I was about to chase down Little Brother. He had been pestering me all day but this was the first time he had done anything like ripping my disguise off.

I felt uncomfortable standing in the open with my hair and skin exposed but the fiend had run towards a busy street and there was no way I could catch him before he hid in the crowds.

Suddenly I heard what sounded like someone close running at me but just as I turned to look I heard a familiar voice.

"Salis!"

It was Ferret! Why was she here!?

"Don't touch me!" I commanded as I turned to her and began to step back.

It was too late. Ferret reached me and began hugging me tightly. She even kissed me on the cheeks several times.

"No! Don't touch me!" I yelled at her frantically.

"Salis…" Ferra said to me, her voice sounding hurt.

I pushed at her. I could already feel her emotions seeping into me. Happiness. Joy. Excitement. Sadness at my rejection of her.

"Stop! I don't want to kill you!" I said, pushing on her harder. It was almost as if she were glued to me.

"Why would you kill her!?" Pali said, coming to a stop beside me. He looked worried and confused.

I then noticed that Medic, Caldren, and Dorito, of all people, were there as well.

I began to feel Ferret's grip on me weaken. I tried to push her away again but it was too late. Ferret slumped to the ground.

"Ferra!" Pali said and ran to her.

"What happened!" Medic cried, rushing to Ferret as well.

I glanced at Dorito and Caldren. Caldren was watching Ferra, he looked extremely worried. Dorito was staring at me. He looked angry and confused.

"Well, well." I heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the direction the others had come from.

I looked and saw several soldiers standing not far off.

"I was hoping I would see something interesting if I followed you." One of the soldiers said. He was speaking to Medic. "I was thinking it would be the Night Trickster you found but it was the Terran girl. Not only that but you seem to know her."

I groaned. I had been doing so well keeping these idiot soldiers from finding me but thanks to Pali and the others I had been found out. I also knew that their finding me was the fault of those two brothers. I hadn't seen Big Brother but Little Brother had certainly been here.

"Who is this?" Pali asked Medic.

"Major Grthan. He was the one I spoke to yesterday about the bounties." Medic replied.

I noticed several more soldiers appear in the opposite direction the first had come. The only ways out now were two narrow alleys that ran perpendicular to the one I was on.

"Tell me," Major Pain, the name being what I had chosen for the soldier that had spoken, said, "Are you agents from Flaern? If you are I imagine the crystal weapons you stole have already made their way back to your countrymen."

I looked at Medic and the others in disbelief. They had stolen crystal forged weapons from the Toa Mirr military? Hadn't they merely come here looking for me?

"What makes you think we would do something so reckless?" Medic replied.

Medic's face was emotionless as usual so I couldn't tell what to make of Major Pain's accusation. Pali, on the other hand, was looking very nervous. Dorito looked like he would wet himself at any moment.

"Aside from the fact that a group of people fitting your description turned up in a village not far from the attack a few days later with injuries?" Major Pain said with a shrug.

"That proves nothing." Medic replied.

"Which is why you were not arrested on the spot. Even still, we have every right to take you in for some "questioning." That is after we take in the Terran girl."

Major Pain turned to me as soon as he finished speaking.

"For such a small creature you have certainly proven hard to capture. You should thank your friends for helping us find you." He said.

I looked from him to the other soldiers. Several of them were armed with short bows. I was confident I could run into one of the alleys before they had a chance to shoot at me but that would mean leaving the others behind. Could I live with myself if I let them be captured or killed? I had already killed Ferret… No, Ferra.

I looked at them. I knew all of them well, even if I didn't care for most of them.

"Well?" I said.

Medic and Pali looked at me with uncertainty. They then looked at each other before looking at the two idiots and finally at Ferra.

"I will not give myself up to them." Medic said with determination.

Pali and Dario looked at her with pained expressions but did not object.

"I might be able to deflect some of the arrows with my wind," Caldren said as he looked at the bowmen.

I looked at Caldren. He was pretty good with magic. I had never cared much to find out how good he was exactly, but the fact that he was not Melche born meant that no matter how good he would be able to only do so much.

As for the others… None of them were carrying any weapons that I could see so unless I killed some soldiers for them and they took their weapons they would be unable to do much even if they had daggers hidden on them.

I looked back at the soldiers. They had closed much of the gap and were nearly on top of us. I also saw several soldiers in the alleys now. There was no way this was ending without a fight.

"You are surrounded and outnumbered. If you do not want to die I suggest you drop any weapons you have hidden and kneel on the ground." Major Pain said when he came to a stop a few meters away.

I grabbed the hilt of my sword.

All of the soldiers tensed when I did so and held their blades out just in case I attacked.

I was thankful for the moment that my disguise was gone. The extra clothing made fighting much more awkward.

"Make no sudden moves." Major Pain said, his voice deadly.

I pulled out my sword and held it out in front of me with one hand, several of the soldiers fidgeted.

"Why do you fight for this trash heap?" I asked the soldiers, motioning around me.

As expected none of the soldiers replied.

"Dying for a garbage country such as this is one of the stupidest deaths I can think of," I said.

"Enough!" Major Pain said angrily. "Stop your petty insults and drop the sword!"

I took the glove off of my left hand with my mouth and stuffed it into one of my pockets. I loathed using my curse, especially after what I had done to Ferra but I was going to need to use everything I had if I was to get out of this.

Instead of attacking I turned to Ferret's body, knelt and hoisted her body over my left shoulder. I knew I was stupid for trying to take her body with me and would be at a disadvantage fighting but there was no way I was going to leave her to these soldiers.

When I stood up I saw everyone was looking at me with amazement, even some of the soldiers.

"Salis?" Pali said.

"I heard Terran's were stronger than usual but to pick up someone nearly twice your size so easily…" I heard Major Pain say with a bit of awe. "A shame you will be put to death."

I hopped up and down. Ferra was surprisingly light.

"Salis, what are you doing!?" Medic said.

I imagined the woman knew I would not be able to fight as well as carrying Ferra.

"Now!" I shouted.

I did not wait to see what anyone else did and rushed to the alley to my left as quickly as I could.

The soldiers were surprised but held up their swords to meet me. Thankfully they had not yet entered the main street so I would have walls on both sides.

Just before I reached them I dropped to the ground and then jumped at the nearest soldier's legs with all my strength.

Several swords rushed at me.

I easily deflected one with my sword and managed to break another before slamming into the same two soldiers, sending them sprawling backward into several of the other soldiers. Neither would be getting up thanks to my ability.

Not losing any momentum I swung my sword hard and wide, slicing through the armor and flesh of several soldiers before dodging to the side to avoid the counter-attack of the soldiers I had missed.

A knife pierced the neck of the soldier nearest to me and moments later I saw Medic rush next to me and scoop up a sword her victim had dropped.

I wasted no time watching Medic and turned to my next victim. The soldier had stepped back and was watching me, glancing behind me occasionally.

I had no desire to let him wait for reinforcements and jumped forward. He did not last long.

The fight was going much more easily than I had expected. The soldiers seemed to only have basic training with the sword and could not keep up with me. I was also surprised at how slowly they moved.

There were only three soldiers left between me and freedom. To my surprise, the soldiers turned and ran.

I took the opportunity to run as well as I could hear the shouting and grunting of fighting behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder. Caldren had managed to keep the remaining soldiers from entering the narrow street by filling the entrance with large pieces of debris as well as assaulting the men with fireballs as they tried to clear the way.

"Calren!" I heard Pali yell. "We need to go! Now!"

Caldren turned around. I saw he had an arrow in his shoulder and his clothes were soaked with his blood.

"Calren!" Pali shouted in horror and ran to the boy.

"Fire!" I heard Major Pain shout from the other side of the debris.

Arrows soon began to rain down in the narrow street.

Caldren turned around and I saw his clothes rustle as he summoned wind. It worked and the arrows were blown harmlessly onto the rooves of nearby buildings or into the walls.

Pali took the opportunity and picked up Caldren while saying something to him I couldn't make out.

"Go!" Medic shouted. "Before they circle around and cut us off!"

