1-2

“But Selplians are builders,” the men persisted. “We cannot fight. We would do better in the armory, serving the ones who can.”

They were called cowards and craven.

“We are not craven. We are builders. We cannot fight.”

But in Armonia, cowards were worse than criminals.

“We are builders...” Reba wrapped the blue-gray smithing scarf around her shoulders.

The mood had severely soured among the Kotter family, and no one quite knew how to fix it. So for a while, they aimlessly walked through the bustling of the Kinship Festival.

Ruby started to lag behind, lost in the annals of thought. Eventually, it caused her to stop and stare at the clouds. Reba watched her mother’s eyes dull, and the tension crease the skin under her piercings.

“I’m alright, Reba,” Her mother patted her head, noticing her worries.

“We should probably head home for the night,” her father said.

“But I’m not tired,” Reba cried out.

“Me neither,” said Kayleb. “I’m hungry, though.”

“No, no... I couldn’t. Not when the kids are enjoying themselves this much.” Ruby smiled.

“You sure?” Koji asked.

“Yeah. I just… I have a bit of a headache, that's all. I just need a moment. Would you mind?” She handed off the sleeping Krisa to Koji, and he held the baby like he didn’t want to break her.

“Ruby, I’m sorry. I…” Koji started.

“I know. I just need some fresh air. Away from the crowds.”

“Ok.”

Baby Krisa immediately started to reel, taking everyone’s attention away from Ruby, who disappeared quietly into the crowd.

A few short whines came from the infant, and Koji scrambled to tuck her into his chest like he’d seen her mother do. But this only started her more. He tried to shush Krisa with his finger, and somehow, it ended up in her mouth until she calmed down.

He sighed. “So what we thinking on food back there?”

“Something sweet, please,” Kayleb answered.

“Well, let's see if we can find somethin for a good price… What say you, Reba?... Reba?” He turned around only to find no sign of his daughter. “Ok, Ruby. I can see how this would be bothersome now.”

Reba had caught sight of a bushel of wild black hair on a man clad in armor. She instinctively followed it, no mind given to disappearing from her father’s sight. She was sure it was that man from before, Osher Strongbow.

She took the stealthy approach and watched him from afar.

He was mingling with the common folk of Armonia. He had his hand to try a few of those basilisk whale skewers. The hosts were gracious enough to hand him a stack for absolutely nothing. No twenty sina. No scary stories. But after a brief argument of courtesy, Osher offered them the coin regardless.

And so the prospect of an Archas Knight became a bit more compelling. Free food was never a bad thing. In fact, if she were an Archas Knight, they’d never have to worry about food again, it looked like. “So why not, Dad?” Reba thought.

After a bit more careful stalking, she ran into a barricade of soldiers guarding a large carriage, followed by an empty convoy of them. She watched Strongbow stroll through the men and enter one of the carriages.

Now, at this point, any normal child might’ve considered the mission lost, but Reba had no inkling of armed guards being an issue. A small number of them nearby were being sold on charms by a lively old salesman, and they were busy deciding whether or not they wanted to be distracted by him. Reba saw the opportunity and walked almost directly under them unnoticed.

From there, she inched a little forward to Strongbow’s carriage. She wanted to ask the man how he was able to use the other archaeas. She wanted to do it too. She thought about how fun it would be to shoot fire from her hands, breathe frost, or even fly or turn into a bear. Maybe she could turn into a flying bear. They were all better than making stools and unusable metal spheres.

“You, girl,” a girl’s voice called. In the next moment, a towelette slapped Reba on the face. It was cold and wet and murky. “Fetch me another, post-haste.”

The girl seemed about the same age as Reba but nearly her exact opposite in looks. Her golden white skin gleamed with all its moisture, and her straightened black hair nearly reached her feet. She was exquisitely dressed in the high fashion of Armonia, wearing a white and gold knee-length dress with striped stockings and a sizeable, jeweled brooch pinned to her chest. Her most distinguishing feature was her large eyes, which seemed to hold a bit of every color in the world. Though they were mostly gold, the other hues seemed ready to overtake them at any moment.

“Don’t throw your dirty towel at me,” Reba snapped.

“The insolence on you. I bet you don’t even know what that means, servant girl. So swallow your insolence and fetch a towel. There’s a mess for you to clean,” the girl mocked.

“I’m not your servant, girly. If you peed yourself or something, you clean it up on your own.”

