They rounded the corner to the open plaza in front of the arena just as the sun started to rise. Majestic rays of red and pink hues from the rising globe peeked over the horizon and lit upon the smog left behind by the meteor. It looks like the entire eastern sky is on fire, Drake thought. How fitting. He redirected his eyes down and scanned the plaza. Dozens of makeshift shelters, housing those who had lapsed into unconscious, now crowded the area in front of the coliseum. The upside down V shaped structures were the most basic work of earth magic and would easily be disposed of later; now, however, they and the people milling around them, made the plaza nigh unnavigable. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to. "Over there," Drake said, pointing at a group off to the left of the chaos.

Mr. Havanger sat on a translucent golden chair fashioned out one of his shields. Inside of it, The Energizer lightly hummed. A small group of finely garbed men surrounded him and appeared to be in a vigorous argument with each other.

Alf pushed himself off the wall he had leaning against, nodded, and trudged in the indicated direction. As they came closer to the quarreling group, several men, casually milling around the makeshift shelters nearby, struck Drake as odd. Making a mental note, he refocused on the older gentleman.

Rex's father rubbed his beard in rough, agitated strokes. His face looked carefully blank of all emotions as his eyes casually roved over the plaza, until he caught sight of Alf striding his way. He held up his hand, and the sound of the squabbling men faded into an uneasy stalemate. "I trust everything is well?" he asked over the din.

"Yes, no one else is going to come through the teleportation stone," Alf answered as he came to a stop in front of the group.

"Well at least that's some good news," Mr. Havanger waved at those around him. "I, and the surviving members of the town council, have been discussing what we should do. Personally, I believe we should be focusing our attention on keeping Vackzilian from realizing our fair city is still intact. However, some of these good gentlemen think otherwise."

A tall, narrow faced man wearing a sleeveless, floor-length outer robe weaved entirely out of gold-plated threads, spoke up, his voice the very model of superiority. "I will not let this city's commerce dry up because you are all afraid of some charlatan," he sneered.

A second, overly plump, man, dripping in garish jewels and flashing gold, half shouted, "What's the use of merchantry if we're all dead!" His round cheeks bulged in anger, and his face gleamed red as a monkey's backside.

Mr. Havanger sighed and mumbled something about how he'd rather be fighting another of Vack's freaks than listening to this drivel. He leaned back in exasperation. "We have been going back and forth like this for hours."

"I see," Drake said, taking a step forward. He straightened himself and addressed the noble men. "In this situation, we need to analyze the possible reactions of our foe. Vackzilian, as you all know, is an enigma; however, we do know for certain that he places little to no value on human life. Meaning, if he thinks something is beneficial to him, or will make a good example, he will not hesitate to do so. Regrettably, I think this city was supposed to be one of those examples."

"And if he finds out he failed to destroy it?" A random nobleman asked.

"If the citizens of Alfireá learn Vackzilian failed to destroy us, he will look weak. The only recourse Vaczilian has upon such derogation to his authority is the annihilation of every man, woman, and child in Glandledale. Not one stone will be left standing. As such, it is imperative we take immediate action in securing the safety of this city. No one must be allowed to leave. Furthermore, we must find a way to mask Glandledale's presence."

The narrow faced man swooshed his golden robe and curled his thin lips into a snarl. "Who is this brat? And how dare he run his mouth off in front of us?"

Alf stepped in front of Drake and looked the man directly in the eye as he calmly said, "He is my personal strategist, and without him, we would all be dead right now. You will show him some respect."

The council member puffed up like a toad. "I don't have to show respect to anyone. Especially not to some snot nosed kid and his mercenary trash."

Alf's eyes narrowed. His muscles bulged and the pompous fool snorted as he said underneath his breath, "Boorish brute." Drake expected Alf to grab the simpleton by the neck and shake some common sense into him. However, Olivia softly laid her hand on Alf's back and shook her head. The young High Lord's face flushed in embarrassment, and with tight shoulders, he faced the man, bowed, and said, "My apologies," then turned and marched away.

"You had better be," the council member scoffed.