I began running again and soon found myself exiting the alley and entering another, bigger street.

I saw that most of the people were already scrambling to get out of the street as fast as they could thanks to several soldiers that had come around using connecting streets farther down.

I decided to ignore them and continued to run across the street until I entered another alley opposite of the one I had exited.

I did this two more times before I finally entered another crowded street. I was not too keen on being seen exposed like this to so many people but getting lost in the crowd would be the best way to lose Major Pain.

I quickly glanced behind me and saw that the others had managed to keep up with me. Pali and Dorito were breathing heavily and looked like they would collapse if they had to do much more running. Medic, who was now carrying Caldren, looked winded as well.

I still felt like I could run for hours but was uncertain if I should leave them behind. I knew they had risked everything to come here and find me and the thought of abandoning them made me feel ashamed.

"How far are they behind us?" I asked Medic.

"Not far. We should keep moving." Medic replied without slowing.

She glanced at Pali and Dorito and I saw a worried expression appear on her face.

I turned away from the others and looked around the street, hoping to find anything that would give me an idea.

It was then that I noticed the people staring at me, several had even stopped and were whispering to each other. I stared back at them for a moment before turning back to Medic.

"We should split up," I said. "If we are lucky they will ignore those two and follow us. They might even only go after me."

Medic nodded immediately. "I was thinking that as well."

"Where can we find you?" Pali asked between labored breaths.

I told him the name of my inn and about where it was.

"I can hear the soldiers!" Dorito said between breaths.

"You two go that way!" Medic told Pali and Dorito, pointing down the road to her right. "I will go to the left."

I nodded. That meant I was going down another alleyway.

The others wasted no time and took off. I did not budge. I was going to make sure they saw me.

The soldiers appeared before I could even finish the thought. I could not tell how many there were yet but I saw at least five.

The soldiers had paused immediately after leaving the alley and looked around. I was the first thing they noticed and they soon began charging at me.

I finally turned around and ran towards my destination, ignoring the people fleeing from the soldiers behind me.

Within moments I had reached the alley and entered it but instead of running as hard as I could I stopped and set Ferra's body on the ground. I then turned towards the soldiers.

No sooner had they entered the alley then I flung a dagger at the lead soldier, piercing his throat. The soldiers behind him crashed into his body as it jerked to a stop and the man grabbed at the dagger.

I took the opportunity to charge. Now that I was not carrying Ferra's body I could use both of my hands with the sword.

The results were messy thanks to the added strength.

The first soldier I struck at tried to block my strike but was too slow and my sword slashed him across his right shoulder to just below his ribs.

I then swung at the next soldier. This one was ready to meet me but his iron sword broke in two and my sword found his flesh as well.

The next two soldiers fell just as easily.

The rest ran. I imagined seeing your comrades' swords and armor break so easily had gotten to them.

I noticed a movement to my left.

I looked and saw that several more soldiers had arrived, including Major Pain. None of them were moving towards me and the Major simply watched me for a moment. Surprisingly his face showed admiration rather than anger.

"If only you had not angered the wrong people." He said to me before raising his arm.

It was then that I noticed the soldiers spread out on each side of him were bowmen. All of them raised their bows in unison and aimed them at me.

A dagger hit Major Pain in the neck. His eyes grew wide and he felt at the dagger for a moment before collapsing.

The bowmen turned from me and began looking around frantically.

I took the opportunity to charge the men.

Two more fell to daggers by the time I reached them and had soon been hit.

Three more fell to my sword and another to a dagger before they fled.

"Have you been harmed, Salis?" Medic said, coming out from behind a stall about ten meters down the street. She was still holding Caldren, who looked to be unconscious now, his blood staining her hands, arms, and chest.

"No," I said and began heading towards where I had left Ferra's body.

"We need to move out before the fleeing soldiers bring reinforcements." She said, catching up to me.

I didn't say anything. Medic was wrong, the soldiers would flee the city because they would get executed for cowardice if they were found out. Even so, there could still be others left from the group Major Pain had brought.

"That was amazing Salis!" Pali said, he and Dorito catching up to me and Medic just before I entered the alley. "I have never seen anyone move that fast."

I ignored Pali's compliment. I had expected Dorito to say something stupid as well but he merely stared at me accusingly.

"How is Calren?" Pali asked when he saw I wasn't going to say anything.

"I managed to slow the bleeding but he will not last long if I do not give him better treatment." She replied.

I looked at Caldren's wound. The shaft of the arrow had been broken off and I saw some cloth that looked like it had been hastily wrapped around the wound.

"We should find a healer," Pali said, looking at me. "Do you know of any healers in the area Salis?"

"No," I said answering honestly.

With all the exploring I had been doing the last few days I had yet to see any place that looked like a healer's shop and since I talked as little as possible to the inhabitants of the city I had never asked, not that it had ever crossed my mind.

"I will ask around," Pali said. "The rest of you go back to the inn and stay out of sight. When I find a healer I will bring them there."

Meric and Dorito nodded.

"You should join them as well, Salis," Pali added when he noticed I hadn't shown any signs of agreement.

I looked at Pali. I had no reason not to go with them. They just might be my ticket out of this abominable country.

"Fine," I said.

"Good!" Pali smiled slightly.

I finished walking to Ferra's body and picked it up.

Pali took the opportunity to leave after giving a sad look at Ferra. Medic and Dorito followed me.

I looked around the street as I walked to the alley. Most of the people had fled and only a few could be seen poking their heads out of various places to see what was going on.

Just outside of the alley Dorito caught up to me.

"What did you do to her?" He asked me angrily.

I ignored him.

"Not now," I replied. "But all you need to know is that you will die too if you touch me."

"How would touching you kill someone?" Medic asked.

"Later," I said. "When Pali gets back I will tell you everything. For now, I want to get out of here."

Medic and Dorito said nothing more.

The trip to the inn the others were staying at took quite a while considering we kept to the smaller streets and alleys. I also had to take care to not been seen now that my face and hair were exposed even after I had tried covering myself back up with what I still had.

"The inn is on the next street over." Medic said eventually and came to a stop.

"Coming here was a bad choice," I said. "Since they found me by following you won't that mean they will know where you are staying?"

Meric nodded. "Perhaps, but Pali would have been unable to find us if we had gone to your place."

I looked around the street. A few people were going about their business, one or two glancing at us curiously, but I saw nothing unusual. I had been expecting soldiers to be running around in force, looking for the ones who had killed their comrades, but it had been quiet.

Maybe the Major that had been following Medic and Pali hadn't told anyone what he was doing? It would make sense if he was after my bounty, but would he have been able to have taken that many soldiers with him and not be noticed by anyone?

That still left the soldiers that had run. All it would have taken was one returning to base and whoever was in charge would have sent out search parties. I figured all the soldiers that had run had gone into hiding as they would be put to death if anyone found out they had fled.

"Dario." Medic said, breaking my thoughts.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Will you look around the inn and see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary?" Medic asked him.

Dorito's face grew scared for a moment but he nodded and walked off.

A few minutes later he returned.

"I think it is safe." He said. "I even went to our room and did not see anyone."

Medic looked at me for a moment then turned and started walking towards the direction of the inn.

Just as Dorito had said no one stopped us or attacked us.

"This is most strange." Medic said as she looked around.

"If Pali is not back soon I am leaving," I said.

Dorito gave me another angry look.

"I agree." Medic said. "Staying here is too much of a risk to take."

We entered the inn and made our way to their room cautiously.

Medic opened the door a crack and peered inside.

"It is safe." She said and entered.

Dorito and I followed her inside.

Medic immediately placed Caldren on the bed while I lay Ferret on the floor.

"How is he?" Dorito asked Medic.

"His bleeding stopped a while ago but he will most likely get an infection if we do not remove the arrow and dress the wound properly."

"Can you do it?"

"I would prefer an experienced healer but I can if Pali cannot find one soon."

Dorito looked at me accusingly again and Medic looked as if she wanted to interrogate me when she was not tending to Calrdren but neither spoke to me.

