Vetica’s sister shrugged. “Suit yourself. Well, all of you can follow me then,” she said. With that, she exchanged a look with the guards, strolled through the gate and toward the steps leading to the front door.

Vetica seemed taken aback by Merlin's and Charlie’s support. Charlie frowned. Had she really expected them to leave her? “Thank you,” she whispered, gently pulling her hand away from Merlin’s.

Merlin’s eyes widened when he’d realized what he’d done. He cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he said. He eyed the gate guards and the building ahead of them. “I assume running is out of the question,” Merlin whispered.

Vetica’s lips pulled to the side. “We’d never make it.” With that, they followed her sister and the escorting guards toward the house.

Charlie looked over Merlin’s shoulders at the two gate guards. Both of them watched as he and his friends followed Vetica’s sister. He took advantage of the fact they were distracted.

“Vault Transfer!”

Marvin, Bleedy, Mousifer, and the wagon all disappeared in a flash. They were entering a dangerous situation, so Charlie didn’t want to leave them outside alone. Instead, he’d keep them tucked safely away inside his dungeon for the time being.

They didn’t know he had done anything, but they noticed the sudden movement in their peripheral vision. Charlie smiled at their reaction. One gasped, and the other started looking around frantically. Satisfied, Charlie turned back to look as they entered the building and made their way inside. He felt Orb wriggling around in the front pocket of his onesie. He took the dungeon core disguised as a ball out of his pocket and held it out so Orb could see.

“Wow, this room kind of gives me long-house vibes. I like it!” Orb said. Charlie didn’t know what that meant, but the room was definitely really long. It was filled with people covered in dark robes and hoods, all wearing an assortment of weapons. There were knives like Vetica’s old one. There were swords, bows, and even some people carrying a wide assortment of vials along their waist. Charlie knew those were just the weapons that were visible. He was sure there were plenty of other dangerous objects hidden on their person as well.

The dark clothed people stood to either side of the long room as Vetica’s sister led them further inside. At the room’s far end, there was a throne upon which a large man sat. He had long, unruly blonde hair. It fell well past his shoulders and stopped just above his waist. He had a wild look in his green eyes and Charlie felt like the man’s gaze was piercing deep inside of him. So deep that he might even be able to see Charlie’s dungeon. At least, that was how it felt. Why was he so focused on Charlie?

Vetica’s sister stepped forward and bowed. The man on the throne waved her forward. They started talking in hushed tones while Charlie and the others stood there waiting.

Merlin’s eyes shot open. “Wait, is that the leader of the Rawlins?” he asked in a whisper.

Vetica nodded. “Yes. Be careful what you do and say from this point forward. He won’t have any reservations about killing all of us. Let me do the talking,” she said.

Merlin nodded. “Alright. Just remember, we’ve got your back, Vetica.”

She half-nodded.

Charlie looked up at the large man on the throne. After tangling with the hex knights, core guardians, and other powerful foes, Charlie had developed the ability to sense when he was around powerful people and monsters. The aura of power surrounding this man was the strongest aura he’d ever felt.

Despite the fact Vetica’s sister was whispering in his ear, he still stared at Charlie.

“So, you know about him too, Merlin?” Charlie thought-spoke.

Merlin glanced down at Charlie in his arms. “I’ve heard about him,” he whispered. “Charlie, that man is widely considered one of the most powerful men in Aysela. Possibly even beyond it. We need to tread carefully. I don’t know if you feel it, but the tension in this room is high. Even some of the assassins look nervous. Just don’t let your emotions get the better of you here. We need to play this smart so all of us make it out alive, alright?” Merlin said.

Charlie frowned. When did he ever let his emotions get the better of him? Sure, he cried sometimes when he was upset, and of course, he was quick to beat someone up if he didn’t like them. But other than that…okay Charlie kind of saw his point now. He probably shouldn’t start anything with the most powerful man in Aysela. That was good advice.

Orb rolled in Charlie’s hands. “We could totally take him on. Heck, I bet if you let me loose, I could solo him easy.”

Charlie did his best not to laugh.

The man in the throne clapped his hands, and an already quiet room grew quieter. Charlie could hear his heartbeat. He heard Merlin swallow and Vetica let out a short a breath. “Here we go,” he thought to himself.

“So, it seems my fallen daughter has returned,” the man said.

Merlin went still. “Daughter…” he muttered.

Charlie looked up at Vetica. This was Vetica’s father? The leader of the Rawlins?

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Her father continued. “I wondered what could possibly have led you astray. I spent an entire lifetime honing you. Crafting you into the perfect weapon. Yet here we are. I received word that my daughter has failed to complete a contract that she took from members of the Cult of Cendra. We do a lot of work with cult. They pay well. I like contracts that pay well. So, imagine how surprised I was when I learn that the tool I spent so long molding to perfection had broken like a stick. Not only that, but the ones who hired her were arrested and found dead inside a prison cell the next morning.”

Even Vetica seemed surprised by that. Charlie had specifically asked her not to kill them. He’d never asked what happened to the men that hired her, but he’d trusted she did the right thing. So how had they died?

