Pan looked out the window and drew a couple of portals. Irini ran to the window, but all she really saw were two suspicious looking discs. Pan had drawn them on edge with a tiny gap between the two. The portals disappeared in an instant.

“I made them big this time to surprise her. She dropped right through, along with some of the beach, but that can’t be helped.”

Irini watched Pan, eager to see the next portal. She knew she’d have a better view of this one.

Pan crossed her arms and sighed. She looked down and just waited.

“Uh...what are you doing?” Irini asked.

Pan glanced up. “I’m wishing I’d dry. And, I’m letting Era freeze, remember?”

“Oh. Hey, we could dry you off before you go.” Irini ran to the shuttle’s small bathroom. She grabbed a hair dryer and returned. She flipped the switch and aimed it at Pan.

“That’s nice. How long do you think it’ll take?” Pan asked.

“Oh…” Irini cast her eyes down. “Probably a while.” She let the hair dryer droop. She thought it was clever.

“Don’t stop. I’ll take what I can get.” Pan put a hand on Irini’s arm and raised the dryer again.

Irini gave Pan a good dry, and the men in the shuttle laughed. In quiet tones, they informed Alban that Pan was getting drier. Pan just frowned at them. Irini grinned.

Pan waved the dryer off. “Okay, Era’s probably cold enough. I don’t want her to get bored and come find me.”

“Do you think you can beat her?” Irini asked.

“I think she dodges everything, and so many of these places leave me nothing with which to kill her. Maybe, next time I try the beach I can find that shark.”

Irini stiffened. “Aren’t you going to suppress her?”

Pan rubbed her forehead. “Right sorry. I meant injure. I’m just supposed to injure her.” Pan glanced at the snowy island’s picture, traced her portal, and hopped through.

Irini hardly got to look.

Pan stepped into a frigid wasteland. She sighed and looked for the colors of Era’s skin and hair. Era should stand out against the snow, awash in the colors of water lilies on the lake. Pan did a turn and saw a far-off fire. At the center, stood an angry looking Era. All around, fish and bits of sand marred the snow.

“Wow, that’s hilarious.” Pan didn’t smile. If she weren’t already tired, she might have tried.

Era had opted for setting herself aflame, or at least, setting a flame around herself.

Pan liked the look of that fire. She traced a portal beneath some of the flames. With a thud, they landed at Pan’s side and crackled a few moments before they fizzled in the snow.

A flaming Era approached Pan.

Brynn’s voice whispered in Pan’s ear, “Do you remember when you were young and first came to the arcanes? Come winter time, you were obsessed with this picture book of a man of snow. You copied images from it.”

“I’m trying to fight you know.” Pan watched Era.

“I know,” Brynn said.

Pan rolled her eyes.

Era seemed to walk so slow.

The conversation with Brynn continued, “I kind of liked you then.”

Pan remembered the book. Yes, she liked to copy the shading on the snowman, but Brynn misremembered. It wasn’t the man she copied most. It was the cake and the treats in the windows that the snowman couldn’t reach.

Pan said, “I still have...well, Aria has that book. It was the cake I liked more.”

“The cake? Really? I didn’t realize there was cake in that book.”

Pan nodded. “There was cake.”

“Was it noble?”

Pan bristled. She remembered that day that she dropped the cake. It was before any of the reaper stuff happened. Brynn hadn’t been present, just Chara.

Brynn said, “I’m sorry, Pan. I think you’ll only find snowmen here. No cake.” Brynn disappeared.

Pan tried to pull the snow into a telekinetic grip. She made a tall, elegant swirl and felt a crumb of accomplishment.

Era grinned, but not at Pan’s snow sculpture. Era made men of snow. They rose from the ground and formed into picturesque sculptures, one ball of snow atop another, molded smooth. They flexed their thick arms. They lacked eyes and mouths. Pan wondered how afraid she should be of snowmen. If Brynn felt the need to warn her, she should take them seriously. She also wondered if she could duplicate the feat with her own telekinesis.

Pan reached for the snow. It flurried in her telekinetic grasp and formed into a tiny snowman.

Yes! Pan almost jumped for joy.

Era’s snowmen slid close. They towered over Pan’s little man. One threw a punch at Pan. She ducked. Another tried to grab her, but she slipped through his arms. A third hugged her tight.

Meanwhile, Pan’s tiny man of snow obeyed her like a puppet. It punched the bigger men where their privates should be.

Pan laughed. She heard the sentiment echoed in Era. It caused a pause in the battle. Then, Era’s snowman gripped Pan tighter.

Pan gasped. “Oh, that’s cold.”

She tried to get out of the man’s grasp and found the snow much harder than she thought it should be.

I am a mediocre telekinetic.

Pan swatted at the snowman’s arm. She pushed it away, but Era’s telekinesis aided its hug. Pan tried to levitate another but only flung it a few feet. It came slithering back.

She’d abandoned her puppet of snow. He lay in a smooshed pile, a life cut much too short.

Pan murmured her frustration and pulled at snow. She built two domes and trapped a couple of Era’s men, but Era took the snow and rolled it into her warriors. They just grew bigger.

Pan thought she might try her hand at a different snow creature.

Era’s giant snowmen approached and put their hands over Pan’s face. The snow began to melt, and Pan realized the danger. The snowmen might not be able to pummel her, but they could smother her.

Era put a hand on her chest. “I used to build with the snow all the time. Who knew it’d lead to my victory.”

Pan shook her head back and forth but snow and water remained inescapable. She prepared a time message, aiming for a moment just before a snowman got a hold of her. But, then, she had a better idea.

