Nexus Challenge [Chaps 9-14] (Patreon)

Hey peeps,

More chapters of everything. Hopefully you enjoy!

Shami

—Chapter 9—

—Home Lonely Home—

Kellan tensed as the rest of the men in the bar stood from their chairs.

He wasn’t worried about losing a fight—he was worried about hurting people unnecessarily. Just like with the police officer, Kellan wished this situation would just end without confrontation.

The bearded man shoved Kellan in the shoulder. “I think you should leave.”

“Shush,” Xiang interjected. “The mages are speaking.”

She stood and combed her fingers through her silky, black hair. Her would-be protector gave her a baffled glance. Then he returned to his attention to Kellan, still obviously confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kellan stated. “And I’m sorry I’ve got to take her away, but there really isn’t much time.” He motioned her to the front door. “The others are waiting for us.”

The bartender, a scrawny man with gray hair around the temples, snorted and laughed. “Did she just say you were wizardsor some other Dungeons and Dragons thing?”

Again, Kellan placed his hand on Xiang’s shoulder. He moved her in the direction of the door, jus wanting to escape as quickly as possible. “That’s right. We’re role-playing, and right now we need to find some magic missiles. Have a good night.”

“You don’t find magic missiles,” one of the men in the far corner of the bar said, his tone indignant. “It’s just a first-level evocation spell.” The man grabbed his beer, threw back a swing, and then slammed the container onto a nearby pool table. “Ma’am, are you sure you want to leave with a guy like him? He clearly doesn’t know much about DnD.”

Kellan wanted to smack himself in the face. How had he found the one bar in North Carolina that had a Dungeons and Dragons expert? What were the odds?

Xiang wrapped her arms around Kellan’s, gently holding him close. “You needn’t fret. I’m teaching Alex the fundamentals of role-playing.” She smiled, and half the men in the bar grew sour with blatant jealousy. “I apologize for cutting my time short. But please—if you see any of the orbs I talked about, call me. I need them.”

Kellan and Xiang walked out of the bar, no words between them or the bar patrons. Once out into the chilly night, Kellan turned his gaze down at Xiang. “Call you?” he asked. “With what? A messenger pigeon?”

With a smirk, Xiang reached into her back pocket and withdrew a small iPhone. “I told them to call me on this if they happened to see any strange or colorful orbs.”

“Where did you get a cellphone?”

“One of the men gave it to me.” Xiang half-shrugged. “I told you. Men are quite helpful when you’re attractive.”

“One of them gave you their cellphone?” Kellan almost couldn’t believe it. Then again, he knew a lot of men in the army who would’ve give their left foot just to touch a boob, so maybe it wasn’t completely out of the realm of plausible.

Xiang tapped the screen of the iPhone with her thumb and the device flared to life. The lock screen had the picture of a biker man holding a brown and fluffy dog.

“The men said they would get ahold of me when they found something.” Xiang tucked the phone back into her pants pocket. “But I suspect we won’t be able to rely on their help for very long. Once the game shifts to PvP, I assume the city will be engulfed in violence and most will flee.”

The thought sent Kellan’s heart racing. He needed to do something about that.

As they walked across the parking lot, Kellan glanced down at Xiang’s soft grip on his elbow. He was tempted to jerk out of her grasp, but he decided against it. Better that people thought she were taken. With her current outfit, Kellan suspected a man five blocks away might come scurrying over if he thought she were single.

They didn’t have time for any of that.

When they reached the SUV, though, Kellan motioned to the door. “Your brother is in the CVS.”

Xiang glanced over at the all-in-one convenience store. Then she fluffed her hair. “He’ll be out in a moment.” Then she threw open the passenger’s side door and took a seat. “Mavis… She’s heading to her aunt’s house.”

“How do you know that?” Kellan walked around and pulled himself into the driver’s seat.

“I’m a mind mage. Mind magic has several locating abilities. Not only that, but my ability has been enhanced to hear surface thoughts as I scry.”

Husker shifted around the back seat. He glanced over at Xiang, and the tip of tail wagged back and forth. “I’m pleased to see you’re well.”

A few second later, Sen hurried out of the CVS. He half-jogged across the parking lot and threw open the back door. With a huff, he climbed into the back seat with Husker, still refusing to put on seatbelt. The two of them barely fit, but it was manageable.

Kellan practically peeled out of the parking lot.

He headed straight for his apartment.

Xiang reached into her pant pocket and withdrew one of the hane sticks. She lit the black cigarette and proceeded to smoke it in the car, never bothering to roll down the window. The smell of the smoke gave Kellan another craving. He disliked the intensely addictive nature of hane, but he knew it wasn’t the time for a rehab session, either.

“I won’t be using my abilities if I can avoid it,” Xiang stated. “I don’t want to use my mana.”

Kellan nodded once.

He understood why. Xiang had a nasty hex. From what he remembered, it read:

Hex—[Corrupted Personal Ability]—The mage increases the power of their personal trait. As punishment, the mage loses a single mana from their pool every day, though it can be restored. If the mage ever uses all of their mana pool down to zero, they die.

Xiang’s personal ability, Master Manipulator, was made powerful only because she had the hex. Her illusions and trickery-based magic were considered five ranks higher than normal, and since there were only seven ranks in total, it seemed almost overpowered.

But if she hit zero mana, that would be the end of her.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Kellan said. “What we need to do is just fly under the radar. I know this dimension well. Earth—especially Fayetteville—is my home. If we capitalize on that, I think we’ll be safe.”

Xiang took a drag on her hane. “Hm.”

“And asking the men in the bar to look for the orbs was genius.”

The comment seemed to surprise Xiang. She quickly glanced over, her eyebrows knitted. After a short moment, she brushed some her black hair back over her ear. “Genius?”

“Yeah. Everyone participating in the Nexus Games is wearing a tracker, but the men in the bar aren’t. They’re just normal people. I doubt the other mages will even pay attention to them, especially since they won’t give anyone arcana.”

But there was a downside to the plan. If any of the mages spotted the men holding an orb, they were as good as dead. Kellan was certain that Xiang hadn’t explained the risks to them, either. Which meant Kellan had act quickly if he wanted to potentially save their life from one of the other bloodthirsty teams.

“You hired mortals to search for us?” Sen asked from the back seat. “That is genius.”

Xiang mulled over the comments, her gaze unfocused. She nursed her smoke the entire drive, never saying much of anything.

Each time Kellan drove over a bump in the road, or hit a pothole a little too hard, Husker grunted. The rennic just wasn’t happy in the SUV. Kellan tried his best to make the ride smooth, but he also didn’t want to slow his pace.

Kellan held his breath when they approached his apartment complex. With his heart pounding in his ears, he pulled the stolen vehicle into his designated parking spot. The apartment complex wasn’t complicated—it was a series of one-story buildings surrounded by three-fourths of a fence. It was cheap, and the places were small, but it was quiet.

No one was awake at 1am in the morning.

“Why are we here?” Sen barked from the backseat. “We don’t need anything from your miserable apartment.”

“We’re going to use it as a base of operations,” Kellan stated.

“Is there a reason? Surely we could go to an upscale hotel.”

“Do you have any money?” Kellan glared at him from the front seat.

Sen crossed his arms. “No. But we could have illusions. Or, better yet, we could smash one of those dispensary machines and take the bills from the inside.”

Kellan frowned. “Machines?”

“He means an ATM,” Xiang stated. “That’s what we did last time.”

Kellan ran a hand down his face. He really didn’t want to hear about the many crimes the others had committed when they were previously on Earth.

“I have some money,” Kellan stated. Then he pointed to his apartment. “But I need to get my things. All right?”

Sen nodded once. “Fine. But can I just stay here with my sister? I don’t appreciate your very humble abode.”

“I’m going with Alex,” Xiang said as she snuffed out her hane. “You wait here with Husker. Warn us if you spot any other teams.”

“B-But—”

“It’s important that we’re not followed. Understand?”

Her voice was harsh and icy. Her brother silenced himself and just nodded. Kellan opened the door to the SUV and stepped outside, determined to gather as many of his things as possible. He didn’t own much, but he had plenty of money in the bank.

As long as the accounts weren’t frozen.

How long had he been gone? Too long. Had anyone noticed Kellan’s absence? It was only a few days after Christmas, after all. Perhaps everyone had been busy with their own family festivities.

Kellan approached his apartment door, surprised to see it still in one piece. He remembered the night he first arrived in the Nexus… It had been dark and cold, and Sen had attacked him with his puppets. Kellan had thought his whole apartment went with him when he traveled across dimensions, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

His apartment was still in Fayetteville.

He placed his hand on the handle. When he turned it, Kellan found the door unlocked.

That made sense. He hadn’t locked it before he left.

Kellan stepped into his cold apartment. Sen was right—it was a sad location filled with lonely memories. No pictures on the walls, the furniture came in several colors, including brown, gray, and off-white. Nothing matched, and it was just a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. Barely anything.

Xiang entered after Kellan. She took one glance around and saw everything.

“How fascinating,” she said, a slight hint of amusement on her voice.

Before Kellan did anything, he quickly glanced around the entire apartment. What if someone were lying in wait? Fortunately for him, it was clear.

Then Kellan strode into the kitchen. He yanked open a drawer and searched for a pen and paper. To his surprise, several coins rolled around the drawer.

Bits.

They were metal coins the size of a nickel, each with a hole in the center. When Kellan picked one up to examine it closer, he noticed words engraved into the metal. They weren’t English—or any language Kellan was familiar with—but there were also images of arcana along the side.

They really are inside buildings,Kellan realized. And they could be in any building.

While Bitso hadn’t said what they were for, he had been rather serious about collecting them. Kellan had a feeling he couldn’t ignore this aspect of the game.

