—Chapter 15—

—I Thought You Had a Problem—

“A member of his family dies?” Mavis repeated, her brow furrowed.

“They disappear,” Husker said, his voice so faint, Kellan almost didn’t hear it. While still on the ground, Husker sighed and continued with, “They vanish from existence. Never to be seen again.”

Sen slowly nodded. “However, there’s a small bit of hope. Perhaps we can find a way to find them once we reach Zenith.”

Kellan suddenly understood why Husker wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs.

“And Husker will be completely cured of this hex if he reaches Zenith?” Mavis asked.

“Yes.” Sen flipped back his long hair. “That’s why he agreed to join our team for the Nexus Games.”

“Why doesn’t he just kill himself?” Kellan asked, though he knew he came across as callous. He was curious—and it would’ve been his own solution to the problem if he had any family left.

“If Husker dies, the hex is transferred to someone in his family,” Sen replied, no emotion in his response. “His is a hex of dynasty. It will haunt his bloodline until they have all disappeared… Or until Husker solves this little problem. We must reach Zenith.

Kellan glanced over to Mavis. “Zenith is the realm of high technology and perfect magic.”

She nodded. “I know. Husker told me about it when you were speaking with Sen’s sister.”

“Perfect. Since we’re all on the same page, why don’t we discuss the arcana? Apparently, we have six. Two goes to Husker, two goes to me, and two goes to Mavis? Or maybe Husker should get all of it… Due to the circumstances.”

In Kellan’s mind, Sen didn’t do jack shit, and therefore deserved nothing. But Husker…

He really did deserve the majority, as the very least.

Husker remained on the ground, unmoving. When the others turned his way, he closed his eyes again and sighed. “I want none of it.” There was a finality in his voice that bothered Kellan. Did Kellan consider the arcana tainted? Someone in his family died to obtain it, so now Husker couldn’t touch it?

“You two should split it,” Sen stated, gesturing to Mavis and Kellan. “You’re our weakest mages. Even one or two abilities will take you a long way.”

With a curt nod, Kellan glanced over at Mavis. She offered a shrug. “I haven’t gotten any yet.”

“You take five,” Kellan said. “I’ll take one.” That way, we’ll have gotten an equal amount.

After a brief second of contemplation, Mavis nodded. “All right.”

The two of them returned to the giant pool of blood around the massive alligator. Despite the fact they had been talking for several minutes, the beast was still gushing bodily fluid at a fierce rate. Kellan wondered if there was a second dimension hiding inside the belly of the gator—a dimension that led straight to blood.

Once they were out of earshot from Sen and Husker, Kellan lowered his voice. “Are you okay, by the way?”

Mavis glanced up at him and forced a single laugh. “I don’t know.”

“That’s it? You got nothing else?”

“Everything is so surreal.” She ran a hand through her dyed hair. “You don’t think it’s crazy that it’s still technically Christmas? I mean, I should be home watching It’s a Wonderful Life for the twentieth time, but instead I’m here, fighting monsters in a trailer park forest.”

“I meant are you physically okay,” Kellan said. “But I guess I can play therapist, if you need.”

Mavis snorted. “Do you always use sarcasm as a deflection tactic? Or is it just with me?”

“Oh, you want to be the therapist?” Kellan smiled as he leaned down and touched one of the scarlet arcana. “I’m down with some roleplay.”

The arcana absorbed straight into Kellan’s body through his fingertips. The sweet sensation of power filled his being, like a hit of a satisfying drug.

Mavis knelt down to collect her five arcana. The moment she touched one, she shivered and closed her eyes. “This is… weird. I like it. But it’s weird.”

“That’s what all the girls tell me,” Kellan quipped.

When Mavis opened her eyes again, she had absorbed all the glorious arcana. She stood—but it was slow, as to not put any pressure on her bad leg. “Are you okay, Kellan?”

He lifted up his new assault rifle. “I’ve never been better.”

“See? There you go again. Deflecting.” Mavis rubbed her hands together and glowered up at him. “You just agreed to help these lunatics win a game you know nothing about. Are you seriously so down on your luck—or looking for thrills—that you don’t care about your life? Shouldn’t we focus on just getting out of here?”

For a long moment, Kellan said nothing. He mulled over her comments, wondering if there was a kernel of truth behind them. The fact of the matter was: he didn’t have much going for him. No family. No friends outside of the Delta Force. Had the decision to stay and help out with a nightmarish game been so easy because…

“If you want to leave, I’m sure you can find a way on your own,” Kellan muttered.