Pan looked skyward through the gaps in the snowman’s arms. She drew a portal and fell, along with the men.

To start, Pan didn’t slow herself. She just fell. The men fell away and let Pan go. They became limp, too far to be animated by Era below. Pan let them drop, but she slowed her own descent. The cold bit her skin, and she was glad to lessen the wind. She looked at her hands and thought her skin cracked before her eyes.

Pan landed lightly and ducked behind a drift. Era, of course, knew where Pan was, but she didn’t know what Pan had.

A beach rock rested nearby. Pan patted snow around it.

We fight like boys of a bygone era at recess.

Fire greeted Pan as it came up and over the drift. Pan just sent it elsewhere with a well-placed portal, somewhere nearby where it could keep Pan warm. She smiled at the heat. She peeked around the drift and telekinetically lobbed her deceptive snowball at Era.

Era shouted. A direct hit.

“You bitch…” Era never finished the statement. Her fire died, and the land went quiet.

Pan leaned back against the drift and looked for more things to put in snowballs. She needed to attack Era spectacularly, and she thought she might make it fun.

But, Era didn’t give her the time.

Ahead of Pan, out among the debris of the beach, a new being of snow came to life. The beast looked like a giant serpent. It opened wide and poured itself at Pan, burying her under an avalanche.

Pan curled and held her breath. After the sound of rushing snow, all sound stopped. Pan struggled to find her pictures. She dug herself a little space and pulled an image to her eyes: the canyon.

Warmth flooded Pan’s limbs. She laid on the canyon floor and spread out. The breeze blew, just a little chill.

Pan felt so relieved to be even that warm. She stashed the picture against her breast and sat up.

Why would Irini send her into the snow? She wanted to give Irini a stern talking to. Actually, she wanted to yell at the girl, but she forced herself to calm down. Irini was right the first time. Irini was probably right this time, but she’d asked a vague question. Maybe, the thread just told Irini Pan’s next choice. Pan had to go to the snow to get somewhere new.

No, no. I’m supposed to be able to get to many locations without a shuttle.

Maybe, Irini’s thread sent Pan to the snow, so that Brynn would feel prompted to talk about the snowmen and the book…and to say that she’d once liked Pan.

Oh no, what if that’s it? Pan needed Brynn’s approval and affection. By a certain definition, that need could qualify as a reason to travel to one of the places in her pictures.

Pan sighed and put her head in her hands. “This is so stupid. Why did we fight?”

“Why not?” Brynn’s shadow fell over Pan.

Pan looked up slowly. “It was really pointless, and it’s pointless now.”

“If you say so.” Brynn glowed a little. She seemed more distant than before.

Pan asked, “Why won’t you just tell me what you want?”

Brynn’s skirt fluttered. She looked normal, except for the touch of light. It seemed to filter from somewhere around Brynn. “I can give you some clues now. What do you want to know?”

Pan felt her eyes widen. She perked up. “What did Irini want me to find? What did I need in the snow?”

Brynn smiled. “It’s the closest location to the lab.”

Pan frowned. “So?”

Brynn raised her hand. “Let me explain. Why do you think that arcanes don’t marry each other? It’s nothing to do with genetic defects.”

Pan narrowed her eyes. “How does this relate to Era?”

Brynn said, “Just answer the question.”

Pan blew out a long breath. “Arcanes don’t marry each other because Visitors are creepy, and arcanes are more Visitor, right?”

Brynn shook her head. “Not really. We’re all Visitor. The reason arcanes don’t marry each other is simple. The goal is to make as many arcanes as possible, to marry out. Just in case the visitors visit us again.” Brynn pointed skyward. “We don’t know when they’ll be back, and we don’t want them back.”

Pan stood up. “Why?”

“Because we agreed to an experiment before we really understood the terms.” Brynn shrugged. “Regret. That’s why we need as many arcanes as possible, so we don’t repeat the things we regret. We have to defend ourselves.”

Pan rubbed her temples. “Brynn. Your clues are terrible. Where are you leading me?”

Brynn said, “To freedom. Now, Irini’s thread is right. The snow is where you need to be next. It leads to phase two. I’ll visit you then, and when I do, I’ll need you to repeat what I say.”

Pan shivered. “I can do that, but why?”

“I promise it’s not pointless.” Brynn’s eyes flashed a hint of red light. “Now, get back to work.”

Pan felt a compulsion to use her portal. As if Brynn could treat her as a puppet. Pan looked up, ready to beg Brynn to stop, but Brynn had gone. So did the compulsion.

With a shaking hand, Pan pulled out her image of the snowy island. She looked, then tucked it away.

Pan raised her hand to draw the portal.

“Pan!” Sotir shouted over the com.

Pan jumped.

“You need to get on a shuttle right now. Don’t fight Era.”

So, Sotir saw something bad, just as Pan resolved to do Brynn’s bidding.

Not a good sign. What does Brynn expect will happen?

“What did you see?” Pan called.

“Your future is completely blank, and I don’t see well around it. I’ve let Alban know. You need to come aboard.”

Pan’s heart sped up. She’d have no help from Sotir. The last time he couldn’t see her, she became a reaper – a real reaper. It was hard. It wasn’t all good, but she’d gained a lightyear of freedom. Pan possessed a sudden, strong trust in Brynn.

“I have to get Era,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s a smart idea. You have to escape.”

No, I have to stay. To get…freedom.

“I’m going to come for you,” Sotir said.

“No, don’t.” Pan drew the portal and headed back to the snow.