In total, there were three bits in the drawer. Kellan shoved them into his pocket. Then Kellan withdrew a cheap pen and a yellow legal notepad. He took a seat at his rickety kitchen table and placed the tip of the pen on the paper, poised to write.

Xiang sat on his tiny couch. She leaned back on the cushions and kicked her feet up on the far armrest. “You lived such a meager life. Did they not pay you for your services?”

“I was paid just fine.” Kellan tapped the pen on the face of the notepad. “I wasn’t home much, so I didn’t care what it looked like. This place was cheap. It allowed me to save more.”

Xiang turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “What’re you doing?”

“I need a few minutes,” Kellan stated.

“Why?”

“I need to write out my thoughts. Then I’ll look for my wallet and some supplies. This won’t take long.”

But Kellan wasn’t sure where to start. He wanted to write out all the information he had gathered about the Nexus Games, but where should he begin? With a sigh, Kellan decided to start from the beginning. People from multiple dimensions were dragged into the Nexus and some chose to participate in the games rather than being hunted down as fugitives.

And whoever won the games was given access to Zenith, the one perfect dimension filled with so much magical power, the people within could do nearly anything. Break curses, fix problems in their home dimensions, and so much more.

Kellan wrote as fast as he could, structuring everything like an outline. He wrote down all twelve magics he knew about: magma, storm, eclipse, body, mind, soul, wyld, metal, entropy, meta, fate, and travel.

He wrote about arcana. Red and gold arcana.

And ranking. E, D, C, B, A…. And then the two top ranks, S for specialist, and M for master. Mages with S and M ranks in their magic were far more powerful than the rest. But there was so much more to it. The first magic a mage brought to D rank became their primary—and at D rank, a mage gained their magical focus. No other magics could pass the mage’s primary in rank. They could equal the same rank, but not surpass.

All the details were difficult to remember, but Kellan had been collecting information for this sole reason.

To pass it along.

Kellan wrote about curses and hexes. Curses triggered once, hexes were forever. And then he wrote about the many different races he had encountered. Rennic, rezrah—even primordial dragons and the Oom.

And then he wrote about the Flestiss Dominion, and their ultimate goal of conquering and enslaving literally everything.

Minutes passed as he scribbled everything down. His hand hurt. He shook out his wrists and continued.

Kellan didn’t care if he hurt for a bit. He wrote as fast as he could while still maintaining legibility.

“Is there a reason you’re doing this?” Xiang asked.

Kellan was about to answer, but the banging on the front door cut him off. He stood, as stiff as steel, hit heart hammering. Who was here? The game hadn’t shifted to PvP, had it? No. The tracker would’ve informed them.

Kellan touched the tracker around his neck. It hadn’t done anything yet.

The banging on the door sounded again.

“Alex Kellan,” someone said from the other side. “This is Lieutenant General Ryan Irby. Open the door.”

Kellan recognized that name. General Irby was the commander of the Delta Force.

He’s probably here to arrest me,Kellan reasoned. Goddammit.

—Chapter 10—

—Everything I Know—

Xiang glared at the door. “Do we really need to deal with a general?”

“I’ll handle this,” Kellan stared. “Just… stay seated. I’ll do all the talking.”

She didn’t reply.

Kellan opened the front door. Three men stood before him, each more imposing than the last.

General Irby stood in the middle. He wore civilian clothing, but his crewcut was so military and precise, it could cut someone. His blond hair, faded mostly white, was slicked back as though in a hurry. The man typically wore his three-stars—as all lieutenant generals—but Irby only had his jacket, which barely concealed his sidearm.

On Irby’s left was Dr. Hanley. Unlike most members of the Delta Force, Dr. Hanley was just under five and half feet tall, but appearance didn’t matter much when you were the best in your field. Dr. Hanley was the psychiatrist the army had to offer, which is what got him his position on the Delta Force.

It was Dr. Hanley’s eyes that intrigued Kellan the most. They were light amber, and always alight with fire. He wore glasses, but it didn’t dull his piercing gaze.

The man was just too damn smart.

Kellan didn’t recognize the man on General Irby’s right. He was military muscle—still in uniform, with his name stitched into the breast of his shirt. It read: BAKER. The man carried both a sidearm and variety of non-lethal tools. A stun gun. Plastic-tie cuffs.

And far beyond the general and Dr. Hanley, out in the parking lot, half-hidden around cars and shrubbery, were other soldiers. They were lying in wait—probably a sniper on one of the nearby roofs.

This was a capture operation.

Kellan knew they were here for him. Typically, if a member of a Special Forces unit went rogue, they would be dragged in front of a secret court martial through any means necessary. General Irby’s presence told Kellan that his old buddies were concerned about him. Irby was a good man—Kellan knew him well—and they probably didn’t suspect Kellan of treason. Irby wouldn’t have put his own boots to the ground to speak with Kellan if he had suspected of defecting.

Kellan glanced between the three men. “Hello, gentlemen. Come to ask for a cup of sugar?”

“Cut the crap, Alex,” General Irby stated with a grunt. “You know damn well why you’re here.”

Kellan half-smiled. “I’m a little surprised, sir. I didn’t think you’d be watching my apartment. I haven’t been gone long.”

“Your neighbors reported a shooting in the apartment complex,” Dr. Hanley stated matter-of-factly. “Specifically, from your home.”

Fuck. Kellan pinched the bridge of his nose. He had shot Sen’s puppets. That must’ve happened while he was still on Earth, right before he went to the Nexus.

But did it really matter?

Kellan opened the door wide. “Listen, I can explain. I was writing a note, anyway. You saved me the hassle of needing to mail it.”

“We’re taking you back to Fort Bragg,” General Irby said, his authoritative tone second to none. “You can explain everything there.”

Kellan ignored the statement as he walked over to his kitchen table. In truth, he didn’t want to hurt them, but the stakes were too high to ignore his primary objective. He needed to complete the fifth game no matter what.

General Irby and Baker both reached for their handguns. Then Irby spotted Xiang on the couch. He stiffened and held up a hand, ordering the soldier to hold fire. With a deep frown, Irby glared at Kellan.

“Did you go cruisin’, boy?”

Cruising. That was term all the commanders used for soldiers who snuck out to exotic countries to have an unauthorized vacation. Lots of Delta Force guys thought they could sneak away to Taiwan or South Korea, get their rocks off, and come home before anyone reported them as out of country. It was a challenge of sorts, to see if they could do it.

Xiang’s presence must’ve caused Irby to think Kellan had skipped on over to Beijing.

Kellan grabbed his legal notepad. Then he turned around. Irby and Dr. Hanley slowly entered the apartment. Baker remained at the door, keeping a watch over the entrance.

“Alex, I told you that your at risk status meant you couldn’t leave the state,” Dr. Hanley said.

In Syria, Kellan and two of his Delta Force teammates—Greer and Jones—had been caught inside a warehouse during a bombing. Ever since that mission, where Kellan dragged the corpses of his teammates back to American-controlled soil, he hadn’t been the same. That was the whole reason Kellan had gotten take to the Nexus in the first place. He had been on forced medical leave and declared at risk for a mental breakdown.

The Nexus Games felt like the ultimate mental breakdown, but that was another matter.

Kellan held up his hands. “Listen, sir. I know this appears as though I broke protocol, but there is a logical explanation for everything.”

“I can’t wait for this load of bullocks,” Irby stated. “But not here. Not in front of a foreign national.” He motioned to the front door.

Xiang brushed her long black hair with her fingers. “Alex, do you want me to handle this? These men are already trying my patience.”

“No,” Kellan quickly snapped. Then he handled over the legal notepad, practically shoving it into Irby’s hand. “This is the majority of the information I collected in the short timeframe I was away from Earth.”

That one statement caused both Irby and Dr. Hanley to tense. The look in their eyes shifted from irritation to genuine concern. Dr. Hanley went to open his mouth, but Kellan was determined to tell them everything before they could get a word in.

“I was taken—against my will—to a parallel dimension called the Nexus,” Kellan stated, his volume increasing with each word, to make sure he wouldn’t be interrupted. “Magic exists in that dimension, and many others, and they completely change the rules of physics and biology as we know them.”

General Irby took in a breath to speak, but he couldn’t manage to think of any words. Dr. Hanley frowned, his expression hardening into something unreadable.

Kellan held up a hand and persisted. “I have magic.”

“You have PTSD,” Dr. Hanley quipped.

“No. I swear to you. I can prove it.”

Kellan grabbed a knife from a shallow drawer in the kitchen. The others watched with bated breath, never taking their eyes off him. When Kellan brandished the knife, General Irby held up his gun and pushed Dr. Hanley behind him.

“Alex, this has gone too far,” Irby growled.

Kellan pushed up his sleeve and then dragged the point of the dull blade down his arm, slicing open his skin from the crux of his elbow to his wrist. Blood wept from the injury and spilled to the floor, covering the dull white tiles in droplets of scarlet.

Dr. Hanley shook his head, disgust written in his facial features.

But before anyone could say anything, the Tyranny Worms did their duty.

They visibly stitched up Kellan’s wound, sealing the slash with their writhing worm bodies. Irby and Dr. Hanley both dropped their jaws, their eyes wide. Kellan almost laughed. There weren’t many times in his military career where he had genuinely surprised his CO.

Once Kellan’s injury was completely gone, he said, “A tyrannical space whale is leading an alien invasion force to other dimensions. They collect power from the dead bodies of individuals in magic-rich environments and are slaughtering sapient races in each dimension they enter. The only thing stopping them from conquering everything are primordial dragons, the natural rival of the space whales.”

Kellan knew he sounded insane, but he didn’t care. There was no going back now.

“I’m a participant in a series of games meant to find mages worthy of magic so epic and world-changing, it has the power to kill all primordial dragons. If the space whale gets his hands on this Zenith-magic, we’re all done for. I need to win the games—or at the very least, least stop the whale’s chosen teams from winning—in order to protect us.”