Mavis shook her head. “If you’re staying, so am I.”

“Why?” He hefted his weapon close. “Are you so seriously down on your luck—or looking for companionship—that you’ll cling to anyone?”

He hadn’t meant his statement to sound so harsh, but he couldn’t take back the words now that they were said. Mavis locked up like she had been slapped, unmoving, her breath held.

Silence festered between them. Mavis finally looked away, her gaze drilling a hole in the dead trailer park grass.

Kellan rotated a shoulder. “Look, never mind that. Clearly, neither of us should pretend to be a therapist. We have bigger problems.” He motioned to the giant alligator with Vanna White-flair. “I give you exhibit A. Monsters.” Then he dramatically motioned to his ripped-up jeans and bare feet. “I give you exhibit B.”

“Bare feet?” Mavis quipped.

“No. A complete lack of armor and supplies.”

As if he had been eavesdropping the whole time, Sen called out, “We need some protective gear if we’re going to make it to the AVU Palace. Stop playing with the yami’s blood and get back here!”

“Is it just me, or has he been angrier lately?” Mavis whispered.

Kellan shrugged. “Puberty will do that to you.”

Together, Mavis and Kellan walked around the shallow pool of blood and made their way back to Husker and the kid. To Kellan’s surprise, Husker was still on the ground, unmoving. Had he given up on life? His hex was horrific…

“Ah!”

Confused, Kellan tensed.

Sen’s eyes went wide the moment he caught sight of Kellan’s bare feet. The little kid ran over, his adult-sized robes dragging across the grass.

“What’re you doing to yourself?” Sen practically shouted. He knelt in front of Kellan and touched at his feet.

Kellan jerked away. “Watch it, kid.”

“Sit down,” Sen ordered, no mirth in his voice.

The worms…

They writhed and moved, fighting against Kellan’s desires. But they were weaker… Possibly from the barbed wire? Kellan held his breath and decided to play along. If Sen tried anything funny, he’d just jump up and surprise him.

Kellan took a seat on the grass, his riddle still in hand.

“Let me see your feet,” Sen commanded.

After a long sigh, Kellan allowed the kid access to his bare feet.

“Look at this!” Sen shrieked.

He grabbed at Kellan’s foot and then molded the skin and muscle—like it was clay. Kellan almost pointed the rifle at Sen’s head, but the kid quickly reached into Kellan’s foot and withdrew a thin shard of glass.

Mavis uttered a quick yikes and Sen held the glass into a pillar of light shining through the trees. The crimson blood made the glass seem stained.

Then Sen tossed the glass off to the side and “molded” Kellan’s foot around a second time. Kellan couldn’t feel anything, and as his heart pounded against his ribs, he remembered why.

His ignore pain ability.

“You can’t treat your body like this,” Sen said as he withdrew a second piece of glass. “Do you understand how complex you are? You’re a vessel for your brain, and each part feeds into another. If you neglect something as important as your foot, you’re going to struggle with everything else. We’re a system. A machine. A computer.” Sen huffed and practically shouted, “We’re a flesh computer!”

“Calm down,” Kellan growled. Then he held up a hand. “Quiet. Please. I’m listening. No need to yell.”

“How are you… twisting his flesh around?” Mavis asked, her attention glued to Kellan’s morphing feet.

“Our warrior has mold metal, but I have mold flesh,” Sen said matter-of-factly. “Body magic has domain over most things blood and bone. For years I altered the faces and features of mages in our court.”

He continued to “sift” through Kellan’s foot. He withdrew another piece of glass, and one screw. Once he was done, he shaped Kellan’s feet back to how they had been—perfect and undamaged.

A few times, Kellan swore he saw worms squirming to escape his body, and he wondered why. San had the queen… Were they trying to return to her?

Sen sighed. Then he glanced up at Kellan. “Have you looked at your more advanced abilities? You should be able to see D rank possibilities now.”

Although Kellan was still fascinated by the fleshcrafting magic, he decided to turn his attention inward. Like before, he saw a lift of abilities. But… There were a few more.

Metal Magic Rank D Cost: 5 arcana

D Rank Metal Abilities:

Repair [1 arcana]

One of the most common and most useful abilities, this power allows a metal mage to return something to its proper, ordered state, taking the inherent structure of an object, and returning it to that base.

The metal mage spends a mana, and any single, non-magical object of up to person size is repaired.