"You made it safely!" Pali said excitedly when he returned with a healer in tow.

Pali gave me a curious look when he saw I had covered myself back up.

I hadn't wanted the healer to get a good look at me so I had borrowed some of Ferra's unused clothing. Dorito and Medic hadn't looked comfortable with me rummaging through her belongings but aside from a bit of whimpering from Dorito, I received no complaints.

"I assume that is the boy over there?" The healer, a middle-aged man that looked more well off than the norm, said.

"Yes," Pali replied.

The healer nodded and headed for Caldren.

"I was worried there would have been trouble when you arrived," Pali said, motioning for everyone to join him on the side of the room opposite of the healer.

"I think we should go to my inn as soon as the healer is done," I said as soon as everyone had seated. "I will tell you everything when we get there."

"I am sure you have a big adventure to tell," Pali said.

"She better." Dorito huffed.

"While we wait I have some good news Salis," Pali said, ignoring Dorito.

Good news? I wonder what kind of news they would think I considered good.

"Good news?" I asked.

"Helnion has been found and is back home with her family!"

So Helnion had been taken back to Flaern. I hadn't been sure what Usui, or whoever had come after that mess, would have done with her but it appeared they had let her go home.

"I have only heard second hand but she had her own little adventure after she was separated from you," Pali said.

Pali told me everything that had happened to Helnion. From what he told me I was almost certain that one of the Deity had used her to get their stolen items back and judging from the skills the women had I was also certain she was a servant, most likely one under Melche considering none of the others I had seen had used magic.

"Do you have any questions?" Pali asked.

"Not really," I replied.

"I guess we can rest while we wait for the healer to work on Calren," Pali said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I have finished." The healer said a few minutes later.

The man had worked surprisingly fast and I guessed half an hour at most had passed by.

"The wound was not terrible but he has lost much blood and will need rest for a few weeks." The healer continued.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Pali said and pulled out his coin pouch.

The healer chuckled softly. "I am used to it. Many afflictions will not wait for a trained healer if haste is not made."

Pali handed the healer several silver coins.

"If you do not need anything else…" The healer said, glancing towards Ferra.

"No, it is too late for the other," Pali replied his voice full of sorrow.

"I am sure your story is an interesting one but I know better than to stick my nose into things." The healer said before bowing and leaving the room.

"We should leave now as well." Medic said. "I believe Salis has offered to let us stay with her."

"Yes, that sounds good," Pali replied as he stood up.

"I will carry Calren." Medic said and headed for the bed.

I wanted to leave this place quickly so I wasted no time and picked up Ferra while the others collected their belongings.

"Lead the way," Pali said and opened the door.

It was not long until I found myself back in my room at my inn. The trip here had been quiet and uneventful.

"So this is where you have been staying," Pali said, laying his possessions on the floor.

"How come we did not get a place this nice?" Dorito asked.

Everyone ignored Dorito's comment.

"Now that we are here." Medic said, placing Caldren on my bed. "Can we get some answers from you Salis."

Medic looked at me and then Ferret.

"Yes, I would like to hear why you killed Ferra." Dorito looked livid.

"Yes, Salis. I too want to know what happened and why." Pali said as he looked between me and Ferra.

I looked at all three of them. I owed them an explanation after what happened.

"I'll start from the beginning," I said after a moment.

Medic and Pali nodded in approval. I ignored Dorito.

I started my story at the point when I got back from Flae. It was when I got to the point Usui came in that I was interrupted for the first time.

"You mean to tell us you met Usui?" Pali asked.

I could tell from the look on his face that he was unsure whether or not to believe me.

"She is making it up!" Dorito said.

"Quit Dario!" Medic slapped him lightly on the arm.

"I guess it would make sense that Usui would have an interest in Salis. She is pretty unique, both physically and mentally." Pali said with a shrug.

"He tried to get me to join his harem," I said in disgust.

Pali laughed. "I do not think he knew what he was getting into when he asked you that!"

I waited for Pali to stop laughing and then continued my story. This time I made it to when I left with the Servant before I was stopped.

"So this is where you were separated from Helnion?" Pali asked.

I nodded. "You'll have to ask her if you want to know what happened to her after this."

"Does no one else find Salis joining the bad group wrong?" Dorito said, cutting off Medic just before she was going to speak. "That girl Perrinu would not have died and Helnion would not have gotten hurt if Salis had not done that."

"True," Pali said after a moment. "But if she had not it sounds like they would have gotten attacked anyways and all three of them just might still be on Korron as well."

"If she was there in the first place!" Dorito spat back.

Medic stood up and punched Dorito in the back of the head. Sending him sprawling on the floor.

Pali looked shocked. I was as well.

"You will not utter another word!" Medic yelled, her face filled with anger and her voice seething. "I am tired of your constant pessimism and need to argue with others!"

Pali looked like he wanted to say something but at the same time, I could tell that he wasn't sure what it was that he wanted to say.

Dorito picked himself up from the floor and sat back on the stool he had been on. He looked shocked and scared but said nothing.

"If you would continue," Medic said when Dorito was seated.

I did so, still surprised at the scene I had just witnessed, except now I wanted to laugh thanks to the stupid look Dorito now had on his face.

This time I finally got to tell them about everything I had learned about the servant, except the things about making Terrans, and what he had planned with the Berserkers. I also told them it was likely that he had done nearly the same thing he had done to them to me except, I was not insane.

"So he dropped you off in a canyon filled with people that wanted to kill you?" Pali asked as soon as I finished. "Why would he do such a thing if you were a part of his experiment?"

"I think he wanted to force me to kill them, to use this ability he gave me on them," I replied. "I'm still not completely certain what killing them with the ability does to me but the more I kill the stronger I feel. I know my wounds heal faster now and I think I am faster and stronger too."

"I think so as well." Medic replied. "I saw you fight. I have never seen anyone move that quickly or hit as hard as you did. No normal person would have been able to take on that many enemies at once and come out without a single wound. I also saw how easily you broke their swords with your own. All but the strongest men with the most fine crystal forged swords can break an iron sword with such ease."

"I saw you as well, Salis," Pali said. "Your fighting as well as the ease at which you carried Ferra were astounding."

"If Salis was so strong why did she not simply push Ferra away from her. It should have been easy." Dorito said.

Medic and Pali looked at me.

"I don't know…" I answered honestly. "Even though I wanted to push her away from me I couldn't. It was like we had become connected."

"Connected?" Pali replied. "I wonder if a bond is made between you and your victim that cannot be broken…"

"That makes sense." Medic said, although it didn't sound like she was entirely convinced.

"It is true." A familiar voice said.

Everyone immediately turned to look to see who had talked.

Sitting in the window was the older brother of the two boys that Servant had picked up.

"Gyael!" Pali said in surprise.

I was surprised as well. Why would Pali know him? Unless…

"I was curious where you went after you showed us where to find Salis. I hoped the soldiers had not done anything to you. I also wanted to thank you." Pali continued.

So it was the older brother that helped them find me. I had been wondering how they had done it.

"I was only doing what Master told me to do." Big Brother said and then turned to me. "It is time to play Little Big Sister Salis."

So it had finally come to this. I would be fighting the brothers now.

"I don't want to play with you," I said, knowing I would probably be ignored. I was.

"First, my little brother wants to talk to you." Big Brother said and tossed a communication crystal to Pali. "Since she cannot use magic right now you will have to power it for her."

Pali looked from the crystal and then to me. "What does he mean you cannot use magic?"

My neck had been completely covered up to this point, even after the Little Brother had taken my disguise, and I had not told them about it during my story.

I pulled the cloth wrapped around my neck away, revealing the crystal collar.

"A magic sealing collar?" Medic said and got up to look at it.

"How come you did not tell us about this earlier?" Pali asked.

"Could you have removed it if I had told you?" I replied with a slight shrug.

Medic and Pali looked at each other.

"I am afraid not," Pali said. "Calren is the best magic user with us and I am fairly certain he has not been taught how to remove a collar like that."

I had thought as much.

"My brother is waiting." Big Brother said, his voice sounded bored.

