“I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you,” Regina said. He faced the window of his penthouse office in the clouds, but I knew it was him. Jack had warned me before entering that I needed to be careful around him. Apparently he was quite enigmatic. “And I’m not a very patient man.”

  “I take it the phrase ‘patience is a virtue’ never made it as far as Castalor?” I replied and instantly felt Jack wince next to me, or was he covering up laughter? It was hard to tell.

  The sky tower penthouse office suite was a sight to behold. Yes, the interior was beautifully and richly decorated with a big desk and a fancy swivel chair sitting behind it. But it was the view that was the most breath taking.

  An office in the clouds, housing the most powerful man on the continent. I wasn’t much of a poet, but even I got the metaphor that this monument to power and greed exuded. And from that I could infer something about Lucas’ father; he wasn’t one for the subtle approach.

  “How impudent,” he replied and I detected a hint of amusement in his voice. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Kaleb Akabane. For someone of your rank, you’ve done some impressive things, and quickly too. Most intriguingly though, there are no records of you from before five months ago. So tell me, how is it that a man like you pops out of nowhere and starts causing a ruckus all over my domain without any prior history?”

  “Oh, you know,” I began flippantly. “I grew up in a small town, no official records or anything. I enjoyed living my life out there in the peace and quiet. But then one day this wizard came and gave me a ring and now I’m travelling the continent so I can destroy it and bring peace to the realm.”

  “Isn’t that the plot to Lord of the-” Jack began but was abruptly cut off by Regina.

  “This ring you speak of,” he said in a suddenly very serious tone. “What kind of magical artifact is it? If it is evil we must destroy it of course, but if not… well I’m quite the collector myself.”

  “He was being sarcastic, Sir,” Jack said and Regina finally turned around to face me.

  A black suit, dark hair and eyes. He’s all business, I thought, steadying my expression.

  Regina locked eyes with me and just for a moment, a split second really, my dragon’s eye fired up. It was so sudden and forceful that my vision faded, like his very aura was the abyss itself. When the light returned I felt a trickle of blood leaking from the eye. My blood.

  His stern expression ceded to a smile and he laughed deeply.

  “How amusing,” he said. “You’re just like Jack.”

  I couldn’t reply. I wanted to but my mind was jumbled. How could he be that powerful? A single glimpse of his aura had made my eye bleed. Had stolen my vision. This guy was a monster and if that was the case, how close had I come to death the day I’d met Chrysus? I held back the urge to gulp, looking him in the face.

  “Thanks,” I eventually said. “I’m starting to doubt the validity of my being here though.”

  “Ah yes, you’re to protect me from an assassination plot.”

  I nodded. “Supposedly, but I don’t see why you’d need me. Not at your level.”

  “Even the gods have blind spots,” he replied, cupping his meaty hands in front of him on the desk. “And I make it a point to surround myself with capable people. As it happens though, I already know exactly when the assassination attempt will take place and at that time, if you can help to stop it, your contract will be completed.”

  He thinks he’s a god already, just how strong is this guy?

  “You’re being a little vague with the details there, pal,” Panda said, piping up for the first time.

  Regina looked taken aback. Slowly he moved his head downwards, looking at Panda as if he had only just realised he was in the room.

  “A daemon?” He said, looking back up at me and ignoring my familiar, “curious.”

  “What’s curious?” I asked.

  “Hmm?” He replied, refocusing his eyes as if he’d drifted away into his own world for a second. “Oh, nothing to worry about. Anyway, as I was saying, I know when the attempt will take place but nothing of the how or who. I’m still working on that part but I’m confident that I’ll uncover the entire thing before long. In the meantime I have another job I’d like you to take care of for me. A delicate matter that I can’t be seen to be associated with.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  ***

  “I don’t like that guy, kid,” Panda said quietly as we left the front gate of the barracks. We’d stayed silent throughout our return trip. “I know you, and I get that the quest he gave you is likely to stir that inner hero complex you’ve got going on. But please think carefully about it. This guy is dangerous, he’s… Kaleb? Hey, are you even listening to me?”

  Though I did hear his protests, I was preoccupied re-reading the quest screen that floated in my vision. I’d read it over and over again since we’d left the palace. It made me feel nauseous.

  New Quest:

  The Hunter Games

  Rumour has it that a certain noble house has organised an illegal soiree for the elites of Castalor. The entertainment? Why, nothing short of the torture and execution of non-combatant peasants of course.

