In a cavern in the outskirts of Asphodel, a man stepped into the blue-lit chamber. He sat on a large glowing rock and removed his mask, shaking off his curly brown hair. He pulled out a small rectangular card from his pocket and chucked it to a colony of mushrooms beside him. The bioluminescent fungi began to glow and move, slowly consuming the stolen identification card.

“Elias Nachlicht,” the man read off the slowly disappearing card. He brushed a finger across his lips, grimacing. “Ego-type Arcanum always tastes so horrible. Having two at the same time is just torture.”

He raised his hand and caught a little mushroom that was thrown towards him. He looked up at the other person in the cave.

“Get used to it,” a female voice said.

The man groaned and bit into the glowing fungus. He smiled as a sweet liquid gushed all over his mouth.

“How’d you find out you could eat this stuff?”

“The bats seemed to like it. I didn’t even eat it myself, I was going to test it on you first.”

The man laughed.”Could’ve killed me.”

She scoffed. “If I wanted to, I could’ve strangled you in our crib back then. I’m just making use of your regeneration.”

The man swallowed and cleared his throat. “Take the shapeshifting away already. The bitterness is killing me.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright.”

The fruit bats hanging on the luminescent vines squeaked curiously as a golden-haired woman stepped into the mellow azure light. One of them snatched a mushroom and started nibbling on it, as if grabbing a snack for the oncoming spectacle.

They watched as the man’s frame began to glow a bright blue. The bats wondered if the golden woman was turning the scary brown-haired man into a cave mushroom. A tendril of blue flowed from the man’s eyes and swirled around the woman’s fingertips. One of the bats involuntarily licked the air as a spark passed by in front of it.

The bats let out a whine of disappointment when the lights disappeared. The man didn’t turn into a mushroom! He became golden-haired like her! Two golden-haired people! So strange! One by one, they shook their heads and flew to another part of the cave. Maybe there they could find bigger mushrooms.

The man rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head. “We got Hesper in Asphodel. Now what?”

“Now we let him do whatever he pleases. One way or another, he’ll get bored and try to cause chaos in the city—if he isn’t already driving everyone insane.”

“He got his work cut out for him, didn’t he? The death of that Rivera woman even surprised me.”

The woman stared into a crystal on the cavern wall, observing her reflection. “Hexes being murdered isn’t the President’s concern. If we’re going to seize control from him, we need him off-guard. He’s a sloth, but a powerful Abstract-type.”

“Why don’t we just try and kill him? I mean, now that we have Hesper in there, he can just use his Gift on the President.”

“I don’t trust Asche, that’s why. Who knows what he’ll try and pull when presented with a chance for power like that?”

“Alright, what about Galland? Failing to grab him at the orphanage twenty years ago was what got Robert killed. His shapeshifting is useful, but I don’t want to follow the same fate.”

“Snowbell and our technology were fooled. Not by Caleb, but the Arcanum inside the boy. Father thinks that he still has much to learn about his own Gift. Don’t worry, Hesper will naturally take interest in someone so similar to him, and he’ll keep a close eye.”

The man pursed his lips. “So, after we get a hold of Galland and gain control of ARCANA, what then?”

A smile slowly formed on the woman’s lips. “For you, it’s not suffering a slow and torturous death at Father’s hands. As for me, it’s the simple pleasure of being the one holding the strings.”

***

“A shapeshifter infiltrating your so-called fortress? Surely it shouldn’t be that easy, right?”

Caleb tried to ignore the way Hesper’s eyes bore into him, but the words struck a nerve. The shock of Holly’s sudden death was still fresh, and the thought of an impostor slipping past Asphodel’s defenses made his blood run cold. Hundreds of children lived within the city walls, and even the top Arcanus Hunters wouldn’t be enough to stop a coordinated assault. He wanted to warn the others, but without someone to open the door from the outside, he was trapped.

“A thousand attempts to destroy Asphodel over the last forty-one years,” Hesper continued, his voice full of scorn. “ARCANA had always managed to push them back. But now? With a fool sitting in the President’s chair, what chance do they have against another mass attack?”

Caleb flinched at Hesper’s bluntness. The casual lack of respect grated on him, but he couldn’t deny the truth in those words. He’d never even met the President face-to-face—only received orders passed down through a faceless spokesperson.

