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  Celeste scoffed. “We’re not lost. We’re lookin’ for Kami-Shi. An’ tha’ wasn’t festivities.”

  “Well, good. You can help me. I’m trying to find my daughter – she’s missing.”

  “Careful, she isn’t really his daughter,” Zin whispered to the group.

  This person before them was Kami-Shi? Mahnii straightened, glancing at the others, especially Celeste.

  “Why would we help ya?” Celeste frowned.

  The man grinned, “Because I’m Kami-Shi.”

  “Oh good. Ya’ve saved me tha trouble,” Celeste’s grip on her hammer tightened.

  She didn’t figure that out until now? Mahnii shoved his elbow against her side. “You’re not fighting him. Especially not right now in his own castle.”

  “Why not?” Celeste looked at Mahnii.

  Mahnii ignored her, focusing on Kami-Shi, whose lips had curved into a frown as he observed each of them. This was the perfect opportunity. They could keep him distracted while Kah and Shim continued their search and grabbed the weapon they’d come for.

  “Sure, of course we’ll help you. Lead the way.” He smiled as genuinely as possible.

  “Thank you,” Kami-Shi said, his features relaxing.

  “Why don’t we split into groups – to cover more space?” Shim said.

  It seemed Mahnii wasn’t the only one who saw this as a good opportunity.

  “Yes, that’s perfect. Our friends can cover the higher floors and we can cover from here down.” Mahnii grabbed Celeste and moved closer to Kami-Shi.

  He glanced toward Shim, winking. She nodded, turning with Kah and Zin and heading through one of the doors in the hallway.

  “So, where have you already looked?” Mahnii asked.

  Kami-Shi touched his chin with his forefinger and thumb. “This floor pretty much. Oh, and the festivities. She wasn’t there.”

  “Great,” Mahnii attempted to sound encouraging. “Why do you think she’s missing?”

  Kami-Shi frowned. “I know my own daughter. Her routines, her normal places. “

  “Right, of course.” Mahnii paused. “So, then where’d you see her last? Or more importantly, when?” He was doing his best to be helpful without enraging the dragon-god, but the impatience that flashed across Kami-Shi’s features caused Mahnii to shrink back slightly.

  “This morning at breakfast in the dining hall. Afterward, I went to take care of some personal business, and when I went for her, she was nowhere to be found.”

  Mahnii nodded.

  As they were with Kami-Shi, they no longer seemed to be trapped in the illusion of never-ending rooms. They moved through the floors of the castle, which were in rings spiraling around, in sequence.

  Mahnii was convinced that it was because Kami-Shi was covering all his bases, leaving no room for error or missing something.

  Still, something felt off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was no use asking further for the moment.

  They fell silent for a bit, and Mahnii had to admit he was somewhat impressed with the castle. Of course, he wouldn’t ever want to live in a place like it, necessarily, but that wasn’t to say he couldn’t appreciate it was well-done.

  He had been glancing out one of the windows and returning his attention to the other two when he noticed Kami-Shi studying Celeste.

  Mahnii braced himself, prepared to step between them, as he currently was on the outside with Celeste in the middle.

  “You know, you look very much like my sister,” Kami-Shi rumbled.

  “Uh… that a good thing?” Celeste asked, blinking a few times as she glanced toward Kami-Shi and then ahead once more.

  “Not necessarily, no,” Kami-Shi said. Not even a hesitation in his response.

  “Oh,” she said. “Why’s that?”

  This time, Kami-Shi didn’t respond immediately. They walked in silence again for a short period.

  “Uh, Lord Kami-Shi, Celeste was raised outside of normal civilization and doesn’t know about the history and culture,” Mahnii said. After all, he was still trying to teach her why she couldn’t just do whatever she wanted.

  If Celeste heard him, she didn’t respond. Maybe she was still waiting on Kami-Shi’s response.

  As Kami-Shi also didn’t respond to his explanation about Celeste, he changed the subject, trying to refocus on their current task. “So, what’s your daughter like?”

  “She was raised by me as my own,” Kami-Shi began.

