I had killed one of the sisters. A mistake, but I could not have known my words would strike still her heart. The young woman from the tent had also dropped dead at the same command, however. Odd that this eldest sister, Nani, was not similarly affected.

I had so many questions for these sisters, but first...

"Remove this spear," I said to Nani the eldest. While both of the sisters had thick arms, she had the thickest.

I watched as hate turned to fear as her body jerked forward with the same unnatural movements as the husk. Aua, the smallest sister, continued to loose a stream of wet tears and worries.

I sighed with relief as the spear slid out from my body with a wet plop. I smiled up at Nani who looked down at me with fresh menace in her eyes. She clutched the spear between white knuckles, and there was violence in her stare. Her lips remained tightly shut.

I had not even considered it, but it seemed one command did not override the other. But how long would she be forced to keep her mouth shut? The rest of the day? A week? Until she starved?

"N-nani, what is going on?" Aua the smallest asked. She still hugged her dead sister. "Something's wrong with S-sofh. She won't... she won't moooove."

"I have some questions," I said, though not to Nani the eldest. My body still shivered in remembrance of those unusual words. No, it seemed far safer to interrogate the smallest human.

Aua looked up from her dead sister, but I could not understand the confused mixture of fear and hope that lit up her face.

"G-grandmother," the smallest said. "You need to h-help Sofh."

I glanced at the dead sister with a frown, and said, "I am not your grandmother."

And with the words spoken a (dam burst) somewhere deep within my unfocused thoughts. I looked down at my hands, lit dimly by torchlight. They were of the same copper hue as the sisters. I pressed my hands against the two fleshy mounds that nestled over my stomach. Larger than the three sisters, they sagged with an age the sisters had not yet reached.

"How very curious," I said, and I turned to the two sisters. Nani the eldest still gripped the spear.

"Put that down and then sit. Both of you."

It was a simple enough command, but it sparked another host of questions. Because where the eldest sister's limbs jerked in sudden need to obey, the smallest sister seemed almost to resist the compulsion. A difference in strength? But did that mean the smallest was more powerful or less?

"I am not your grandmother."

I sat across from the two sisters, their bronze faces drained and fearful. The hole in my chest had already closed, but my stomach still churned with nausea. The unusual words had to be the culprit.

"This... may have been your grandmother," I said, looking over the pinched skin of my arms, the dark color of my breasts. I shook my head, and continued, "I was called here. By your grandmother?"

The two sisters exchanged a look, and I prodded Aua with my forefinger.

"You... you are her d̴̺̞̓r̴͕͍͐ë̶̫̘́̑ṅ̸̂ ?" Aua asked, and I my hands flew up instinctively as if to protect my face.

"Do not use that word," I hissed, and Aua swooned. I was worried I had killed her, but she steadied herself over the charred grass, her breath labored, tears tickling the corner of her eyes.

"I do not like your... unusual words," I said. I stroked my chin, and continued, "They cause me distress. But again. Did your grandmother call me here?"

Aua and Nani nodded vigorously.

There should have been some burst of warmth at this secret laid bare. But I felt nothing.

"She created me... to be her weapon?"

The smallest shook her head, but the eldest nodded once more. I fought back a human (sneer).

I jabbed Nani the eldest with my forefinger. Her body shook as an unexpected bolt of energy passed into her body. The same had not happened when I prodded Aua.

"You are the eldest," I said, pushing away the new questions. "You said I was summoned for violence."

Nani's chest heaved with hurt, sweat pouring down her clenched face. The corners of her mouth twitched in vain. She did not nod or shake her head, but rather pointed frantically to her sealed lips.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "Your words caused me distress. Was I summoned for violence?"

"W-why are you doing this?" Aua asked between wet gasps. "Aren't you grandmother's "

"Don't finish that sentence!" I said, the hairs on my neck rising in anticipation.

Aua's eyes widened, widened, widened, and then the strength went out of her.

"Not again!" I shouted as the smallest sister collapsed onto the charred grass. Two sisters dead, and the third seemed the least likely to tell me what I wanted.

Nani rolled over her younger sister, and human (relief) cooled the hot of my brow. Because Aua had merely (fainted). She was still alive, and the fresh possibility brought me to my feet.

I poked and prodded the fiery sister, Sofh, but no. This one had died wholly. There had to be something different about Aua then.

I turned back to the remaining sisters, my head buzzing with ideas and worries.