“The President’s just a face for the organization,” Caleb lied impulsively.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Hesper grinned. “Anyway, that shapeshifter. Do you think ‘Elias’ could have killed Holly?”

"A shapeshifter couldn’t have killed her like that—she’d have died instantly,” Caleb said. “It would’ve had to be someone with a precise, ranged ability, probably a Matter-type…”

Hesper raised an eyebrow. “Just a Matter-type?”

“Mind control would be broken by the Inhibitors, and an Ego-type couldn’t do it either, unless…” Caleb hesitated, slowly looking up at Hesper.

“Well?”

“Holly… could she have done it to herself?”

Hesper shrugged. “You tell me—you’re the smart one.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “So let’s say she did. She doesn’t have hair inside her heart, right? There weren’t any puncture holes on the outside. And if it did somehow poke a hole in there, that doesn’t explain why she only died only after her Inhibitors were turned on.”

“One step at a time, Callie. Why don’t you take a walk outside? See if your friends have something to say,” His eyebrows raised in surprise when he heard a metallic groan coming from behind Hesper. “Look, one of them’s coming in right now.”

The iron door rolled open and Seriyah stepped in. She stopped in her tracks as her foot hit one of the fallen soldiers. She looked up at Caleb and Hesper, wide-eyed.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What happened here?” she asked shakily.

Hesper grinned at her. “Callie, why don’t you explain it to Ms. Cael?”

Caleb’s eyes didn’t fully meet Seriyah’s when he turned around. “Either Elias is a traitor, or the Elias we saw today was an impostor.”

She sucked in a breath, coughing when the metallic stench of blood entered her nostrils. “Adrian thought the same thing, which is why he told me to warn you. Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine. Elias disappeared after he opened the door for me. Although, if you didn’t come down, I would’ve been trapped in here.”

Seriyah scowled at Hesper, who maintained his calm expression. “I’m not going anywhere. Do what you have to do. I hope you can get the President off his chair for once.”

She grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him out of the room, leaving the prisoner alone once again. “Are you sure nothing happened to you?” she asked, cupping his cheeks to inspect his face.

Caleb leaned away and removed her hands from him. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Relax, Seriyah,” he said, laughing. Seriyah was always really overprotective of him, like an older sister, despite Caleb being two years older.

“We need to report what happened to the higher-ups. They won’t believe me if I accuse Elias of being either an impostor or a traitor, but maybe they’ll listen to you,” she said.

Caleb sighed. “I’ll do my best. By the way, how did Adrian figure it out?”

“He didn’t really figure it out, but he did notice that Elias ignored ARCANA’s orders. Honestly, part of me was thinking that too, but I just didn’t have the guts to question a squad leader like Nachtlicht.”

“Can I call Adrian now? I left my phone with the receptionist before I went down.”

Seriyah nodded and handed her phone to him. Caleb dialed Adrian’s number, and his friend picked up immediately.

“Seriyah?” Adrian said from the other side.

“It’s Caleb.”

Adrian let out a gasp of surprise. “Caleb? Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t hurt. But I found Elias’s team dead in the interrogation room when I came in. Elias himself disappeared not long after.”

“Fuck,” Adrian breathed. “I should’ve noticed it sooner. How’s the prisoner?”

“Still shackled to his chair.”

“Oh, right, did you figure out his Arcanum?”

Caleb motioned for Seriyah to come closer so she could listen in as well. “He can block the flow of Arcanum completely, including his own. I don’t know what his gray eyes mean yet, but at least we know what he can do.”

Seriyah turned around and wiped sweat off her forehead, and Adrian sighed through the phone. “A murderer, an impostor, and an extremely dangerous man passing under all our noses. If only our pres—” he caught himself and let out a loud cough.

Caleb chuckled. “Yeah, I hope so too. How’s the children, by the way?”

Adrian laughed. “They’re all occupied with Arcadia’s performance. You should see what he can do, it’s really impressive.”

“I was able to see it through the wreck it created in his room.”

“He’ll get used to it. I’ll keep an eye on him, if that makes you feel better.”

Caleb winked at Seriyah. “Make sure he’s comfortable.”

“Don’t you know who you’re asking?” Adrian said. “Alright, I’ll leave you to do whatever you need to. It’s almost dinnertime, should I bring the kids to the cafeteria?”

“You’re in charge,” Caleb replied. “See you later, Adrian. Hope we still have time to eat together.”

