—Chapter 20—

—The AVU Palace—

Kellan followed after the misshapen children. They dove into an alleyway, and a few feet in, they turned straight into a brick wall. Kellan thought they might comically slam against it, but that wasn’t the case.

The kids ran through the wall as though it didn’t exist. Poof. Straight through.

Although Kellan didn’t want to slam into a brick barrier, he didn’t have much time to debate his course of action. He charged through the wall, right where the children had disappeared. He tensed right before he “hit,” expecting to slam his face into the wall and get some sort of comical notification across his eyes about the rules on concussion damage.

Instead, Kellan stumbled through, unharmed by the wall.

When he glanced backward, the wall was still there.

An illusion, Kellan mused, his thoughts returning to Sen’s sister, Xiang. She had been capable of grand illusions...

“Hurry!” the boy yelled.

Kellan glanced around. The two kids were deep inside a dimly lit warehouse. Boxes, lit barrels, and tents were everywhere. It reminded Kellan of the underpasses in LA—the ones filled with homeless encampments.

Dozens of people milled around, each one more mishappen than the last.

Kellan didn’t stare. He ran by the tents and the barrels, holding his breath as to not breathe in the smell of human stench.

The kids dove through the crowd of people, weaving between groups. Kellan kept their pace, keeping up with them as he went.

“An outsider,” someone said from the warehouse.

“He’s with us,” the boy shouted. “Let us pass!”

The throngs of inbred homeless slowly cleared away. The boy and girl dashed to the opposite wall, and Kellan chased after. Once again, the kids jumped through an illusionary wall. Kellan followed behind them, never questioning the logic.

They exited out into another alleyway. The boy and girl jumped into the next building, shifting through a third illusion.

When Kellan followed this time, he almost froze in place. They had entered a normal house, with a small kitchen, completed with a stove and microwave. He stumbled into a table, knocking over a drink onto the floor.

“There are illusions everywhere?” he called out.

The girl and boy were in the attached living room, staring at Kellan with wide eyes.

“Of course there are illusions,” the little girl said. “It’s to protect us from the outsiders.”

The boy nodded once. “Most outsiders can’t see through the illusions. We try not to leave… but sometimes we have to.”

Kellan walked around the table and then hurried after the children, even dodging around a ratty sofa. The kids opened a door and ran down a long hall. Kellan didn’t even question it anymore. There were pictures on the wall, and music humming from a nearby room, but he ignored it all and instead counted the beats of his heart.

He could keep track of the time if he counted his heartbeats.

One more illusion wall.

And then another.

Finally, the boy and girl leapt through a wall and then stopped. Kellan tumbled into the boy and grabbed him. He muttered apologies as the boy hugged his grocery bag of arcana, the tiny red crystals clinking like glass.

They stood on the edge of a dark parking lot. Across the way, a grouping of buildings were squished together like crooked teeth slammed into a tiny mouth.

“The Lightning Lift is around that building,” the little girl whispered. She rubbed her hands across her dirty t-shirt. “You need arcana to ride it.”

The boy hugged his bag. “You can’t have any more.”

“That’s fine,” Kellan said as he stepped around the children. “Thank you for bringing me here.” He glanced at the illusionary wall, knowing they had taken a substantial shortcut. “I appreciate your help.”

The little boy touched the tumor over his milky white eye. “My name is Hua.”

“My name is Twi,” the girl added.

Hua and Twi, Kellan repeated in his mind, confused by their odd names. But he shook the thought away. Everyone has odd names here. Who am I to judge?

“Call me Kellan,” he said as he started his jog across the parking lot. “And stay out of trouble, all right? Next time I might not be around to chase off the rennic.”

Hua and Twi stood their ground at the edge of the parking lot. They held hands and watched as Kellan went all the way around the building. They never said a word—and the emptiness of the area felt colder than it had before.

But Kellan realized something disturbing.

They weren't alone.

There were illusions over most of the buildings. And people were inside. Watching. Fearful. Trying not to leave.

The thoughts swirled around in Kellan’s head as he rounded the building. To his surprise, Sen stood near the front door. It was a diner, completed with a sign in English that read, “Breafast Starting at 9.99!!”

