This isn't what I wanted. I had no other choice.

-Snowfall 20th, 493

Desten Oros and his pudgy young cousin Desten Oros 2 arrived a half hour later. I stared in surprise, and Desten Oros glared when he saw me watching him, but then turned as Pelys greeted him and didn't glance my way again.

An hour later, Desten 6 arrived with Trancy.

I was watching for it, so I saw the moment Pelys excused himself and flashed up a barrier around the entire building, deep blue that almost matched the evening sky outside, but visible if I knew what to look for. I tensed, ignoring Desten 3’s concerned query beside me.

Pel stepped up onto a raised platform that hadn’t been there a moment before, painted of blue light, and tapped his glass to send an echoing ring across the room. Conversations fell silent as everyone turned to face him.

“Thank you all for coming. The time has come to disclose the reason for my rather unusual choice of party guests. You are all here to bear witness.” Pel’s casual tone turned abruptly sharp and demanding. “Eirn Desten!” Half the people in the room snapped to full attention. “I challenge you for the light you bear, as you once challenged Eirn Fylen.”

Yellow light flickered across the room as half the Destens immediately shifted into readiness positions. Desten 3, sitting beside me, did not summon his own power but simply stared, his face pale and eyes wide. Desten 5 half stood, before his mother shook her head and gestured for him to stay seated. Desten Oros was surrounded by his own orange light as he backed toward his cousin, keeping himself between Pelys and the younger man. Desten Oros 2, for his part, simply continued playing with his power, seemingly oblivious to the sudden tension in the room.

If Pel had hoped the guilty one would simply step forward to face him, he was disappointed. No one seemed sure how to react, until the older Sarosa man laughed, breaking the tense silence.

“Hah, what kind of antiquated mummery are you putting on now, Pel? ‘For the light you bear?’ I’ve never even heard that challenge used. Is it even legal any longer?” He shook his head, holding up his glass. “Besides, who issues a challenge at a party? It’s very poor taste.”

“I am entirely serious.” Pelys paced slowly across the platform, gaze drifting across the assembled Destens.

“You want to challenge me, challenge me on the Verdis pitch,” Desten 2 shouted. “I don't duel.”

After a moment Pelys nodded. He pointed to Desten 2 and the Varon woman, who must be Desten 8 as she’d reacted to the name. “Not you then. Over there.” He waved them toward where Desten 3 and I sat frozen.

Desten 2 snorted derisively but did as indicated, eyeing Desten 8 as they walked over, earning a cold glare from his current girl - a different one than when I saw him last.

“You, over with him,” Pel ordered, pointing Desten 7 toward where the old Sarosa man stood. Desten 7 complied, grabbing a full glass on his way over and downing it in two gulps.

“Well?” Pelys demanded, continuing to pace. “I know it was you, Eirn Desten. I saw it. I bet you didn’t realize you weren’t alone did you? In the forest that night, with the snow falling, conserving your fire in a red dome woven by your accomplice, you thought you had Fylen by himself. Did you really think I wouldn’t hunt you to the ends of the world?”

“Excuse me, what the heights are you talking about?” Desten Oros spoke up sharply. “I demand that you release us immediately. I do not appreciate being lured here under false pretenses.” He glowered in my direction, and I half expected him to start accusing me of deception on the spot.

“Quiet!” Pelys snapped. “I’ve waited this long to get justice and no one leaves here until I’m satisfied!”

“Um, can I go?” asked Desten 5’s little sister, holding up her hand tentatively. “I’m not Desten.” She glanced anxiously around, seeming uncertain.

“Ssh, wait, Tali,” Retti hushed her. “We’ll all leave together or not at all.” She stood, looking up at Pelys defiantly. “If you wish to instigate violence, at least let my children leave first.”

For the first time, Pel seemed to falter. He stared at Desten 5 and Tali, their obvious fear, and their angry mother facing him down. His eyes glanced toward Aneeyha, and I mentally urged him to do the compassionate thing and let them leave.

But his expression hardened, and he shook his head. “No one leaves until this is decided.”

Retti didn’t back down. She took another step forward. “Then I challenge you, Eirn Sarosa. I challenge you for my family’s honour.”

Pelys seemed taken aback, again he faltered, speechless for a moment.

“Mom, no,” Desten 5 said, standing. His voice trembled. “It’s fine, we can wait, see what—”

She gave him a look, and he stopped talking. He sat back down, hunching in on himself.

