The arena filled with smoke and dust from the explosion. There were screams as people tried to escape.

The blast had been so loud that Kayden had been momentarily deafened. It took her a moment to reorient herself but when she did, she saw people moving all around her. They were fighting.

The men in suits she had been sitting with, Nikiphero, and average looking Cliffsiders with body augmentations, Mistech. They fought with knives, or whatever weapons could have easily been hidden on their persons.

The smoke cleared sufficiently so that Kayden could make out where her father had been. The blast had shattered the ring and her father was no longer there.

In a moment of fear, she searched around the ring and spotted Xolan. He was fighting alongside his once opponent, Rem, against a swarm of robotic looking men. The two of them were like an unstoppable force when working in concert.

Kayden was unsure of what to do. A part of her wanted to go help her father, but she didn’t know what she could do to help. She had no experience fighting.

While she was undecided, someone grabbed her from behind.

“Die, Nikiphero scum.” It was the boy that had been asking her how she knew the Wreckage.

He had thrown off his jacket to reveal both of his arms had been replaced with metallic contraptions. A long blade extended out from one of his arms and he raised it to stab her. Before she could think, she infused her arm with her aura and grabbed the arm holding her in place. As the blade fell toward her, she ducked, twisted, and threw the boy. He hit the ground and skidded.

He got to his feet and looked at her angrily, murder in his eyes. He began to charge toward her when out of nowhere Xolan appeared out of the smoke that hadn’t yet quite cleared and drove his fist into the boy's head. It was so powerful that the boy’s head snapped back with an audible crunch and he fell back to the ground and didn’t get up.

Kayden stared with wide eyes at the now lifeless body of the boy.

Xolan ran up to her and grabbed her hand, leading her over to where the main group of Nikiphero men had formed into defensive ranks.

All around were the scattered bodies of men from both sides. But whereas Nikiphero’s forces weren’t being replenished, Mistech’s were. Body augmented soldiers were climbing over the seats all over the arena to get to the center and join the battle.

They must have been hiding amongst the crowd as normal spectators in order to surprise Nikiphero with this attack, and it was working. Mistech might have lost a lot of men, but more just kept coming.

Kayden and Xolan joined the Nikiphero forces. Rem was already there defending the man with the silver wings in his hair. The man had pulled out a wicked looking red dagger that trailed a glowing, red afterimage. Nikiphero had formed a defensive ring around the man, continuing to fight while Xolan and the man spoke.

“Cassius, we need to get out of here!” Xolan yelled.

The man with silver wings in his hair, Cassius, nodded, but before they could make any move, one of the Mistech soldiers lobbed an object at them. It was a metal device shaped like a ball. Red lights blinked on it as it descended toward them.

“Get down!” Cassius screamed.

The men did as commanded, Xolan pulling Kayden down with him, and shielding her body with his own.

There was an explosion and flash of light.

Once it subsided, Xolan pulled Kayden back to her feet. What she saw disgusted her. One of the Nikiphero men had shielded everyone else from the blast by sacrificing himself by jumping on the grenade. The only evidence that he had ever existed was a smear on the ground.

How did Mistech even have access to explosives like that? Weapons of this type were heavily regulated in Mitros. Even having one in your possession was enough to face substantial jail time.

But Kayden didn’t really have time to worry about such things right now. Xolan was dragging her toward one of the exits with the rest of the Nikiphero forces. One good side effect of the grenade was that it had also forced the Mistech men back as well.

As Xolan and Kayden, along with Cassius and Rem, crashed through the doors to the outside, they were met with an ambush. More Mistech men who had been waiting for them to be flushed out immediately descended upon them.

Xolan and Rem used similar fighting techniques as they did in the ring. Cassius raised the strange red dagger. It reminded her of the shadow dagger she had left at the Academy, a part of her wished she had it now.

The three men fought off the attackers while the Nikiphero men behind them defended the rear.

Xolan and Rem fought with brutal efficiency but it was Cassius who was dealing the most damage. He danced among the Mistech men with grace, the dagger cutting through defenses as if they didn’t exist. He threw the dagger and it trailed a red tether back to his hand. After it punctured his victim in the center of the chest, he yanked the dagger back to his hand.

A man with a metal jaw and wielding a hammer broke through the three fighters and came screeching toward Kayden. Kayden’s arms were still infused with her aura and she brought them up to protect herself.

She stopped the hammer just inches from it crashing against her skull for a killing blow. By reflex she kicked the man in the groin. The man collapsed and in ruthless fashion Xolan stomped the man’s skull in before he could recover, blood splattered against the ground. Kayden wanted to throw up.

“Are you alright!” Xolan yelled at her.

Kayden stared at him with wide eyes for a second before nodding mutely. Concern was written across his face but he was too preoccupied to do anything else.