No one spoke.

The wealth of information settled over them like dust.

Then Xiang chuckled. She stood from the couch and slowly clapped her hands together. “Bravo. Aptly stated. Now, shall we go? Your mortal compatriots aren’t involved in the fifth game. We’re wasting time.”

She walked over and gently gazed her fingers over his shoulder.

Kellan nodded once to her, but then turned his attention to the lieutenant general and the doctor. “All of Fayetteville is infested with magical beings, some friendly, but most are malevolent. They’ll only be here for three days, though. You should evacuate the city immediately.”

Dr. Hanley—intelligent enough to process every bit of information as Kellan doled it out—quickly asked, “Evacuate? For what reason? If magic can cure injuries like yours, we should be searching for a way to develop it ourselves. We should be capturing some of these malevolent enemies.”

Kellan tensed. They hadn’t seen magic at its most devastating. They had only seen the healing.

“Mages are much more powerful—and dangerous—than you understand,” Kellan stated.

With a sigh, Kellan held up his hand. Although he didn’t want to waste mana, he knew this was probably for the best.

He pointed his open palm at the far kitchen wall and then spent a mana to activate his laser. The resulting blast of light was so intense, and quick, that if anyone had blinked, they would’ve missed it. The laser was capable of killing a man instantly, so it was powerful enough to rip right through Kellan’s cheap apartment wall and then peter out in the parking lot.

Kellan cursed under his breath.

At least no one had been on the other side of the wall.

Pieces of plaster and dust wafted through his tiny kitchen.

The hole in the wall was surrounded by scorch marks. Xiang rolled her eyes.

For the second time that evening, Irby and Dr. Hanley had their jaws on the floor.

Baker, the soldier by the door, pointed to the wreckage. “Oh, hell yeah. That was some Dragonball Z shit if I ever saw it!” The man looked ready to slap his knee in celebration, but he kept his composure.

When the general shot him a quick glance, the soldier remembered his training.

“Sorry, sir. But that is some anime nonsense if I ever saw it, sir.”

“Dr. Hanley,” General Irby, his voice practically a whisper, his attention on the hole. “Did you record all that?”

“I’ve been recording since we arrive,” Dr. Hanley softly replied. Although he had nothing visible, Kellan was aware that most Special Forces officers wore all manner of hidden recording devices.

“Good. Because the boys in Washington aren’t going to believe this without proof.”

“And I’m considered one of the weaker mages,” Kellan said. “The more powerful mages are capable of far greater destruction. They should be avoided at all costs.”

Xiang held Kellan’s arm and tugged toward the front door. Kellan reluctantly went with her. As he passed his dumbstruck colleges, Kellan added one last bit of info.

“There are others playing the game.” Kellan motioned to Xiang. Then he pointed to the Game Five Tracker. “Some of them come from a dimension with a United Earth Defense Force. Despite the name, they’re actually cronies of the space whale. Under no circumstances should the Untied States military cooperate with them.”

Kellan was afraid someone like Brenner would reach out to the authorities and—under the guise of being a friendly human—somehow dupe the residents of Earth into something. Kellan wasn’t sure what, but he knew it would be sinister.

At least no one on Earth was worthy any arcana. That would drastically cut down on the random killings.

“What game?” the doctor asked.

“We’re, uh, playing a complicated version of Where’s Waldo,” Kellan quipped. Then he shrugged. “If you can get forces into the area to covertly sweep for orbs—colorful orbs—that’s what I’m looking for. I need them to win.”

“I… I see. A magical Easter egg hunt.”

Just then, Kellan remembered the coins he had found. He dragged them out of his pocket and showed them to the doctor and the general. “We need these as well. They’re bits. Strange coins with foreign writing. Nothing from Earth. If you can find these, too, that would be helpful.”

Dr. Hanley fixed his glasses as he stared at the coins.

Xiang tugged Kellan again, time harder than before, her patience obviously growing thin.

Kellan pointed to the legal notepad. “Everything I know is there,” he said as he walked with Xiang out the door. He tucked the coins back in his pocket. Baker, the soldier, didn’t attempt to stop him as Kellan and Xiang exited.

“We’ll call for an evacuation,” Dr. Hanley said, his voice growing distant as Kellan walked off.

They were probably too stupefied by the series of events to really comprehend what was happening. That wouldn’t last, though. Dr. Hanley was a clever man. He had already clearly pieced some things together. It was only a matter of time before Fayetteville was evacuated.

And at least Kellan had done his duty.

He had provided his commanding officers with all the crucial bits of information.

As Kellan and Xiang strode across the parking lot, she shot him and icy glare. Her stiff stance and narrowed eyes told Kellan she was must angrier than he had originally suspected.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Xiang stopped in front of him before they reached the SUV. “You were so passionate about informing your government of the games.”

“Yeah. And?”

Xiang ripped her hand away from Kellan and then crossed her arms. “You’re just like the Other-Alex. He couldn’t stand the thought of abandoning his brothers in arms. He lived—and now he’ll die—for his damned United Earth Defense Force.”

When she attempted to turn away, Kellan grabbed her by the upper part of her arm and kept her close. “Listen,” he growled. “I’m getting sick of this comparison. I’m not him. Maybe we’re both in the military, but that doesn’t mean I’d sacrifice all of Earth just because some commanding officer ordered it. And I’d never sit idly by while another man beat the woman I cared for. The Other-Alexand I have superficial similarities at best.”

Then Kellan released Xiang’s arm, his anger rising. She rubbed at the spot where he had held her. After a short moment of silence, Xiang straightened her posture. “Why did you need to tell them anything, then?”

“Because I don’t want innocent people to die.” Kellan met her gaze, unblinking. “That can’t possibly come as a surprise to you. It’s what I’ve done throughout the whole Nexus Games. We—” Kellan motioning to himself and then to Xiang, “—don’t have time to evacuate the city, but the National Guard does.”

Xiang’s tense posture relaxed. She slowly turned her attention to the SUV. In a soft voice, she muttered, “You have been foolishly altruistic. Not like the Other-Alex at all.”

“Right. Which mean I’m not going to leave you. Especially not when you need help.”

His statements seemed to hit Xiang differently than Kellan thought. For a long moment, she didn’t move. Then she glanced over, almost uncertain. “Powerful words for a C-rank mage.”

“I started this whole mess with no magic. Just give me time. I’ll get this done.”

That got her to smile.

“I thought you were concerned about the people of your own nation as well?” Kellan lifted an eyebrow. “That’s what you said to me when you asked me to join your team.”

Xiang returned her attention to the distance, her gaze unfocused. “Yes. I’m very concerned about the people of my homeland… It’s just.” She shook her head. “Never mind. Let’s focus on the game.”

“Fine by me.”

Kellan and Xiang returned to the SUV, hurrying by shrubs and cars with concealed solders behind them. No one tried to stop them. Then Xiang and Kellan climbed into the SUV only to find the radio on. Soft violin music played throughout the vehicle. Kellan buckled himself in and glanced to the overcrowded back seat. Sen was practically lying on Husker’s legs.

“What is this?” Kellan asked.

“Human music,” Husker quipped.

“We should probably pay attention to the news.”

Kellan switched the radio until he found a news station. It wasn’t detailed—nothing about the games—but a notice about a destroyed meth lab did get mentioned as Kellan drove out of the parking lot and headed down the road.

“Where did you say Mavis was going?”

“To her aunt’s house,” Xiang replied. “If you want, I can lead you there. My Locate Mage ability is perfectly suited for the task.”

Kellan nodded once. “Let’s do it.”

—Chapter 11—

—A Map—

The streets of Fayetteville grew livelier as Kellan made his way through town. More cars appeared on the roads, and more buildings had windows aglow from lights within. Were the people stirring because of the games? Or was this a standard night for the end of the year? Kellan wasn’t sure.

The weather decided it wanted to play around as well.

Dark clouds formed above them at unnatural rates. The weather changed frequently in North Carolina, but not that drastically.

“Are there any mages capable of controlling the weather?” Kellan asked as they sped along.”

“Of course,” Sen replied from the back seat. “Storm mages, obviously. The ability to change the weather is typically found at higher ranks, though. And usually costs a fair bit of mana to activate and then maintain. It’s a foolish tactic for a player in the games to alter the weather on a dimension with very mana relishing options!”

Kellan glared through the windshield up at the sky. Something was happening, and it wasn’t natural.

“Do you think the Arbiter is effecting this dimension?” he asked.

Husker snorted. “Definitely.”

“He has that amount of power?”

“The Arbiter is a primordial dragon. And he has six M ranks in magics… Reaching across dimensions to alter the weather doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility.”

Kellan let out a long exhale. “And the Arbiter uses mana like the rest of us? Right?”

Husker snorted as he nodded. “Each race has its down inherent advantages and disadvantages. Primordial dragons are just… more powerful. If I had to guess, I suspect their mana pool is in the thousands. And they typically can’t die unless their man is completely depleted.”

That would make it difficult to kill one.

And while Kellan wasn’t the biggest fan of the insane Arbiter, he didn’t want to see the dragon perish. He wanted the beast to continue protecting Zenith, so that the monsters in the Flestiss Dominion couldn’t use it for their twisted purposes.

Good thing those dragons are capable of defending themselves in most other situations.

Xiang pointed to each street Kellan needed to turn down. While he drove, Kellan kept an eye out for other players in the games. He also frequently touched the tracker around his neck. The thought that the game could become PvP at any second kept him on edge.

And he still didn’t know the boundaries of the game.

If it was like the last few games, that meant they were probably confided to the city proper.

Xiang guided him into a quiet residential district. The lamplights dwindled, leaving vast patches of shadows and darkness throughout the neighborhood. Kellan preferred that. In places like this, he was the monster people feared when they thought of the dark. Kellan could see, he gained power from the lack of light, and he could shift through the shadows with ease.