Blades [2 arcana]

Metal mages are able to manifest metal on their body as a transformation, taking on the forms of knights or even stranger automatons. Early on, however, it manifests in smaller ways, which allows blades to spring from the arms of the mage, allowing them to always be “armed.”

The metal mage spends a mana, and gains blades from his arms for thirty minutes. These deal strength + 4 damage.

Intuitive Tech [2 arcana]

The metal mage quickly understands how machines, vehicles, and foreign computers work…

The mage spends a mana, and for thirty minutes, he has a “phantom” understanding of machines. He can temporarily use most vehicles, firearms, planes, pick locks, and computer terminals as though he has trained with them before.

Systems Check [2 arcana]

Metal mages can sense the true form of objects, the perfect state that it should be in… and where it currently is. This can allow them to see where the deviance is for even the largest objects, including cars, radio towers or battleships.

The metal mage spends two mana, and instantly knows where damage or disrepair is (not things like micro fractures that might someday lead to damage, but actual, causing problems at the moment, damage). There is no limit to the size that can be checked, but it must be a distinct unit (spaceship) as compared to a concept or network (a city, or the internet).

Laser, rank II [3 arcana]

Metal mages rely on “laser” energy in their attack. This power is, weirdly, shared by eclipse mages, thought by many to be an “opposite” typing. This tends to be excellent for beams, and weak for nearly everything else.

The metal mage gains “laser” as an energy type, andthe damage dealt is equal to metal magic rank + the mage’s dexterity store. This stacks at half rate (round up) when added to any other light power.

Servos [Cyborg] [1 mana drawdown/5 arcana]

Metal mages that have taken “Cyborg” abilities gain multiple options, including servos, in which the mage generates a system throughout their body that instantly controls muscles with feedback to more closely mirror the mages intent, increasing precision of force applied, and increasing the rate at which they react to minute changes in the physical environment.

The mage gains +1 dexterity.

Excalibur [Metal/Eclipse rank C] [4 arcana]

Metal and eclipse mages can make metal weapons supernaturally hard, sharp, and give them a sheathe of light energy. The result is a weapon that is extremely dangerous.

The mage spends two mana, and a mana to hold per round, and manifests metalline and light properties onto a weapon as one bonus. This adds +4 damage and ignores 4 armor rating. This can also affect a mage’s “Blades” power.

Kellan could hardly believe it.

Some of his abilities were fascinating, but in a way he hadn’t expected. The ability to repair things? Metal magic… It was the magic of civilization and technology. Of order. Or hierarchy. And, of course, metal.

The more Kellan understood, the more he liked it.

Sen turned to Mavis. “You need to determine what abilities you’ll be taking. You’re a metal and magma mage, correct? Magma has plenty of offensive abilities. Fire. Heat exhaustion. Controlling the earth around your opponent’s feet. Surely you can pick something suited to your fighting style.”

For a brief second, Mavis went still and quiet. She stared at nothing in the distance, her gaze vacant.

Is that what I look like? Kellan mused.

“Now that you have your weapon, we need to get you some armor.” Sen glared at his bare feet. “We can’t have you showing up to the AVU Palace looking like a drug addict.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that,” Kellan quipped.

“This is serious. We need to ask the Arbiter for forgiveness. You destroyed one of his Pestbyters, or have you already forgotten?”

Kellan sighed. “Trust me. I’m never going to forget.”

With a dramatic swing of his arm, Sen pointed at Husker. “Help carry him. We need to hurry. We haven’t much time.”

Although Kellan didn’t want to drag a giant werewolf man around, he knew they would probably need him. Kellan got to his feet, walked over to Husker, and then knelt. The half-man, half-canine, jerked away from Kellan’s grip, his reddish-brown fur on end.

“I… I can walk,” Husker growled. With shaky hands, he pushed himself off the ground.

But then he slipped.

Kellan grabbed him and held on. With as much strength as he could offer, he helped Husker to his clawed feet.

“Why’d you do it?” Kellan asked as he held the other man steady. "Why'd you use your ability if it'd hurt you family?"

“The yami would’ve killed Mavis.” Husker’s ears went down as he sighed. “And we don’t have enough time to find another teammate. Not even Sen could make new puppets in the small amount of time we have left…”

“Competing in the Nexus Games is that important to you?” He risked everything to save Mavis for that?

“It’s my only solution,” Husker said, his voice hollow. “I’ve tried everything else to break the hex. If the magic in Zenith can’t do it… I have nothing left.”