(Alex, 17)

"I swear! I don't know anything!" My current target protests.

She's in her late forties, a baroness living here in Varilsy at the moment. Right now, she's wearing a red evening dress, along with rubies set in silver. I'm sitting on her desk, one foot pressed against her stomach, a knife in each hand, a collar of water around her neck. She's holding her hands up, and I can sense the terror in her mind.

"You are lying," I growl low in my throat. "You should never lie to the Leviathan, human. I always know."

I hate forcing that accent, but it's necessary for the role. The rest of my crew is here, too, scattered throughout the mansion. We're dressed in the garb we wore the last time we acted as the Leviathans, though some of them had grown since then. Fortunately, the crew had prepared for us to return to these roles and made sure they always had outfits that fit.

"You're crazy!" The noble protests.

"I wouldn't recommend calling me that," I create tiny spikes of ice on the inside of the collar, just enough to prick her skin. "Not when I hold all the cards. Either tell me why you hired the Silver Hand to kidnap Prince Jacob, or I will rip into your mind, potentially scrambling it for good as I search for the information."

She swallows nervously, causing the spikes to pierce her neck further.

"Have you ever had someone rummage through your mind like a thief rummaging through a sack of their latest steals?" I ask. "I can assure you that it can be made quite uncomfortable. I can even turn your mind into a prison. While in there, I can build an entirely new personality, locking you away so that all you can do is watch as she lives your life."

I give her a cruel smile as I push my boot into her stomach even more, eliciting a gasp of pain from her. She can't see the smile through my mask, but I'm sure she can hear it as I speak again.

"As she ruins your life!"

"I don't-I don't know!" She answers, and I push my foot in harder. "I swear! They-they came to me a week ago! They gave me a package and a chest of money and told me to deliver them to Robert Lurnth! I swear, that's all I know! They paid me five million Varilan varru for it!"

Robert Lurnth was a member of the Silver hand until about an hour ago, when I slit his throat after interrogating him. His answers led me to this baroness, who he says paid him to send Trenton, the member who was killed along with Hannah, to kidnap Jacob.

"And the meetup point?" I ask.

"I don't know!" She answers, and I push the spikes in a little further as I lighten up on her stomach. "I swear! All I know is that they were supposed to take him to the Murdral Tavern!"

"Who paid you?" I ask.

"They wore a cloak and a mask," she tells me. "I don't know who they were! They were here, then they were gone!"

Her emotions and thoughts prove her honest. I can even see the memory she has of him, of the cloak he's wearing. It's similar to the one worn by the person who paid the bandits to kill the Metis. Disturbingly so.

Are the two incidents connected?

I release the spikes, turning them back to liquid and absorbing them back into the collar, which I add a holy affect to, so that the punctures heal.

"Thank you for your honesty," I pull my foot off of her as well, then kick the seat of the chair between her legs, sending it toppling backwards. "You get to stay you. For now."

I slide off her desk, then leave her office. Murdral Tavern, huh? They serve good beer and ale and delicious stews. It's a shame they may not exist after tonight.

As the sobbing baroness picks herself up off the floor, I summon my crew with a telepathic thought. Once they reach me, I extend my scanning spell out to its maximum, then teleport us out of here. We land on the rooftop of another mansion, several lots over.

"Murdral Tavern," I murmur, ensuring with a bit of magic that my crew hears my words and no one else. "That's our next location."

"I take it she was paid to do this?" Barry asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "Let's go."

A few teleports later, and the crew and I are in front of Murdral Tavern, a small tavern in a poorer district, its entrance in an alley. A couple of thugs hang outside of the tavern, acting as a form of guards. Barry and Sarah kill them before they can react to our presence, and I lead the crew inside.

It's crowded, it's noisy, and it smells of alcohol, food, and sweat. A few people give us strange looks, but before any of them can do or say something, I hold up a gloved hand and snap.