They drove up to a house at the end of a court. Small brick pillars marked the driveway, but there was nothing else marking the edges of the property. No fences for the front or back yard. No lines. It was just a house in the middle of a grassy patch, with other houses a dozen feet away.

Kellan parked the car along the road in front of the house. Then he turned it off and stepped out.

Xiang and Sen followed suit. Husker waited in the vehicle, but he kept one of the doors open. It was so dark, Kellan suspected no one would see him unless they got close to the SUV.

After a brief moment of hesitation, where Kellan briefly considered his equipment, he decided to just bring his mermaid knife. Nothing else.

He strode to the front door, pleased to see a light on in the living room.

Kellan eyeballed the place. Single story, but it likely had a basement. He suspected it didn’t have more than eighteen hundred square feet. The doorbell was scratched from overuse, and the bricks had faded to a dull brown. A cozy home well-worn with love and care.

After ringing the doorbell, Kellan stepped back.

Someone quickly jogged to the door. It flew open to reveal Mavis, her purple-dyed hair tied back in a tight braid.

“Kellan,” she said, breathless. With a smile, she threw a hug around him, her grip shockingly tight for someone her size. “I knew you’d find me!”

That was the second time someone had said that. Kellan was pleased they all had faith in him, apparently.

Kellan returned her embrace. After a prolonged moment, Sen coughed and stomped his shoe. The flashing red of sneakers lit up the dark porch.

Mavis released Kellan. “Right, right.” She glanced around him. “Oh. You found some of the others, too.” Then she grabbed Kellan’s arm, her eyebrows knitted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t manage to get a net or any of the supplies we talked about before I was transported to Earth.”

“That’s fine,” he said.

“That’s why I headed here, instead of my own apartment. My uncle used to be a handyman, and my aunt never threw away any of his things.”

“Husker’s in the car. We should probably go.”

Mavis gripped the doorframe. After a second’s hesitation, she said, “I thought we could use this place as a base. Don’t worry—I told my aunt everything. We’re safe here.”

Kellan opened his mouth to retort with something, but he swallowed his words before he spoke. He had wanted to use his apartment as a base, but that was before the General Irby and Dr. Hanley ambushed him. Now his apartment had a hole in it, and several dozen lingering guests.

This house was probably better.

“Fine,” Kellan stated. “But we shouldn’t be here long.”

Mavis smiled. “Great! Everyone, come in. Hurry.”

While it was clear this wasn’t their preferred course of action, Sen and Xiang eventually walked into the house. Kellan ran back to the SUV, threw open the back door, and then motioned Husker out. Once the rennic freed himself from the cramped confines of the back seat, the whole vehicle lifted up a few inches. Husker stretched, revealing the long claws in his fingers.

“This is the place?” Husker asked as he sniffed the air. “Smells… old.”

Kellan pointed to the quaint house. “Inside. We’ll talk strategy there.”

The two of them walked to Mavis’s aunt’s house and entered through the front door. Again, Kellan was reminded of Husker’s impressive height. The rennic had to duck and flatten his ears in order to get inside.

Thankfully, the home had vaulted ceilings. Husker stood to his full height and rotated his shoulders, pleased with his surroundings.

“Most human homes are not like this,” he commented.

“You never had problems in the Nexus.” Kellan thought back to the games, and how every area had been fairly open.

“The Nexus is made from the merging of hundreds of other dimensions. Most worlds have rennic—or races that are larger—which is why the architecture reflects that.”

A half-shriek caught both Kellan’s and Husker’s attention. They whirled around, facing the entrance to the kitchen. A woman stood in the doorway, her black hair streaked with silver, her body plump, but shapely. She stared at Husker with giant eyes. But strangely, there was no fear.

A smile bloomed across her face.

It was only then that Kellan glanced around.

The walls had framed posters of shirtless vampires. The couch was covered by a blank that had the words True Blood stitched into it. A candle on the coffee table had a label that read: Smells Like Dean Winchester.

“What the?” Kellan whispered to himself.

The woman let out a short squee as hurried over to Husker. With her fingers laced together, and her smile growing a mile in a length, she stared up at the werewolf-like man.

“I can’t believe this,” the woman said, almost unable to get the words out coherently. “This is real. Mavis wasn’t lying.”

Husker met her gaze. For good ten seconds, he just observed her. Then he twitched his ear and she squeed again. This caused Husker to frown. “I think this human might be broken.”

The woman slapped her hands over her mouth in awe. With a giddy laugh, she stepped away and shouted, “Mavis! You need to get in here! I can’t believe this.” The woman hurried into the kitchen, giggling and mumbling to herself the entire way.

Mavis stepped out of the kitchen, tense as though ready for combat. But the moment she laid eyes on the scene, she visibly relaxed. “Oh. Right. I should’ve warned you…” With a sigh, she rubbed at the back of her neck and stared at the carpeted floors. “I’m sorry. This is my aunt, Gloria. I knew she’d be receptive to the idea of magic because, well, you can probably guess why.”

Sen and Xiang stood around in the kitchen. It wasn’t a huge space, but there was a table capable of seating six. While Aunt Gloria searched around the countertops, Xiang lazily walked over and took a seat. Her brother fussed with her hair, talking about how she should take care of herself more.

Kellan couldn’t pay much attention to that. Aunt Gloria hustled back into the living room, cellphone in hand. She snapped a picture of Husker—who was now glowering down at her in irritation, the tip of his tail twitching. Then Aunt Gloria stood awkwardly in front of the rennic and took a dozen selfies.

“I still can’t believe this,” she said, her voice high-pitch and filled with joy.

Husker snorted.

“Gloria, do you have a map?” Kellan asked. “A physical map.”

“Yes!” Aunt Gloria hurried out of the room and retuned only a moment later with several pieces of paper in her hands. “My husband loved maps. He didn’t trust technology much.” She handed them over.

Kellan quickly made his way into the kitchen and set the maps on the table. He tossed aside all the pamphlets for things he didn’t care about—all he wanted was an overview of the city. They had to search Fayetteville, and they had to think smart.

It was better to start their search in area with plenty of infrastructure. They needed to use the roads to get to places as quickly as possible. With only three days, it would be nearly impossible to search the whole city, but it was at least possible if they stuck to the major roads and highways. If they had attempted this on foot, it would’ve been a fool’s errand.

Mavis took a seat next to him.

“This is the whole city,” Kellan said as he outlined the edges of the municipality.

“This sad trapezoid?” Sen asked.

“Yes. The biggest road is Interstate 295, but it’s mostly disconnected from the city. We should avoid it and stick to city streets only. We’ll need to stop the vehicle constantly in order to search.”

Xiang nodded once. “Also, we should pay attention to the location of parks or camping areas.”

“Why’s that?”

“If we don’t collect five gold acorns before the end of the three days, we’ll perish.” Xiang leaned back and lifted an eyebrow. “And we can’t have that, can we?”

Kellan pointed to the largest park in the city. “This is Lake Rim Park. And on the opposite side of the city, we have the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. Both feel like logical places to hide monster squirls and magical acorns.”

Husker and Aunt Gloria made their way into the kitchen. Although it was difficult—because the chairs were tiny—Husker took a seat at the head of the table.

“I still can’t believe this,” Aunt Gloria said as she rushed over to the refrigerator. She grabbed several bottles of water and then placed them all around the table. “Drink up. You all need to stay hydrated.”

Kellan ignored her as he grazed his fingertips over the map.

There was an Airborne and Special Operations Museum in the city, and while that intrigued him, he didn’t know if anything would be hidden there. Bitso hadn’t given them any clues to the whereabouts of the orbs, after all. They could be anywhere.

Feathers…

Fayetteville didn’t really have a proper zoo. It had several small venues—and even a place called Clown Theater—but Kellan didn’t see a place to keep hundreds of animals. Where would they find them?

Aunt Gloria placed chips and beef jerky around the table. Then she sat directly next to Husker, her eyes only for him. The rennic barely noticed. He, too, kept his attention on the map.

“You’re so big,” Aunt Gloria said, unable to keep the giggle out of her word.

Husker nodded once. “So it seems.”

“May I… touch your fur?”

“Aunt Gloria,” Mavis snapped. Her face had grown bright red. “Please. I told you—this is serious. We need to win this game.”

“It’s fine,” Husker growled. He jerked up the sleeve of his trench coat and offered his arm to Aunt Gloria. “Just focus. You and Kellan are our best bet for finding everything. This is your homeland, as well, isn’t it?”

Mavis caught her breath. Then she nodded. “That’s right.”

“So don’t worry about me. I’ll follow orders. Just find us a plan. And quickly.”

Aunt Gloria seemed oblivious to the urgency and importance of everything happening around her. She slowly reached out, her hands shaky, and touched Husker’s arm. She slid her fingers through his red foxlike fur.

“You’re so warm,” she said, unable to stop herself from smiling.

Husker grunted, but otherwise said nothing.

When Aunt Gloria came to the shackles around Husker’s wrist, she stopped and frowned. “What’re these?”

“I carry an ancient curse. The manacles are a physical representation of the magic that binds me and my bloodline.”

Aunt Gloria fanned herself. “Oh, my. This is sounding a lot like a book I once read.” Then she grabbed Husker’s arm and pulled it close. “Tell me, do you have alphas and omegas in your pack? Are you considered one of the alphas?”

“Er… No. I live in a magi-ocracy. Those with magic govern. Mages at the top. Half-mages beneath them. Mortals at the bottom.” Husker huffed as he pulled his arm free. “And since my homeland is the Batonka Jungles, warriors and mages capable of destruction, are often given special privileges over the rest.”

Aunt Gloria obviously couldn’t get enough. She scooted her chair closer, the legs scraping across the tile floor. “And the jungles are filled with muscular were-cat men?”

