Xavier breathed heavily, his chest expanding and contracting. He stared at the man that was now in his control. The C Grade binding specialist.

  I can’t believe that worked. The elf spirit, Rhaalir, was leaning forward, peering into the eyes of the binding specialist as he stood, a little slack jawed, stock-still, on the grass where the portal had taken them. Rhaalir waved a translucent hand in front of the man’s eyes and garnered no reaction—not that he was likely to have been able to see the spirit even if his mind wasn’t being controlled. I… Doubted you again.

  Xavier released a long, slow breath. I doubted myself. For a moment, I didn’t believe I’d be able to get out of that.

  He hadn’t needed to summon the Spirit Golem, nor the young dragon Volkarin, from his inventory to get out of that tight spot—all he’d needed to do was move time forward.

  The C Grade Elite Hunt Squad were proving difficult to defeat. That was the second scrape with capture he’d had since they’d stepped onto this world, and he was beginning to take the binding specialist’s words to heart—about the B Grade sending more people after him.

  And finally coming for him himself.

  What if he’d sent a dozen teams just like this? I’ve only just gotten free of two close calls here. I wouldn’t be able to deal with that…

  He had stepped out into his sector, away from the protections that his world currently offered him, because he’d felt ready. He’d felt like he could take on any threat within the Silver River sector—after all, the most powerful person in the sector wasn’t someone who was after him, but rather someone who had a vested interest in his survival.

  Xavier had made a grave mistake when he’d spoken to that information broker. He should have made the gnome sign a contract. She’d been friendly enough, but the nature of her profession…

  Best not to be so trusting, next time.

  Xavier would need to take better precautions in the future. It wasn’t only those in the Silver River sector who had their eyes on him—he’d known that for a long time, what with Adranial’s ancestor peering at him in the Tower of Champions on one of the earlier floors.

  He should have taken the threat more seriosuly.

  He tapped his foot on the ground, deep in thought, but also anticipating the next attack.

  It would be coming soon.

  The mark that was on him hadn’t gone anywhere. The Archer of Fortune would still be able to find him wherever he was on this planet, and he wasn’t able to get free of this place—he hadn’t made time move forward in the time dilation field that much. The portal block would still be in place. Moving time forward enough to get rid of it might have made them vulnerable to outside threats.

  It was always a risk, using the time dilation field in that way, but he didn’t feel as though he’d had another option.

  It had worked to get him this far, at least.

  He looked into the eyes of the binding specialist, the man who was now under his mental control. That control wasn’t as powerful as he wished. He could already feel his grasp on the man’s mind slipping. But he’d used the spell enough times to know he still had a few of minutes left until he lost his hold.

  A few minutes of holding onto a C Grade’s mind was more than he could have hoped for. He also hadn’t gone too far away from the other members of the Elite Hunt Squad.

  He could already hear them making their way toward him.

  This step of the plan, he had all figured out. He just needed to ensure the binding specialist had a little energy to work with.

  ~

  Elspeth cursed. That damned child had escaped again.

  “How… How does he keep doing that?” Illuni looked to where the portal had just been. Neither of them had been fast enough to follow. Illuni had both hands clasped around her wand, wringing it slightly. The woman had always been a nervous one. Elspeth had to wonder how she’d gotten as far as C Grade by being so… Timid.

  “We’ve been underestimating this D Grade. But we have to push forward.”

  “Shouldn’t we report back? You know… To him?”

  Elspeth stared at the Divine Helper. “And what do you think his reaction will be? You think he’ll send in reinforcements to prop up our failures?”

  Illuni swallowed, shaking her head.

  “Is Jorgen dead?” Elspeth asked.

  As their healer, Illuni had the ability to feel how much health each of them had—even at a distance. She always knew when one of them was in trouble. “He’s…” She tilted her head to the side. “He isn’t even hurt.” She narrowed her eyes. “Though I can sense something.” Her eyes widened. “He’s under mental control!”

  Elspeth inclined her head in a nod. “That, at least, we’ve been briefed on.” She turned in the direction her mark pointed her toward. “Come on. We need to move.”

  “Are you… Are you going to attack Jorgen?”

  “I’m going to do whatever is necessary to complete the mission.”

  Their target hadn’t gone far.

  ~

  Lost Gods, Illuni hated this.

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  The only reason she’d signed this damnable contract was to keep people safe, and yet all she did now was help people get hurt.

  Illuni had sworn an oath of peace, as part of the class she had taken up. She was a pacifist, as her deity wished. And since the very moment she’d gained her first class, she hadn’t harmed anyone, neither Denizen nor beast.

  It had always been her goal, since she’d been a little girl. It was, admittedly, a strange thing for someone in the Greater Universe to wish to be, but she’d had the example of her great-grandmother, who’d been a B Grade Divine Helper before Illuni had even been born.

  There weren’t a great many B Grades in her sector, or the surrounding ones, for that matter. That was why her master could get away with what he was doing in the first place. If he were somewhere else, in one of the main sectors far off in what was considered the centre of the Greater Universe, where the System had begun… He surely would have been crushed long ago.

  They called him The Collector, though that wasn’t his true name—he’d been around for tens of thousands of years, longer than most people’s memories could stretch.

  He ruled his sector with an iron fist. But Illuni hadn’t been from his sector. She was from a neighbouring one, a little more advanced than the one she was in right now. A sector that had been flourishing for the past twenty thousand years or so, after the Sundering—a sector ending event—had torn it apart.

  Her sector, unlike this one, had been fully consumed. The System had already swept through every inch of it and integrated everything a long time ago. It was strange being here, in this galaxy, where there were so many planets yet to be touched by the System, where people were simply living their lives.