  “Wait, she’s not yer actual daughter?” Celeste asked, suddenly facing Kami-Shi.

  “No,” Kami-Shi said. “I just raised her.”

  “What happened?” asked Mahnii.

  He stepped to the side slightly, glad Celeste was between them as an irked look flashed across Kami-Shi’s features though he released his breath slowly. “Listen closely. You might as well hear the whole story if you’re going to know.”

  Mahnii was rather curious, and Celeste appeared the same as she stared at Kami-Shi while they walked. As there was only silence in response to him, he began.

  Chapter 8

  “It all began long ago when my brother and sister and I all came to this realm. We had left our homeland – Aeros – in search of greatness and adventure. We weren’t happy and wanted more for our lives. More excitement. More fun.

  “When we arrived, those here were primitive and far behind compared to Aeros. There, life was advanced with huge kingdom developments and factions as well as incredibly advanced technology. Here, we were seen as gods, revered and worshiped for our knowledge and magic.

  “At first, we celebrated, relishing the glory and praise from the humans and other creatures. But, eventually, we began to argue about how we wanted to move forward. Each of us had our own ideas and so we separated to the corners of the world, claiming and ruling over our own respective territories.

  “My brother, Ru-Kai, oversees the lands to the southwest where it is green and flourishes. As you have seen, I govern everything stretching to the east, and our sister went north.

  “However, Cel-Lok was truly the reason we divided. She was arrogant, insisting hers was the right way, and even wanting to govern over Ru-Kai and I. Cel-Lok isolated herself, and no one has heard from her since she left. She doesn’t even visit her people. To us, she is dead.

  “Ru-Kai is all that I have. We respect each other’s boundaries and ideas while still meeting when we desire it in cordiality.

  “Of course, he tried to mend things between all of us at one point, but that didn’t work. Eventually, we stopped trying with Cel-Lok, and that’s that. Besides the conflict between us as siblings, each of us lives out our lives looking out for our realms in peace.”

  Silence resumed once more after Kami-Shi finished relaying his tale.

  Mahnii silently wondered how the fate of their world might have spun had the dragons never come. Though it was a pointless thought.

  “So tha’s why me lookin’ like yer sister’s not a good thing?” Celeste glanced toward Kami-Shi.

  He only nodded.

  Well, at least Celeste had a more complete lesson on the world’s history, Mahnii thought. When he’d tried to explain it to her, she hadn’t really understood.

  “So, how does all of that relate to your daughter? What happened?” Mahnii asked, cringing slightly at the sharp look from the dragon-god. He raised his hands slightly. After all, Kami-Shi had failed to tie it together after he’d explicitly said they needed to know the whole story to understand why he’d raised a girl that wasn’t his own.

  As Kami-Shi opened his mouth to share, they were once again reaching the floor with the main festivities hall. A group was leaving, laughing and talking loudly. Their voices echoed off the stone; they were completely oblivious to the presence of their host.

  “Guess what I heard!” one of the men in the group said.

  “Wha’?” slurred a girl, hanging off of him.

  “I heard Seeki finally ran away from that abuser.”

  “W
haa’?” the girl said again, gasping softly.

  “Yeah, I heard Kami-Shi killed her actual parents cause he’s obsessed with having kids of his own,” the man continued.

  “Well, how come he ne’er got more kids?”

  “I dunno, that’s not the point,” he said. “Anyway, I dunno why she stuck around so long. Good for her though.”

  “Yeah, no kiddin’. Bu… I don get it. If he’s so bad, why ar’ we comin ta his castle?” another girl asked.

  “Cause his festivities are kick-ass!” another of the men said.

  They all burst out with more laughter, gulping back vials they had carried with them from the hall. “Come on, let’s get outta here. Maybe we should find Seeki,” said the first man.

  “An’ wha’, interrogate ‘er?” slurred the girl hanging on him.

  “Yeah, why not? I bet she has all kinda information on the castle and that abuser”

  “Yer dumb. Come on, I jus’ wanna go eat.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  The banter continued as they retreated, heading toward the castle’s exit.