“Uh, no. They’re mostly filled with undead. The Immortal Rarn has fought for centuries to keep back the blight.” Husker turned away and frowned. “Her magic keeps the jungle lush. She’s powerful and wise—and she’s earned her title time and time again.”

“How so? I love a good strong woman story.”

“Rarn is a master of wyld magic. She infused part of her very being into the life of the jungles. Now, if ever her body is destroyed, she reforms out of the very plants and animals that live there. As long as the trees exist in that Batonka Jungles, she will never truly die.”

Kellan only half paid attention to the tale. He simply memorized the map, and a route that he thought would be the most efficient. They needed to stick to it, as well, so that they didn’t accidentally miss anything.

Xiang and Mavis stared at the map in silence. Sen waited, his arms crossed, as though everyone were taking too long. He eventually grabbed some jerky and water.

“Do your jungles have a fae court?” Aunt Gloria asked.

“A what?” Husker shook his head. “I don’t know what that is.”

“You don’t know about the fae? They’re fairies? I know all about them.” Aunt Gloria giggled as she kicked her feet a bit. “They’re magical and so handsome.”

Husker turned to the group, pleading with his eyes. He was clearly confused.

“Never mind her,” Sen snapped. “My theory is that humans in this dimension occasionally see people who have been brought over during a Conflux Season. Rennic, mages, and animals of pure magic are pulled from other dimensions and then land here by accident. Humans spot them and then make up wild stories to explain their existence.”

With a frown, Husker nodded.

Sen scoffed. “These fae are probably something innocuous or mundane. Like Kellan’s familiar.”

Kellan’s thought briefly went to his albino wyvern, Vlaze. His familiar dwelled in his shadow until summoned. Perhaps he can help us search the city. He can fly, after all.

But he pushed the thought aside. He’d deal with it once they were outside.

“Mavis.” Kellan turned to her, ignoring everything else. “Search the house.” He pulled the bits out of his pocket. “Look for these coins. They’re probably here—in the drawers or containers.”

“Roger.” Mavis jumped from her chair and immediately flew to the nearest cabinet. She searched as quickly as could, touching every surface before heading to the next area.

Kellan folded up the map and tucked it into his back pocket. They had a plan now. He knew where he needed to go. If they used Aunt Gloria’s house as a starting location, it wouldn’t be hard. She was almost on the very western end of the city.

We just have to find everything before the other teams, Kellan thought.

It also made him worry.

Why hadn’t they seen anyone from another team yet?

After a few minutes of banging around the house, Mavis returned. She held out her hand, revealing three bits.

“Do you think its odd that Bitso called the coins bits?” she asked. “I think it’s intentional.”

Kellan took the coins and added them to their increasing collection. They now had six. “I hadn’t thought about it, but that makes some sense. They’re made up for this game, aren’t they? Why not name them something kooky.”

“Yeah.”

Aunt Gloria tore her attention away from the rennic long enough to smile at Kellan. “Oh, Mavis told me all about you, too. You’re the military man, right? Special Forces?” The woman giggled again as she touched her reddening cheek. “Mavis mentioned a little smooch between you two. I can see it.”

Mavis shot her a glare. “Aunt Gloria.” Mavis’s face brightened fast than Kellan had ever seen before.

“Aunt Gloria—” Sen slid off his chair and brushed himself off, “—is the height of cringe. I suggest we head out immediately.”

Kellan motioned to the door. “All right. Let’s head out. We’re going to travel up and down the streets until we reach Lake Rim Park. I think we might be able to find our acorns there. While we search, we need to stay on the lookout for orbs.”

“And you’re coming back, right?” Aunt Gloria asked. “Mavis said you need a place for three days? I’ll make beds out of the couch and the futon.” She hurried out of the kitchen, just as giddy as when they had arrived.

Kellan wasn’t going to argue. If the woman wanted to be hospitable, that was fine.

“I have a feeling that she’s going to assign you to her bed,” Sen said as he glanced up to meet Husker’s gaze a good six feet above him.

“I’ll light a candle for her va-jayjay,” Kellan quipped.

Mavis smacked him in the upper arm, her face crimson. “Can we focus? Let’s go. Now.”

The blare of sirens answered Mavis before Kellan could get a word out. Unlike police cars, fire trucks had a much louder, and more drawn out, sound. Was the fire truck nearby? Kellan would bet his life it was just around the corner.

“Perhaps we should start with that,” he muttered.

Mavis held a hand. Fire blazed to life in her palm. “Fine by me.”

—Chapter 12—

—Fire Alert—

Kellan headed out the front door. A mild drizzle had begun in the short time he had been in Aunt Gloria’s house. He pulled his coat tight around his and zipped it up. Then he spotted the smoke. It blended in well with the gloomy sky, but the bright glow of a raging fire highlighted the underside of the pillowy smoke clouds.

Xiang and Mavis joined him outside.

“Something is on fire?” Mavis asked.

“A house.” Kellan headed for the SUV. “Or maybe an apartment, based on how close it is to us.”

Sen and Husker joined them a moment later. Everyone packed themselves into the SUV, but it was a difficult fit. Husker took up so much space that he eventually let down a back seat and lied down with half his body in the trunk. Mavis sat by the door, and Sen sat in the back middle—still no seatbelt.

Xiang and Kellan took the front.

When he pulled the SUV around, he noticed Aunt Gloria waving them goodbye. Kellan gritted his teeth. He wanted to tell the woman to get out of the city, but he suspected she wasn’t about to abandon a bunch of “fantasy creatures” now that she knew they were real. So, instead of yelling at her to leave, Kellan just nodded to her as he put the vehicle into drive and left the cud-da-sac.

The blare of fire trucks rang throughout the neighborhood.

“Are those the authorities again?” Husker asked. “Do any of you know their screech language? What’re they saying?”

Kellan fixed his rearview mirror. “It’s just a warning. They want everyone to stay away from the fire.”

“I see.”

Three blocks down, and Kellan stopped the vehicle.

A two-story house, blazing with flame, lit up the area. Firefighters rushed to hook up their hoses to the nearby fire hydrant. They screamed out orders and a few men ran to the front door with foam applicators. They sprayed the entrance down with fire-suppressing foam, but the flames were barely affected. The fiery inferno raged harder.

Kellan suspected the involvement of magic.

“What’re we doing here?” Xiang asked.

“This isn’t natural,” Kellan stated. “We should investigate.” He stared at the windows, wondering if a family was trapped inside the dwelling. It was the middle of the night.

Mavis leaned onto the back of Kellan’s seat. “I developed a new magical skill.” She touched his shoulder, and the information passed to Kellan as though she had whispered it straight into his thoughts.

Pyro-Control, rank I [C-Rank Magma]

Magma mages need not fear flames.

The mage spends three mana, and for the next fifteen minutes, they gain +10% damage to all fire type attacks, they reduce all damage from fire and heat by 50%, and they gain the ability to move non-magical fire with physical motions of their hands.

“Interesting,” Kellan muttered. “But I’m pretty sure this isn’t non-magical fire.”

Mavis removed her hand from his shoulder. “I still want to try. I have rock armor and fire damage reduction. I think I can handle the situation. Besides, what if there’re people inside?”

Although she seemed interested in the building, Xiang leaned back in her seat and frowned. “I’ll wait here. I don’t want to waste mana on something that might not be related to the game.”

“Mavis and I will deal with this,” Kellan stated. “Everyone else, just wait here.”

Sen scooted forward. “You don’t want me to accompany you? I can shield you from damage. And heal.”

His eagerness—and the hurt in his voice—surprised Kellan. Sen wanted to go with them into the dangerous inferno? Or was he just concerned about Mavis’s and Kellan’s safety?

“I think it would be best if you waited,” Kellan eventually said.

Sen didn’t argue. He lowered his gaze as he slid back into his seat, his movements stiff. Kellan didn’t want to have to worry about a child, though. While Sen was—more or less—mentally an adult, he still had the limitations of a kid-sized body. The house was actively on fire. It wasn’t a place for people who couldn’t easily move around.

Kellan and Mavis exited the SUV.

The neighbors were out of their houses, most in pajamas, watching the inferno claim the two-story house. Kellan used the distraction to his advantage. He headed for a backyard away from the fire. He effortlessly jumped the fence. Mavis followed behind, practically bounding over with the grace and strength of a Greek legend. She chuckled to herself as she hurried behind him.

“Did you see that?” Mavis whispered. “I can’t believe how much my magic has improved me.”

“Keep it together,” Kellan stated.

“Right. Sorry. I’m focused.”

Kellan shot her a grin. “Save all the superhero stuff for when we’re in the actual house.”

Together, they leapt into a neighbor’s backyard. Then they ran across the lawn and jumped the next fence, bringing them into the yard of the burning house. Firefighters had sprayed foam on the back door as well, but the flames licked across it without dying.

Definitely magical.

The door was busted open and hanging on the hinges in splinters. Had the firefighters done that?

The fire created a fair amount of light, which prevent Kellan from accessing his Void Knight strength. He couldn’t shadow-step, either. The flames destroyed most shadows he would typically use to move around.

Mavis ran up to the door and waved her hand.

The fire didn’t move.

“Dammit,” she said, cursing under her breath. “This isn’t normal fire.”

Yeah, I got thought, Kellan thought, but he kept the quip to himself.

But that was secretly a good sign. Something was inside the house, and it probably wasn’t a mage in the Nexus Games. It was probably something else—maybe something guarding an orb.

“What should we do?” Mavis asked. She held an arm up to shield her eyes from the heat. “Should we get the others?”

A scream from inside the house stilled Kellan’s blood. Ice ran through him as he glared at the inferno. Someone was inside. In danger.