Normally, the snap wouldn't make much sound, not with the gloves on. However, I used a bit of magic, resulting in the snap turning into a sonic boom that shatters every piece of glass in here. The thugs, criminals, and other patrons in here all cover their ears, some of them dropping to the ground in pain. The sonic boom knocked the wind out of them as well, leaving them gasping for air for a few moments.

"Do I have everyone's attention?" I ask. "Because I have some questions."

Peter and Colin teleport themselves to the back exit, blocking off any potential escape, and I take a step forward, shrinking my scanning spell as I expand out my empathy and telepathy. This many minds, I can handle as long as I filter out only the relevant information.

"Yesterday," I say. "And I don't mean the day before tonight, but the previous night, a man, a woman, and someone they had cloaked and unconscious came here. I want to know who they met, what happened, where they went, and anything else which occurred."

A nearby thug recovers first, drawing a pair of knives and charging at me. He is slow compared to me, even before factoring in my speed enhancement. Orange, maybe? Definitely nowhere near a warrior who is green, even if most of that training came over the past year.

I easily avoid his opening strikes and grab him by the throat, lifting him up as I delve into his mind, Barry and Sarah drawing their own knives as warning. Mikey and Jeddy simply stand there, watching impassively.

My victim squirms in my grip, but drops his knives, my spell preventing him from keeping hold of them or breaking free. It takes me less than fifteen seconds to finish, and once I do, I halt the flow of blood in his throat, preventing any from leaving his head or traveling into it. I hold him there until he dies, then I drop him to the ground before turning my attention back to the crowd.

"He possessed no useful information," I state. "Now. Is there anyone here who does? Or do I need to work my way through every last one of you? The cloaked man was Prince Jacob Varil, and we Leviathans will hold back none as we look for him."

Nervousness radiates off of several of the criminals, and I approach one, the bartender. His nerves increase, his body trembling slightly. He knows the story of the Leviathans, who went on a rampage through those who sold others, I can see the memories coming to the surface in his mind.

"Why don't you begin?" I ask, swiftly drawing a knife and stabbing it into the counter, flames swirling around it. "Depending on how truthful you are and how quickly you answer my questions, I may just leave your precious tavern standing. I may also leave your mind intact."

An image comes to mind, a man in a cloak and a mask, the same appearance as the one who approached the baroness. I grab that memory he has and force it to the front of his mind, stripping away everything else from the memory so that only the image of him remains. Looking at and using what's on the surface is much easier than delving into his mind, especially without skin-to-skin contact, such as my hand touching theirs, like when Jason and I communicate telepathically.

"This man," I say. "Who is he?"

"I don't know," the bartender stammers, and I hear a cry of pain. Someone tried to fight, and a Leviathan dealt with them. "He-he came by a week ago. Paid me money in advance to provide an escape for a man and a woman who would be coming here with an unconscious man."

"You mean through the secret exit in your cellar?" I ask, using his own thoughts to bring the knowledge forward further. "Leading into the cellar of the boot shop next door?"

"Yes," he answers.

I continue to pull information out of him, the man unaware all the while that in my lack of patience, I put a truth spell on him. King Zachary ain't going to be happy about my rampage through the city, nor the mind magics I'm using, but he'll deal.

Once I finish interrogating him, I interrogate everyone else who shows some sign of knowing about the incident, but nothing new comes up. Time to investigate the boot shop next door. Luckily, its owner lives above the shop, so he's going to receive a nasty wake-up call.

He has a son living with him, six years my junior. I'll make sure to put a sleep spell on the boy to ensure he doesn't wake during our visit. There's no point in traumatizing the poor boy by having him see his papa get interrogated by the Leviathans.

(Niko, 17)

A few months ago, I no doubt would have taken issue with the stares I and my companions receive as we walk through Varilsy at the moment. Back then, I would have either taken a gate or a carriage to reach the palace in order to hide my companions, but that was the old me. The new me cares not for such things.

