The Unburned Island

The view on the way here nearly made this long trip worthwhile. Pity something ugly infested such a beautiful place. The paved road leading to the old schoolhouse was in good shape despite years of neglect. Cracks made the car ride bumpy but not impassable.

The car stopped in front of a black iron gate guarding an old building. A heaviness settled on Kiran Ava as soon as she stepped out of the vehicle. Whatever still lived in this monstrous building took pleasure in wringing out pain and suffering from its victims.

Kiran agreed to spend the weekend here because her friend asked. She needed to learn to say no to En Libore. He saved her enough times to earn an affirmative when he needed a favor. She should rethink that policy but the way he asked her to join his team hinted he was in some trouble. Their boss knew but wouldn’t tell her.

Her alarms were going off again. En wouldn’t accept a job like this.

She couldn’t feel any power. As an Other, Kiran could tap into the rivers of power flowing through everything. The island blocked the rivers somehow. She’d have to be more careful with the power stored inside. Fortunately, Kiran had backups but she’d rather not use them.

They were on a small island people no longer visited, eight hours away from their home base, Stonehall. Kiran was stuck here.

A flashy, red vehicle pulled behind them followed by rows of larger cars. By the feel of it, humans and Others were here. The ferries were working overtime today.

En stood beside her. “Someone with a lot of wealth and power wants this building purified. They got our and the human governments involved. I don’t know why they had to turn it into a competition. I think this is going to be a school for humans and Others.”

Kiran’s kind interacted with humans often enough but, for the most part, they attended separate schools. Many people tried creating an integrated school but humans would get hurt because Others lost control of their power. Others’ bodies were hardier. What knocked them unconscious could potentially kill a human. Getting hospitalized in a school with Others was normal. Human parents couldn’t understand that.

En examined the land.

Something was off. En’s expression usually turned greedy when he talked about rewards but he seemed less than enthusiastic about this adventure. Why did he accept the job if he didn’t want to do it?

Three males climbed out of the red vehicle and gave En and Kiran dismissive smirks.

Shifters. Others could senses their own kind by their aura. Shifters smelled like the outdoors no matter where they were. As the dominate Other, common shifters like wolves, bears and domesticated cats thought themselves above the rest. They weren’t more powerful. They were simply too loose with their seeds.

Kiran’s closed her eyes, pushing down her power. A bad sign if she was losing control so early. Through her eyes, Kiran’s power would reach inside her victim and explode. It could destroy the whole body or parts of it. She knew how to focus on something specific now. In the past, if her gaze lingered on someone for too long, her power assumed she wanted them dead. She was weaker back then so she never killed anyone. She was forced to wear ugly protective glasses until she was fifteen. That didn’t get her any friends. It did make her a magnet for bullies.

En was her biggest tormentor. For many years, she imagined all the ways she’d kill him. She never thought she’d grow to like him.