Yes, breakfast was, in fact, misspelled without a ‘k.’

What a terrible sign.

Sen’s eyes went wide. “There you are!” He waved his arm and pointed to the side of the building. “Hurry! Quickly! We haven’t much time remaining!”

A tall metal pole, similar to a telephone pole, was attached to the diner. It cracked and hummed with inner power. Bars and pipes jutted out of the pole at different heights, and it stretched up a good twenty feet into the sky.

Kellan’s eyes informed him of its purpose.

Magical Item [Permanent Structure]—Lightning Lift

The mage may spend a single arcana to ride the Lightning Lift. The mage can choose any other Lightning Lift on the same dimension and travel there—no matter the distance—in thirty seconds. The mage must spend a single arcana each time they want to ride.

“Come, come,” Sen said as he hustled to the base of the metal telephone pole.

Kellan, still flooded with thoughts of his encounter, stared at the top of the pole. “Hey, Sen. Have you ever seen gold arcana? Do you know how—exactly—it’s different than red arcana?”

Sen stopped once he reached the pole. He glanced at Kellan with a sneer. “What’re you talking about? Arcana doesn’t come in other colors. It’s red.”

“I saw one that was gold.”

“You were mistaken. You probably saw a sparkly crystal, or a bottle cap—who knows. It wasn’t arcana.” He pointed to his feet. “Now get over here before a Pestbyter or some lonesome inbred mage finds us. We need to reach the AVU Palace and we’re already pushing our luck!”

His volume couldn’t be contained. With each word Sen shouted, he got louder and louder. Kellan couldn't stop himself from dwelling on the small bit of information. He knew something about magic that Sen didn't. Gold arcana. What did it mean?

Kellan strode forward, his eyes still fixed on the top of the pole. How did the Lightning Lift work, exactly? His eyes hadn’t told him more than the basic information. Obviously magic was involved, but…

“I went to D rank in eclipse magic,” Kellan said as he reached Sen’s side. “And I have a focus now, apparently. Some sort of one-time magical power.”

“Eclipse?” Sen dragged his hand over his face. “What a waste. You should have ranked in body magic. Now you’re going to be some sort of shadow warrior. Urg.” He placed his other hand on the lift. “I hope you took a good focus. Like Dark Paladin or something useful. So far, your magical abilities have been underwhelming, and my sister already thinks you were a mistake.”

Kellan followed Sen’s lead and also placed his hand on the lift. “How is this my fault? It sounds like your sister wanted you to find someone who knew more about magic than not at all.”

Sen said nothing, his narrowed eyes and deep frown spoke a thousand words.

“Well?” Kellan asked. He glanced at the lift. “Are we going?”

“Very well. Close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

A pulse of energy shot through the pole. It spread from Sen’s hand and shot through the metal like a wave of warmth. Kellan reveled in the sensation. It reminded him of… hot chocolate on a cold night. It was comforting, and relaxing.

And then lightning struck the pole.

Hot pain seared through the palm of his hand. White light flashed in his eyes. He closed them—but too late. He was blinded by the brilliant bolt of electric power. A tingling sensation went through Kellan’s body, and then he stumbled away from the pole, disorientated and confused.

He stumbled a few steps before someone grabbed him.

The fur on the man’s arms told Kellan it was some sort of werewolf person.

“Everything is okay.”

Husker.

He had a distinct voice. His words had the edge of a growl on them.

“Kellan? Are you okay?”

Mavis. Her voice was a comfort when compared to the onslaught of madness that was the Nexus.

But Kellan still couldn’t see. He rubbed at his eyes, but his vision remained purely white. With a groan, he pushed away from Husker’s arms and stood on his own feet, though the world swayed.

“I told you to close your eyes, fool. This is your fault.”

Sen’s voice had a grate that could irritate the dead. Kellan would recognize it anywhere.

The ground shook beneath Kellan’s feet. No—shook wasn’t the right word. It vibrated from the forces of a powerful bass. Music played close by, like techno and rock had a child and it was celebrating its twenty-first birthday.

Kellan had always preferred country and rock over other types of music, but techno wasn’t so bad.