Alf had bridled his anger; Drake, on the other hand, had had enough. All of his life he had had to watch his Father suffer this type of insolence from the shadows, but not today!

"Mr. Havanger, clap this man in irons and haul him off to jail. Glandledale can ill afford his ilk running amuck at this current juncture."

Rex's father rose from his chair and clapped his hands, a look of satisfaction stamped squarely on his face. "It's about hootin' tootin' time someone gave me that order. This here loony has been a pain in the city's backside far too long."

The horse-faced noble grasped the lapels of his robe and tugged imperiously. "You wouldn't dare lay a hand on me."

"Ay, I would, Marcus." Mr. Havanger smiled and his bluish grey eyes twinkled. A golden shield sprung to life between his hands as he pulled them apart.

Marcus? Marcus? Where have I heard that name before? Drake's mind scrambled. Then he remembered; it was when Alf had scared Hervey witless. Now he knew what was wrong with those men casually milling around the group. With a flick of his wrist, he formed a sound warp and whispered to Rex.

As Mr. Havanger's reversed shield rocketed out and enfolded over Marcus like a giant blanket, Rex gently handed Zaphaniea to Olivia.

"How dare you even think of touching my personage!" Marcus screamed in outrage.

The arena master leaned against the now circular shield. Keeping his right hand solidly pressed against it, he nonchalantly looked at his fingernails on his left hand. "You can either go peacefully or make my dark-hunter's day."

Soul Knight appeared out of the shadows, his camouflaged skin and armor morphing back into their normal colors and his white teeth gleaming in the morning light.

"Enough of this facade. Kill them," Marcus commanded, bringing up his right hand in an imperious gesture. "Kill them all!"

Five shady men emerged from the crowd and drew swords wreathed in blue flames. Or rather, three of them drew their weapons. Before their blades exited their sheaths, Rex dashed in front of two of the assailants, grabbed them by their foreheads, and slammed the back of their heads into the pavement. They were the lucky ones. Less than half a breath later, the remaining three's arms and legs were skewered with multiple ice spikes by four of Mr. Havanger's men hiding in the shadows.

A sixth man broke free from the crowd and charged Olivia. Grabbing for her hair, in an attempt to take both her and the grand champion hostage, a two-pronged blade appeared from a device attached to his wrist. Drake, however, was ready for him. As the assassin reached out, he produced a hidden dagger and jammed it into the assailant. Letting the man's own forward momentum drive it home, Drake thrust the blade beneath the ribcage and angled it upwards. The man stared down at the child in shock and collapsed to the ground.

Bending down, Drake checked the man's pulse; he wouldn't be moving again. With a small flick, he cleaned his dagger off on the assailant's clothes. His weapon slid back into its hiding place just as Alf dashed over and shouted. "What happened?" he asked, his eyes jumping from one downed thug to the next.

"Not much, just cleaning out the trash," Rex's father said. He signaled his men to disperse, and the four men faded into the crowd like wraiths, taking their wounded victims with them.

"You old fool. Do you think you bested me?!" Marcus roared, spittle flying from his mouth. In a flurry of motion, he whipped out a sword sparking in indigo lighting and jabbed it straight at Mr. Havanger's heart.

The blade bounced harmlessly off the inside of the reverse shield, and Mr. Havanger rolled his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he motioned to Soul Knight. The dark-skinned warrior suppressed a laugh, sauntered over, and added his own hand to the shield.

"What are you doing?" Marcus hollered, his eyes widening with terror; all of his earlier bravado had vanished like a tropical mist on a dry, hot day.

Mr. Havanger grimaced and a small hole in the shield opened up underneath Soul Knight's hand. With a hiss, a bolt of blue lightning shot through the hole and plowed into Marcus.

The council member dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. As soon as the lightning stopped, he shakily rolled to his knees and cursed at them. Soul Knight raised his eyebrows, then released a much larger charge of electricity. This time, he continued the stream of lightning until smoke poured up from the councilman's golden robes.

Marcus groaned in pain.

"That's enough," Drake said holding up his hand.