More Nikiphero men were spilling out of the arena and joining the assault outside. The last of them came through the door and one of the men jammed the doors closed behind them with a sword. Attackers pounded from the other side, trying to get through. It was only a temporary solution.

More Mistech men were coming from the other side of the arena. They must have stationed men at all of the exits. If they wanted to make their escape, it would have to be now before they were overwhelmed by the enemy's greater numbers.

Kayden tried to think of anything she could do to help and then remembered the wand. She might not have a grenade like the Mistech men had used, but she had the next best thing. She quickly fumbled it out of her backpack as the Nikiphero forces cleared the last of their current attackers.

As the reinforcements began to get closer, Kayden flooded the wand with her aura. It was sloppy, but what she was attempting didn’t require any sort of elegance. The safety wards lit up as they attempted to stabilize the influx of wild energy. But because the wards were so limited, they quickly began to be overwhelmed. The wand began to crack and white light shined from within.

Kayden left the fray of men and stood between them and the rest of the descending Mistech forces. She continued to channel her aura into the wand until it started to bulge. Once she was sure she couldn’t flood it with any more energy, she lobbed it toward the incoming men.

It exploded before it reached them. There was no fiery blast like from the grenade, just a sphere of pure, white force that sent the advancing Mistech men flying through the air in every direction. It wasn’t enough to kill them, it seemed, but it certainly seemed like they would have some extensive bruising and broken bones.

Kayden didn’t get much of a chance to see the extent of her handiwork as the blast reached her and caused her to slam back into the ground, banging her head. The world swam around her.Someone lifted her into their arms and then they were running.

She regained her awareness and instead of seeing her father’s face from within the cradle of his arms, she saw Cassius. Her father was running beside them with Rem on the other side.

They weaved through the streets until they reached an alleyway. Only then did Cassius let her stand on her own feet. One of the Nikiphero men watched the alleyway entrance to make sure that they hadn’t been pursued.

Cassius wasn’t wasting any time. He grabbed one of his men and was speaking quickly. “Gather our men from the Missing Quark and send them to reclaim the arena.”

He pushed the man away and the man ran full speed to deliver his instructions.

Cassius grabbed another man. “You, contact the elf. Have him prepare all of our weapons for a counterattack.”

The man nodded and also ran off. Cassius moved onto the next and the next, sending them all to different bases they had hidden around the city to gather their troops. Mistech really seemed to have hit the hornets nest.

While Cassius had been relaying orders, Xolan had been inspecting Kayden. She was unharmed, just very shaken up. Xolan had been trying to speak to her but it was like his words were coming from very far away. In the end her father smacked her across the face. Her head whipped around at the force, and she was shocked that her father had hit her, but it brought her back to her senses.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” She finally understood her father’s words.

With a hand held up to her stinging cheek, she shook her head numbly.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.”

Once it was only Cassius, Xolan, Rem, Kayden, and a few other men left, they began to move again. Kayden had a hard time keeping up with their rapid pace, but she refused to be the reason that they slowed so she continued to push herself as hard as she could.

They only stopped once they had reached a tall, extravagant looking building. It would have fit in nicely even in the Tower District, Uptown. It appeared to be some type of wealthy resort. There was even a dome made of glass at the top that looked like a club.

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As they reached the doors, two men in suits intercepted them. Cassius began to give them orders just like the other men. Once he was done, they followed one of the men inside while the other went ahead, probably to gather more forces.

Inside, was a large open foyer, brightly lit with chandeliers. Guests were milling about trying to learn what was going on in the city with servants attempting to calm them. It looked like some of the people must have even been present at the initial start of the attack by the way their clothes were covered in dust.

One of them came up to Cassius, a fat, affluent looking man. “What is the meaning of this Cassius? I did not come to make a deal with you just to be attacked by terrorists!”

Cassius didn’t even so much as look at the man as he passed. One of the servants came over to try to placate the man as he spluttered in Cassius’s wake. They made their way to an elevator and Cassius punched in the button for one of the top floors.

They shot upward in complete silence. Once they reached the desired floor the doors pinged open to reveal a hallway leading to a pair of double doors. There were two guards stationed that came up to ensure they were alright. Cassius waved them off and strode down the hallway through the doors.

As Kayden followed behind her father she noticed a window that revealed a large room off to the side. It was packed full of people at alchemical-looking workstations, handling strange chemicals and a resin type substance that glowed slightly blue. There was also a large table in the center that was covered in piles of scripts.

Her father quickly ushered her past the window into the room which Cassius had entered. It was a large office with a private bar in the corner. There was a desk at the back in front of large windows that overlooked the city. Cassius was at the bar pouring several drinks which he brought over to the others as they took seats at some sofas arranged around the center of the room.