Though this walk holds a second purpose, to alert people to the forces now walking Varilsy. Not Eli and Micah, but the other two walking with us. I struggled not to laugh when my people saw these two after I returned this morning. None of them knew I left after breakfast. Alex sent a report regarding his investigation last night, which he called a dead-end.

As far as he could find, the same person behind the attempted assassination of Tasha paid off several people, some of whom were paid to deliver messages or pay off others to deliver messages. Nothing usable for tracing the mastermind.

We reach the palace gates, and the guards nervously look at my companions.

"I am Niko sul'Mar," I hold up my identification. "I wish to see my betrothed, Lina Varilsy."

"Y-yes, sir," one of the guards peels his eyes from my new companions. "Y-you may enter, Prince Niko."

"Thank you," I enter the palace grounds, Eli, Micah, and my other two companions remaining with me.

I ask after Lina, and am shortly directed to the main building, where she was last seen by those I stop. It takes us only a few minutes to locate Lina and Zachary in one of the palace gardens, several guards throughout, including their personal guards.

Lina wears a simple summer dress and no jewelry, but she still looks as beautiful and radiant as the first time I saw her. We are approaching from behind them and to the side, so they do not spot us, though I know their guards at least use scanning spells, and all four of the personal guards turn and look at my companions with wide eyes.

"Hello, Lina," I greet her, then remember her papa sits beside her. "Hello, Zachary."

"Hello, Niko," Zachary chuckles as he turns to face us. "How are-Niko?"

"Yes?" I ask.

"Are those gargoyles?"

"Yes," I answer, then indicate the one on my right. "This is Miros," I indicate the one on my left. "This is Velra. In light of the incident two evenings ago, we must suspect that Lina may be targeted by the kidnappers. Therefore, I picked out two of the most experienced female gargoyles under my command to act as additional guards for her. They will prove much more difficult to counter than other measures. Each of them possesses nearly as much magical power as Jason."

One of the gargoyles as an angelic general during the war who I turned, while the other was a demonic general. Despite fighting each other during the war, they are friends now, meaning no issues will arise between them during this job of theirs. Gargoyles rarely war internally.

"Thank you, Niko," Zachary says. "But while I appreciate the offer of additional help, asking gargoyles to stand in as guards may provoke some unwanted issues."

"More unwanted than Lina potentially being kidnapped or assassinated?" I ask. "The other option is we move Lina out of Varilsy until the situation is resolved. I have four different locations to protect her in. One of them is guarded by gargoyles. One of them is an island only the Magi may open a path to which was designed as a sanctuary for us Magi. One of them is an island only Jason and I have been to outside of its natives, making it nigh impossible for someone else to find her there. The other is with a flock of thunderbirds. Which is it, Zachary? Additional grey-level beings guard Lina temporarily, or she leaves Varil altogether until we deal with the situation?"

Zachary sighs, defeated.

"In some ways, I prefer the old Niko," he mutters.

"Papa," Lina puts a hand on his arm. "Niko means well, he does this out of concern for me. His point stands, however. I prefer additional guards over leaving here."

"I know," Zachary stands, then steps between Lina and me. "Do not think I am ignorant of things."

Zachary leaves, then I sit beside Lina, Gargoyle Alpha jumping up to wedge himself between us. I pat the stuffie on the head, then wrap my arm around Lina and kiss her.

"I take it he received reports about the Leviathans?" I ask in the ancient tongue.

"Yes," Lina smiles. "We were discussing it when you arrived. Did Alex contact you yet?"

"Yes," I answer. "Did he give you the report as well?"

"He did," she confirms. "I played ignorant with Papa, which frustrated him."

"He will learn to deal with that," I state. "How is Tasha?"

"She is well," she answers. "At the moment, she allows few visitors, performing her work with only a handful of people permitted to access her. The story is that she fears for her own safety after Jacob's kidnapping, as we agreed upon yesterday."