“I have gathered you all to seek justice for Fylen, not—”

“Didn’t you just say he fought within a duel enclosure?” Retti demanded. “There is no justice to be sought. Duels exist for a reason, Eirn Sarosa. Not for petty vengeance. For true wrongs, and for settling what honour demands. If eirn Fylen was killed in a duel, you should have either challenged his opponent at the time or let it lie. Your obsession does you no favors.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled across the room.

“Now, either accept my challenge or let us go.”

“Clear the floor,” Pelys ordered, dissolving the platform he stood on as he hopped down to the floor. There wasn’t much furniture in the center of the room, probably intentionally, but there had been people standing about. They quickly vacated the space, leaving Pel and Retti facing each other.

I couldn’t help feeling this was a stupid waste of energy. Why not just let her take her kids and go? He'd be revealing his power and style to killer Desten. There was no benefit to doing this.

But he was Pel, and he didn't hesitate. “I accept your challenge, eirn Retti. What terms would you set?”

“We fight to concession, for honour and my freedom from your deceitful trap.”

“Agreed.” Red and blue light flared together, forming a dome around the combatants. The power twisted and locked together, lines of red creeping through the blue and blue sprawled into the red.

They’d both created the barrier in the same moment. I could see Pel’s surprise; he hadn’t expected Retti to be as strong or fast as she was. But he shouldn’t have underestimated an angry mother. I could have told him that.

Pel shot forward, faster than I’d ever seen him move, and slammed Retti off her feet and up against the inner wall of the barrier. He’d collided with her physically, pushing out his dissipation pulse ahead of him perfectly timed to break through her initial shield.

Before she could react, Pelys had her pinned, knee against her chest, forearm across her throat, pressed into the red glow of the dome.

“Concede.”

She coughed, shook her head, and red light flared. Pelys was pushed back as Retti’s bubble slid back into place around her. Except this wasn’t a solid shield bubble, it was five spinning planes of force, and when Pelys stepped back there was blood across his chest, his robes torn in three perfectly parallel lines.

I wasn’t the only one who gasped.

Retti stepped forward, her spinning blades aura expanding as she moved, the expression on her face set in cold determination.

Pelys wasn’t going to give up that easily. He began dispelling her scything blades before she could reach him, dissolving them as rapidly as they reformed. At the same time, he was spreading blue power across the floor as he slowly backed up. Retti continued advancing. The moment she stepped onto the blue power, Pelys stopped his retreat and leapt forward. She tried to turn, but her feet had frozen in place.

Pelys jumped into the air, blue light pulsing out from him as frost gathered across Retti’s entire body. She broke free a second later, but Pel had created a horizontal wall of ice between them, himself above, Retti below. She replaced her blade aura just before Pel dropped onto the ice wall. He slammed down atop her, power flaring out to dispel her blades. She fell to the floor, power flickering as she tried and failed to re-establish her blades. Pelys's power flared out in tiny bursts that disrupted them before they could even manifest.

“Concede,” he said again, not unkindly, but without wavering.

“No,” she gasped, her voice faint against the weight pressing down on her. “At least let Tali and Desten go.”

“I can't let anyone leave. Just concede, wait in the corner and bear witness.”

Retti's eyes narrowed, then her power flashed out in a sudden pulse. Pelys stumbled and fell forward as his ice wall melted away. I caught a flash of surprise across his face, then Retti was back on her feet and sprinting across the barrier.

Pelys recovered quickly, and then they stood opposite each other, both breathing heavily, surrounded by their power.

“Let us go,” Retti said.

“I can't. Not until I know for sure.”

Retti's blades spun into being around her and she dove forward. Pelys's bubble flashed and dissipated the moment before she connected, and that's when I realized she'd figured out how to replicate his dispersal technique. Mid-duel.

Not good. If Retti could figure it out so quickly, killer Desten would surely not be far behind. The last thing we needed was for him to have another advantage!

I wanted to yell at Pelys to stop, but my voice was stuck in my throat. And he probably wouldn't listen anyway.

Why did he have to rush into things? This was stupid, a pointless waste of time and energy. And why was Retti so eager to throw herself into danger? Even for an over-protective mother this seemed a bit on the extreme side. They were both hot-headed fools.