  Mahnii glanced toward Kami-Shi, not sure at that exact moment what to think or how to react. Was what they said true?

  Then again, Kami-Shi had just been about to share the story with them. Would it be a lie?

  Kami-Shi’s face was a brilliant shade of red, his eyes lighting up. Electricity began cackling around his person.

  Aw man! Mahnii backed up slowly, Celeste following.

  “How can you say that?” Kami-Shi roared, his question booming around the hall as well as the festivities room, which was still open.

  The guests immediately ceased their merriment, gasping and looking around frantically.

  Blue-green scales appeared along Kami-Shi’s hands, swiftly moving up his arms and body as he began to transform.

  “Get out!” he roared.

  The guests were like insects, scattering in terror and screaming wildly at the wrath of the dragon-god being unleashed. They rushed toward the exit, clamoring over each other in desperation to escape the dragon-god’s rage.

  Lightning bolts descended, cackling around the large room. Kami-Shi was half-way transformed, not yet complete.

  ‘What the hell should we do?” Mahnii thought. He had no intention of dying today.

  Within moments, the castle had completely cleared of all the guests, though Kami-Shi was still fuming.

  As soon as the guests were gone, he started to turn back into his human form.

  Thank goodness. Mahnii had been debating letting Celeste actually fight him if it came down to it. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be opposed, though was glad they didn’t have to find out.

  “Come on, let’s keep looking,” Kami-Shi said, his voice still a bit of a growl as opposed to the smooth tones he’d had before.

  “Right,” Mahnii and Celeste said at the same time.

  Mahnii still wanted to know what actually happened with this girl who was Kami-Shi’s adopted daughter, but right at that moment, it didn’t feel right to ask.

  What the gossipers had said really stirred questions, such as the point about Kami-Shi wanting children. Now that it was mentioned, Mahnii realized he’d never heard anything in the legends about any of the dragon-gods taking on a spouse – or having children. That was kind of odd.

  And, it wasn’t like they were unattractive. He was a guy, and even he was admitting that.

  So what was the story?

  Still, he kept quiet. Surely, after having passed every other level of the castle, they were going to find her soon.

  He also briefly thought about their other companions. Had they given Kah, Shim, and Zin enough time to find Kami-Shi’s room and grab the weapon? If not, they were running out of time, and this whole trip would be a waste.

  Hopefully, Zin would’ve at least been able to help them navigate the illusion maze. Though it was doubtful as he hadn’t been much help before they’d split up.

  Footsteps echoing around the corner interrupted Mahnii’s thoughts and they all stopped as a young woman appeared. She was walking along casually, humming to herself without a care in the world.

  Chapter 9

  As soon as the young woman appeared, Kami-Shi rushed forward. “Seeki! There you are. Where were you? I told you to stay close!” He opened and closed his fists, clearly conflicted on whether to hug her or shake her.

  She frowned, crossing her arms. “I told you I’d walk around looking. Don’t tell me what to do.” Her cheeks grew flushed and she stared down Kami-Shi, clearly a stubborn and strong-willed person.

  Kami-Shi sighed, his shoulders relaxing. “Fine. Just be more careful.” He turned his focus back toward Celeste and Mahnii. “Thank you for your help.”

  “Sure,” Mahnii said, wondering if Kah and Shim had found the weapon they’d come for yet. He moved toward Seeki. “Hi, I’m Mahnii, this is Celeste,” he said as he moved his thumb in Celeste’s direction. “You’re his daughter?”

  She side-stepped Kami-Shi. “I’m Seeki. My parents and Kami were close friends. They died in an accident, and my parents had asked him to take me in should anything happen. He did it out of love for them and for me.” She smiled at Kami-Shi when she said it.

  ‘Well that’s a quick change in attitude,’ Mahnii noted from her previous defiance. It kind of reminded him of the relationship he’d had with his sister and he immediately felt he liked her.

  “People fear Kami because he’s a dragon-god,” Seeki continued. “They’ve made up some pretty awful things.” She paused. “Why do you let them come back around during your festivities, anyway?”