"Good," I nod. "The Silver Hand turned into a false chase. Who is the real mastermind behind all of this?"

"I wish I knew," she sighs. "Thinking about what sufferings they inflict upon Jacob as we search worries me."

"I worry over that as well," I tell her. "Did you hear that Jaklenai is helping enforce Jason's rest?"

"How did they manage that?" She asks in surprise.

"Miralandis informed him," I answer. "About Jason's willingness to sacrifice his own health in order to protect or save the Magi. Jaklenai still loves the High Magus, and so agreed to help enforce the rest period."

"I see," she says. "Jaklenai holds more magical power than Jason, yes?"

"Jason currently is at the fourth level of grey magical power," I state. "Jaklenai holds around the fifth level in terms of magical power."

"So he is maybe twice as powerful as Jason?"

"That makes a world of difference," I say, then lean my shoulder into hers, ignoring the coughing of her guards and the clearing of the throat Eli performs. "Thankfully, Jason seems inclined to let them hold him down. He feels much too weak to try to fight his way free."

I spoke with Miralandis earlier, and she informed me that Jason still feels ill, despite the solstice ending nearly half a day ago. His current state may have resulted from something he did not tell anyone he did. I have no plans to tell anyone, either.

If his papas and mamas knew, they would feel even more infuriated towards Jason's lack of care for his health. Alex would feel more depressed and guilty over helping push Jason to that state, and the other Magi would feel even more guilty as well. Jason, meanwhile, would brush off their worries, claiming that none of us are responsible for him wanting to protect his friends.

The blame truly lies with us, though. Why did we not see it sooner? Why did we not realize what we did to him before?

Without meaning to, I sigh. We caused Jason to perform an extremely stupid action, and I know of it only due to the gargoyles sensing it happen. The reason it took me several hours to return after leaving to order two of them to Lina's side was because of some of the gargoyles showing me the signs of what Jason did.

When Jason turns serious about something, he truly turns serious. It is possible that even while resting, Jason will learn of Jacob's location before we do. I pray to the King and Queen of the Gods that when he finds out the location of our friend, he informs us, regardless of where Jacob might be, Lreth Prison or elsewhere.

"What is wrong?" Lina asks.

"Jason," I answer. "I worry over our friend. We need to find Jacob. There is no question about that. If we do, it will tell Jason that we realized how much we push things onto him and how much we rely on him, but that we have accepted that we can help as well."

Jason helped me with my burdens. I must help him with his.

I just hope that Jacob does not suffer too much before we find him.

(Jacob, 17)

The door to my cell opens, and I glare at Eric as he enters, followed by his twelve-year-old son, Benjamin. Benjamin wears a simpler outfit, consisting of brown pants, plain boots, and a plain, blue tunic. He carries a tray with food in his hands. Stale bread and flavorless soup, just like the last four meals.

"I will return in one hour," Eric informs me. "I expect you to have finished your meal by then. We will resume your training upon my return."

He turns and leaves, and Benjamin sets the tray down in front of me. Each meal, Eric does this. Currently, I sit on the ground, cross-legged. The chains are gone, though the shackles remain. When he resumes his torture of me, Eric will use the command ring to call the chains back.

Even without them, I cannot leave the room. Those who wear the cuffs cannot leave their cell. It is the only reason Eric lets me down after his torture sessions. I wish I could remember how Nolan freed us from the cells, my memory of the actual release is hazy. How did he remove the cuffs, if they still exist today? I doubt any mortal man could have reforged them.

Benjamin keeps his gaze on the food as I begin eating, tasting the hint of the potion Eric laced it with, meant to help loosen my mind. Knowing about the potion, I can resist its effects with my own willpower, keeping hold of my thoughts.

A glance at Benjamin, and I see the regretful look on his face. He hates this, so the only reason I can think of for him to come is his papa forcing him.