Pali looked at the boy then to the crystal. The crystal soon lit up.

"Now hold it so she can talk." Big Brother commanded.

Pali did so.

As soon as Pali held the crystal in front of me, Little Brother's face came into view.

"Hello, Little Big Sister Salis." He said, smiling like we were old friends.

I didn't say anything.

My silence didn't seem to affect Little Brother and he continued speaking as if I had.

"Master wanted me to show you some people before you played with my brother." Little Brother moved aside so I could see what was behind him.

What I saw was someplace I had never expected to see again. It was my home in Porra-Kel and my Calorin family was all there.

"Salis! It really is you!" Mama Eliz said excitedly.

"Yes, we were extremely worried when Instructor Pali told us you had disappeared." Papa Garen added.

"Say high to your big sister Salis." Mama Eliz said to the children that were sitting around the table in the background.

They all waved towards the crystal and shouted hellos at me.

"I hope you come back home soon. It has been so long since we have seen you and we never have been able to thank you for the money you sent to us." Mama Eliz continued after the children had finished.

Little Brother stopped my adoptive parents and focused the crystal back to himself.

"Master said for every minute you do not beat big brother I would get to "eat" once." Little Brother said and grinned.

The way he said eat set off alarm bells in my head. He had pretty much told me that he would kill one of my family members for every minute it took for me to defeat Big Brother.

"I am not quite sure what is going on, but I do not see why you would be against playing with someone Salis. I know how easily you get bored." Pali said.

Since Pali could not know the true significance of Little Brother's words I decided to tell him.

I pulled out my sword and pointed to it. "Play," I said and entered a combat stance. I then pointed to Ferra and said, "Eat."

"By playing, he means fighting you and eating is using that ability?" Medic asked.

Pali look at me and Big Brother confused. "You want to fight Salis and will kill her family if she does not?" He asked Big Brother after a moment.

Big Brother nodded. "Master wants to see which one of us is stronger."

"Can I speak to this master of yours? What he is doing is wrong. I cannot allow this to happen." Pali began to panic yell.

Big Brother shook his head. "Maybe later." He said before turning back to me. "Loranthin is probably getting hungry."

"Yes, hurry big brother." I heard Little Brother say from the still active crystal.

"Start counting now Loranthin." Big Brother said.

I immediately heard Little brother start counting.

"Come on Little Big Sister Salis!" Big Brother said, standing up from his spot on the window. "Unless you want Loranthin to have a full meal."

Big Brother jumped out the window and into the street.

"Do you think they will go through with it?" Pali asked before I moved to follow Big Brother.

"Their master is the Servant that gave me this stupid ability and he gave it to them too," I said as I headed to the window.

I jumped out of the window to words of shock and dismay by Pali, Medic and Dorito.

Big Brother attacked me as soon as I landed on the ground below the window. It was not a serious attack and the boy laughed in delight as I rolled frantically out of the way.

I was not certain how strong this boy had become thanks to Servant's ability but I was certain he would have "eaten" much more than I had and it would show.

Instead of attacking me again Big Brother ran into the street behind the inn. I ran after him, hoping he was not going to waste time so Little Brother could eat more.

I entered the street after him. It was one of the smaller streets in Eto and was much less busy than the one in front of the inn with only a few people milling about.

"Catch!" I heard Big Brother say.

I turned in the direction his voice came from just in time to avoid being hit by a large object flying towards me. It was the body of a street child.

"These Eto kids are not very filling." Big Brother said, but laughed as if he hadn't cared.

Big Brother turned to run again but I had expected him to. I was pretty confident he had never had any training of any kind judging from the sloppy way he moved so I hoped he would lack the perceptive skills that came with it.

I reached in my right sleeve for one of my throwing knives. I wanted to throw two, but since I was still holding my sword in my right hand I could only throw one.

I threw the knife as soon as I was certain he could not see me anymore and quickly followed the first with a second knife. Thanks to his proximity to me the knives quickly reached their target. I began running after him as soon as the knives were away.

Big Brother stumbled but did not fall. Instead, he stopped running and turned around to look at me.

"I guess I should say that hurt." He said. Strangely, he was still smiling.

When he saw me charging him his smile got even bigger.

I swung at Big Brother as soon as I got within reach of him.

He dodged out of the way, my sword barely missing him.

"I was hoping you would be faster." He said and jumped back out of reach from my sword. "But you are still faster than normal food."

The knife in Big Brother's back dropped to the ground and soon after he turned his back towards me again and pointed to the wound.

"Did you throw something at me earlier?" He said and scratched at the spot.

Aside from a hole in his shirt and a few traces of blood, I saw no sign of a wound.

"Do you heal this quickly yet?" He asked me after he had spun back around to face me again.

I lept at him again. Big Brother dodged my attack again but I used my momentum and followed it with another attack. The second attack nearly hitting him.

"Almost got me that time!" He said, laughing. "Trained fighters are the most fun to play with."

He danced to my right before glancing at the alley we had come from.

"Looks like the other food has followed us." He said.

I had expected the others to follow as quickly as they could and made no move to confirm this, leaving my gaze on Big Brother.

"Salis!" I heard Pali shout. "Garen is dead! The boy killed him right in front of everyone! Please stop this before anyone else dies!"

I clenched the hilt of my sword. Of all the people they had gone after, they had gone after some of the only people I had felt tried to truly care for me and accept me as their own.

Big Brother smiled. "Even if you had eaten fifty people in the last week you would not have come close to what Loranthin and I have eaten. Master was kind enough to send us to Koa Flaer where no one would know if hundreds of people died thanks to the war."

For the first time in as long as I could remember I started to feel rage. I was no stranger to being irritated or even angry but I had begun to truly want to kill someone. Not even Bug had made me feel this way.

I charged at Big Brother.

He laughed. "Why do you look so angry? Everyone will be born again. Besides, they would have been killed by Toa Mirr anyways."

I felt my body filling with energy but at the same time, my mind became less clear, only one objective, only one thought filling my mind.

I struck at Big Brother. My sword flashed in front of me, but despite the speed, the boy evaded the strike.

Big Brother's eyes showed hope. "Finally…"

I cut him off by attacking again. This time Big Brother had lost some of his footing and was unable to dodge. My sword struck him just below his right ribs. The wound was shallow but it was a step in the right direction.

Surprisingly he did not scream in pain. He seemed to have not been affected by the wound at all and readied himself for my next attack.

"Looks like I have to start fighting back." He said, looking extremely pleased.

No sooner had he said so than he attacked.

He was unarmed but he didn't need to be. I knew what he was capable of if he touched someone. What I was not sure of was how it would affect someone with the same ability. I didn't want to find out.

I jumped back, swinging my sword at him at the same time. My sword struck his arm, pushing it away from me.

I could feel my blade cutting through his flesh, but as soon as it hit his bone my sword stopped cutting and only pushed at him.

"I think you broke my arm." Big Brother said, glancing at the wound with only a little irritation.

My sword should have cut clean through his arm. Had his bones become stronger with his killing as well?

My rage pushed the thoughts out of my mind. Why didn't matter. All I needed to do was kill this boy before his little brother continued to have his way with my family.

Big Brother attacked again. This time he dodged my sword before reaching out to me. I tried to attack him again but I was no match for his speed. His palm pushed against my stomach.

I immediately felt something pull at me. I was not sure what was being pulled at but I knew I needed to fight the strange force. So just like I had with unwanted mental intrusions I pushed back.

Big Brother jumped back, his face going from confidence to confusion. Whatever I had done had worked.

"Why did it not work?" He said in frustration.

I wasted no time thinking about what had happened and attacked again.

"No!" I heard Pali shout in Terror.

I looked over and saw him staring into the communication crystal. Another of my family had been killed.

I felt a blow to my head. The blow sent me sprawling backward before I finally fell onto my butt. Stars filled my vision and my mind went blank.

I soon felt a blow to my ribs as Big Brother kicked me.

Thankfully I had managed to keep my grip on my sword so I swung at Big Brother, forcing him away from me long enough to get back onto my feet.

