{-Beika-}
She was excited to see Serafina through the cracked door—at first. Then Serafina drew a dagger, and so did the others, and Beika didn’t know what she wanted to believe. Well, she obviously wanted to believe that Serafina wasn’t what Enebish and Imena had said that she was… but then, what else would she need to be, if she was willing to do that?
Then someone started a bar fight and Serafina and Enebish quickly went to where Beika, Titham, and Imena were. Serafina locked the door and barricaded it with a spare broom.
“A fight? Really?” Imena asked. Sarcastically, she added, “Subtle!”
“Hey, you try figuring out what to do when there’s two armed guys and you really don’t want to know what it feels like to get stabbed!” Enebish returned. “Or be the one stabbing, for that matter…”
“You’ve got yourself tied into Adidell,” Serafina remarked dryly. “You’re bound to experience both sooner or later.”
Beika needed to change the subject—before they confirmed her fears any more. “What were those people talking about, Mom..?”
Serafina, if she heard her, completely ignored the question. “What the hell are the two of you doing back here? There’s a reason I told you to go. You weren’t supposed to come back—it was supposed to keep you out of danger. Now here we are, and you’re certainly no safer than if you’d stayed!”
“B-but, Mom, they were talking about you, and I know what they said hadn’t been true, and—”
“If these two had told you anything, then what you just saw should confirm all of it.” Those were the exact opposite of the words she wanted to hear from Serafina. “You and Titham can’t stay here. It’s not going to take them long before they’re able to get in, or they send someone to block off any exits. It’s not safe for you anymore.”
“I can take care of that,” Imena offered. “I can bring them both somewhere safer—somewhere far enough away that they don’t have to be involved. Maybe as long as you’re the one making sure they go, they’ll actually stay with me this time…”
Titham nervously asked, “But isn’t it going to get dark soon..? Mom always said that we shouldn’t spend too much time outside when it gets dark. We might be close to the border but there’s still the chance of Skiá…”
“I’m a Fos,” she said. “I, as well as all of my ‘siblings,’ were created by Danai—the Goddess of Light herself. Most of the time we’re able to scare off the Skiá with our light. There’s not as much Skiá here as there would be deeper into Seothia, so as long as Enebish stays here, the three of us—or four, if Serafina wants to come—are going to be fine.”
“Do they have to stay because of what those people are here for?” he questioned. “Why can’t we all go..?”
Beika, more cynically, muttered, “Maybe they just need a distraction or a decoy. It doesn’t matter what happens in the end if it gets us out of the way…”
Enebish nervously laughed. “I, uh, appreciate the… concern? But that’s not what’s going on here. Long story short I might accidentally attract some Skiá so ultimately Imena’s powers won’t do anything. It’s just generally safer.”
“You… attract Skiá?” Serafina prompted.
“I said long story short, didn’t I?” they said with a sheepish grin. “Don’t worry, it’s basically only a couple of Myaló if I’m upset or sick. All of this is just a big precaution.”
Serafina didn’t look too convinced, but she moved on from the subject anyway. “If you’re going to stay here, then I’ll stay, too. Who knows what else they might try to do—besides, I think just the three of them might be a little less obvious.”
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“But the reason we came back was so then we could be with you!” Beika said.
“And that’s done nothing but get the two of you in more trouble,” Serafina returned harshly. She sighed and her expression softened. “I promise we can talk about this—but only after everyone’s safe. Both of you need to go with Imena. Enebish and I will catch up to you.”
Beika wanted to say something else, but Imena first pointed out, “We don’t have a lot of time. The sooner we get going, the safer everyone’s going to be. Enebish will know how to find us.”
…
Beika didn’t think they really walked that far outside of Ilystalos. It was just far enough, she thought, that anyone who didn’t care wouldn’t have bothered. But maybe that was all it needed to be for now, since most people knew not to travel too far out of a city after dark.
They’d all been silent for a while, perhaps all still processing the events of a very long day. The only thing anyone said to each other, in fact, was Imena suggesting Beika and Titham try to rest—Serafina and Enebish probably wouldn’t come until the morning. Beika honestly didn’t think she’d be capable of it, but just as she was about to say this to Imena, she found herself almost immediately drifting to sleep.
She woke up to find the sun was up, Titham was still asleep, Imena was crushing flowers with a rock, and Serafina and Enebish had yet to return.
As Beika willed herself up, Imena looked up from what she was doing and casually asked, “Did you sleep well?”
“Didn’t think I’d be able to sleep at all…” was Beika’s mumbled response.
“You’re welcome. I knew you’d need your energy. I tried to make sure neither of you had any nightmares, either. But it’s… not a power of the Fos I use regularly. Zokel had been a lot more familiar with it than I’d ever be…” Imena trailed off, then shook her head. She revealed two apples and handed them to Beika. “They’re for you and your brother—one each. I passed a merchant when I went to get the ikretta and got these for you.”
Beika cautiously accepted them. “Are you… nicer than you were before?”
“I have nothing to gain by upsetting you. Adults can take care of themselves, but kids… I know I need to be careful. They’re what makes the difference between a successful and failed mission. And none of you want to know what a ‘failed mission’ looks like.”
Titham stirred from his spot. “Is Mom back yet..?” He slowly sat up and looked around only to be disappointed; he seemed slightly less disappointed when Beika gave him one of the apples, though.
”I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Imena assured them. “But first… there’s something I want to talk to you about. I think it’ll make things a little easier when they both get here.”
Any willingness to be there that Beika had previously had was gone now. “Didn’t you just say that you didn’t get anything good if you were annoying?”
”This isn’t being annoying,” Imena defended. “This is making sure you’re prepared for what comes next.”
”And I’m guessing your way of doing that is by throwing around more stuff I’m not going to believe?”
Titham, hesitant but kind, put a hand on Beika’s shoulder and said, “I think we should listen to her. The two of them… they really only want what’s best for us. We don’t get anything from pushing them away.”
“Fine,” Beika grumbled. She practically glared at Imena. “What did you want to say?”
While Imena talked, she continued crushing those flowers. “Do you remember the story Enebish and I had told you before? About Serafina?”
“Kind of hard not to remember hearing complete strangers tell you stupid things about your mom,” was the muttered response.
“Well, I wanted to add a few more details to that. The group she was standing up against… they call themselves Adidell. Those two men that were at the inn were from that group. I’ve had my fair share of encounters with them—they’re not the kind of people that should be taken lightly. And… do you have any ideas of what they were after?”
“It was something Mom had at the inn, wasn’t it..? It looked like they wanted to see every room to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything. Maybe it was something we had with us..?”
Imena shook her head. “It wasn’t a something that they were after. It was a someone.” She looked up at Beika and, when their eyes met, she continued, “And that someone was you. Mei Shui’s ninety-ninth attempt at a Homunculus, and the first success. A… success which was stolen from her, and now Adidell is trying to get back now that the hundredth attempted Homunculus is ‘lost.’”
Beika wanted to argue so much. But then she heard Serafina’s voice.
“Everything she’s saying is true,” she said with a sigh. She and Enebish both sat down near the rest of them; they both looked tired, but it seemed they hadn’t dealt with anything more serious. “And it’s time I finally tell you how—and why—all of this came to be.”