“Don’t rush. Good luck, you two.”

Adrian hung up, and Caleb took a deep breath. “How’s Holly’s case doing?”

“They got a detective from Internal Security, but I didn’t catch their name. Marcus said he’d help with the investigation.”

“A detective? That’s probably Paris. You know, the one they call ‘Pari-scope’?”

Paris Narosa, the lead detective of Internal Security, received the nickname for their ability to see even the tiniest details and the slightest movements.

“Oh, them, yeah, I remember now. I’ll go assist Marcus and Paris, then. Good luck reaching the president. You’ll need it,” she mumbled.

Seriyah and Caleb parted ways in the headquarter’s lobby, and he requested for a pass to see the President’s right-hand man.

Sebastian Mosse, Adrian’s father, used to be Arcanus Academy’s headmaster and a Class XV Hex Hunter—the highest rank only ever awarded to him. His ability to create duplicates of any object without having to use other atoms made him a formidable name on the battlefield. Although, after a severe accident three years ago involving a miscalculated attack, he swore off using his Gift ever again.

“What the hell is the President doing?”

Caleb flinched at Sebastian’s booming voice. Even though Caleb had to look downwards at the wheelchair-bound man, he felt as if he was looking at someone fifty feet tall.

Sebastian pinched his reddened nose. “If only using my Gift didn’t drain my body as much as it did…I could’ve threatened to duplicate every single one of that man’s paperwork. I’m sorry, Caleb, without the President’s statement, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Adrian’s making sure the newcomers are safe and coordinating the other guards, and Paris is investigating Holly Rivera’s death. You can trust me with Hesper Asche, sir. All we need is to make sure Elias—or whoever took his place—doesn’t do anymore harm.”

Sebastian let out a hearty laugh. “My son's babysitting again? I thought he would’ve hated it after having his face nearly disfigured by a group of six-year-olds. I admire his empathy, but make sure he’s also doing his job.”

“You can trust him, Mr. Mosse. We won’t let you down.”

Sebastian shifted in his wheelchair and yawned. “I’ll see what I can do to get that President off his chair. Seriously, it’s as if we’re both in wheelchairs..”

Caleb bowed and walked out the room. He thought of giving Adrian a call to see how well the guards are handling things. He could call Seriyah as well, to get an update on the investigation. He expected some protests against the president from the residents, which was risky with a murderer and shapeshifter roaming the streets…

His thoughts were interrupted by someone stepping in front of him. He didn’t stop in time and accidentally received a mouthful of dyed red hair.

“I’m so sorry!” Caleb yelled, staggering back and wiping his mouth.

“I just dyed my hair! Now you’ve got your spit on it!”

Caleb stared at the angry woman. “Paris?”

“Yes, Caleb, hello. You’re forgiven,” she muttered, combing her hair with her fingers. “Alright, to business. I need you to come with me, and I need you to cooperate.”

“I thought Seriyah and Marcus were already helping you with the investigation.”

“Yes, they were. We took a look at the interrogation room where you questioned Holly, and…”

Suddenly, he heard Seriyah’s voice from behind him.

“All evidence points to you being the killer, Caleb.”

He turned around and went completely stiff when he noticed the gun gripped tightly in his friend’s hands. He raised his hands in the air and watched as Marcus appeared, holding a pair of handcuffs.

Marcus had a solemn expression on his face when he cuffed Caleb’s wrists behind his back. “You have the right to remain silent. Please don’t make this harder for us than it already is.”

***

Adrian let out a sigh of relief. After leaving the kids with Jade to have dinner, he could finally focus on his real job.

He’d called his deputy and some trusted officers beforehand to tell them to tighten the security inside and around Asphodel. If they saw anyone suspicious, they should alert others without alerting the suspect.

After grabbing a bagel from the cafeteria, he decided to return to headquarters so he could coordinate his team in person. He stopped by the bathroom to fix his messy hair—something he only did for formal situations. After he was satisfied, he saluted the guards stationed outside the dorms and returned to his car.

He was starting his car when he noticed a scrap of paper taped to the dashboard. Confused, he leaned over to read what was written on it.

You’re the Head of Security—buy a more secure car next time.

He noticed a movement in the rear view mirror and began to turn his head to confront it, but he had only moved an inch when a pair of hands suddenly held him against his seat and swiftly dug a knife straight into his head.