My vision was still a bit unfocused but I attacked again.

My rage was even greater now. I did not know who had been killed this time but it did not matter. I would kill these two no matter the cost.

I swung at Big Brother. The boy dodged out of the way, my sword barely cutting his left shoulder. I wasted no time and followed through with another attack. The second attack slashed him across his right thigh. I didn't feel bone but it was a solid hit.

"You are only wasting your strength." Big Brother said and patted his stomach.

It was then that I finally noticed the wound there was gone. I glanced at his arm next and saw that it too was nearly healed.

"No matter how many times you cut me I will heal." He continued. "I once got speared through the heart by a lucky Koa Flaern soldier and I barely slowed down."

Big Brother laughed and lunged at me and as if to prove his previous statement he didn't try to avoid my sword, letting it sink into his chest and erupt out his back. The boy showed no sign of pain.

Now that my sword was stuck in his chest he took advantage of the opening it had made and punched me in the face. The force of the punch broke my nose and caused more stars to appear in my vision. I would have fallen as well but Big Brother had grabbed my right shoulder and held me up.

I didn't want to let him get another punch in so I let go of my sword and grabbed his hands and then kicked him between the legs. It didn't work and Big Brother smiled at what I had attempted to do to him.

"Trying to eat me?" He said and glanced at where I was holding him. "I do not think we can eat each other."

It was then that I noticed the feeling and I managed to push aside my rage long enough to take it in. Like before I could feel something pulling at Big Brother and something resisting.

Yes, we had gone through this earlier but if this was like mind connecting, willpower would be key. Before I had only pushed him back, to keep him from stealing whatever it was that got taken, but I hadn't tried to go after him. If I went on the attack could I break through his barrier?

I pushed at Big Brother's barrier. I could feel him resist unsteadily, as if he was not sure exactly what to do. I saw this as an opportunity and wouldn't give him a chance to learn how to defend.

I focused my will on the resistance and began to search. I could feel many places that wavered and soon found one I knew I could push through. I probably could have forcefully pushed him back eventually but I wanted to get this over before Little Brother killed another of my family.

"No!" Big Brother screamed in horror as I pierced his defense.

No sooner had he screamed than I could feel my target. Whatever it was.

As I reached for it I felt myself absorb other "energy." The amount of this stuff increased as I reached towards my target and it flowed into me. By the time I reached Big Brother's "core" I realized that the stuff was the lives of the people he had absorbed.

I grabbed onto Big Brother's "core." His life. I then pulled it as hard as I could and drew it inside of me, pulling what was left of the other lives with it.

All of this had happened in an instant. One moment I was grappling with Big Brother and the next he was dead.

No sooner had Big Brother fallen to the ground did I hear Pali yell, "Stop! Salis won!"

I looked over and saw him staring into the crystal, hope, and fear on his face.

"Are you all right?" Medic said, running up and coming to a stop beside me.

She reached for my face but stopped.

I felt my nose. It ached when I touched it and I felt blood.

"I'm fine," I said.

I knelt and pulled my sword out of Big Brother's body.

"What happened?" Medic asked. "Did you use your ability on him?"

I nodded.

"NO! Stop!" I heard Pali yell.

"Stop!" Dorito yelled.

I looked up and saw both of them looking into the crystal, their faces contorted in pain and anger.

I stood up quickly and Medic and I ran to where the two were standing.

"He killed them all!" Pali said. He had dropped to the ground and was crying.

"When the boy heard you had killed his brother he went berserk," Dorito said. He looked angrier than I had ever seen him.

I turned away from the others and gripped my sword. I was going to kill Little Brother and then I was going to see if it was possible to kill the servant of a Deity. I could live with being used in a cruel experiment but when he crossed the line by bringing my adoptive family and those that called me a friend.

"I had hoped you would win that fight." I heard Servant say.

I looked around and saw him sitting on the ledge of a roof on a nearby building.

I charged at him.

"What happened to your cool demeanor? Rage is unbecoming on your cute little face."

I reached the building he was on and began looking for the best way up.

"Do you really think you can do anything to me?" He said, watching me curiously. "Besides, I believe there is someone else you should be more worried about." He said and pointed at the rooftops above where Medic, Pali, and Dorito stood watching.

Little Brother was standing there. He was holding Caldren under his left arm.

The others looked up and saw as well.

"Calren!" All three shouted, nearly in unison.

Little Brother looked at them and then to me. His face was full of anger and his teeth were clenched.

"You said you would not hurt them if Salis won!" Pali shouted at the boy.

"I do not care!" Little Brother shouted back. He then turned to me and yelled, "I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Little Brother jumped off the roof. He landed on Pali, knocking him to the ground.

Medic and Dorito went to pull Little Brother off of Pali but they hesitated, knowing what his touch would do to them.

It was most likely too late to save Pali but if I moved quickly enough I might be able to save the other two so I ran as hard as I could.

Little Brother looked up to me just before I reached him. He smiled. It was the kind of smile that said he was about to do something bad.

In an instant Little Brother stood up and flung not only Caldren but Pali at me. I was too close to avoid them so I instead caught them.

It was the worst thing I could have done. Both of them were alive and no sooner had I caught them did I feel their energy flowing into me and within moments were dead.

Shock filled me. Little Brother had somehow been able to stop himself from taking their energy and had then used me to kill them for him. I had killed them. I had…

My mind went blank. Rage consumed me once more.

By the time I came back to my senses, I found myself straddling Little Brother's body. I could feel the lingering "taste" of his energy, as well as of those he had consumed. I had killed him.

My rage soon had been accompanied by shame. I had killed the brothers but in the process had lost so much. I had let myself become a beast, an animal, all for the sake of killing those that had threatened the ones that had raised me.

"I was wondering how much it would take to break you." I heard Servant say.

I looked up to see him standing next to me.

I grabbed his legs, hoping to suck his life away.

"Do you think I would not be able to protect myself from the power I have given you?" He said and smiled with a bit of disappointment.

It was true. Unlike the brothers all I could feel was a large wall as I grabbed at him with my power. It wasn't perfect but it was close.

"Be glad Salis!" He said. "Once I have done one more thing I will release you from my experiment."

I let go of Servant.

"Your mind has been wonderfully strong, so much so that I wonder how much it will take to break it. But do not worry. All I will do is let you remember. Remember the last time you were broken."

Servant reached down and put his hand on my head. I fell asleep.

***

I awoke to find myself standing in front of my home on Earth. I was staring at the house. It had been almost a year since I had left for college and I had only returned a few times during holidays so it had been a while. I had wanted to stay at school and do summer courses but my parents had insisted that I take a break and come home.

"Don't just stand there!" My mom said, stepping out from behind the car with two of my suitcases. "Your father has been looking forward to seeing you!"

"If he was so excited how come he wasn't out here, waiting for me?" I said and began heading towards the house.

I heard my mom sigh behind me.

"Welcome home!" My dad said as soon as I opened the front door. He ran up to me and hugged me. "You never call so I've been getting lonely."

I pushed him away gently and stepped back.

"I have been busy studying," I replied.

"I know." He said. "But you can't be studying all the time can you?"

"No," I admitted.

"Then make sure you find some time to call from now on. Okay?" He said and smiled.

"Yes, we get worried when we don't hear from you." My mom said before pushing past me and into the house.

My mom called my brother's name. "Your sister is here. Why don't you come and see her?"

"Not now!" I heard him call from farther in the house. "I'm busy!"

My parents sighed.

"Your brother has been difficult lately. Do not mind him." My mom said.

"It's those friends he has been hanging out with recently." My dad said with a dark look on his face. "They're a bad influence on him.

"Let's talk about this later?" My mom said, glancing at me. "She's just gotten home and she doesn't need to worry about her brother."

"You're right Honey." My dad turned from my mom to me. "I will take your things to your room. You can look in the kitchen for some food or join your brother."

I nodded. I was a bit hungry so a visit to the kitchen was in order. I had hoped to have a grand dinner waiting for me but my dad couldn't cook and my mom had been busy picking me up.