The two disengaged and returned to their respective edges of the duel circle. Pelys’s robe had a few new slashes and he stood draped in his blue healing power. Retti’s simple dress remained untouched.

Desten 2 applauded loudly. With a grin, Desten 6 joined in.

I narrowed my eyes at Desten 6. Was this the behavior of a killer? Laughing as his nemesis expended his energy needlessly? Or just a jerk who enjoyed manipulating emotions?

Desten 7 seemed to be on his fourth drink, judging by the empty glasses beside him. Was he feeling guilty, desperate, trying to figure out a way to escape without his identity being revealed as the killer?

Flashes of red and blue tried to draw my attention back to the spectacle, but I had a more important job now. I may not be able to gather any more information about the Destens directly, but I could watch their reactions.

Desten 1 stood quietly talking to the Sarosa stranger who was probably Vess, his own bubble up and almost too opaque to see through.

Desten 2 watched with a grin, clapping every time either combatant got in a particularly good hit. He’d dropped his bubble the moment it became obvious he wasn’t being targeted. And he kept stealing glances at Desten 8, who seemed torn between watching the show and watching him. The older Varon man watched both of them with obvious disapproval.

Desten 3 sat frozen, staring with the kind of horrified fascination of someone who’d never seen a duel before and couldn’t look away.

Desten 5 stood gripping the tablecloth in front of him, eyes riveted on the deadly battle his mother fought for his freedom. Tali sat across from him, her face hidden in the overlay of her robe which she’d pulled up over her eyes, flinching at every sound.

Desten 6 grinned as he watched, his bubble thin but still active, its yellow interwoven with Trancy’s red beside him. Trancy watched the fight with a faint half smile.

Desten Oros had herded his cousin into the corner and built a triangular fortress of his orange power, thick walls to easily rival anything Pelys had created in our training.

Desten 7 seemed determined to drink his way through Pelys’s entire stock. I couldn’t remember if he’d reacted with a shield when Pel issued his challenge, but if so he’d dropped it by now.

Let, Lan, and Aneeyha had spread out into a rough triangle, positioning themselves toward the outside of the room, each close to one cluster of people. Aneeyha stood closest to us, between Desten 2 and 3. Let stood by the tables near Destens 5 and 7, while Lan had positioned herself between the fight and the Oros duo.

The older Sarosa man watched the fight with tight-lipped disapproval.

My breath huffed out in irritation. My intuition was failing me again. I couldn’t tell if any of them looked guilty. Honestly, of all the people in the room Pelys seemed the most unhinged at the moment. I couldn’t really fault Retti for wanting to get her family away, or Oros for bunkering up in the corner. If I didn’t know Pel was just a weirdly violent person in general, I’d probably be hiding too.

I turned my attention back to the fight, which was surprisingly still going on. I would never have guessed Retti had the strength to hold Pel off for minutes. But, then, I’d never seen her in rank-depicting clothing, so I didn’t know where she rated.

Pelys and Retti flew around each other in tight circles, exchanging flares of power too fast for me to make out any individual attack. They seemed remarkably evenly matched, though I knew Pel must be holding back so as not to hurt her. He’d gone this long without landing a single injuring strike. That had to be intentional; his every move focused on controlling her movement and forcing her to concede, rather than on causing damage.

They'd moved on to stronger attacks now, giving each a vibrant clarity that normal power usage lacked, a vivid sharpness that made their power look less like painted light and more like splintered glass. These more focused attacks pinged off the interior of the barrier in a rapid staccato as the combatants evaded or smacked away strikes too powerful to be dispersed.

I was glad for the barrier. Without it, everyone in the room would probably be dead by now.

Then Pel twisted underneath and pulsed up his disruption, knocking Retti’s flight out from under her while her attention was elsewhere. She tumbled from the air, and Pelys followed up with a cloud of ice that crashed down, freezing Retti to the floor and trapping her arms and torso against the ground.

“Concede,” he growled, and I could hear the impatience in his voice. He was getting tired of the delay.

Just do it, I silently urged her. You don’t want to make Pel angry.

Red power surged, and the ice dissipated. She pushed herself to the side and in a moment was back on her feet, a blade forming in her hand once more.

This could go on indefinitely if Retti refused to back down and Pel continued to toy with her, and all we were doing was giving killer Desten more time to assess, more time to recover from the shock of being outed, more time to plan how to escape.

I jumped to my feet. “Stop!”

