Chapter Four.

Kris hummed as he entered the Jules Arcade. It hadn't taken him long to track down someone that matched what he thought Ambrosius – Cameron – probably looked like to that place. He hadn't been there since the attacks, but Kris was confident his uncle would eventually show up.

First, he made his way over to the snack center and ordered some nachos with extra cheese sauce and some meat in addition to a root beer float, then took his food and sat down, digging in.

As usual the last few Saturday's he'd been there – and Sundays, too – there was a fidgety boy who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. He had dark brown hair, gray eyes, and a lean build, and was dressed in a dark green tee, black cargo pants, and a light jacket left partially unzipped.

The teen, as usual, was fidgeting in his seat, constantly rearranging some napkins on the table. Some of the kids thought he was weird, especially since he wasn't the first kid to fidget with napkins like that – and every time one stopped showing up, the other started up again.

That teen was connected to his uncle, Kris knew. According to the other kids, every single kid who fidgeted around like that had been seen playing games with Cameron there.

Kris rolled his eyes. The others should've realized that it's the same kid over and over. There was no way it wasn't, and only kids with magic could enter the arcade. It was enchanted specifically so that only mages could notice it and enter without permission or guidance from someone else.

Every single kid there was a magician, and he was pretty sure most of them knew about the lone schools. It was something most mages heard about early into their lives as mages. Being able to learn even a single spell in one of the lone schools automatically put someone above most others in terms of status.

He wasn't sure why the shift mage constantly changed his form, but he didn't question it. What he did know was that the shift mage was talented, connected to his uncle in some way, and even more fidgety then than he had been in the past.

Once Kris finished eating, he took care of his trash, and instead of going to a game to play something, he walked over to the shift mage's table and stood across from him.

"Can you put me into contact with Cameron?" He asked.

"Who?" The shift mage asked, suspicion immediately filling his eyes and expression.

Kris could tell the mage was ready to attack at a moment's notice. It was confirmation that he knew the light mage's uncle, and told Kris that there was a level of protectiveness there as well.

"Cameron," he answered. "I know you're connected to him. You're a shift mage, and a good one. I don't know why you keep changing your forms. But I know that you're connected to Cameron. I wanted to talk with him about something."

"Why do you think I'm a shift mage?"

"The others might be oblivious," Kris gestured to the napkins. "But no matter which form you're in, you have a tendency to constantly rearrange anywhere from eight to eighteen napkins on the table when you're here. It's kind of an obvious tell for someone with an attention for detail, and my father's trained me to pay attention to detail. It helps with my illusions."

The teen sighed, then opened his mouth to speak.

"KRIS!"

The light mage barely had time to register the squeal before something rammed into him, tackling him to the ground. When he twisted to look at the attacker, he found himself looking into the familiar dark blue gaze of Ambrosius.

"Ambro!" He wrapped his arms around his uncle. "I heard someone with your description was hanging around this place, and I just knew it had to be you. Jeez, you've barely grown since I last saw you!"

Kris immediately felt something strike against his mental barriers, then saw Cameron's eyes widen.

"You have mental shields!" He exclaimed. "Though they didn't keep me from sensing your mind. How'd you learn to do that? The voices say your dad's my brother. That makes me your uncle. What are you doing here? The voices said you live here now. No, I'm not-stop that! Jeez."

"What?" Kris asked. "The voices?"

"Yeah," Cameron's face was crimson as he climbed off of Kris. "Don't listen to them, they don't know what they're talking about and I was not in that position so I could look up her skirt, so stop suggesting that before I start screeching again."

"Please don't," the shift mage said as Cameron helped Kris to his feet.

"I heard you go by Cameron now," Kris told Cameron.

"Yeah," his uncle nodded. "But you can call me Cam, most people do now. Hush, no one asked you. Well, I don't think Nathaniel's a cool name, so I'm not going by it. It's my middle name! I hate my real name. Yeah, well, she's a bitch."

"Is this… normal?" Kris asked the shift mage.

"Yes," a voice responded, and Kris jumped, looking at the mage standing beside him.

This mage was around his age, so around fifteen or so, with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a jacket, jeans, and sneakers, and something in his stance warned Kris not to mess with him.

Kris might have been trained by a demigod, but whoever this person was, they were outright deadly and possessed an aura of badassary.

"Cam, you're talking to the voices in your head again," the mage said, and Cameron shrugged, then stuck his tongue out. "What was that for?"

"I forgot they can't see me?" Cam offered, causing the mage and the shift mage to laugh. "What? It's true! Did you tie Callum up outside?"

"I am not going to even try to tie him up," the mage shook his head as the shift mage laughed. "So who's this? You said something about the voices saying he was your nephew?"

"Yeah," Cam tilted his head at Kris, who felt uncomfortable as he noticed Cam's right ear twitching. "According to the voices, his father's my brother from my father. Once he heard that he had a brother here, he moved here to see if he could meet him. He's not aware it's me, though. Not unless Kris told him?"