After a deep breath, Kellan pulled his coat collar over his mouth and then hurried into the house through the back door. The heat radiated throughout the kitchen, causing Kellan’s eyes to hurt. The smoke hanging in the air only added to the stinging discomfort. He blinked back the irritation as he headed for the stairs.

Firefighters in the living room were dragging an unconscious man and two kids outside. When the firefighters spotted Kellan, they tried to yell, but they wore full fireproof suits with face masks and helmets. Their shouts were muffled by their equipment.

The man and kids hadn’t screamed. The sound had been feminine.

Ignoring them, Kellan went to the second story and glanced around.

The place was huge. A McMansion if he ever saw one.

The smoke filled the second story more than the first. The heat, and the flames, poured up toward the ceiling, crawling along the walls and destroying everything. Water gushed from Kellan’s agonized eyes as he glanced around, desperate to either find the source of the fire or to spot the person who had screamed.

Mavis charged up the stairs. The fire and embers wafted across her body and then slid off, as though repelled. Her magma magic made it difficult for the flames—even if they were magical—to hurt her. When Mavis was close, Kellan realized her skin was dotted with pebbles, increasing her armor rating.

A bright flash of scarlet light caught Kellan’s attention, even through the smoke and destruction.

He coughed as he stepped back.

A beast of fire, a snake made completely of flames, slithered out of a bedroom. Its body moved with the swirling intensity of a storm.

A red orb, glowing with inner power, pulsed at the center of the serpent. It floated in the body of flame, untethered by gravity.

Kellan forced his eyes to give him information. The words and numbers appeared over his eyes, but it was a struggle to see anything.

Name:The Red Orb

Race:Magical Construct

Magics:Magma

Rank:Impossible to Rank

Armor Rating: --

Health:40/40

Stats:

Strength—2

Dexterity—10 [Fast]

Fortitude—1

Intelligence—4

Perception—4

Willpower—20 [Unbreakable]

Abilities:

Immune to Flame—This construct cannot be harmed by heat or flame.

Weak to Ice and Water—This construct takes double damage from ice or water from any source.

The Arbiter’s Protection—This construct is immune to dominate, enslave, and any other mind-controlling abilities.

The red orb serpent turned to them, moving with supernatural agility.

Kellan tensed. On instinct, he thought of his armor. The high-tech magical equipment was fused with spine, and it required was mana to summon across him.

Magical Item [Armor]—Shadow of a Dying Star

Uniform armor worn by the stealth gunners of the Flestiss Dominion. Sturdy and reliable, this piece of armor attaches to the mage’s spine and requires a mana to activate. Once activated, the armor covers the mage completely and grants +2 “living shadow shell” armor defense, and +2 armor rating. The mage can deactivate the armor at will.

Kellan spent a mana.

He was down three, which left him with only fifteen remaining.

The high-tech suit of armor wrapped around his body in an instant, but the black sheen that usually accompanied the skin-tight outfit shattered to the heat. The living shadow shell couldn’t handle the fire and light, and instantly broke.

But having two additional armor rating was better than nothing.

The orb-serpent crackled and hissed, somehow creating noise even though it seemed insubstantial.

[The Red Orb] used Exhaustion. All living creatures within thirty feet of the Red Orb temporarily lose 1 from all physical stats (strength, dexterity, fortitude) due to heat and take 1 point of fire damage every six seconds. If a living creature ever hits 0 on any physical stat, they fall unconscious.

[Alex Kellan] succumbs to Exhaustion.

[Mavis Cartwright] resists to Exhaustion.

[Alex Kellan] resists the fire damage due to his armor rating.

[Alex Kellan] temporarily loses 1 to all physical stats.

The temperature in the building intensified to the point of pain. Kellan felt weaker, and the faded information across his eyes told him that he had mere seconds to deal with this piece of shit magical creature.

Kellan grabbed his mermaid knife and practically burned his hand. The weapon was metal and was hotter than he had suspected.

While he hesitated, Mavis rushed forward. She pulled a keychain from her pants pocket, and in one swift motion, she pressed her fingers together on it and smoothed the metal out into a blade. She had used Mold Metal, Kellan was certain, and with her impromptu knife, Mavis stabbed through the flame and into the “body” of the serpent.

The blade swished through the fire, dealing no damage.

Mavis slashed a second time. When her weapon struck the red orb inside the serpent’s body, it screeched. Its flames exploded outward, striking both Mavis and Kellan.

[The Red Orb] used Eruption. All living creatures within thirty feet of the Red Orb take 12 fire damage.

[Alex Kellan] reduces damage of each hit equal to his armor rating of 2.

[Alex Kellan] suffers a total of 10 damage.

[Tyranny Worms] restore [Alex Kellan] for 1 damage every 6 seconds.

Kellan stumbled backward into a wall. The heat and smoke were almost too much, and the pain from the attack was leaving his head spinning.

He spent a mana to activate his Ignore Pain body magic ability.

He was down to fourteen remaining mana.

But once he was free of the suffering—from the terrible sting of the fire searing his body—he was able to focus on the threat. Then he nearly doubled over from weakness.

[Alex Kellan] succumbs to Exhaustion again.

[Alex Kellan] resists the fire damage due to his armor rating.

[Alex Kellan] temporarily loses 1 to all physical stats.

Kellan normally had a four strength, a five dexterity, and a four fortitude.

Not anymore.

Mavis struck the orb with her weapon again, but it was obvious she wasn’t dealing much damage. Although she was superhumanly strong, the Red Orb had enough health for a dozen men. Kellan wasn’t going to last long enough, and if he couldn’t use his own knife, that meant only one solution.

Lasers.

Kellan held up his hand and spent two mana—one to activate his laser, and one to empower it with meta magic. Due to his lowered dexterity, his attack was weaker, since it used his rank of metal and eclipse magic, plus his dexterity to calculate base damage. He also had Sun’s Rays, a C-rank eclipse ability that flat added two damage to all laser attacks. However, since he wasn’t in the darkness, he was weaker than he liked.

Kellan pointed his palm and unleashed a devastating laser strike.

[Alex Kellan] blasted [The Red Orb] for 13 laser damage.

For only two mana—even after being weakened—it was still a considerable amount of damage. The flame serpent turned to face him, no body other than flames. It charged, burning up more of the house. Ash and embers swirled everywhere.

Kellan lunged out of the way, the burning building creaking and collapsing under him.

He only had twelve mana.

As Mavis rushed in to strike the orb a third time, Kellan spent the two mana to use his laser all over again. He pointed and fired, hoping beyond hope to finish the fight.

His strike was true, and he struck the orb for another thirteen points of laser damage.

The magical construct screeched and writhed.

And then the orb cracked…

—Chapter 13—

—The First Orb—

The orb shattered.

No, not the entire orb. Just an outer casing around the orb. It was as if the Red Orb had a crust over it, and after all the damage it had sustained, the crust exploded outward, sending fragments of scarlet glass throughout the area. Kellan shielded his eyes, but the glass seemingly disappeared a moment later, melting into the air and vanishing into nothing.

A smaller version of the orb fell to the charred floor with a heavy thunk.

All at once, the fire in the house died, snuffed out by an invisible force. The flames on the wall, the embers in the air—gone. The ambient heat, smoke, and damage remained, thought. The whole place was akin to the interior of a barbeque. Kellan rubbed at his irritated nose and eyes, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Mavis whirled around full circle, her eyes wide.

The heat and fire didn’t bother her as much due to her magma powers. While Kellan was sweaty, and his skin seared, she had a mild sunburn at best.

The Tyranny Worms worked tirelessly to fix Kellan. Dead skin rolled off Kellan’s arms and was immediately replaced with fresh flesh provided by the bodies of the worms. It caused Kellan to itch. He hated the writhing and squirming sensation, but he loved the results.

The damage he had sustained in the fight was nearly gone by the time he ambled over to the orb.

The floor groaned under him, threatening to give out.

Kellan quickly knelt and grabbed the orb. It glowed with an inner red, but less than it had as a monster. This time, when Kellan focused his gaze on it, he was given different information.

It said:

Magical Item [Unique Object]—The Red Orb

An object created by the Arbiter for the fifth round of the Nexus Games. It’s a beautiful shade of crimson.

While held, adds +20% to all numerated effects in magma magic (damage, temporary buff, debuffs, etc.). Doesn’t affected permanent numerated powers that alter the mage. Additionally, all mana costs for magma abilities S-rank and below are reduced to 0.

This item cannot be concealed with illusions.

The orb fit perfectly in Kellan’s palm. He turned it over, examining every inch, but there wasn’t much else to say about it. The orb felt like glass, but magic pulse from within.

“We got one,” he muttered. He coughed afterward, hating the smoke that still lingered around them.

Mavis ambled over. With a half-smile, she said, “It almost killed us. Hopefully all the orbs are this easy to get.”

Kellan doubted it. In the last games, everything grew progressively more difficult as the game progressed. This was the easy orb. The next would be more difficult to acquire. Kellan was willing to bet his life on it.

Tense and worried, Kellan focused on their surroundings. Someone had screamed. They never found that person. Kellan handed the orb to Mavis and then checked the nearby rooms. The blackened floors, ceiling, and walls reminded him of crematorium, but it was the smell of cooked meat that disturbed him the most.

Kellan entered a master bedroom and coughed back a new round of smoke. In the corner of the room, shielded by a dresser, was the curled-up body of a woman. She had no magic, so Kellan’s Blitzkrieg Analysis couldn’t offer him any information.

He rushed over, despite the creaks and protests of the house, and knelt next to her. She flinched at his touch, but she was burned, her hair had crisped, and her skin was practically charred away on her arms, face, and neck.

Still alive. Just barely.

Kellan gritted his teeth. Although they didn’t have many ways to recover mana in this game, he knew he couldn’t leave her like this. He had Heal the Body, a D-rank body magic ability that healed three damage on a person for only one mana.