Both Pel and Retti turned in surprise.

“Please, this is pointless.” I gestured around at the others. “We’re here to find killer Desten, not fight each other! Retti, please, I promise Pel isn’t going to do anything to hurt you or your family if you cooperate. Just stand down, hide in the corner like the Oros guys if it makes you feel better, and as soon as we’ve sorted this out you can go.”

Retti slammed a spear of sharp-edged red through Pelys’s chest.

Pelys gasped and stumbled. Distracted by my plea, he had lowered his guard. Retti hadn’t.

“No,” she growled. Another spear of red force appeared in her hand and she pointed it at Pel’s throat. “Concede. Let my family out.”

Desten 2 applauded.

Pelys roared. The duel enclosure flickered as his entire body emanated blue energy, tearing apart the red spear through him, shattering the one in Retti’s hand into fragments that dissolved into nothing. Before she could react, his power slammed down onto her like an angry river, throwing her violently to the ground.

She didn’t move. Her half of the duel barrier began to dissipate, red energy melting away, then Pel’s blue followed.

The duel had ended.

“NO!”

Yellow fire flared in a sudden brilliance. I blinked and looked away, the blinding light and sudden heat hitting me with unbearable intensity. I backed away as far as I could, but still the fire was too much.

“MOM, NO!”

Desten 5, I vaguely thought. Poor kid. Already walking the balance-edge with his father absent, how would he cope now?

I squinted and just made out the wall of white-yellow fire splitting the room in half, separating Pelys from Retti. Desten 5 had moved, kneeling by his mother’s side.

“Someone save her, please!”

I couldn’t tell what had happened exactly, but as my eyes adjusted to the brightness I thought she seemed to be still breathing. That was good. I would hate to imagine poor Desten 5 losing both his parents.

“Let me,” said the person I assumed to be Vess, stepping forward. He placed his hands on Retti’s chest and forehead, then silver light gleamed from his hands before slowly spreading across her body.

Desten 5 stood, fists clenched at his sides, yellow fire licking across his hands and up his arms and glowing from his eyes. “I accept your challenge, eirn Pelys.”

The wall of fire dissipated as Pel spiked it. I wasn’t sure if he’d be shocked or angry, but he only shook his head. “It was not meant for you, boy,” he said, his voice calm.

“Your challenge said Desten. And you refused to let us leave. That means—” he swallowed and glanced away, then clenched his fists and glared back at Pelys. “You’ve already hurt my mom. I’m going to stop you before you hurt anyone else.”

Then Retti groaned faintly, and Desten’s attention dropped, his fires vanishing in an instant as he knelt by his mother’s side again. “Mom?”

She shook her head. I saw her mouth move, and Desten stiffened. “No,” he said faintly. She took hold of his sleeve and continued speaking, too low for me to make out.

Pelys stood still, waiting for Desten to recant, not making a move. A bit late for sensible behavior, but better late than never I supposed.

“Nevermind, I don’t want to fight,” Desten mumbled. He straightened, eyes downcast. “I’ll go sit with Tali.”

Pel let him go, and I exhaled in relief. That could have been very bad.

“I told you this would be more fun than the standard party,” Desten 6 told Trancy in a carrying whisper.

I still couldn’t tell if he were the killer or just a terrible person, but either way I wanted to punch him. It was probably for the best that I didn’t have either the power or temperament to carry through on such idle thoughts.

Vess helped Retti to her feet, then stepped back.

She stood facing Pelys across the open space, the tiles of the floor scored and melted by their fight, a perfect circle of destruction.

“Your duel ended,” Pelys said. “Go sit with your children until this is over.”

Desten 5 held his sister’s hand and they were backing away from Pelys toward the edge of the outer barrier which still surrounded the building.

“Our business is not concluded until my family is safe,” Retti hissed. “You of all people should understand this.”

“I do understand. But I cannot risk opening an exit until this is settled.”

Retti smiled. “If an answer is what you seek, then I can help. But only once you promise to let my children leave in peace.”

Pelys shook his head. “What could you know?”

“I know exactly who killed Fylen Sarosa, and why. If that is truly what this whole charade is about, then simply promise your protection to my family, and I will tell you everything you want to know.”

What.

What??

How?

If Pelys and I hadn’t been able to solve this with months of independent investigation, and then more months of further investigation after joining forces, how could Retti know anything? She was a housewife holding a crumbling family together while running all over the world searching for a cure for her husband’s condition.