"No," Kris shook his head. "I told him that I heard rumors that you were in town, but that it was only because of someone matching your description was here. You're a mind mage? I felt you attack my mind."

"You're a mind mage?" Cam asked. "It's not normal for demigod's children to inherit their specialty."

"No," Kris shook his head. "I'm a light mage who specializes in illusions. I can also do some wind magic, mostly to create barriers to protect myself and make it sound like I'm talking somewhere within twenty feet of me. Dad's trained me hard since I woke my magic up when I was, like, seven. The mind barrier comes from his training, too – he didn't want me to be prone to having my thoughts read or being compulsed in some form."

"Good," Cam nodded. "We've been working on getting Eden protected against that."

"Eden?" Kris looked at the mage standing protectively beside Cam. "Wait. Are you the Eden from the arenas?"

"I knew you looked familiar," Eden snapped his fingers and pointed at Kris. "I've seen you at the arena the last few weeks."

"I was hoping to see Cam," Kris nodded. "It's been a few years since he ran away, and we were good friends before then. Where'd he go?"

Kris looked around in confusion, realizing that Cam had disappeared at some point.

"He's getting food," the shift mage answered. "I suppose you know him, he doesn't tackle just anyone. He seems to like you, too, judging by that squeal."

Kris ignored that and looked for Cam, spotting him at the counter listing off a bunch of things he wanted.

"I'm Adam," the shift mage said, and Kris looked at him, frowning. "The mage who owns the warehouse. I'm assuming that means something to you? I've seen you around a few times, too. I'm assuming you're the one who sparred with her last night after everyone had gone?"

"Yes," Kris admitted. "I didn't like her attitude, and if Cam was Ambro, then I wanted to make sure he was protected. I don't trust her."

"I can read her mind, if you want."

"She wants something with Cam?" Eden asked.

Kris looked between the two of them, realizing that they had both tensed up when he mentioned Cam in the same sentence as her. They were both protective of his uncle.

"She wants something with you, too," Kris told Eden. "She's looking for strong mages for… something. She said a friend was in trouble and she needed powerful mages to help. She'd been trying to get information about the strongest mages in the arena since she showed up after the battle."

"I've already done some digging," Adam said as Cam returned to the table with a massive slushy, sitting down and shoving the napkins away. "She's been to several other arenas over the last few months, looking for a new one every two or three weeks. She's always nudged around for information about the strongest, and after fighting all of them there, moves on to the next."

"Who?" Cam asked, then started drinking his slushy, sucking like there was no tomorrow and no worry of brainfreeze.

"Stop that," Eden pulled the slushy away from Cam. "You're going to get a brainfreeze again."

"I like brainfreezes," Cam said. "Sometimes, I imagine it's what it's like to have my battering ram attacking me."

"I can simulate it if you want," Adam told him.

"No, thanks!" Cam quickly responded. "Callum said you'd probably just knock me out by accident."

Kris wanted to ask who Callum was, but was pretty sure he wouldn't receive an answer to that question. At first, he'd thought they were a dog, since Cam had mentioned tying him up, but then it sounded like Cam had actually spoken with Callum.

And he doubted a dog would say something about knocking someone out.

"So who are you talking about?" Cam asked.

"A girl who showed up at the arena after the battle," Eden sat down, then looked at Kris, who did the same. "She's a fire mage, and a pretty talented one. I fought her yesterday. She lasted the longest of my foes, though still fell. In the arena, you're still the only one to best me."

"She's been asking about the strongest in the arena," Kris said. "And got interested in you two. She tried ambushing you at the counter for winnings, but you'd already collected them and left. I fought her last night."

"How'd it go?" Cam asked. "I wanna fight you."

"He won," Adam answered. "He mixed illusions and wind magic to protect himself against her and strike. He knocked her out with a precise blow, too. With your capabilities and his inability to conceal his mind so far, you'd probably still win, even if he used all of his power. The clerk said you'd agreed to contact Eden if she beat you. I'm assuming you meant by approaching me today?"

"Yeah," Kris admitted. "I didn't expect to meet Eden and Cam here. She lost, though, so I don't have to do that. She had to answer my questions instead. All I got was that she wanted to help her friend, who was in trouble, and that she needed strong mages for that."

"Callum can probably find out more," Cam offered.

"No," Adam started arranging the napkins again. "Callum is meant to protect you, that's why your father freed him from the prison. Other than training you two, I'm returning to the shadows to run the warehouse. The big battle and everything took a lot out of me. I'd rather just deal with my warehouse.

"If someone's poking around," he continued. "Looking for my strongest fighters, it's my duty to check to see what's going on. I'll talk with her about things and see what she says."

"Okay," Cam looked relieved to Kris, then looked at Kris as his order is placed on the table. "Once I finish eating, play a few games, and finish my training session with Adam today, want to go to the warehouse and spar?"

"Cam," Eden said. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I wanna see how I do against Kris," Cam looked nervous to Kris. "I can't be scared forever. I need to be strong, like you. I-I need to stop being scared of fighting again. Maybe then the nightmares will go away."

"Nightmares?" Kris asked.