He had ten mana.

Kellan spent two to heal the woman of six damage.

According to Sen, most humans started a base health of seven, which meant this should mostly heal her.

To his delight, it worked just as he wanted. Her skin grew back over her body, her injuries stitched themselves back together, and even some hair sprouted back over her scalp. The woman gasped and then wheezed due to the smoke, but she was obviously started by the sudden inflex of energy.

With wide eyes, she turned to Kellan. She shook, and it was obvious she couldn’t form any words, not in her state of shock.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Kellan said as he stood. “Wait here for the firefighters.”

The woman said nothing. She just watched him go, coughing back the foul air. That was fine. Kellan hadn’t saved her for the praise—it was probably a bad call in the long run.

He only had eight mana now.

And it wasn’t like the woman could offer him gold arcana. This dimension had no arcana whatsoever.

Still hacking and wheezing, Kellan made his way for the stairs. One of the steps broke the moment he touched it, but Kellan managed to keep his balance on the way down. Mavis followed behind, the orb held tightly in her grip. When they made it to the back entrance, the sounds of yelling and confusion filtered into the house.

“What happened to the fire?” someone shouted.

“I don’t know,” another replied.

“I’ve never seen that happen before!”

Kellan and Mavis slipped out the back door and ran for the fence. They hopped over and continued through two more backyards before leaping over another fence and heading back for the SUV.

Together, they quickly slipped into the vehicle and shut the doors. Mavis gulped down deep breaths while Kellan forced himself to cough up the rest of the smoke trapped in his lungs.

“Well?” Sen demanded. “What happened?” He leaned in close, pressing both his hands against the back of Kellan’s seat. Then he turned to Mavis, who had taken a seat next to him. Sen’s eyes went wide the instant he spotted the orb. “What? You found an orb?”

Xiang turned around in her seat and glanced back at Mavis. “So early in the game?”

Kellan nodded as he found his breath. “Yeah. It was the cause of the fire.” He inhaled, and then faced everyone inside the SUV. “And I think that clue is what we need to figure out where the remaining orbs are.”

Husker lifted his head up from the far back of the vehicle. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, this orb is red. It has magma magic. We found it in a fire. Magma magic is represented by the color red, right? Like storm magic is light blue, and eclipse magic is silver. And magma magic deals with fire. This orb dealt with fire.”

“I see now,” Xiang muttered. “There are two colors of orbs, and also twelve magics.” Her expression changed to shock the moment she seemingly realized.

Kellan nodded once. “That’s right. I think these orbs are going to be found in locations that match their associated magics. So, the red orb was found in a fire, because magma magic. That means that—”

“The storm in the sky,” Sen interjected. He practically bounced up and down in his seat with excitement. “It must be the cause of the light blue orb! If we find the location the storm is forming, we’ll find another orb!”

Kellan snapped his finger and pointed it at Sen. “Exactly.”

Everyone in the vehicle fell silent as they mulled over their new conclusion. It made sense, and Kellan was confident they had discovered something game changing. Now all they had to do was find as many orbs as possible before they switched dimensions.

If they managed to find all twelve, the game would be over…

It would be nice to end this game before we went anywhere too dangerous, Kellan thought.

Sen patted Kellan’s shoulder, and then his sleeves. “You’re a wreck. So burnt. You need new clothes, before this fall off of you.”

“They have plenty of stores around,” Kellan stated.

“Now that we have an orb, it’s even moreimportant that we not draw attention. We don’t want the other teams to come looking for us during the PvP segments.”

Kellan and Mavis briefly made eye contact. While the orb was great for people who had magma magic, Sen was correct. It would be a mistake to roam around with the orb in their hands. Anyone could see it—the orb sparkled with inner power, after all.

“Let’s head back to Aunt Gloria’s,” Kellan stated. “Then we’ll start our search for real.”

The others nodded along with his words. And before they could be stopped and questioned by the firefighters or news reporters gathering on the scene, Kellan drove the SUV away from the burning house.

***

Kellan pulled the SUV into Aunt Gloria’s driveway and then parked. Every member of Team 101 hurried out and headed for the front door. Aunt Gloria was there to greet to them. She flew open the door the moment Kellan reached for the handle.

Only this time, her eyes were glassy with tears and wide from fright. In that split second, Kellan suspected an enemy team was in the house, but Aunt Gloria didn’t give him a second’s worth of time to inquire.

“The TV,” she said, her voice shaky. “There’s something wrong with the TV!”

Aunt Gloria grabbed Kellan’s arm and guided him back into her supernaturally themed living room. Xiang, Mavis, Sen, and Husker followed. Once Aunt Gloria had Kellan positioned in front of her modest flatscreen, she immediately went to Husker side and shook her head.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” she said. “I can’t turn it off or even go to another channel.”

Husker snorted. “We’ll handle it.”

Aunt Gloria practically swooned at his confidence.

When Kellan glanced at the TV, he instantly understood why the woman was upset.

Bitso was on.

He sat at the same metal desk as he always did, one hand chained to the side, one hand free. His white blindfold was secure over his eyes, clean and crisp, same as his dark suit and gray tie. Bitso had the deranged grin of a psychopath, his sharpened teeth on full display. He “stared” at the camera and snorted back a laugh, as though he had seen something amusing.

A TV behind Bitso played footage of man being tore apart by a machine. The footage played so quickly—and the quality was so poor—Kellan couldn’t get any more details than that.

“The first orb has been secured,” Bitso said, a chuckle on his words. “Team 101 managed to find it before everyone else. They’re a resourceful bunch, aren’t they?”

The TV in the background flashed to footage of the fire inside the house. Kellan recognized the orb-serpent.

The actual footage…

It seemed like the camera had been recording from Kellan’s very position in the room. Mavis flew across the screen, slashing at the flame monster.

The tracker. Kellan touched the magical item on his neck. It’s recording everything we do.

“Remember, folks, there are only twelve orbs on this dimension.” Bitso waggled a finger. With a smile that was even wider than before, he added, “Oh, and one more fun fact. Every time an orb is claimed, the next orb of the same color will be even stronger than the one previous. In good news: if an orb isn’t found on this dimension, it’ll retain its same power level when transferred to the next dimension. Isn’t that nice of the Arbiter?”

That meant if they wanted to win this game by finding three of the same color orb, they would have to fight increasing stronger magma-magic monsters. Kellan mulled over the information, wondering if it was better to go for all twelve colors or to find just three of the same color.

Aunt Gloria pointed to the TV. She got close enough to point to the blood stains on the back wall. “Do you see this?”

No one answered.

Bitso laughed. His cackling spooked Aunt Gloria. She jumped away, shaken.

“Some teams focused on the gold acorns right away.” Bitso snapped his fingers. The TV in the back showed camera footage of someone climbing a tree. “Team 42 already has four. Talk about priorities. They clearly don’t want to die.” Bitso sighed as he leaned onto his desk. With a pout, he said, “I wish I could participate in the games. I’d find the tallest building and throw myself off it immediately.”

Aunt Gloria frowned. “Is this man all right?”

Kellan dismissively waved away her concern. “Don’t worry. He’s always like that.”

“B-But he seems like he’s in distress. He’s locked up to his desk. Poor thing.”

“There’s no helping him.”

Aunt Gloria continued to mutter her disapproval. Kellan let out a long exhale. Aunt Gloria had a gift—the blissful gift of ignorance. If she knew what Bitso did on some of his programming, she would have a heart attack.

“Oh, and the first segment of PvP is coming,” Bitso stated. He licked his sharp teeth. “This should be amusing.”

The TV flickered off. The black screen reflected Kellan’s emotionless face. His chest twisted in concern when a soft voice from the tracker whispered, “PvP will begin in exactly sixty seconds.”

The gem on the tracker flashed from green, to yellow. When Kellan turned around, he noticed it had changed on everyone’s tracker.

“Aunt Gloria,” Mavis muttered. “I think you should go hide. In the basement. Right now.”

—Chapter 14—

—PvP on Earth—

“But there’s an evacuation warning,” Aunt Gloria said. She grabbed the TV remote and turned the screen back on to the normal news. “Haven’t you heard? The National Guard is on their way.”

A normal news anchor sat at wooden desk on the screen. When he spoke, he did so with fake flare in his words, like he was a showman at heart who just wanted to hear his own voice. Kellan was unimpressed. He already missed Bitso’s insane antics. They were, at some level, genuine.

“Confusion and alarm tonight as the governor issued an emergency order for the city of Fayetteville,” the news anchor said, his face set in a stern and serious gaze, even if his voice didn’t quite match. “All two hundred thousand residents have been ordered to evacuate the area. The governor and his staff have cited hazardous materials as the cause for evacuation. To quote the emergency system message: nuclear fallout on par with an atomic attack will be flooding the skies across Fayetteville.”

Kellan held his breath.

That clearly wasn’t the real reason for the evacuation, but he supposed this worked. It would be too difficult to explain everything—and then prove it on TV. This way, the people would flee the area as soon as possible, which was all that mattered.

“Nuclear fallout?” Sen asked. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “What’s that?”

Kellan walked over and shut the TV off. “Its deadly waste left over from certain types of explosions.”

“Hm. I see. The byproduct of more advanced tech, I assume.”

The tracker around Kellan’s neck whispered, “PvP is now allowed.” Then the tracker switched from yellow, to red. The eerie glow bothered him, but he quickly pushed it from his mind.

“Did a nuclear bomb go off in America?” Aunt Gloria lost all color in her face. “Are we at war with China?”

“No,” Kellan said. “And no. But you should still get to your basement immediately. More mages—people like us—are going to start fighting out in the streets. You don’t want to be involved.”

It took Aunt Gloria a good two minutes to fully process what Kellan had said. Her color returned as everything clicked into place. “Oh! That’s just a trick message to get everyone out of here! Because they can’t know about werewolves!” She clapped her hands together with a heap of giddy energy. “I’m one of the people in the know! I’m like those non-magical people who get to attend the academy away.”