"I need to get back to work soon." My mom said. "I was lucky I got enough time off to pick you up."

"I should get back to work as well." My dad said. "I have a project deadline coming up soon and it wouldn't be fair to my colleagues if I stay too long."

"I'll see you tonight." My mom said and went back out the front door.

"Let me get these to your room first." My dad said and picked up the luggage my mom had set down.

As I watched my dad go I shook my head. Why did they make a big fuss about missing me and never calling when they left as soon as I got back, but it had been this way long before I had left home. When I was little I remembered playing with my dad and mom but as they went up in rank at work they began working longer hours and I would often not see them until late at night.

I clenched my fist.

Was it my destiny to end up like them. Only working and sleeping? Until recently I had been content with the thought of it but did I want to be like that?

My stomach rumbled.

I decided to quell the beast and headed for the kitchen. I rummaged through the fridge and cupboards but only found instant food or snacks.

I sighed. If wanted to eat like this I could have stayed at college.

I pulled a box of crackers out of one of the cupboards. It wasn't much but I was not in the mood to even put something in the microwave.

I headed out of the kitchen.

"You didn't bring back much." My dad said as I caught him by the front door as he readied to leave. "Just clothes and textbooks."

"I don't need anything else," I said.

My dad shrugged. "If you say so."

He then opened the front door, waved at me, and left.

"They finally left." I heard my brother say behind me.

I turned around and looked at him. He was still in his pajamas.

"You look as stiff as ever." He said after a moment. "Still being the perfect student?"

My brother looked at me with contempt.

Something had changed with him over the last year. Before he had been eager for my attention but now…

"I heard you have bad friends," I said.

"My friends are not bad!" He said angrily.

"I also heard you failed some classes."

"So you never call but you still find out things like that?" He said. I could hear anger creeping into his voice. "Little Miss Perfect here keeping tabs on her idiot brother? Worried about him ruining the family image of intelligence?"

"I stopped expecting that out of you a while ago," I said, beginning to get angry myself.

"So you always expected me to be a failure?" He said, his voice now getting louder as his anger increased.

"No, but I bet you are one now. I bet you've even started drinking and doing drugs with some failure friends you've picked up from the gutters."

My brother stepped up in front of me and pushed his face almost right into mine. He was taller than me so I would have had to look up if I want to see his eyes but I would not look up to him.

"My friends have been better to me than you ever have!" He yelled. I could smell something off about his breath.

"Until you run out of money to buy drugs for them or you get arrested," I said.

"They would never…" I could hear hesitation in his voice.

"Does it matter?" I said. "Your life is already worthless and you will never amount to anything."

My brother raised his fist. It trembled for a moment before he struck me in the face with it.

I staggered backward but managed to not fall. I felt my nose. It wasn't broken but I could feel blood begin to ooze out of it.

"You even hit girls now?" I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

My brother had begun to scare me but I would do my best to not let it show.

"Are you even a girl?" He said. "Do boys even care about you?"

It was true I didn't care about girly things and never put on makeup. There were more important things than worrying about boys.

"At least I still have my dignity," I said.

My brother lifted his fist again. I flinched, waiting for the blow, but instead heard a loud thud.

I opened my eyes and saw he had punched the wall instead.

"Leave before I decide to punch you again." He said through clenched teeth.

I looked at him and decided it was best to retreat. I did not want to get punched again.

I walked past him and headed to my room. I was shaken and being by myself for a few hours to cool down would be very welcome.

In the safety of my room I immediately began to regret the things I had said to him. I wished I didn't have the feelings of shame and disrespect when my brother couldn't live up to the expectations I had set for a member of my family. I was a bad person for thinking that way.

If I hadn't been so mean to him over the years maybe he wouldn't have given up and would still be doing well in school. If anything he had been a better person than I had been and he had been doing the best he could while still enjoying life. At least he was enjoying it until I said something to him.

If I had encouraged him instead of belittling him…

I was tired. I didn't want to think about this anymore. Maybe I could apologize to him after taking a nap.

I awoke a few hours later. I was extremely thirsty and decided to head to the kitchen to get a glass of water. After that, I would look for my brother and apologize to him. If I could bring myself to do it that is.

Just before I entered the kitchen I paused to look at the indentation in the wall where my brother had punched it. I then felt my nose.

I had deserved that punch. I had probably deserved the second punch as well but he had held himself back.

He hadn't deserved an older sister like me. No one deserved an older sister like me.

I walked into the kitchen. No sooner had I done so than I saw the most horrible thing I had ever seen. Laying on the floor in front of me was my brother. A large pool of blood surrounded him and I saw a knife lying next to one of his open hands. He had slit both his wrists.

I immediately felt queasy and threw up. I had never seen so much blood in my life. Not only that but it was most likely my fault that this had happened.

I threw up again.

I had killed my brother. It wasn't with my own hands but it was me that had led him to do this.

I looked away from my brother. What was I going to do? What could I do? There was no way he was still alive after having lost that much blood.

Should I check anyways?

I staggered over to the kitchen table, my legs barely holding me up. On it, I saw a note. I immediately knew it was my brother who had written it.

I picked it up, my hands shaking.

The note was short. All it said was, "I can't live in a world where I can't live up to anyone's expectations. No matter what I do I always seem to fail. Not even my family cares about me."

I dropped the note. I couldn't handle this anymore.

I knew I should have called the police or paramedics but I couldn't bring myself to face anyone. So I ran to my room and locked the door. I then pushed my dresser in front of the door.

I then began tearing my room apart in rage and self-loathing. I grabbed everything I could and tossed it somewhere else. Everything was fair game, my clothes, a chair, my lamp, books, and everything else I could find that I could move.

I was a horrible person that didn't care for anyone else. My brother hadn't deserved to die. I should have treated him better. I should have supported him and helped him instead of tearing him down.

I finally slumped to my bed. I wanted to disappear. I…

I fell asleep.

I woke up coughing. I had been having a nightmare and was still not sure what was real and what was a dream.

I coughed again.

I opened my eyes and saw that not only was my room filled with smoke but it was on fire too.

I looked around and saw that my dresser was already completely engulfed. The curtains around my windows had already been burned away and the wall that had been behind them had caught as well. A good portion of the clothes I had thrown on the floor were on fire as well.

I was not sure what had started the fire but I had to have guessed it was one of the electrical devices I had broken and had then tossed something flammable on.

I found myself smiling. It appeared I would be meeting my brother soon. I guessed I still might have been able to escape through the window closest to me but I didn't want to. My brother's death deserved justice.

I lay down and stared at the ceiling. The room was already extremely hot and my lungs were burning from the smoke. I hoped it would be a fast death.

I could feel the fire getting closer. I didn't look but I could tell it would only be moments until it reached my bed. When that happened I imagined the fire would spread rapidly and I would be consumed.

I thought about my family, the ones that were still alive. They would be losing two loved ones today.

I imagined them crying at the funeral. There would be two caskets. One would be open, my brother laying inside for all to see. The other would be closed, empty, the body meant to fill it having been completely consumed in the fire.

I felt a pain in my chest. My family didn't deserve this. My parents didn't deserve to lose two children, let alone one.

Should I put them through this? Should I give up so easily? Wouldn't a truly strong person face their mistakes? Wouldn't they face the consequences of their actions?

The truth was I wasn't a strong person. I only looked at the weaknesses of others and used them to make myself feel better. I had hidden behind my studying and pushed the world away from me.

Could I be a better person? From this moment on could I be someone that I could be proud of? Could I bring myself to open myself up and enjoy life with others?

The fire reached my bed and began consuming it eagerly.

I looked around. Was it still possible to get out of this fire?

My heart sank. The only places still not on fire was half of the wall opposite the windows and the wall I was next to. It wouldn't be long until these too, were on fire.

I backed into the corner, putting as much distance between the fire and myself.

As the fire grew closer I found myself desiring life more the closer it got. Despite the shame and guilt the desire to live had overpowered them, but it was too late. If I tried for the window I would be burned to death before I got halfway across the room.

"I want to live," I whispered to myself.

Was there any way I would get out of this?