Though … housewives did hear things. Rumors could spread just as fast through lower channels as through high. The gossip of the servants could be as insightful as the debates of the nobility.

But still. How?

If she knew, shouldn’t everyone?

Pelys hesitated a long moment, then slowly nodded. “I will do my best to shield your family from coming to any harm. Speak.”

“Take down your wall and let them leave. I swear, the one you want will not escape, and I do not want them to watch this.”

Pel shook his head. “Not until I’m satisfied.”

“Very well.” She straightened and took a step forward. “Regardless of what you think you saw, I, and I alone, am fully responsible for Fylen Sarosa’s death.”

Tali started crying. Desten shushed her, backing them right up to the edge of the barrier.

Desten 2 applauded. Desten 7 helped himself to another drink.

I sat down hard, stunned by the admission. She had to be lying. Fylen had said ‘Desten’ distinctly. Maybe, possibly, Resten or Desrin. But not Retti.

Desten 1 looked directly at me, gesturing with his head. I couldn’t tell what he wanted. I shrugged.

This didn’t make any sense.

“Now let my family out.”

“You would say and do anything if you thought it would get them out of here,” Pelys said. “Not until this is over.”

“Why?” I asked faintly, but Retti heard.

She turned to me, and a look of distaste crossed her face. “You wouldn’t possibly understand. You’ve no family, no ties, no one. Fylen was going to ruin everything.” She turned back to Pel. “And now you want to get in my way too.”

“What are you saying,” he asked, voice low.

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. No one can know. No one can speak of it. You have no idea how important this is! Without complete secrecy, we’ll lose everything. I told Fylen that, but he insisted on bringing others in. If I hadn’t stopped him in time, he would have brought the conversant down on us all.”

What.

“But he knew the risk,” Retti continued. “He chose to accept the challenge, though he could have walked away.” She faced Pelys squarely. “If you must seek vengeance, here I am. But know that I will fight you to my last breath. No wrong has been done. Fylen's death broke neither law nor tradition. Everything I have done, I would do again to protect my family.”

What.

But—

No. She couldn’t be killer Desten. That didn’t make sense.

Fylen’s killer had been definitely male. Hadn’t he? My nightmares and memory had become so jumbled up over each other, I couldn’t tell any more. But it was Desten. I was so sure. Fylen had said Desten. I had no reason to fabricate the name.

Here we were, with all the Destens.

And then it clicked.

She never said ‘I killed Fylen.’

She said ‘I’m responsible for Fylen’s death.’

It was Desten 5.

I glanced back to where he stood, his flickering yellow barrier of fire separating him and his sister from the room at large, so afraid, backed against a wall, but still letting his mother take over. If she told him to kill, if he was trapped in a fight with no way out …

I could see it. I’d always been able to see it. My intuition had been right from the start. Of all the Destens, he was the only one whose temperament could possibly be matched to killer Desten’s particular brand of madness. Because it wasn’t madness, it was the desperation of one pushed beyond their breaking point, the sound of a child forced to kill, who didn’t know when to stop.

My heart ached in empathy for him as I glared at Retti. How could she say she cared about her family when she’d forced her own son to do something so terrible? How could she stand there and pretend she had some greater cause?

I’d never wished so badly that I had the power to stand on the same level as everyone else. If I could, I’d challenge her myself.

Desten 1 was still watching me.

“What—” my voice cracked. “What about the boy in Wightok? That couldn’t possibly be legal. He wasn’t old enough.”

Retti looked my way haughtily. “I am not a murderer. If I take what is no longer needed, that is no crime. Yes, it flies in the face of tradition, but where’s the benefit in letting such power disappear when it can instead be used beneficially?”

The image flashed across my memory, Desten 4 lying unconscious with his power so strong, so unstable, flickering through colours.

Yellow; his own. Blue; Fylen’s. Silver; Wightok. Where she’d gotten the others, I didn’t know.

“But it’s not working," I said. "No matter how much power you force into him, it isn’t going to fix whatever went wrong.”

“Stop talking!” Red power flared and snapped into place around me, holding me completely still. I couldn’t speak if I wanted to. “You know too much. I’m sorry, Eirn Astesh. I’d hoped you could continue to be a friend to my family. But if you insist on interfering, then I will do what I must. I challenge you for the light you bear.”