Rex's father nodded, dispelled the reverse shield, and gestured for Soul Knight to stop.

"Dragon's teeth, I've wanted to do that since the day I met the man," Soul Knight proclaimed, shaking his hand and dispelling the last sparks of lightning. He then reached down and grabbed the limp councilman by the scruff of his neck.

"Take him, and the two the vice champion disabled, to jail. We'll deal with the others later," Drake commanded.

Soul Knight tossed Marcus over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and grabbed the two incapacitated men by their ankles. As he hauled them away, Olivia asked, "Who was that man?"

"One of the officials in this city," Mr. Havanger explained. "He crawled his way to power using backroom deals, bribes, and threats. Eldrin knows I wanted to take care of him months ago, but there was no dark magic involved so it was out of my jurisdiction."

"I demand to know what in the world is going on!" the overweight, gaudily dressed council member from before barked.

A short councilman dressed in forest green and wearing the signet ring of Glandledale's bank said, "Yes, indeed. While I am in full agreement with Marcus's arrest, I believe we deserve to know on whose authority you have given these orders."

Drake bowed slightly to the man. "Mr.Tarcen, I believe you already know who I am."

Mr.Tarcen's face lit in recognition, and his robes rustled as he bowed deeply. "My apologies Sire, I did not recognize you. I pray you don't take offence at this old man's inadequacies."

"None taken. It is a common mistake." He slowly swept his eyes across the remaining councilmen, willing the magically induced fog and confusion of his identity momentarily away from their minds. One by one, they recognized him, and the people in the plaza stared on in wonder as their councilmen hastily bowed to the young boy.

The fat council member, finally realizing who he had barked at, tried to bow lower than the others only to lose his balance and end up on his face.

Drake ignored the man's incompetence and motioned for them to stand as he said, "We have much to discuss. But first we should move to a more private location." The prince turned to Rex's father. "May we borrow your office?"

Mr. Havanger kicked his chair, causing the shield to shrink down. "Yes, right this way." He picked up The Energizer, and holding it underneath his arm, led them through the maze of shelters and into the arena. As they made their way towards his office, he glanced worriedly back at Zaphaniea's prone figure in Olivia's arms, an expression of fatherly concern briefly crossing his face. He motioned to Rex. "Please take the champion to the infirmary and see that she is administered an Arukah potion."

Rex nodded and carefully took Zaphaniea from Olivia.

"You and your friends are to take one as well before you sleep," Mr. Havanger added.

Rex stopped and glanced back at his father. "Are you sure? They're expensive. And we don't have that many left."

"I am. We need our strongest fighters back on their feet as fast as possible."

Drake blinked in surprise. Mr. Havanger's blunt statement was correct, but to take such measures...

Arukah potions were exorbitantly expensive, seeing as there was only a finite supply available. The potion restored the consumer's energy in a brief period of sleep, while providing the body all the necessary resources to repair itself. It also magically quickened the mind and strengthened the body, permanently making its user stronger and smarter. No one knew how they were created because, unlike normal rest potions, they were made thousands of years ago. Current belief held they had small pieces of refined unicorn horn in them. After hearing the maid's story, Drake was inclined to believe they did. Which meant they were all the more valuable and not to be used lightly.

"Do you honestly believe our situation is that dire?" Mr.Tarcen inquired, his face awash with both interest and worry. His old, weathered hands smoothed over the imaginary wrinkles in his pristine garment.

Drake quickened his pace and curtly answered, "I will explain everything as soon as we are in private."

The councilman gave a polite smile in understanding, drew back, and fell into silence as they followed Mr. Havanger the rest of the way to his office.

***

Alf struggled to keep his eyes open as he leaned against the wall and listened to the bureaucrats ceaselessly argue. His eyes trailed around the room. Mr. Havanger's office was a sparsely decorated, spacious room on the fourth floor of the arena. A giant curved glass wall overlooked the plaza below, and an impressive assortment of exotic weaponry covered the entire wall behind his desk. Rex languidly leaned with his back against one of the weapon cases while Olivia rested in a large brown leather chair in the corner of the room. He smiled as she stifled yet another yawn. Meanwhile, the councilmen sat around Mr. Havanger's massive oak desk, which Drake currently perched on.

