Under the curtain Horo readied the truck with fuel. Unloading the back with bedding and rags. The groaning of Ben didn’t stop even after Horo fluffed his pillow. “Come on Akli, I know you can walk.”

  “This is stupid…I want…to sleep.”

  “We don’t have time,” Horo said as he opened the passenger door. “Here, take my hand.” Horo helped Akli up. Akli let his weight fall into the seat as Horo buckled him in. “I’ll turn on the heat…” Horo turned the key. Into the darkness they departed. Skating through a cold road of parted sand.

  Dushyanta locked the door as he bolted the windows. Pacing through the room, he recounted their supplies. Eyelids twitched under the lamplight. Dushyanta looked about the room with eyes like those of a slithering cat.

  “Dushyanta, why don’t you sit down? You look like you haven’t slept in forever,” Valory said. Although commenting on his appearance, she couldn’t see much with his constant moving.

  “I think Horo is responsible, half of what we have done couldn’t have been done without him. However, what he has planned is incredibly dangerous. Same with Akli…do none of you notice what we’ve gotten ourselves in?”

  “I understand your concern—”

  “No you don't, Valory! Really think about it. I can stretch my belief into the idea of seeing the future, maybe being good at the lotto, but a whole mountain moved by one man is insane. You can control water, ice, I don’t know? I’m being told that Ben caused an explosion from nothing that has left him disfigured. Do you not see what is wrong here? I was trying to play it cool…but this is ridiculous.”

  “…”

  “Dushyanta, if you could harness the same power, would that make you more comfortable?” Haza asked.

  “What are you getting at?”

  “You believe I can see the future, that is enough. If you learn from Valory, then I think you will be able to harness something similar.”

  “How’d you come to that conclusion?” Dushyanta paused as he was about to sit down. The lamp placed on the floor between the three.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “It’s just a thought, something that came to my mind. It’s not a guarantee.”

  Valory said: “I can give you the rundown on how I did what I did. Although, I suspect that these powers are derived from the elements. So it may not be the same for you.”

  “Keep going,” Dushyanta said.

  “So far I have water, fire from Krow, earth of some kind…that’s three different things.”

  “Metal as well,” Haza interjected.

  “Metal?” Dushyanta questioned.

  “My father’s element…”

  “So they are elements as I suspected?” Valory asked.

  “Metal is something I heard in passing, that’s about as much as I know.”

  “That’s good enough. If we suspect that metal, fire, water, and earth are all elements, then they obviously have affinities, and as such, they must also have antipathy with one another. Water against fire. Earth to metal perhaps…I suspect there are more. If we add in healing, the arrows and lines as Akli and you see; we can also conclude that there are some abstract concepts as well.”

  “I wasn’t really gonna get into all of that. I was just saying water may not be your thing,” Valory said, a little overwhelmed by Dushyanta’s concentration.

  “Answer me this Princess, say the darkness that surrounds us…could one manipulate in the same manner as Valory?”

  “I don’t see why not, but it’s also something I wouldn’t know objectively.”

  “I see…” Dushyanta stroked his chin. “Tell me Valory, what are the conditions to your power?”

  “If I hold my breath, I can control water in the air, the more air I have the more water I can gather. By making certain sounds with my hands I can freeze the water, controlling it various ways. However it takes a lot of concentration, so I don’t bother with that. Rather I make quick interchanging freezes by controlling where the water will appear, that way I don’t have to make the ice travel, rather I can just form it in an instant wherever I want.”

  “Hmm, that sounds ridiculous…”

  “It’s honestly pretty hard, it also makes me exhausted. Because you can’t unfreeze the ice or separate the collected water when holding your breath. It’s kinda a one and done deal.”

  “I figured…the limitations are clear, effectively this power wouldn’t work well against earth. A drawn out assassination type…I suppose that could work.”

  Dushyanta, I don’t wish to sound mean, but your concentrating face has always looked rather creepy. Valory thought as she scooted back some. In the cusp of her thoughts she expanded her eyes as she noticed what Dushyanta was trying to do. His hand sinking into nothingness.

  “I think I figured it out…the conditions aren’t too terrible. Serviceable I would say,” Dushyanta said with the black of the room wrapping him like a tree.