I wanted a second chance at life. I didn't want to die as the person I was. I wanted to start over. I wanted to enjoy life. I wanted to stop hating myself.

The flames licked at my feet. I couldn't go back any farther.

"I don't want to die," I said.

"I don't want to die," I repeated, this time louder.

As the flames neared my feet I began to say this louder. As the flames began to consume me I began to say it more quickly. Finally, as the pain consumed me as much as the fire I began to scream.

Then everything went blank.

 

***

 

Deko had been watching Salis' fight from the rooftop of a building not far from the inn the two had been staying at and she had hated every moment of it. She had grown attached to the Terran and had hoped she would overcome this experiment her "master" had put the girl into.

Deko had been ecstatic when Salis had beaten the boy. She had also felt horror upon hearing what the younger had done to the girl's Calorin family. She had nearly lept out in anger as the younger boy killed two of those that had come in search of the girl.

The thing that Deko hated the most had been watching Salis' mind suffer. The girl had endured it well but even she could only take so much and for the first time that Deko had seen the girl had broken down.

Now Deko watched as Salis screamed and writhed on the ground in front of the servant. She was not sure what thing her master had put the girl through this time but judging from the pain on her face…

Deko knew she had to do something, but what could she do? Could she betray the man who had saved her?

Yes, she thought. Her master had made her help with things none but the cruelest being could do. She had kept telling herself that it was her duty to help her master with these things but now she was sick of it. She wanted to be free of the cruel experiments.

"What did you do to her!?" Deko heard the woman called Meric say to the servant.

"I merely unlocked the memory of her death." He said, smiling.

"Her death?" The boy called Dario said, confused.

"Did she not tell you?" the servant said, still smiling, "For a Terran to come to Calorin they have to die on Terra first and then be reborn here. I had to seal her memories when she came and decided it was time for her to remember."

"Who are you?" Meric asked.

Salis quit screaming and sat up. Her eyes were wide and looked hollow.

"Are you all right Salis," Meric said, rushing up to the girl, but not touching her.

"You can touch her now." The Servant said, "I had made her ability stay on when I gave it to her but now that I am done with her it is not."

Meric slowly put her hand forward and hesitantly touched Salis. When she saw that nothing happened she sighed and looked the girl over.

"Why would you do this?" Meric asked.

"Why would I tell a mortal something?" The servant said.

"You are not going to do this to others are you?"

The Servant smiled. "If you want I could include you. The next experiment will be much larger and I need to find both willing and unwilling participants."

Meric clenched her teeth.

The servant suddenly looked down. Deko saw that Salis had grabbed both of his legs.

The smile disappeared from the Servants face and he looked like he was concentrating on something.

The servant began to reach for Salis. "Maybe I should have taken your ability away instead of…"

Deko took the opportunity to attack. The Servant's attention was completely on Salis now and she hoped he would not see her until it was too late. She also hoped he would not be able to drain her life. If he could give the ability to others it was entirely possible he could use it as well.

Deko landed on the servant's back and sunk her teeth into his neck while using her front paws to restrain his arms and her hind legs to dig into his back.

The servant tried to move but Deko felt as if something were restraining him. Was it Salis?

Deko smiled. She might have a chance, but she would have to be quick.

Several balls of fire appeared in front of her and the servant. The servant was a servant to Lolorai, and since only Melche's servants could use magic he wouldn't be able to. The only problem would be how quickly he healed.

The balls of fire struck the servant in the face. Servants weren't invulnerable and the fire burned his face down to the bone. Despite this Deko could see his flesh immediately begin to regrow.

She made more fire, and this time some spears of ice.

Deko suddenly felt the servant shudder. Thanks to her position behind the Servant she hadn't seen Meric's attack. The woman had picked up Salis' crystal forged sword and had struck the servant in the chest with it, the edge stopping just short of Deko's chest.

"You will pay for your betrayal Deko!" The Servant hissed at her, his voice sounding muddled thanks to the damage from her attack. "And you woman," he said now to Meric, "will be joining her."

Meric pulled the sword out of his chest. The wound healed almost immediately and Deko could hear Meric curse.

"You mortals have no idea what the servants of Deity are capable of!"

Deko knew much of what the servant was capable of, but she knew he was not invincible as shown by the wounds she had been able to give him. The only thing that had to work around was his insane healing speed.

His neck! Deko thought projected to Meric. See if you can decapitate him!

Deko released her jaws from the servant's neck. Moments later she saw Meric come in with the sword and swing as hard as she could at his neck. The blade effortlessly severed his head from his body and it and his body fell to the ground.

Even if you destroy my body I will grow a new one! Deko heard the servant's voice in her head.

"That was easy." Deko heard Dario say.

"Not yet," Meric said.

Deko looked at the servant's head laying on the ground next to his body and swatted it away with her paw as hard as she could. The head had been sliding to the stump of the neck.

Meric ran after the head impaled the sword through the head and into the ground.

Deko had been expecting him to scream at them again, but instead saw fear in his eyes.

Deko smiled and then made the head erupt in flames. Unlike before the servant's flesh resisted the fire. No matter how hot she made the flames it could not overtake his healing abilities.

"Stop," Meric said.

Deko stopped.

Meric pulled the sword out of the ground, not removing the head. Meric then walked over to Salis.

Salis was no longer holding the Servant's legs and was now curled up in a ball. Deko could hear her mumbling things, most of them about blaming herself for the deaths of others or how horrible she was.

"Forgive me, Salis," Meric said. "But we need you to try to do whatever it was you were doing to him again."

Salis stopped mumbling and nodded. She then sat up and reached for the head. Meric handed the head to her. Salis grabbed it, hatred flashing across her face for a moment, before curling back into a ball.

"Thank you for your assistance," Meric said walking to Deko.

Deko nodded.

I am sorry. Deko said. I wish had could have helped sooner but he would have stopped me.

"I do not think any of us could have done anything before Salis immobilized him."

"I am surprised you were able to do anything at all." Deko heard a man say just after he appeared next to Salis.

Meric jumped back but Deko stayed still. She had seen this man before. He was another one of Lolorai's servants.

The man had long flaxen hair, pale blue eyes, and pale skin. He looked as if he could have been brothers with the other servant.

"How embarrassing." He said and pulled the head from Salis' grasp. "Reduced to this by your test subjects."

The new servant looked like he was listening to someone.

"Who said I came to help you?" The second servant said. "Yes, I could hear your calls for help. I would not have known where to find you if not for them."

He listened.

"Why did I wait so long to come? You give our Master a bad name. Not only have you killed thousands in your experiments you have interfered in the course of events in at least one war. You know how are Master feels the mortals should be left on their own."

The new servant listened again.

"Normally I could not do anything to you but this girl can help me."

Deko's master's face went from fearful to terrified.

"I am sorry Terran but I need you to help me."

The new servant pulled the head off the sword and handed it to Salis but did not let go. Moments later the Servant's head stopped moving.

"It is done. He will now be joining the Cycle and be reborn as a mortal."

The servant looked around at the groups of people that had gathered on the street and were watching.

"I am sorry for what has happened here, but I did not have the power to stop him and none of the others felt he was worth pursuing.

"For now all I can do is recommend you leave before the soldiers arrive in the next few minutes."

The servant disappeared before anyone could say anything.

"He is right, we should leave quickly," Meric said.

Deko looked at Salis. The girl had let the lifeless head go and was back to mumbling.

Deko was pained as she watched. She had sat there and watched the girl suffer, the worst being the moans as Salis went through the memories of those she had killed. The injuries she had received…

Deko stood over Salis. She wanted to do something for the girl.

"Quickly! I can hear them coming." Meric said and began to reach for Salis.

Salis recoiled from Meric.

"No! I'll only hurt you!" Salis whispered and curled into a ball.

Meric's usually calm face was filled with sorrow.

I will take her. Deko said to Meric. To someplace she can start over.

Meric stepped back. "Where would you take her?"

Deko was not certain. There was no way Salis would be safe in Toa Mirr and Flaern would probably only remind her of her dead friends and family.