The crown prince had explained the situation—and Vackzilian's hostile takeover of the Empire—over an hour ago, and since then, they had been debating on the proper course of action. It was taking all of Alf's willpower to make himself listen to the mind-numbingly boring conversation.

A few of the council members believed a simple camouflage spell would suffice. Others, like Mr.Tarcen, were insistent on more drastic measures. What those measures were exactly, though, was the main topic of debate.

At last, the fat councilman from before launched his body out of the chair, sending it clattering to the floor. "You are forgetting our food! Unless we are able to disguise our fields as well, we will die of starvation!"

The councilman he was yelling at leaned back and priggishly folded his arms. "You seem to have forgotten the blood oath's massive wall, which is currently obstructing our access to said fields. Or maybe it's just that your level of observational skills cease beyond your plate." His eyes rested firmly on the man's protruding stomach.

Seeing his opportunity to escape, Alf stepped forward. "I believe that's a problem I can fix."

All eyes in the room turned towards him and Drake wearily motioned for him to continue.

"With The Energizer's help, I should be able to either dig a tunnel through or under the wall."

"That's excellent news... if you can do it," Mr.Tarcen stated incredulously. "None of the other earth masters we have set to the task could affect the structure in any way."

Alf paused. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. Technically, he wasn't an earth master, but thanks to his dense muscle mass and strong force of will, he could form spells it would take at least a dozen other earth masters to craft. And with the infinite energy The Energizer provided, that power was greatly enhanced; meaning, he was certain he could do it where others had failed. Still, if he said, 'My brute strength will punch a hole in that wall,' to the councilman, it probably wouldn't go over well.

He sighed in relief as Olivia stood up and came to his aid. "My holy magic is capable of burning through anything. Together, we should be able to do it."

A satisfied smile spread across the councilman's elderly face. He slowly pushed away his chair and rose to his feet. "Good. I move that we recess until we have had time to do more research—and these fine warriors have secured our access to the outside world—before we continue this conversation."

"Agreed," answered each of the council members one right after the other.

Within a blink of an eye, the council members stood, bowed to Drake, and then vanished like a flock of stampeding ducks through the doorway. Apparently, Alf wasn't the only one who was desperate to flee the room.

He looked over at Olivia. Her rich brown hair, now streaked with golden highlights, had fallen out of its braid and tumbled down past her shoulders. He couldn't help but notice that her slender shoulders sagged as she leaned heavily on the chair she had been formerly sitting in, whereas normally her posture looked impeccable thanks to Harold's strict upbringing. His heart went out to her; she had already pushed herself into unconsciousness once earlier that day. At that moment, her mesmerizing cinnamon gold eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Alf sincerely wanted to let her get some sleep, but he also longed to spend time with her. His mind scrambled for an answer and he found himself saying, "You sure you're up for this? You seem tired. You should get some rest. I can handle it."

She straightened herself and smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm fine, and you look pretty ragged yourself. If I use my magic to vaporize the dirt, all we'll have to do is shore up the tunnel walls. It shouldn't be too hard."

He glanced at his grimy clothes; he did look pretty ragged.

A soft beeping sound pierced the silence, and the magic tattoo ring on Mr. Havanger's left hand glowed an orangish red. With a flip of his hand, Rex's father caused a small screen to appear. His face darkened as he read the message. "It seems that the spells in the arena are starting to fail. One of the attacks from that blasted freak must have broken something."

Rex reached underneath his mask and rubbed his face. "Don't worry dad. We're the ones that caused it."

"YOU WHAT!?"

"We took its power source," Rex casually answered.

Mr. Havanger flew out of his seat and slammed his hands on the desk. "How could you, my own son, break my arena?!

Drake slid off the desk and brushed the dirt of his trousers. "There is no need for alarm," the prince told him. "As soon as we put The Energizer back in, it will work fine."

Rex's father grabbed The Energizer off his desk and shoved it towards Rex. "Then you had better put it back right now."