Aunt Gloria practically squeedher way to an early grave. Was she even able to breathe properly with all her shrieking? Kellan wasn’t sure.

“Get to the basement,” Mavis said again, this time with force in her voice. “You’re going to get killed by the magic people if you’re not careful.”

“All right, all right. But everyone come back, ya hear?” Aunt Gloria hustled out of the living rooming, muttering something about a flashlight.

Once she was gone, Kellan turned to Xiang. She stood behind the couch, one hand just under her chin, the other arm held across her chest. It seemed as though she were deep in thought.

Her brother stomped around the furniture. “We have an orb. Perhaps it would be best if we joined that blowhard in the basement?”

“Why would we do that?” Husker growled.

“Because Bitso revealed our orb acquisition to the other teams!” Sen waved an arm around, gesturing to the house. “No one know we’re here, but everyone knows we have the red orb. Mavis was clear as day on that screen! Bitso has painted a target on our backs, and it would be best if we just remained in hiding.”

Mavis said nothing. She glanced over at Kellan, meeting his gaze and silently asking for his opinion.

But Kellan wasn’t sure.

On the one hand, they had discovered something important—the orbs were related to the twelve magics. Kellan doubted the others could gather that from the two-second clip of Mavis fighting the fire beast. Which meant they had an advantage. If they didn’t press forward now—and go to places that would logically have aspects of the other magics—they would lose that advantage.

On the other hand, many other teams were stronger than them. If Team 42 went straight for their orb, they probably wouldn’t be alive much longer.

Kellan stared at Xiang.

She was the team leader, after all.

“We should head out,” Xiang eventually stated. She relaxed her stance and threw back some of her black hair. “The other teams will be looking for us, and it would be best if they didn’t find this location. Also, they’ll likely be fighting each other. My illusions can buy us some concealment while they’re distracted.”

Kellan nodded along with her words, even though he knew her illusions wouldn’t help that much. Brenner Hawke had taken a hex to help detect Xiang’s presence, even when she was hidden. Plus, the Arbiter had made it so that their trackers couldn’t be hidden.

“You should illusion the SUV,” Kellan stated. “I think if we stay in the vehicle, most of the teams won’t take notice of us.”

“I doubt we’ll get far if we’re inside the vehicle.” Xiang turned for the front door. “The other reason why we should continue looking for orbs now, rather than later, is that the city is in the middle of evacuating. People will be everywhere. It’ll be much harder to find us in an ocean of bodies.”

Kellan ran to the window. He glanced outside. The constant drizzle of rain made everything gloomy and wet, but that didn’t stop the neighbors. They hurried to their vehicles and threw supplies in their trunks. A car squealed out of a driveway and rushed for the road.

The pulse of Fayetteville was quickening.

Kellan could practically taste the thickening panic.

Xiang opened the front door. “We should head out on foot. I’ll change our appearances with illusions as much as possible, but we shouldn’t rely on them completely. If we slink through the shadows, we can avoid the others.”

Husker and Sen went after Xiang, never uttering a word of disagreement. Kellan was less certain about this plan. He slowly made his way across the living room, trying to think of ways they could speed up their search. Going by foot will add way too much time. We’ll never find all the orbs at this rate.

Mavis waited for him by the front door. When he approached, she held up the red glittering orb. “Should I take this with us?”

Although it was powerful—and would allow Mavis to use her magma abilities without pending mana—Kellan didn’t want to make them any more of target than they already were.

“Leave it with your aunt in the basement,” he said.

Mavis lifted both of her eyebrows. “Really?”

“No one is going to look for it there.”

“Well… probably not.”

Kellan nodded once. “So just leave it, and we’ll deal with everything later.”

“All right,” Mavis said.

She ran to the back of the house. Kellan waited the minute or so it took her to come jogging back. Once prepared, they left Aunt Gloria’s house. Kellan stopped at the SUV to grab his backpack. He wanted his rifle, and the hane, and the rule book, just in case.

Once Mavis and Kellan met the others on the sidewalk, Xiang waved a hand around with a lazy twirl of her wrist.

Her illusions fluttered into existence around them like Cinderella’s gown from her fairy godmother. Husker became a giant man with a long coat and a thick hood. Sen became a short woman with long blonde hair. Mavis became a teenage Quaker with a long skirt and thick hat that hid most of hair. Xiang shifted her outfit from revealingto masculine by donning the appearance of an office worker, complete with a suit.

And Kellan became a police officer. His clothing—and his backpack—all became dark blue with yellow markings. His gun became a standard shotgun, and his coat took on the appearance of a bulletproof vest.

“Let’s go,” Male-Xiang said, her voice masculine as well. Her illusions were so good, even the audio was alerted. Her hair remained long, though. Her illusions couldn’t make things go away, just change them. She now sported dreadlocks.

“I’m a girl?” Female-Sen said as he stared down as his lithe body. He wore a dress-like top and shorts. For a moment, it seemed as though he would complain, but then he patted at his sides and said nothing.

Despite their new illusions, they all still wore their trackers. The chokers all had a red gem in the center, indicating it was PvP season.

As team, the five headed out of the cul-de-sac and went for the main road. Just as Xiang predicted, the streets were filled with individuals. Cars were bumper to bumper, and several families on bicycles rode past. Sirens screeched in the distance. Rain softly pattered across the street.

It felt like the start of an apocalypse.

Kellan motioned the group to follow him down the next few blocks. When he saw a family exit their house and get into their car, Kellan motioned for everyone to stop. His team waited as the family drove over their lawn and shot out for the next road.

He pointed to the front door. “Let’s check inside.”

“For what?” Male-Xiang asked.

“Bits.”

Everyone nodded once as they hurried for the unoccupied house. The front door wasn’t locked, but that didn’t surprise Kellan. The family had been in such a hurry to leave, they probably didn’t remember to lock up.

They entered the living room. The howl of the wind and the soft patter of the rain was all that greeted them.

Husker walked around Kellan and went for the first potted plant by the window. It was a strange flowing plant with giant green leaves and pink petals. Husker sniffed it once, then picked up the whole ceramic pot—that was at least two feet tall and a foot in diameter—and then smashed it across the wood floor.

Soil, leaves, and shards of pottery went everywhere.

“What’re you doing?” Kellan asked as he motioned to the destruction.

“Looking for bits.” Husker twitched his ears as he tilted his head. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“You can’t just walk into someone’s house and smash all their pots to look for money! Who does that?”

Husker half-shrugged. “It seemed logical.”

“Well, keep the wanton chaos to a minimum, all right?”

Husker bowed his head. “As you wish.”

The five of them spread out, with Kellan heading for the master bedroom. He pulled open drawers, threw open the closet, and even searched the bathroom, frantic to find something. Kellan also kept the lights off. In the darkness, his Void Knight powers were present, giving him added physical stats. He zipped around the house with ease, shifting through the shadows when he wanted to move even faster.

Kellan left the master bedroom and went for the kitchen.

To his dismay, the garbage can had been dumped out across the floor. Moldy bread, half-eaten food, and even napkins with blood on them were strewn about, creating a sloppy mess. Female-Sen stood nearby, his arms crossed.

“What happened?” Kellan demanded. “Did you search the trash?”

“That’s right,” Female-Sen said matter-of-factly, his voice cute and feminine.

Kellan ran a hand down his face. “What’s with you guys? We don’t have to wreck the house.”

“Joke’s on you.” Female-Sen held out his hand. He presented Kellan with two bits. “I managed to find something in all this rubbish. We should be searching trash cans.”

After a short sigh, Kellan grabbed the dirty coins and shoved them into his pocket. He hated the fact that useful items could be hiding in the trash. Why would the Arbiter ever do that? What a sick lunatic.

They now had eight bits, though.

I hope they’re worth something good at the end.

“Kellan!” Mavis shouted from the front room. “I found one!”

All of Team 101 gathered near the front window. Mavis stood by the fireplace. All the framed pictures were thrown on the floor. Some were broken, others were still intact. Mavis pointed to the mantle.

“I found this coin behind a photo,” she said. Then she handed it over.

Kellan stared down at the object. So far, they had found three bits in his apartment, three bits at Aunt Gloria’s, and now three bits in the random house.

“We should go,” Kellan stated. “I think each building only has three coins hidden within them. Once we find three, we can go.”

Before the team left the house, Kellan was struck with a thought. He grabbed Male-Xiang by the shoulder and stopped her from going.

“Wait. Can’t you locate things with your mind magic? Can you use that to help us now?”

“Mages,” Male-Xiang stated. “I can locate mages and other living creatures with thoughts. Metal mages can locate items. That’s why Nosferatu loves these little find the objectstyle games. He’s a master of magical item detection.”

“Do you think Nosferatu will find the orbs faster than everyone else? I mean, according to Bitso, we were the first team to find one.”

Male-Xiang shook her head, her dreadlocks fluttering from side to side. “The orb you gathered wasn’t emitting much of a magical presence. Normally, I can sense powerful magical items when they’re nearby—most high-ranking mages can. But that orb felt mundane to me, even though I know it isn’t. I think the Arbiter is increasing the difficulty of the games by making a lot of our powers useless.”

Kellan nodded once. “I’ve noticed more things are flat out immune to illusions. That wasn’t the case before.”

With a smile, Male-Xiang said, “Exactly.”

The floor quaked, and the windows rattled. A loud rumble shook the house. Kellan effortlessly kept his balance, but the others weren’t as dexterous. They stumbled around, each grabbing at the walls.

“What’s that?” Mavis asked, her eyes wide.

Male-Xiang clung to the fireplace, her knuckles turning white. “Brenner,” she whispered. “He’s nearby. I can… sense him.”