The girl gasped in a ladylike shock. “I would never… Someone of my status soiling herself would be… why am I arguing with a builder? There must’ve been an err with your training, and you must not know who I am.” She snooted. “I am Naciere De Viav Strongbow, daughter of the Omni Knight Osher Strongbow. First of her name and friend of the king and princess.”

Reba scoffed. “Did your mother name you all that?”

“Of course not. Those are the titles that come with status. Not that you would know, child of the servant god. Based on the way you look, you haven’t a single coin in your pocket, do you?”

“Shut up.”

“Oh. Did I offend you? It’s the truth. You look like you were born to lowly builders and not even good ones. Elsewise, you would be a child of someone in the royal armory or a fat money-grubbing piglet. Even then, you Selplians were made to serve archads greater than you. You can hardly even wield the archaeac tools you make, so make like your god and show some humility. Or else…”

Reba flashed with anger, but even she knew better than to attack the daughter of Osher Strongbow. With nowhere for the anger to go, she balled up the towel in her hand and slammed it to the dirt. Then she stomped on it, feeling smug about herself.

What she wasn’t expecting was Naciere’s hand flashing in front of her and the swift crackling of lightning. In that moment, Reba swore the girl’s eyes had shifted their hue from gold to violet.

She was struck right on the collarbone, and the pinpointed blazing heat of electricity made her lose feeling in her whole body. She slumped to the floor, holding the lower part of her neck and crying for help.

“Guards!” Naciere called. Like clockwork, the once-distracted guards began to surround the scene. One of them seized Reba from the ground while another tended to Naciere, who looked to be near in tears.

“Our apologies, Lady Strongbow. What happened here?” The guard bowed.

“This commoner attacked me out of nowhere. Look. See. She took my towel and threatened to hang me with it,” she whined in a voice two tones shriller than before. “You all are supposed to protect me. I am the Infinite, right? How could you let her get this close to me?”

The guard, realizing he might take the blame for this incident, began overcompensating with apologies and bowing. “I’ll fix this at once.” The main guard looked to the one holding Reba by her head. “Throw her down!”

Reba gasped as the man carelessly tossed her to the dirt. She couldn’t stop the tears in her eyes as the burn from the lightning seared through her body. “It's… not true,” she strained to say.

No one heard. No one tried.

The guard reared back with a long spear undoubtedly made by Selplian hands. Reba looked up, “No. Please don’t.” In the process of covering her head, she caught a cold glance at Naciere De Viav Strongbow’s icy red smile.

“Whoa! Whoa! Stop all this! At once!” a heavy voice boomed. At the sound of the voice, the guards stopped what they were doing, stepping away from the Selplian girl. “You would strike a defenseless child? Where is your manner?” the voice said.

“Our apologies, Ardentia Strongbow. We believed she was planning to attack your daughter, so…”

Reba looked up, and above her was the imposing figure of the Omni Knight looking down on her. His shadow swallowed her whole. He picked her up by her arm and planted her on her feet, much like how her father would, but with somehow ten times the strength.

He had a face of hard lines and pure stone. Though it had clearly seen a thousand battles, there was not a scar on him.

“Is that true?” he softly said to Reba. “You would attack the daughter of the Omni Knight?” He was almost ready to laugh.

Reba looked over to Naciere, who seemed annoyed at her own father’s presence. But over near her was another knight, the strange one with lines marking his face. He was on stage with the others—the space archad.

It was his eyes that Reba found herself staring into. They were filled with an empty, alien aura that made her shrivel. She averted her eyes, holding the left side of her collarbone, feeling the eroded skin, and trying not to cry again.

But then Osher Strongbow hovered his giant hand over the wound. It was as if he were rubbing ointment on it without ever actually touching it. Then she could see some faint glow jump from the wound, and it didn’t hurt as much anymore.

Reba’s eyes widened, and she suddenly forgot the predicament she was in. She ogled the man’s hands like they had performed the greatest magic trick in the world.

“That’s better, isn’t it?”

Reba nodded.

“Now, what were you doing here?”

“I... didn’t… She was making fun of me, and then she attacked me.”

“Did not. You attacked me,” Naciere started. “Father, you really wouldn’t believe this Selplian girl over me, would you?”

“Naciere, you really must show more grace when it comes to the normal folk. Especially ones around your age. You’ll never make friends that way,” Osher chided her.

“Why would I ever want to make friends with someone like her?”