“Mistech will pay dearly for this,” Cassius said as he handed a drink to Xolan.

Rem gathered the rest of the drinks from the bar. He even handed one to Kayden although Kayden didn’t drink it. She had never had alcohol before and wasn’t about to start now when her nerves were such a wreck.

Of the original group that had escaped the arena with them, all that was left was Cassius, Xolan, Rem, Kayden, and two other men. The two men stayed at the bar while the others took the sofas.

“That was a bold move they made, attacking us like that,” Xolan said.

“We need to finally put an end to them once and for all,” Rem growled.

“We will,” Cassius said.

“What about the police?” Xolan asked. “They are already hounding our operations. If we take on too many people at once, our whole operation will crumble.”

Cassius swirled his drink thoughtfully, remaining perfectly calm. “That’s precisely why they chose now to attack. They want to expose us as weak to the rest of Cliffside. We have to make a show of strength now more than ever. It’s time to finalize our dealings with Uptown.”

“Now?” Xolan asked. “We had a lot of heat on us before, but now it’s like a full on forest fire.”

Cassius nodded his agreement. “There are only two paths before us. Either we accomplish our goals and take down Mistech in the process, or Nikiphero will be devoured by the circling wolves.” He downed the rest of his drink. “And I for one will not be hunted down like a cornered rabbit. It’s time our enemies learned exactly who they are dealing with.”

The doors to the office slammed open. The men at the bar reached for their weapons but when they saw who it was they relaxed.

A woman strode in. She was about her father’s age and very beautiful. She was dressed very professionally with her dark hair tied up into a tight bun. Once she saw them on the sofas she stopped and let out a relieved breath.

“I’m glad to see you still breathing,” she said, her eyes resting on Cassius and her voice tinged with annoyance. “I told you, you were a fool for exposing yourself like this. There are too many people after you to be going out to pointless fights like you did.”

“It was important to show them that Nikiphero was still in control.”

“And what are you going to do now that they have challenged you in such a way? If you continue to ignore Cliffside in favor of your Uptown deal, then the people will lose faith in you and Nikiphero.”

“We have no intention of letting Mistech get away with this. We have already taken steps to reclaim the arena if they were foolish enough to remain there, which I highly doubt, and we are getting ready to mobilize a counterattack.”

“When? From the looks of it, you appear to be lounging in here sipping whiskey. This type of insult has to be answered swiftly and decisively.”

“Kristy, enough.”

She bowed her head in deference but continued. “You have me making all sorts of deals in Nikiphero’s name, and all of them are conditional upon the belief that Nikiphero undisputedly controls Cliffside. If you don’t act soon they will begin to fall apart. That is all I wanted to say.”

“I know Kristy. We will take care of it. Contact your father and have him begin making preparations to finalize the deal.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You want to make your move with everything else that is going on?”

“You are the one who wanted us to make a show of strength, no? Well, it's time for everyone to know what Nikiphero has been working on.”

She nodded, seemingly pacified and pleased. “I will get to work immediately. Let me know if there is anything else you need.” And with that she strode out of the room.

“Cassius,” Xolan said. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to get my daughter away from here.”

For the first time since the arena, Cassius turned his eyes to her. “So this is the daughter that you’ve been hiding Uptown. She has proven to be quite capable. I have a feeling that has nothing to do with her academy training. You taught her our fighting style. And that explosion, how did you manage that?”

She realized that the explosion must have been a surprising display coming from an innocuous girl like her that none of them had ever met. And if they hadn’t seen the wand, then it would have been even more unfathomable.

“It was an overcharged wand.” Kayden hid behind her hair, intimidated by that forceful stare which seemed to be trying to pry out all of her secrets.

This wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. From what she had seen so far, he must be the leader of Nikiphero. With everything that had happened it was easy to forget who exactly she was dealing with.

Her father placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, but that didn’t make her feel any better. He was one of them.

“You may use the penthouse,” Cassius said to Xolan. “But I want you back here as soon as possible. We have preparations to make, and I need you by my side. There aren’t many people I can trust right now.”

Xolan nodded and grabbed Kayden, dragging her out of the room. It seemed her father was more than a simple henchman. He was someone that the leader of Nikiphero wanted at his side and trusted.

She glanced back at the man that was the leader of Nikiphero and for a brief second they met eyes. What she saw was a deeply calculating man, but he didn’t wear an emotionless mask like Rem or a pleasant one like her father, there was a passionate glint to his eyes. It reminded Kayden of when she had punched Bellina and when she ran from Griff and Deaik. For some reason she thought of when he had carried her away from the arena and the tightly protective hold he had on her which she had at first mistaken for her father’s.

Before she could study him anymore, they were through the doors and Xolan closed them. When they passed the window, Kayden tried to get a better look to see what was going on in there, but someone had closed the blinds.

