Page 113 of Creatures of Chaos

With a gasp, I rush over to him. “What happened?”

“That wasn’t the dagger, just another hologram. The floor must have been rigged to cave in when someone tried to take it.” He looks around his cage, searching for a weak point. “I fell directly into this cage. When I hit the ground the top slammed shut, sealing me inside.”

I have so many questions. Where are we? Why are we down here? But right now none of that is important. I need to get Talon out of this cage, and we need to get out of here.

“We have to get you out of there.”

“The cage is blocking my magic, and the bars are too thick to bend. We need a key or a way to break the lock.”

I immediately start searching for something to break the lock when a voice comes from behind me.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

I spin around in time to see the game master step out from the shadows.

“I’m guessing this is what you are looking for,” he says, pulling Shadow Striker from the folds of his robes.

“That doesn’t belong to you,” Talon yells, kicking the bars to show his frustration.

“And you think it belongs toyou?” the game master asks. Talon just glares back at him.

“Who are you?” I demand, quickly scanning the area for something I can use as a weapon. There are rocks I could use, but that’s about it.

There’s a promising one about the size of my fist on the ground to my left that I’m about to go for when the game master says, “I suppose it is time for that reveal.”

He reaches up and grasps the hood of his robe, pulling it back to finally reveal himself.

A gasp echoes throughout the chamber, and I don’t immediately realize it’s from me.

“Mr. Brone?” I ask, the rock all but completely forgotten as I stare back at him.

The aging hawk shifter shrugs out of the red robes. His face is as familiar to me as a beloved uncle yet standing in front of mewith a sharp gleam in his eye, he almost looks like a stranger—one I don’t want anything to do with.

“Kerrim,” he corrects me.

“You know him?” Talon asks.

I glance over at Talon, my mind spinning. “He owns the Emporium. He’s been a family friend for years.” I focus back on Mr. Brone—Kerrim. “It was you all along? You stole Shadow Striker? You set up Chaos?”

He nods, his gaze assessing, cold. I’ve never seen him look at me like that before.

I shake my head. “I don’t understand.”

“I promise you will soon.”

I don’t know what possible reason he could have for stealing Shadow Striker and creating this scenario to activate the magical artifact. Mr. Brone is just a middle-aged antiquities dealer. What possible reason could he have for wanting to use Shadow Striker’s powers?

But just because I don’t understand doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be wary. He’s obviously not the creature I’ve grown to know, so in an instant he goes from Mr. Brone to Kerrim in my mind.

“What do you want from us?” I ask, my voice growing hard.

“From him, nothing,” Kerrim says, gesturing toward Talon. “But from you, I want the world. Or rather a very specific world.”

“Leave her alone,” Talon yells, slamming his palm against the cage bars. “This is between us. It has nothing to do with her.”

“Oh, my boy,” Kerrim says, glancing at Talon. “You are so very wrong about that. This isallbecause of her. It always has been. In fact, I’m a bit surprised you haven’t already figured that out.”

The blood leaches from my face, no doubt turning me white as a sheet. My fingers start to tingle, and my toes go numb.

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