  Illuni looked at Elspeth. She wanted to simply turn back. Walk away. The man they were after hadn’t done anything to deserve capture, just as she’d done nothing to deserve capture. One of their party had already died, and another was under their target’s control. Only more death was to come from what happened next, sure was sure of it.

  This was supposed to be a quick and easy snatch-and-grab. A kidnapping of a man far weaker than themselves, as was usual for their team.

  She hated what she did every day—hunting people for The Collector, forcing more and more promising Denizens like she had once been to become contracted to the tyrannical bastard.

  But at least no one usually died in the course of her duties—The Collector, much of the time, would rather control than destroy.

  “Shouldn’t we wait?” Illuni said to Elspeth. “The mental control could wear off, even without my protections Jorgen’s mind should be strong enough to resist after a short time.”

  “Jorgen’s mind should have been strong enough to resist being controlled entirely. We don’t know how powerful our prey is. The mental control could last for hours for all we know. We need to move. Now. The longer we wait, the longer Xavier might have to prepare for our attack.”

  Illuni couldn’t argue with Elspeth. There would be no point. She was already moving toward their target, and Illuni was compelled to follow.

  Death-contract. Why did I ever sign a death-contract?

  She was a protector. A healer. A helper. She’d become C Grade not by killing enemies, but by healing people.

  It was hard, being a pacifist in a universe like this one. Violence and conflict couldn’t be avoided, and to reach her goals, she’d had to be a part of conflict. But she’d only ever been in conflicts that she had chosen. She had been alongside people fighting wild beasts, or protecting their worlds from outside threats invading—never had she been an invader.

  Sometimes she wondered if her death would serve her better than what she did, but The Collector knew that many Denizens might feel that way. He had far more than a simple death-contract to hold over their heads—otherwise she never would have signed to begin with.

  Illuni ran as fast as her legs would take her, trying to catch up to Elspeth’s faster pace.

  They reached their target in seconds. It was easy to cover ground as a C Grade, and Xavier Collins hadn’t portalled very far away—which was a curious thing.

  Wouldn’t he have wanted to be as far away as possible for them?

  Unless this is a trap, like the last time.

  The Archer of Fortune stopped abruptly ahead. Illuni had cast Silent Feet on the woman not long ago, not that she really needed it. Still, Illuni wished to help.

  She always wished to help.

  Elspeth: [Stay back a ways but remain in range for heals. The target is close, but out of sight. Jorgen is just standing there, slack jawed, waiting for us.]

  Illuni: [Another trap. He’s baiting us.]

  Elspeth had three arrows nocked on her bow. She’d used this attack on the enemy already. It had worked, but it hadn’t stuck.

  Elspeth: [Obviously.]

  Illuni approached, just close enough that she could get a view of Jorgen. Now that his mind was being controlled by Xavier, she couldn’t offer it any protection. Still, she could feel how vulnerable the man was through the connection she shared with all of her party members. He may have been controlled, but he was still in there somewhere, trying to resist yet unable to.

  Elspeth took aim. Her arrows had a way of finding people, especially when she’d marked a target. They were at least a hundred feet away from Jorgen, and wherever Xavier was, but that was nothing—she could have taken this shot from miles away if she’d wished.

  Elspeth loosed the arrows.

  The second they left her bow they became invisible. Illuni knew the woman abhorred using her invisible arrows on mission, as they cost her a small fortune.

  Illuni didn’t begrudge her doing so, however. Their target had proved to be a slippery one.

  The arrows soared toward their target. Illuni could neither see nor hear them. She gazed around the area, wondering if the arrows would hit their mark this time.

  Jorgen suddenly turned and faced the two of them. He sprinted forward, his chains unfurling as he ran. He whipped them both out. One aimed toward Elspeth, another toward Illuni.

  Illuni raised her wand, which she’d been habitually wringing with her fingers, and cast Dispel. Dispel didn’t have a cooldown, but rather needed to be actively recharged by her energies through meditation. She had about twenty uses of the spell, with nineteen left.

  The spell worked. The chains slammed into Elspeth and Illuni—both of them too slow to dodge such a swift attack—but all they had in them was their momentum and weight, leaving nothing more than a bruise. Any spells or enchantments had been removed by Illuni.

  It was a powerful way to defang an enemies attack, though the timing of its casting was incredibly difficult.

  Elspeth’s gaze wasn’t on Jorgen. She was looking somewhere in the trees, then she whipped her head up.

  Xavier Collins was in the air, wings unfurled, swooping straight down toward them. Clearly the invisible arrows had missed.

  Lost Gods!

  He looked like some sort of demon, his wings that of a bat—or a dragon. Long, sharp claws extended from his fingers. The man had been human in the information packet.

  The Archer of Fortune raised her bow and began loosing arrows. A portal appeared in front of the man, just as it had in the past—the twin portal appeared in front of Elspeth. The first of her arrows slammed into her leg. She stumbled out of the way of the second one, but soon hit the ground—the arrow was an Immobiliser, and the archer had struck herself with it.

  Illuni cast another spell, to take away the status effect. She’d just got the spell off when another portal sprang into life directly in front of her.

  The winged demon of a man that was their D Grade target soared through the portal and grabbed Illuni, taking her straight up into the air.

  “I can’t have you ruining all my plans,” the man whispered into her ear. “I’ll let you live if I can.”

  Illuni’s eyes were wide, her breathing harsh and heavy, her heat thudding hard in her chest.

  The man’s last words played over in her mind.

  I’ll let you live if I can.

  That wasn’t something she’d expected from a True Progenitor.

  This man is better than the one I serve.

  Another portal opened. They flew through it. Illuni only had a brief glimpse of the area below before the man who held her released his grip. She fell, tumbling to the ground.

  It was a long way down.

  Xavier Collins, now high above her, soared back through his portal, and the portal disappeared from the air.

  Accidental Champion!

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