They reached the elevator and Xolan punched the button to the penthouse. When they started to move, Xolan collapsed with his back against the wall. He was still shirtless from his fight. Blood--not his own--covered his chest, obscuring the Nikiphero tattoo.

“Kay, what are you doing here? Why did you come looking for me? You’re lucky to be alive.”

For a second she was confused. Why wouldn’t she come looking for him, he was her father. Then her confusion was replaced with white hot anger.

“What do you mean, I didn’t have any other choice! Do you have any idea what it’s been like! All of Uptown wants to know where you are, and they thought I knew something about it! You’re a criminal!”

The elevator came to a stop and opened up to reveal the penthouse. It was more richly decorated then anything she was used to, but she hardly even noticed.

“Come here.” He used that fatherly tone and smile that instantly made her feel like she was six years old again, but she pushed those nostalgic feelings away.

“No! Tell me why you did this!”

He reached for her as if to bring her in for a hug, but she pushed his hands away and strode into the penthouse.

“I’m sorry, Kay. I left to protect you so that you didn’t get involved in all of this business. You were supposed to stay at the Academy and continue working toward your future. I know it must have hurt when I left, but I could only leave because I knew you were taken care of.”

“Taken care of!? What are you talking about!? I wasn’t taken care of, I lost everything because of you, because of what you are, because of what they thought I was!”

Xolan frowned at this. “What are you talking about? What did you lose?”

“Everything! Nobody wanted to associate with the daughter of a Cliffside criminal like me! They threw me out of the house and expelled me from the Academy. My friend didn’t even want anything to do with me.”

“What!? The house? But I paid a whole year's advance, those crooks! And the Academy, they can’t expel you. I had his assurance that--” He ran his hand over his buzzed head and cursed. “I’m sorry, Kay, I had no idea.”

Kayden felt tears beginning to pour down her cheeks. “I don’t care! They were right about you! You’re a criminal!”

A part of her had been wishing that when she found her father she would learn that everything was a big mistake and that they would be returning to the way things had been before, but she should have known that was only a silly daydream.

Kayden couldn’t stand being in the same room with him anymore and ran away. She hid within another room, and slammed the door behind her.

Xolan followed but he didn’t try to force his way in. He just stood on the other side.

“I’m sorry, Kay. I promise I will fix everything, but I need to go for now. Clean yourself up and get some rest. I’ll be back soon. I love you.”

He waited as if expecting her to respond but she remained silently. After a second, he walked away and she heard the ding of the elevator announcing his departure.

She stood up from where she had been sitting with her back against the door and wiped away her tears. She was still wearing her backpack so she left that on the bed then exited the room. Sure enough she was now alone in the penthouse.

For a while she simply paced around, still too full of adrenaline and chaotic emotions to do anything else. She briefly considered running away, but immediately discarded the idea. She was angry, not stupid, and it certainly would be stupid to go running off in the night when a gang war had broken out. Besides, she didn’t have anywhere to go. She was stuck here for the time being.

She found that the kitchen of the penthouse was fully stocked. She briefly browsed through all of its contents before deciding she wasn’t hungry and abandoning it.

Then she wandered into the master bathroom. It was worthy of a king. Everything was porcelain and gold. There was a big bath resting on a dais in the center and she turned on the faucet to get the water flowing. While it was filling up, she went over to the mirror.

She had always thought she was a relatively average looking girl. Willowy instead of having the curves that boys found desirable. The one feature that brought her some pride were her eyes which were light gray and had long, thick lashes. They stuck out, and because she usually didn’t want to draw much attention to herself, she had a habit of letting her hair hang in front of them. They were especially vibrant right now against the contrast of her dirty face. The explosion from within the arena had covered her in a layer of dust. Her sweat had smeared it into her skin.

She took off her dirty clothes, realizing as she did how sore she was. The blast from the wand had really done a number on her. When she was naked, she saw that her body was covered in bruises that were already turning a dark purple. Right now they weren’t too tender, but she knew that she would be in serious pain for the next few days. At least she had a warm bath that would help ease her muscles.

She climbed into the steaming tub. There had been some soaps and towels by the sink she used to scrub herself down. The water turned almost black from the filth. Once she was sure she had gotten most of it off her skin, she drained the tub and filled it back up again. This time she simply relaxed in the warm water.

The process of cleaning herself had helped to calm her nerves, and without the adrenaline spiking her system, she felt suddenly empty. It wasn’t a bad feeling. It was better than the alternative of facing the truth of where she was and what she had participated in back at the arena. Images of the fight kept trying to flash across her mind, but she pushed them away and took deep even breaths.

She remembered what Headmaster Winslow had said, “Whether you admit it to yourself or not, you are headed down a dark path.”

She dipped her head beneath the surface of the water to drown out his voice.