“Keep looking down on me, and you’ll pay for it,” Reba answered defiantly. 

“And how would she do that?” Osher asked. Reba looked at him as he knelt down beside her. He had the same eyes as Naciere, big and full of color, with one overtaking all the others. Though with him, the ruling color was silver. Reba found herself lost in them for a moment, and she felt safe, even though he was the only one around who didn’t look ready to hurt her.

“I’ll kick her butt,” Reba said, drawing laughter from the Omni Knight.

“Oh ho. Well, you might have a hard time with something like that. Not even the Archas Knights would dare challenge my daughter to a fight despite her not even hitting her twelfth year.”

“Well, they must be cowards. I’ll just have to become an Archas Knight and show them how it's done.”

Strongbow’s face grew quizzical. “A Selplian Knight? That would be a new one.”

“I saw one on stage with you before. Wasn’t he a knight?”

“Oh, him. That was the grand armorer. He is no knight. No, my girl. You’d be the first, and I’ll hold you to it. A goal as lofty as that is sure to make the All-Mother and Selpil proud.”

The other knight finally stepped forward, the one with the scary-lined eyes. Somehow, though Reba knew he paled in comparison to the size of Osher Strongbow, his shadow was far larger. “Don’t go filling her head with false dreams, Osher. Shouldn’t you be more worried for your own daughter? She was attacked, you know. Leniency may only put her in more danger.”

“She’s a child, Athi. She’s no assassin.”

The man, Athi, regarded Reba once more. “As is your judgment, but I think it best I escort Lady Strongbow home now.”

“Right. Sure.” The Omni Knight flickered his disappointment

The space archad spun on his heels, and Reba still felt his ominous stare even as his head was turned. It sent a chill down her spine.

 But that didn’t stop Reba from making the ugliest pig face she could at Naciere just before her carriage door closed. She stuck her tongue out to emphasize the point. Naciere’s face puckered as if she had just tasted the world's most sour apple, and Reba was content with that.

Just then, a large, dreaded man started making a ruckus on the other side of the line of guards. “Hey! That’s my daughter. If you just... I’ll grab her and won’t be no bother. Just let me get to her.” Reba grimaced at the voice of her father.

Osher Strongbow gestured to the guards to let the man through, and Koji immediately began bowing and apologizing for whatever his daughter had done.

“Well, she only threatened to beat up my daughter, is all.” Strongbow laughed. Koji’s mouth dropped to the floor, and his eyes opened wide enough to port a small ship. The next moment, his face was in the dirt, apologizing, saying whatever punishment should be put on him and not the child. After about a minute of this, which had the eyes of all in the area, Osher lifted Koji from the ground. “No, I apologize. I couldn’t resist the jest. All is well, my fellow archad. No harm done. As a matter of fact, your daughter was just saying how she would become an Archas knight one day.”

Koji tugged at Reba’s arm, pulling her to his side. “I appreciate your forgiveness, Ardentia Strongbow. Reba is merely full of big dreams. She’s still a child and has yet to know the truth of things. I’ll make sure to teach her better.”

“Is that so?” Strongbow said. “Though I’d be glad to meet a Selplian knight, I am not one to interfere with the wishes of a parent.”

Seeing an opportunity to escape unpunished, Koji gave a small bow and pulled Reba away. If Reba was content with her actions, then her father was the exact opposite. Furious. Raging. A volcano ready to shower her in blazing ash. The fire in Koji’s words grew louder with every step as he dragged Reba around like a sack of rocks. “Do you have any idea” this and “You’re lucky you didn’t” that.

Reba hardly had the mind to listen, for she was just realizing that she forgot to ask the Omni-Knight how he could use so many Archaea. That was the whole point of following him, and now she felt like a pirate being imprisoned without even a sniff of the treasure.

“Do you understand me!?” Koji commanded. Reba nodded, as it was always the quickest way to end a verbal lashing.

“You can’t just go around picking fights with anyone. Those guards would’ve beat the life out of you, or worse, if they thought you actually capable of something.”

“And who says I’m not?” Reba snapped back.

“That’s beside the point... You were out of line. You can’t just be doing whatever you want, whenever you feel like.”

“You sound just like she did.”

“What?”

“That snobby girl, Naciere. If you heard what she said about Selplians, you would’ve snapped, too.”

“Son of a Cerev, girl. That girl can say what she likes to you or anyone else.”

“Why can she and I can’t?”

