“No, you can’t. Your wounds are too great.”

“No matter. The young one is among the gifted. Bloss will make her evil as he once did my brother.”

Sheeba listened attentively and knew of no way to persuade him against this reckless decision. She helped him to hisfeet.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am Pike, a scholar of Moltro.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Sheeba, the cactus picker of Poe.”

Her joke was in bad taste under the circumstances, but was quickly discarded by her dwarf partner.

Being much too weak to travel on his own, he relied on Sheeba for help. She was uneasy about what she would find at home but kept her feelings to herself.

Suddenly, Sheeba heard a scream. A silhouette of a girl running towards a fiery cabin ablaze in a cloud of scarlet and shades of gray smoke.

“Olya, no,” Sheeba shouted in horror, running towards the scene. Her senses fleeing her as he leapt towards the scene. Her senses fleeing her as he leapt towards the burning house. Entering, she screamed, “Olya, where are you?”

Reaching the small kitchen, Sheeba found her sister kneeling over a body. Soot caked her face and other exposed skin. “Mother, wake up,” she cried. “Please, Mother, you can’t be dead.”

“Olya,” Sheeba cried, holding her, “it’s too late. We have to get out of here.”

Looking up at Sheeba, she said, “Father’s gone too. That man killed him. I tried to warm them. Why didn’t they listen?”

“No time to talk. We’re leaving.”

Sheeba had to force her hysterical sister out of the blaze. Pike remained a safe distance from the house, his wounds still ailing him. He spotted the two girls fleeing the blaze and staggered towards them.

“Pike, you should be resting. You’re not well.”

“Well enough, friend Sheeba. I had to see the gifted ones to safety, the both of you.”

Olya looked to the sky, then to Pike, soot still staining her skin. You know who I am, and the man Yamini spoke of. Bloss. He was one of them?”

“Yes, friend Olya, I have come for you. I had to stop Bloss before the possession could begin. Bloss is a powerful wizard. A century ago the man called Bloss along with my brother, Oarron, tried to harness the power of the great Sphere of Knowledge. Parron died while Bloss lived in banishment.

“Olya, Sheeba, it is the both of you he wants. You are the ones who are destined to be the keepers of the portal. This is the door that is the key to all the dimensions.”

Olya looked on as the blaze died down. “That is why they died,” she said. “They’re gone because of their kindness in taking us in, but he will be punished. We owe them that.”

“Bloss must be dealt with,” Pike announced. “But for now, we will wait. He return is eminent. When you are strong enough, the time will come.”

“Yes,” Sheeba said. “Bloss will be punished.”

Time would be her friend, but the rage would remain. It could only fester until it consumed her fully. A cruel price to pay for vengeance.

So many things in her life didn’t make sense. Things she couldn’t control, but her rage would be forced to stay dormant for now.

In the sands of Death Canyon, a gift was given, but the culmination of destiny would shape the decisions she would make through the growth of intellect and experience.

What the future held could only be learned by living it.