"Benjamin," I say, and he jumps, having not heard my voice once and likely not expecting me to speak. "Does your papa make you do this?"

"N-no," he answers, his voice quiet. "I don't like it, Your Highness. He-he had them kill Hannah. I didn't like her, but what if he kills me, too?"

In the capital, too. Her body is no doubt still there, because of her involvement in my kidnapping.

"Then why do you come here?"

"To keep you company," he says. "And… maybe help you escape? I don't know how I could do that, though."

"I do," I tell him. "Do you know where we are located?"

"Y-yes," he says. "But Papa put a spell on me so I can't tell anyone."

"That is fine," I tell him. "You turn thirteen soon, yes?"

"Next month," he confirms.

"Will you be attending an academy in Varilsy?" I ask.

"Papa wants me to," he tells me. "I don't know. I want private tutors, but Papa says that I need to go to academy with others, and that Varilsy has the best."

"Tell your papa," I tell him. "You wish to visit Varilsy, as the representative of your family there to oversee the things for Hannah's funeral, once her body is released. Also tell him you wish to look at the academies there, to see if there are any you might like."

From what I know of them already, Eric would be happy for Benjamin to want to look at the academies in Varilsy, and it would make him feel good about his son.

"Do you eat meals with your papa?" I ask.

"Y-yes," he answers.

"Okay," I say. "Tell him that during dinner tonight, okay?"

"But I don't want to," he sniffles.

"Maybe not," I tell him. "Benjamin, listen to me. I need you in Varilsy. Specifically, I need you to deliver a message to someone."

"A message?" He finally meets my gaze, his eyes full of confusion.

"Yes," I say. "But you need to be in Varilsy for this. Telling your papa what I said to tell him should deflect suspicion. He has already notice how uncomfortable this makes you, he will likely believe you just want to escape it. He will have someone watching you, on the off-chance that you decide to try to tell someone while there, so that they could stop you."

"And you want me to tell someone?" He asks, his voice a half-cry.

"No," I tell him. "The message is something different. I can hold out against your papa for a long time, I promise. Do not worry about me. Do not actively seek out the person you need to deliver the message to. You will come across his path eventually without you looking for him. When he approaches you, you will need to tell him that you prefer brownies with chunks of chocolate in them over nuts."

Benjamin gives me a baffled and shocked face.

"What?" He asks.

"I said," I say. "That you need to tell him that you prefer brownies with chunks of chocolate in them over ones with nuts in them."

"Why?" He asks.

"He will know what it means," I tell him. "All you need to do is deliver the message once he approaches you."

"O-okay," he frowns a little. "Who is the message for? How will I know it's him? Are you sure he'll come to me? Why don't I need to seek him out? Why do I have to deliver such a weird message? It won't help you escape, will it?"

"Slow down," I tell him. "Benjamin, the message is the most important thing in the world when it comes to my rescue. It may seem innocent and random, but to the recipient, it is the world itself. Ensure you deliver it, but do not seek him out. Hold onto it, keep it remembered, and know as long as you have a message for him, he will find you. Nothing escapes the notice of the man known as Jason Jeshema."

"The son of the Sages?" He asks.

"And the High Magus," I tell him. "Who, in a past life, stormed this prison, killed every angel and god within it, and rescued the eleven other Magi, who had been sealed within its walls."

"Y-you want me to tell him where it is?" I ask.

"No," I answer. "Your papa bound you with a mind spell so you could not, yes?"

"Y-yeah," he nods. "But couldn't Jason break it, Your Highness?"

"Probably," I answer. "But knowing the lengths your papa went to, it is possible you do not actually know the location. I would not put it past him to affect your memory and perception to prevent you from seeing the actual location and instead causing you to believe it to be different."

Benjamin looks down as he lets out a depressed sigh. He knows how little his papa cares for him, and my words only reminded him of it further.

"No," I tell him. "The message I wish for you to deliver is far more important than the location."