  Supposedly this annual tradition spans almost a century, but this year Emperor Regina put a stop to it – or at least he thought he did…

  It seems that the ruling class plan to undermine his authority and hold this event in secret.

  Objectives:

  Put a stop to this farce 0/1

  Rewards:

  Unknown, but considering the most powerful man on the continent will owe you a favour it’ll probably be pretty good.

  Regina had expanded on the meagre explanation of the quest itself. Though he refused to offer anything too explicit, he told me that it would be held in an underground maze within the city limits and that the victims would be thrown randomly into it. Once inside the maze they would face unknown horrors whilst the nobles watched, betting on things such as who would last the longest or who would die in the most horrifying way.

  Frankly, it made my blood boil.

  What was worse, I knew Panda was right in his assessment of Regina. That dude’s aura was kicking off some seriously batshit crazy power and to make matters worse, he seemed pretty smart too. If my team accepted this quest we’d be playing right into the palm of his hands.

  Who knew what kind of schemes he had in mind?

  Still, there was no way I was just going to sit back and allow this fa?ade to take place. I just couldn’t. How could I turn a blind eye to the arranged slaughter of civilians like that? And for the amusement of some pompous upper crust pricks to boot.

  More importantly, albeit selfishly; how could I endeavour to bring my family to a world where commoners were hunted for sport? That was my purpose, the entire reason I’d been putting myself through all this crazy stuff these past five months and desperately trying to gain power.

  And on that note, if there was a maze and monsters on the line, who was I to deny myself, or my team, such a brilliant opportunity for levelling up? Not to mention, if we successfully managed to assassinate the ring leaders of this sick game we’d probably end up pretty damn rich in the process.

  My mind was made up. The pros vastly outweighed the cons. I had no idea what Regina’s plan was, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be bad enough to deter me.

  “I’ll bring it to the others when we get back, we’ll vote on it,” I said resolutely.

  “You should really just drop it, kid,” Panda sighed heavily. “But since when have you ever listened to my advice? It’s not like I’m a freaking sage or anything.”

  ***

  Jacked paced unsteadily back and forth on the penthouse balcony, the cigar resting between his fingers had gone out, a black rim emitting a thin trail of dying smoke.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” He asked nervously for the third time since Kaleb had left. “Diako needs that guy alive. What happens if he dies furthering your political agenda?”

  “He won’t,” Regina replied, also for the third time since Kaleb had left. He sat idly on a lounger at the edge of the balcony. It looked over the clouds and rested right on the edge of the glass floor on the only section that didn’t have a railing. He didn’t like the bars impeding his view, they reminded him too much of a prison cell.

  “But if you needed that bitch assassinating you could have just sent me,” Jack protested, clenching and unclenching his fists, barely even noticing the sad remains of the cigar he’d been holding as its crunched-up carcass dropped from his hand. “Assassination is literally what I do. I could be in and out before anyone even found the body.”

  “You know how much I value your skills, Jack, but now is not the time for seeking external validation,” Regina said absently. “Honestly, I swear it’s like talking to a petulant child with you sometimes. But I guess they say, ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’ for a reason.”

  “What?” Jack replied, “this isn’t about me. This is about you honouring your deal with Diako. If Akabane dies then he’s not going to be very happy with you.”

  Tell him the deal will be off, Diako said, his oddly calm voice suddenly appearing in Jack’s mind.

  “He’ll cancel your deal, Regina.”

  “He’s talking to you right now isn’t he?” Regina smirked, glancing sideways towards the worried reaper. “Tell Diako that it’ll be perfectly fine. Besides, if this Kaleb fellow can’t even handle a simple quest then perhaps he wasn’t as important as you thought he was.”

  Jack flinched, feeling the momentary surge of rage like a flaming tornado as Diako’s emotions leaked through their bond and into his mind.

  That ignoramus has no idea how important Akabane is to me. That boy is the key to everything! One of two. Half of the fated pair. I must have him join me. It is non-negotiable. The god’s aura suddenly calmed and after a moment he spoke to Jack once more. Don’t repeat that. Not to anyone Reaper. Regina is playing a dangerous game, but I suppose if Akabane accepted his quest then it would do me no good to forbid it now. It’d only serve to create a rift between myself and the boy and that is not acceptable. No, instead I have another idea.

  Jack’s eyes widened. His god had given him the command he’d longed to hear since he’d first attended that meeting with Regina and the city’s elite. He smiled at the emperor then, without fanfare, he walked back inside.