Wingbloom twirled through the air, dipping and rising to avoid the flurry of fists Zenoman sent forth. Several of the golden alien’s hits landed, but Wingbloom avoided the worst of the barrage, impressively manipulating the air around himself to escape otherwise tough to avoid strikes.

  “And how will you approach Nolan?” asked Kyle, leaning on the post of Aurin’s arena.

  Aurin sighed. “As tempting as it is to walk up and jab him in the throat, I’m going to play things more tactically.”

  “Meaning?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I’ve got several ideas I’m fleshing out before I decide. What I truly want is for him to attack me again with another of his companions. I didn’t have the right Minakai with me yesterday to either him or Heart without Zeera bringing me their whole heads. I’ll need to keep Lycavine with me at all times. If he can trap their legs and arms with roots, he can snag their masks before they have the chance to escape.”

  “And if you have to fight against both him and Jackson?” asked Kyle. “You know who they both are. Wouldn’t you want to get as many of The Blackjacks as you can in one fell swoop?”

  “Yes. I’m half-hoping all four of them will attack me at once.”

  “Have you thought about speaking to him directly and asking why he and his masked buddies are doing all this?”

  Aurin scoffed. “What would be the point? He’s played the incompetent tamer role well so far.”

  “I suspect he won’t be so confident without the mask. And if he has to battle you on fair terms without any of his magical trickery, I reckon you’d wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” said Aurin, nodding slowly. “This is why I like talking to Kyle. Sometimes I overthink.”

  “I would have said you don’t think enough,” chuckled Kyle, earning a playful punch to the arm.

  Litehorn stormed across the yard with an enraged Spikruption following. The dinosaur thundered after the unicorn foal, spitting regular fireballs to try and catch the insolent brat of a monster.

  “What happened?” Aurin asked Shamtile, who was sitting on the ground and chuckling.

  Shamtile started miming various actions, doing his best impressions of both Litehorn and Spikruption along the way.

  Kyle’s eyebrow continued to raise as the story unfolded, unable to decipher Shamtile’s surprisingly lengthy play. “What?” he asked, once the masked lizard had finished.

  Aurin snorted. “Summed up, Litehorn challenged Spikruption to a battle and called him the Minakai equivalent of a sissy weakling.”

  Litehorn squealed as he was engulfed in furious flames spewed from Spikruption’s mouth. When they subsided, Litehorn was spasming on the ground. Aurin folded his arms across his chest and gave Sunny a nod.

  She floated straight over to Litehorn with a bright smile on her face. Spikruption half-heartedly moved to knock her aside, not wanting his nuisance of a teammate to recover so quickly after his punishment. Sunny was unfazed, however, spinning with a squeal to avoid the dinosaur’s whipping tail.

  “I thought you would have knocked this behaviour out of Litehorn by now?” asked the rancher, as Aurin watched on with a grin.

  Aurin shrugged. “It’s only been a couple of days since he was born, and I figured it would be good to let him learn his lesson the hard way. And besides, I think it’ll do him the world of good to be forced to withstand a few strong retaliations. Think of it as battle preparation.”

  “Have you thought about what he may one day evolve into?”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Aurin cocked his head to the side. “You mean either Thundarun or Blitzeus?”

  “Yes,” said Kyle. “If you went with Blitzeus, you’d be sacrificing speed and power, but that form comes with the ability to fly.”

  “Jaden used Blitzeus against Gray. It was still pretty powerful.”

  Kyle opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, and then frowned.

  “What is it?”

  “Now that I mention it… I forget how to change the evolutionary path. Ah well.”

  Aurin scowled at his friend, who was doing a terrible job of masking his amusement. “You told me all this just to tempt me before ripping the hope away, didn’t you?”

  Kyle guffawed. “If you decide that’s the path for Litehorn, I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

  “I’ll get you back for this one. Mark my words, Kyle.”

  *

  Alfred Ashmore held his hands to the glass vat, awaiting a response from the gestating creature within. He had grown so much in such a short period of time. Alfred felt like a proud father, but he was much more than that. A father raised children with care. He raised Virtugil to be strong, imbuing him with the data of the powerful.