I will ask Usui for help.

"Usui? He was the one that sent her to Korron."

Whether or not he will help, his forest will be the easiest way out of Toa Mirr. He should at least let us through without killing us.

Meric nodded.

"Take good care of her."

Meric ran and picked up Pali's body while Dario picked up the other boy's body. The two ran off down the alley to the inn.

Deko picked up Salis and put the girl on her back. Deko had expected to get the same reaction the Meric had gotten but had not. Salis had even grabbed her by the neck.

Deko could see the soldiers now. They were not too far down the street but she simply jumped on to the roof of a nearby building and began heading west more quickly than any person could hope to match.

Deko kept this pace for nearly a week before she reached the Howling Forest. It had been uneventful thanks to the vast wilderness between towns and villages and the only time she went near when was to get food and water.

During the week, Deko had gotten little rest, and even then could not sleep well thanks to Salis' constant nightmares. Normally the nightmares only lasted a small part of the night but Salis was having them constantly now, and the more she had the less responsive she became. Deko imagined that Salis was seeing the lives of the twins AND the people they had killed.

Not much farther. Deko said to Salis.

The girl made no response. Deko was not even sure if she were awake.

Deko looked at the forest for a moment and then entered it.

She could smell and hear wolves and other animals around them, watching, but none of them attacked. She could also smell a person nearby.

Now that she knew they had been seen Deko sat down. She hoped that the inhabitants of the forest would send word to Usui and he would come to her and just before nightfall he did.

"I am surprised, Salis. I thought you would have avoided anything to do with me." Usui said.

Deko had never met Usui before but she immediately did not like him.

"You come all this way and do not say anything?" Usui said after he saw Salis was not going to reply. "I guess you were never one for talking."

Deko knew that Salis would not say anything so she was going to have to talk. The only problem was that she could not bring herself to speak into a Deity's mind so she would have to change into her human form. She hated taking this form but she could not speak as a cat unlike some of the other Kin.

Deko bowed to Usui and then transformed.

"I had suspected you were one of Melche's abominations from that island," Usui said.

"Forgive me but I seek your help," Deko said, still in a deep bow.

Usui looked at Salis then back to Deko. "What happened?"

Deko could see the worry on Usui's face.

Deko told Usui everything that she knew about what had happened.

"I told Lolorai that he needed to keep better track of his servants!" Usui said angrily.

Deko had seen the anger growing on his face as she had explained but he had let her talk without interruption so she hadn't known what exactly he was thinking.

"To think he would abuse his master's powers like that. Lolorai must be told…"

"If I may make a request," Deko said trying to be as polite as possible.

"Yes?" Usui said, not paying much attention to Deko.

"I want you to help me find a new life for Salis."

Usui finally turned his attention back to Deko and Salis.

"I will help you. It is partly my fault this happened to the child."

Usui walked over to Salis and knelt. When he went to touch her she shrieked and curled up even tighter.

"I do not blame you for hating me," Usui said sadly.

Usui stood back up and turned to Deko.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"She needs to go somewhere where people will not try to use or exploit her. It would also be helpful if we could find somewhere she would be treated normally." Deko said.

Deko had traveled much of the world and read much of its histories and had seen that most of the countries did not even treat their people with respect and many exploited them. The only ones that seemed to be the exceptions were those founded on the principles of Vellis. All the other countries either tried to exploit Terrans, venerate them, or fear them while those countries founded on Vellis tended to care more for talents than physical appearance and usually let people do whatever they pleased. The only downside was that most either fell to more aggressive countries or fell to financial ruin.

"Where were you thinking? I doubt you will find any country like that."

"I was thinking about Amirr. It boarders Flaern to the west and, while it is not as stable as Flaern, I believe their Vellis leanings will help her recover."

There were probably better countries out there than Amirr but it was close and the language was close to the Flaern language so it would not take long for her to get used to it.

Usui laughed.

"I do not see the child appreciating a Vellis upbringing but I think it would help her to learn to enjoy life more."

"Will you take us there?" Deko asked.

"Of course. I will even look for someone to help take care of her."

"Thank you," Deko said and bowed to Usui.

"What of you?" Usui asked.

"I would like to stay with her. I want to pledge my life to her to make up for the things I have helped bring on her."

"Very well. I will have one of my servants take you to one of my groves in Amirr while I look."

Thank you, Lord Usui." Deko said.

Usui disappeared.

Moments later a man appeared. Aside from his strange clothes made of leaves he looked ordinary.

"Come." He said.

Deko picked up Salis and stood next to the servant.

The servant put his right hand on Deko's shoulder. No sooner had he done so than the scenery changed around them. They were still in a forest but there were several people nearby, watching. There was also a stone altar where several naked men and women were praying.

The Servant took his hand off of Deko's shoulder and disappeared.

Now all they had to do was wait. Deko was eager to rest but now that she was in human form there was one last thing she wanted to do.

Deko unwrapped the cloth around Salis' neck. The magic absorbing collar was still there. She had been so focused on getting to Usui that she had forgotten about it and even if she hadn't she need her hands to remove it. That and it was not something important enough to bother with until now.

The collar came off easily. This had not been the first collar she had dealt with but hopefully, it would be the last.

Deko looked at Salis. The girl looked better now, at least physically.

She lay down in the grass next to Salis. Salis was not making any noises at the moment so she felt she would be able to fall asleep more easily than she had been. She closed her eyes. Sleep would hopefully come soon.

Ierus was making another pilgrimage to another temple of another Deity. His wife and daughter had become ill and none of the healers had been able to offer any help. His only recourse had been to make a plea to the Deity. Sadly both had died not long after he had left home. Now he merely traveled to mourn.

He had already long since visited every Deity and simply traveled to forget the pain. He no longer cared about his lands or riches. His family had been his whole life. He knew he could not abandon the people under his care but for now he was content to his wandering.

"Are you Ierus Vellus Son of Adun Lord of Tjui?" Ierus heard a woman's voice call out to him.

"I am he." He said as he turned towards the woman.

Ierus looked at the woman. She was young, perhaps in her mid-twenties, had long black hair, dark eyes, fair skin and was surprisingly fit.

What surprised Ierus was that the woman was holding a Terran child that looked no less than eight or nine years old.

"Did you need something of me?"

"Forgive me for asking this," the woman said, getting on her knees and bowing, "but I would ask that you take care of this child."

Ierus stepped back. The woman was asking him to take care of a child? A Terran child.

"Please, she has endured unspeakable things and I want her to be able to start a new life." The woman continued.

"Who are you?" Ierus asked.

"I am Deko, the child's servant."

"And the girl?"

"The girl's name and past are better left unsaid. I am hoping she will be able to forget it entirely, including her name."

"Why me?"

"We appealed to Usui for help and we were sent to you."

Ierus was stunned. Had Usui himself helped these two or simply one of the priests at the grove he had visited. He was also not sure if raising a child was the best thing for him at the moment.

"Please. I believe you will be able to give her a safe place where she can recover and rebuild her life."

Ierus walked over to the child. The girl recoiled when he got to close. He could practically feel the pain coming from her even though he could see no wounds.

Seeing the girl in such pain brought back his own, but at the same time, he felt the desire to help. Whatever had happened to this girl had been bad and if he could do anything to help…

Maybe this was an opportunity to help not only the girl but himself.

"I will help."

The woman, Deko, bowed again before standing up.

Ierus hoped he was not making a mistake but he felt it was worth the risk. He would do his best to make the girl feel loved and at home. She would not be able to replace those he had lost but he hoped he could help the girl and she, help him. He knew it would take a lot for the girl to open up to him but he knew it would be worth the trouble.

 

And so ends the story of Salis. I know my writing is not the best but writing this was a great learning experience for me and I hope you enjoyed reading it. 

The story is not over yet! As said in the last little bit she will no longer be called Salis and get a new name. This story will also be getting a new name with shorter chapter lengths, and I will be reposting it here and elsewhere as "Artifice: Tools of the Gods." I was also thinking of including the continuation of Bracelet in the continuation as part of Helnion's story so look forward to that as well.