“'Cuz that girl’s the Infinite. Chosen by the All-Mother. Even if she wasn’t, she’s still child to the most powerful archad in the world. And you’re just...”

“Just a builder?”

Koji paused. “Yes,” he said. “A builder.”

They were approached suddenly by another Selplian man. He was much slimmer than her father, with matted hair half as long and an aura of cold indifference. He held her little sister in his arms and was flanked by a very tired-looking Kayleb.

“Oh. Kreo,” Koji said, nearly surprised at his brother’s appearance.

“Did I... interrupt something?” Kreo had a soft, earthy voice like one would imagine on a frog as it croaked.

“No. Umm, thanks for keeping an eye on the little ones,” her father said.
Reba hadn’t even realized that her siblings weren’t around, but was discomforted by her uncle holding them. It seemed he was, too, because as soon as he got the chance, he threw them back into Koji’s arms. He then aimed his unfocused eyes at Reba.

“Nice to... see you again, I suppose.”

Reba said nothing.

“Don’t mind her,” her father said. “She’s just a troublemaker today. But come now, brother. I’m sure you have great tales of your most recent adventure.” Koji perked up from his mood. “I was so hung up about Reba that I have yet to properly greet you. Where have you gone this time? Delise? Esmeralta? Or perhaps you’ve finally managed to cross the sea to the eastern continent. That would explain why it’s been so many moons since I’ve seen you last.”

“I apologize that my work has kept me... busier than usual. But if you must hear of it, then I’d prefer a meal to warm my thoughts after a long, cold day.”

“Then so it will be. It’s high time for the Kotters to bunker down for the night anyhow.”

“But...” Reba uttered.

“No protest from you. You’ve had enough freedom for the lot of us. Time to stop thinking of yourself for a change. Look how tired your sister and brother are.”

The two looked hardly capable of consciousness, but Reba rolled her eyes.

“But...” she said again. “Mama hasn’t come back yet. We shouldn’t leave without her.”

“Oh... well, that may be a good point. But she needed some time away from the headaches you kids give her. A little more time alone will do her some good.”

“Well, I would worry some,” Kreo said. “The later it gets, the more likely some evils to be afoot. Shadows breed with other shadows. And some are known to prey on lone women.”

“I think, Kreo, you don’t know my wife as well as you think, ay? I’d fear for the shadow that aimed for her back. But there are no spirits in this city like there had been back home. The walls are charmed and protected. She’ll be fine. Once she’s had her time, she’ll come home like a fresh new flower. But for now, even my hands cannot bear these children forever, ay. Come. Let’s walk.”

It was a journey back to the Scrappers’ District, where they lived. The further they got, the more houses seemed to shrink, and buildings became less infected by the whites of the palace than by the bleakness of the hundred-foot charmed walls surrounding the city. The fire lamps lining the walkways were being lit with the coming of the night.

There were hardly any people out in the Scrappers’ District. It was a part of town full of Selplians, the scraps of the builders tossed away in a graying pit of sharp edges and unused tools. There were streetlamps and hearths, but no fire archads to light them. They had to make their fires by hand, build their houses by hand, and fetch their water by hand.

Their home was wrapped in a coat of hardened clay to protect it from the sun. Not everything could be conjured, and homes were proof that even those with builders archaea had to dip their hands in the mud. A metal home would make an easy furnace.

When they arrived at the door, Koji had to conjure a key for them to get in. There was a specially made lock on the door, and only he and Ruby knew the shape of the key to craft. It was the best security they could think of, though it often meant they would be stuck at the door for a while as the key was molded. Once inside, the key would be commanded by their archaea to disappear so there wasn’t a chance another soul could take it. Though they tried not to show it, they were a cautious and distrustful folk, the Kotters.

Koji laid Krisa and Kayleb down to sleep in their cotton bed. They were exhausted by the day outside, overfed by the energy of the festival. Reba, however, found herself quite restless. So she decided to stay up at the table with her father and uncle to no protest.

“Now that the littler ones are away, we can have a proper chat. Go on. Have a seat, Kreo,” Koji said.

Kreo merely looked at him and started conjuring his own stool despite there being plenty set at the table before him.

“Right. I forget these things when you’re gone for so long,” Koji scratched his head.

But that’s how he always was. Kreo never accepted gifts made by others and never put his hands or tuckus on anything he didn’t craft himself. It was one of the things that made him so unlikable to Reba.