"Why?" He asks.

"Once I am free," I tell him with a smile. "I will tell you exactly why. Oh, and remember, Benjamin, that you are not to mention me at all. Do not tell him it is a message for him, just tell him that you prefer brownies with chunks of chocolate over ones with nuts."

Benjamin gives me an odd look, but I ignore it as I return to eating my food. Even if it lacks nutrition and contains a potion to weaken my mind, I still need to eat to keep my strength up. After I eat, we wait for Eric to return, then Benjamin takes the tray and hurries out.

Eric snaps his fingers, and the chains reappear, jerking me from the ground to suspend me once more, another set of chains linking the shackles on my ankles together. Without a word, he summons a rod of force magic, then strikes it across my face.

Time to resume taunting him.

(Jason, 16)

"Are you sure I can't go fishing?"

"No!" Fael Mira exclaims, bopping me on the top of my head. "You are much too weak right now to go fishing, Jasoran!"

"Please?" I ask. "I'm stronger than I was this morning!"

"No," Jaklenai answers, and I glare at him. "Jason, if you go fishing, you'll be tempted to use magic, which will set back your recovery from whatever it is you did."

"Basic spells won't affect it that much," I roll my eyes.

"I distinctly remember," Jaklenai says. "A fishing trip where you pinpointed every fish in the river for two miles in either direction, linked them all together with force magic, then pulled them together, weaving together a sphere of water to hold them in above the river."

"Erm, yeah," I say. "That's rather basic magics. That was also three thousand years ago."

"Jasoran!" Fael Mira exclaims.

"I'll go with him," Jarenidis says. "As much of a brat as Jasoran is, he's letting himself recover. It's doubtful he'll do something to set himself back, and he does have much more color to him than he did earlier."

Fael Mira lets out a sigh, then agrees to it, and Jarenidis tells Jaklenai to stay behind. I tell Zevenas and the griffin cub to stay with Jaklenai so that my brother and I can have some bonding time. Then, Jarenidis opens a gate to his favorite fishing lake, and we step through it, then sit on the rocks.

Jarenidis opens up his spatial storage and pulls out some fishing supplies, then we start fishing. For about an hour, we fish in silence, but then my brother decides to break the quiet.

"The fact that you're cooperating," Jarenidis says. "Tells me that something suspicious is going on, Jason. Why aren't you pushing yourself like you normally would?"

"I'm currently waiting for something," I answer.

"Waiting?" He asks.

"Yes," I answer. "Waiting."

"For what?"

"For the location of Lreth Prison," I answer. "I believe it's where Jacob might be held. Early Felday morning, I set something in motion. Once it bears fruit, I will be informed of the location to Lreth Prison. Once I have that, nothing on Midlaris will stop me from storming it and rescuing my friend."

Jarenidis gives me a sideways look.

"We were wondering why your body took things so hard," he tells me. "What you told us didn't add up to how badly you got ill yesterday. What did you do, Jasoran?"

"Simply set something in motion," I answer. "Though it took a lot of magical power to do. I should be fine tomorrow."

I really should be fine tomorrow, everyone is making a bigger deal out of this than they should. Why should I have to wait a full week to recover when I could just go and do things sooner without issue?

But I suppose it's for the peace of mind of my mamas, papas, other family, and my friends. They're all more than a little worried about me because I tend to handle everything they can't. But when I'm the only one who can, that becomes a necessity.

If Jacob really is in Lreth Prison, only I can rescue him from it. It was a prison created by a god intended on holding the Magi. Only through a stroke of misfortune did the god discover it was incapable of binding the Magus of Magic. The other Magi, working together, would never manage to free him from it.

No matter how hard they might try.

I send up a prayer to the King and Queen of the Gods. If the others' efforts bear fruit, then let Jacob not be in Lreth Prison. But if he is in Lreth Prison, let me find its location before them. Otherwise, I may need to rescue all of the Magi from there again.