  Kami-Shi shrugged. “In the grand scheme of things, I still have you, and I can scare them off if I really want to.” He grinned.

  ‘He has a point,’ Mahnii thought, having just witnessed it.

  The dragon-god’s face grew serious. “We should find your companions.”

  “Right,” Mahnii said.

  “They won’t have found the Staff of Naul.” Kami-Shi took a right turn down one of the halls.

  “The what?” Mahnii tried not to show his shock. He’d known? He silently prayed they weren’t about to witness an execution.

  “Your friend is a Necromancer, correct? I can sense her magic. In fact, it’s particularly potent in her. There isn’t any reason she would have come here if not for the Staff.”

  Of course. As a powerful magical being, it made sense that Kami-Shi would be able to sense others’ magic. Mahnii glanced at Celeste. She might end up dueling here in the castle after all.

  “The staff isn’t in my room where they were searching.” Kami-Shi paused, removing a black orb of some kind from a pouch and presenting it. “I had it on my person.”

  Mahnii frowned. Had Kah and Shim found Kami-Shi’s quarters, then? If so, how did Kami-Shi know?

  Kami-Shi must have read the bewilderment on Mahnii’s face because he said, “I’ve setup magical barriers around both my quarters and Seeki’s, so I know when someone is there at all times. I keep my greatest treasures there, after all.” He paused. “Before giving her the Staff, all of you need to know about the near future.”

  “What do you mean?” Mahnii asked.

  As they moved down the next hall, there was a bang on one of the doors.

  “Ugh! We already tried that one! Let me open the next one, okay?” Kah frowned. At that moment, he, Shim, and Zin had stumbled into the hallway, looking around.

  “You’re such an idiot. We’re no closer to—” Shim stopped as she noticed Mahnii, Celeste, Kami-Shi, and Seeki. “Finding her,” she finished, smiling innocently. “Oh, look, you all already did!”

  “Shim, he knows,” Mahnii said, glancing toward Kami-Shi.

  Shim’s face paled, then grew flushed as she moved toward Mahnii. “What did you tell him?” she demanded.

  “No, he sensed your magic,” Mahnii said, stepping back slightly from her.

  “Oh,” Shim murmured. It was then her eyes settled on the black orb
in Kami-Shi’s hand before she met his gaze squarely. “I think that belongs to me.”

  Mahnii’s jaw dropped, though he quickly attempted to gather his composure before moving closer to Shim. Before he could try to talk sense into her, Kami-Shi responded.

  “Why is that?” His eyes were penetrating.

  “As an Animancer yourself, you’ve got no use for it. In fact, part of why I came was to teach you exactly why you should have more respect for Necromancy. I know you’re only keeping it to prevent any Necromancers, like me, from our true potential.” Shim crossed her arms.

  “Necromancy is forbidden magic,” Kami-Shi started.

  “Why? Because it only animates instead of offering true life?” Shim asked.

  “As a Necromancer, you already know the answer to that. It toys with those who have already passed on, a defilement of the dead.”

  Shim smirked. “Only if the Necromancer has no respect for the bodies lent during the practice of the art and leaves them scattered where they fall. A true Necromancer respects the dead to the utmost and allows them to return to their rest once their use is done.”

  Kami-Shi smiled, nodding slowly. “Alright, prove that you can use it,” he challenged. “Defeat me, and you can have the staff.”

  Shim shook her head. “I wouldn’t presume to challenge a dragon-god, bringer of magic itself. Though, I will demonstrate my capabilities.”

  Celeste stepped forward, “Good, ‘cause no one’s fightin’ a dragon-god unless it’s me!”

  “You’re not fighting him either,” Mahnii retorted, glaring at Celeste.

  “Not here,” Kami-Shi said. “I have no intention of extra cleaning inside my castle. Come.” With that, he turned briskly, moving down the hall and taking a couple of turns before arriving at the main entrance. The stairway of blue energy appeared before them as they left the castle and moved to the ground at the base of the volcano over which it hovered.

  As soon as they reached the ground, Kami-Shi sat. “Celeste, allow your companion to demonstrate her abilities.”