Her father had made a bowl of chowder that rested in their icebox. He poured it into Kreo’s personal bowl, and her uncle took it in his lap rather than placing the bowl on the table.

“Why is he so weird?” Reba thought.

Just then, Kreo snuck an untimely glance at her with his icy grey eyes. She was quick to turn away.

“So tell me, Kreo, where have you gone to this time?” her father asked as he ate his own chowder. Reba didn’t get a bowl, likely as some disguised punishment. But she didn’t like the chowder anyhow.

“Everywhere. Nowhere. In truth, it all starts to blend together after a while. I could hardly say where I’ve been this time around.”

“Would you hear that, Reba? Travels across the world and tells me he’s been too many places to remember where he just gone. Think he’s showing off. I’ve been stuck in this city for ten years, and that’s the best you do me. Where’s the story? Where are the world’s wonders and the good food and the foreign pleasures? If I were in your boots, I’d make every journey one to remember with the company I keep. If you get my meaning,” Koji rambled.

Reba didn’t get his meaning.

Kreo kept his head down. “I do not see much, truly. My work keeps me occupied for long hours. Hardly a spare moment for… foreign pleasures.” The words were awkward coming from Kreo’s mouth.

“Is there truly nothing to tell?”

“Well... I suppose the company had an encounter with a spirit or two. We happened to slay the Feathered Serpent. It was quite the beast, that spirit. The men pursued it for an entire day, and the battle took just as long. Nearly got me good. Took a swing from its tail that cracked my chest plate.”

“A spirit?” Reba spoke from her chair. “You fought an actual spirit?”

Kreo took a glance at his brother before replying. “No. I’m just the armorer. I don’t actively participate in the battles. Just provide support whenever a soldier finds his weapon or shield broken.”

“Well, what did this... Feathered Serpent look like?”

“Uhh... as it sounds. A large snake, nearly as long as a basilisk, but covered in red and green feathers. It can even sprout wings if it’s backed into a corner.”

“Really?” Reba tried to imagine it, and the creature in her head was one to behold. “And you killed it?”

“I umm... Koji—”

“Reba. Perhaps it’s time you joined your brother and sister, ay? I’m sure it’s not a story for a child’s ears,” her father said.

“I’m old enough to know what it means to kill something. Besides, spirits don’t actually die. They just go to sleep and wake up when they’re better. That’s what makes them scary.”

“Reba, that’s enough,” her father forced the disciplinarian into his face. “You havta learn when to respect your parents’ wishes and do as I say.”

Reba pouted but eventually did as she was told, stepping into the other room. Though she didn’t get in the bed, instead she sat by the opening and listened.

The two adults talked for a while about nothing as interesting as fighting a giant snake-bird. Though Kreo seemed to act just as anxious when the children weren’t around, and he never raised his voice higher than a slow croak. She had to strain to hear him.

At a point, they reminisced about their old life in Selpil. The two used to own a shop together where they specialized in sheet metal and wrappings to reinforce walls and other inanimate things.

“Would you ever return there... if you could?” Kreo asked.

“I can’t say I’ve considered it all that much.”

“It’s changed since we’ve been gone.”

“Kreo, don’t tell me you’ve gone back.”

“No. Just looked at it from afar. It’s all I can do with many things. But there is nothing stopping your return, truly. It doesn’t seem this place is the paradise we thought it would be.”

“Are you kidding? After the trouble it took to carry one child across the realm, there’s hardly a way I can go back with three. But a place like Armonia does make life easier. You’d figure it if you’d stay longer than a few days at a time. It’s convenient having the other archaeas around. Right round the corner, I get ice for the ice box. There’s a lady who can heat a bath with her hands. No one ever goes thirsty, and the Magmen tend the soil, so food’s always fresh at the market.”

“Aye. But in Selpil, they do not settle disagreements with swords, unless they are for trading. This city always seems troubled by conflict, and you have as well. You look older, brother. As does Ruby. This place has taken much from you.”

“I don’t blame the city. But really, must you be so dour all the time? I don’t wish to think of such things. And if Ruby were to hear you talk about her looks that way, I’ve no doubt you would leave here with a pot attached to your cranium.” Koji forced a laugh.

“Speaking of, isn’t it time Ruby returned? The moon is on full rise. Where could she be at this hour?”

Reba heard Kreo stand from his stool. “I’ll go search for her.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s fine, Kreo. Probably on her way back this very moment.”

“Still, it’s best to make sure.”

“Then I should go with you.”