Merlin’s head tilted, and Charlie wondered if maybe he knew something about it. He had been arrested in that same town where they met Vetica, after all. Had she lied about killing them, or did something else happen?

Merlin noticed Charlie and whispered. “Brutus. I guess he beat that record after all.”

Charlie remembered the serial killer Merlin had been locked up with. But what did that have to do with the dead... oh. That made sense.

“Oh, yeah!” Orb glowed. “It’s just like that old saying, ‘serial killers gonna serial kill’.”

Vetica’s father lifted his chin. “It seems your friend has something to say.”

“Oh shit,” Merlin said, realizing the man was looking at him.

Normally, Charlie might fuss at Merlin about using a bad word. But in this case, he gave him a pass.

“You know something about what happened to those men?” Vetica’s faster asked.

“I uh…well, you see…it’s a funny story, actually. I was arrested for, uh, well, that doesn’t matter. But—”

Vetica’s father looked amused. “Arrested for what?” he asked. A smile crept across his face. His teeth looked so sharp; Charlie wondered if they’d been filed down.

“I was accused of punching a baby. This baby, actually.” He pointed to Charlie. “It wasn’t true, of course, but…” Merlin slowly looked around the room. He wasn’t doing a very good job of not drawing attention to himself. “Well, I uh…”

Vetica’s father sighed impatiently. He looked at one of the assassins waiting along the wall. The assassin took a step toward Merlin.

Merlin noticed the man and took a step back, and then, in his panic, he said something he probably shouldn’t. “I killed them!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Merlin’s eyes widened. It was like he couldn’t believe his own words had betrayed him.

“Merlin, I mean this with no respect whatsoever. What the hell is wrong with you?” Orb asked.

Merlin stared with panicked eyes at the leader of the Rawlins. Vetica’s lips were parted. She couldn’t believe how bad this was going.

But to all of their surprise, Vetica’s father laughed. He laughed so hard his head fell and he leaned forward. It was an eerie scene. The assassins were quiet. Charlie and his friends weren’t sure what Vetica’s father would do. The only noise in the room was the rapid beating of their own hearts and the booming laughter of the most powerful man Charlie had ever met.

Vetica’s father composed himself. He looked around the room and then pressed both of his hands onto the arms of this throne. He pushed himself up and rose to his feet. Vetica’s father took a step toward them. The room quaked. It wasn’t because of his weight. It was like every step he took was filled with absolute power.

Charlie felt Parent’s presence in his mind. Parent wanted some time outside of the rings, so he’d removed himself from them shortly after they left Arcadeya. Now he was back in Charlie’s head.

As Vetica’s father approached, Parent talked hurriedly.

“Charlie, as your interface. One of my responsibilities is to ensure your survival however I can. Even the System is pinging me with warnings. That’s all I can do now. Warn you. If you fight this man, Charlie, you will die. I’m not able to assess human threats as accurately as beasts. But his excessive magic potential is obvious. He could wipe all of us out in an instant.”

That was a surprisingly negative assessment of the situation. Was this man really that strong?

Boom.

Boom.

He stepped closer. Merlin stood there, paralyzed, as the man approached. Vetica trembled. Orb dimmed in his hand. What was he doing? Why was he approaching? Should Charlie act?

Boom.

Should he intervene? Teleport his friends into his dungeon? What did he do?

Boom.

The man towered over Merlin. He reached out a hand and offered it. “I’m Vedic, head of the Rawlin family. Who are you?” he asked.

Merlin shifted Charlie in his arms and reached out with his free hand. “I’m Merlin, head of…Merlin.”

He really wasn’t at his best right now.

Vedic held Merlin’s hand for a moment, studying him. Up close, Charlie thought the head of the Rawlin family smelled like the forest. Like he had bathed in its scent and made a cologne out of it. The excess magic energy was overwhelming up close. So, this was what it felt like to be in the presence of one of the most powerful men in Aysela.

Despite that, Charlie didn’t feel afraid. He was nervous, of course. He didn’t want anything to happen to his friends. And maybe what Parent said was right. Maybe Vedic really could beat him in an instant. But Charlie had decided not to be afraid anymore. He wanted to protect those around him, and protecting people around him didn’t always means just fighting. Sometimes you had to stand up for them in other ways.

The corner of Vedic’s mouth lifted, and the muscles of his arm rippled through the tight fabric of his sleeve. Merlin realized it, too. Vedic was about to hurt him. But even as Vedic slowly tightened the grip on his hand, Merlin didn’t pull away. He didn’t cry out or beg for mercy. He kept a forced but friendly smile on his face because that was how Merlin could fight back. By putting on a strong show. By playing his role. But Charlie had a role to play, too.

So, he held how a baby hand to offer it in the same way Vedic had to Merlin.

In an instant, all eyes were on him. Merlin let out a breath as the grip on his hand lighted. But he didn’t relax because Charlie had done something no one expected him to.

He’d just communicated that he wasn’t a normal child.

Vedic eyed his hand and looked at him. Charlie lifted his hand and pointed it straight toward Vedic.

“Hello, I’m Charlie,” he said.

Sometimes you had to stand up for your friends in other ways.