“What’s going on?” Kellan asked, still rubbing at his eyes.

“It’s the AVU Palace,” Husker replied matter-of-factly. “There’s always a celebration whenever the Nexus Games start. This year seems to be grander than ever.”

Kellan’s eyesight returned in spots. First, he saw dots of color, then he saw images. The Lightning Lift—a metal telephone pole with pipes and steel rods—stood across a four-lane street from a massive set of stone stairs. It reminded Kellan of the Lincoln Memorial, though larger. The memorial only had fifty-eight steps, but this was at least one hundred.

Probably one hundred and twelve.

At the top of the stairs was a massive building. Literally a palace worthy of kings. Kellan had seen similar buildings in Europe, especially when he went to visit Versailles and the Kremlin. The building was designed around a dome amphitheater, and around the building was a massive garden and tall iron fences.

It was the size of a football stadium, and two Zeppelins floated in the sky around it, shining in the laser light show.

The lights—lasers and spot lights—shone from the base of the massive palace. They flickered and moved, creating a rhythm of movement that was almost hypnotic.

Dozens of people stood around on the front steps, most of which were dressed in long flowing gowns, or formal military uniforms. None of them were deformed, and Kellan’s half-blinded eyes filled with more notifications.

He ignored them, and tried to focus on the palace.

“It’s a party?” Kellan asked. “Here?”

Husker stepped into his limited vision, his fox-like ears twitching. “That’s right. The Arbiter throws a grand celebration. All the mages who are participating pay their respects. In the morning, the first games begin.”

Sen clapped his hands. “Come. My sister is waiting for us at the door.”

The four-lane street was jammed with rusted cars and broken machinery. Sen shuffled between the junk in order to make his way to the opposite sidewalk. Mavis, Husker, and Kellan followed, but Kellan tried to glance around.

The sky was dark, and the streetlamps weren’t in working order. The nearby skyscrapers prevented Kellan from seeing much. Were they in the heart of the city? The Lightning Lift could’ve taken them anywhere.

But the Zeppelins… He remembered those.

We must still be in the Nexus-Fayetteville. Kellan pinched the bridge of his nose. And this AVU Palace… There’s no building on Earth that corresponds to it. Fayetteville doesn’t have anything like it.

The individuals on the front steps of the palace gave Sen odd glances. Some even whispered things, each one pointing, but only for a short moment. Kellan didn’t know what they were all so excited about, and he wasn’t about to ask.

They only had a few more minutes to register before it would become “open season” on them. Husker must have felt the same mounting pressure, before he hurried up the steps, his trench coat pulled tight.

Halfway up the stairs, and a large stone platform with benches and a fountain, was Xiang.

Kellan wouldn’t forget her. She was more beautiful than the lasers in the dark sky, or the sparkle of the water in the dragon-shaped fountain. Her black hair fell like inky waterfalls over her shoulders, and when she glanced over to the group, her white robes flowed around her, silhouetting her slender shape.

“Who is that?” Mavis asked, her eyes wide.

“Sister,” Sen said as she hurried over. “We’ve done as you wanted. Both our warriors have gathered some arcana and now have magical abilities.”

Xiang turned her perfect gaze over to Kellan. She didn’t meet his gaze—she avoided it—and instead stared at his ripped-up jeans and bloody boots.

I look like I belong with all the homeless mages, Kellan mused to himself.

After a long inhale, Xiang motioned the others closer with a gentle motion of her wrist. “Please, gather round. This will already be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but I at least want to mitigate the humility.”

“This won’t be embarrassing,” Sen said. “You’ll see. I guarantee it’ll get the attention you want.”

“Oh, we’re going to get attention,” Husker sarcastically muttered.

Xiang held up a hand to silence her brother. “I can already hear the ridicule. Please. Brother. Listen to me this one time. If the other teams try to goad or taunt us, we aren’t to respond. We have a plan, and we must adhere to it.”

With a short exhale, Sen nodded. “Very well. What do you want from us?”

“Get closer. I’m going to illusion you all for the celebration. Then we’ll go inside and deal with… the fallout of your terrible decisions.”