“No. You must keep an eye on the children. I’ll be fine.”

“But the children are asleep. They’ll be fine with a lock on the door.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Kreo said.

Reba peeked around the corner, unsure if he had truly known she’d been there the whole time, only to find that her uncle was looking directly at her. Caught in the act, she had no choice but to step into the light, a little embarrassed.

Koji sighed. “Reba... for the love of the Mother.”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“The door,” Kreo said.

Koji then pushed the door open for Kreo to leave. The man didn’t hesitate, stepping into the night, nearly ignoring Koji’s warning not to linger too long, elsewise he’d be right behind him.

When he was gone, Koji was thoughtful. Whether he was thinking about the whereabouts of his wife or what to do with his unruly child, Reba couldn’t tell. But her uncle’s words to him had made her sad. She didn’t quite know why, but he kept talking as if something bad had happened. He was right. They did look older—like they aged more in the last year than any other.

“I really am sorry,” she insisted. “I hope it isn’t me making you and Mama sad.”

Koji’s eyes widened with a touch of regret. “Why would you think that?”

“You said I was a headache, and Mama has seemed really stressed lately. She took her walk after I brought up Romy, and instead of behaving, I got in trouble.”

“Mm... come here,” Koji said, lifting Reba with his big hands and setting her on the table as he sat in front of her. He then looked at her long and hard. Reba found it hard to look him back in the eye.

“You know, you do resemble her a lot,” he said.

“Who?”

“Your mother,” Koji answered. “When you’re apologizing, your eyes grow three sizes, and when you’re bored, they shrink to the size of a pebble like a little sloth. But I never noticed it till now.”

“Dad, I’m serious.”

“As am I.” He made a silly face, which ended up getting a chuckle out of her.

“Look, your mother and I are okay. Sometimes, making sure you kids are okay too is tough work. So sometimes we just get a little tired. But once we rest up we’ll be good as new.”

“Then Mama will be okay?”

“Of course.”

“Then... can you tell me what Selpil is like? And the place you and Mama grew up?”

“Well... if I must.”

For nearly half an hour, then, her father recounted as much as he could about the Conjurers’ Realm. A place full of nothing but builders, where the streets were bustling with conjured items: Statues, plates, arms, and anything he could think of.

The houses were stacked high on top of each other, and every day when he looked up, a great sword and shield hung over the entire city. And spirits couldn’t get in because their cities always had at least three great walls surrounding them.

After a while, the stories had put Reba to a soft, sound sleep. Her father gave her a kiss on the forehead before placing her in the bed with her other siblings and wrapping them in a warm sheet.

It wasn’t long before Reba was jolted awake by shouting.

It was her father’s voice— he sounded panicked. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The muffled yelling was coming from outside, but it wasn’t long before the lock on the door rattled, and the voices flooded in.

“What do we do!?”

“Just sit her down.”

“I can’t think... I can’t think...”

“Koji. Sit her down... easy.”

“What’s going on?” Reba asked, still half-tired.

When she walked out into the living area, her elders immediately straightened up and closed the shade to her parents’ bedroom. Koji looked just as panicked as he sounded. Just the looks on their faces were enough to sober Reba from her sleep.

“What is it?” she said. A large rustling and a crash exploded from behind the curtain. “Is Mama back there?”

“No! No...” her father said—at first loud, and then quieter. “Your mother is still out. She’s looking for something... and has to stay with a friend tonight.” He tried to smile, but ultimately failed, twisting his lips.

The thing behind the curtain moved again. The shadow of it turned and flipped. It seemed like a person, but also not one. It had arms and legs but moved them erratically, like the bones were being shocked with electricity.

Reba’s gaze lingered toward it. However, her father was quick to block her view.

“Then who is that?” she asked.

“No one!” her father snapped.

She then turned to Kreo. His face was covered in dirt. A small streak of blood was coming down his forehead, and his eyes were red.

“Listen, Reba.” Her father forcefully took her attention. “I need you to be good and do as I say. Understand?”

She nodded hesitantly.

“Ok. Go back to bed and watch over your baby brother and sister. Everything is okay. I promise.”

Reba was hesitant to believe him, but the look on his face was sincere. It was a stern look that said everything was under control, but this was not a time to disobey. She turned back around, closing the room’s curtains behind her, and curled up with her siblings.

Though rest didn’t come back to her for several hours. Because she knew that her father had told at least one lie.

Someone was in that room.