  “How much longer will we feed him combat data?” asked Dr Holmes. “I fear that if we leave him inside for too long, he will long for his awakening.”

  “Soon,” said Alfred, as a four-fingered hand slammed into the glass, startling the man. “He hungers to fulfil his purpose.”

  “Zeera’s data has been uploaded and although brief, the analysis of his might has proven beneficial. Virtugil will be strong.”

  “Yes, yes,” snapped Alfred, drawing his deck of cards. “We shall see how many of our precious data hunters will visit Aurin next.”

  He shuffled them and drew cards at a time, hoping to hit blackjack. Each time he went bust, he shuffled again. While it took him no more than half a minute to draw a combination of twenty-one, he was irked that it took five shuffles to do. He held up three cards and smirked.

  “Five of Clubs, Six of Hearts, and Ten of Spades,” he said, flipping them around. “Jackson will be especially excited, I’m sure. Although, thinking about it, perhaps being forced to partner with others during this round of our game will be more of an annoyance to him than anything else.”

  Alfred retrieved his phone and dialled a number, laughing to himself as he did so. Dr Holmes avoided eye contact, knowing that the last thing he wanted to do was to accidentally annoy the young master. He had seen what had happened to those who got on Master Ashmore’s bad side.

  “Continue your work in peace, Dr Holmes,” said Alfred, putting his phone to his ear and walking towards the door.

  A short conversation with Jackson ensued, ordering him to relay the next battle’s lineup to the other participants. As had been expected, it was clear from Jackson’s tone that he had little desire to fight alongside others, but he offered no arguments. He knew that as long as he complied with orders, he would be rewarded with the battle he had desired. Aurin would be unable to retreat when the time came, and that time was coming soon.

  Alfred took the elevator up, shortly after arriving on the ground floor of his family home. It was a depressing place these days, without his father’s enthusiastic presence. The young master walked through the halls and rooms filled with memories, glumly looking at the paintings and relics from more pleasant times.

  He reached the conservatory and looked through the glass windows towards the safari that was home to his father’s many Minakai. For some time, he had wondered whether or not his father alive, but he had slowly been convinced that his father had passed on recently.

  While the Minakai in the grand garden had always been friendly towards Alfred, they had never showed him the same obedience they had his father. Now, however, they followed his every command. He had inherited possession of them, becoming their new master. It filled him with a modicum of sadness, knowing that his father was irretrievable, but with his newfound ownership of the Minakai, Alfred could finally say that a completed collection would one day be his.

  Unlike his father, Alfred had no intention of completing the Bretonian collection and see what he felt like doing next. Alfred had much greater ambition. Once Aurin had been served his grand punishment, he would complete the Bretonian collection, followed by systematically hunting down each and every Minakai in existence.

  Alfred smirked as he looked at the mirror on the wall. Looking back at him was not his own reflection, but that of Sir Arthur Ashmore; his father.

  “I told you to leave me alone,” he said, closing his eyes tightly. “You are not real. You are not real.”

  “Alfred, my boy,” said Sir Ashmore with a condescending smile. “Do you truly think you are capable of surpassing my dreams? You are but a pale imitation of me. Your ambition is limited by your inability to lead. While you have brains beyond measure, you are a broken child. You always have been, and you always will be. Obsessed with playing games and showing your little parlour tricks? That is not what makes a great man. That is the work of a court jester. A laughing stock.”

  “Shut up!” barked Alfred, clutching his head. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! Leave. Me. Alone!”

  He opened his eyes and looked into the mirror, seeing only his own face. He was alone.

  “Good riddance,” said the master, wiping the sweat from his brow.

  He swept his hair back, straightened his jacket, and walked outside. He would survey the Minakai and come to a decision as to which would be accompanying him to the grand game. While his subordinates had no doubt chosen their teams for their respective rounds, Alfred preferred to roll the dice and see which numbers they landed on.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: