“Frankly, sir, you’re mistaken.” Rexton’s eye twitched. “I’ve told everything in the report. Nothing was left out.”

He was pushing a fine line. Every move he made was another step closer to unveiling the mad man behind Rexton’s exterior. He would never get that close enough. He never broke down Iza, but trying was always fun. That’s all he care about anymore besides his freedom. When he was raised to kill, there weren’t many things he wished for. Strange.

“I’m not like General Iza. I won’t indulge in this game you play.”

“There’s no game, sir.”

It was bullshit and Rexton knew it.

Rexton stood back. “When the demon attacked it threw out a heat wave of energy. Your Mekiah comrade didn’t survive, but you did. While I’d love to believe General Iza has you trained, I don’t.”

Cassius stared. A long beat of silence dragged on. He wasn’t sure what to say. What he wanted to say was different than what he should say. They were polar opposites.

“Fine then. You’re being transferred to Keshtin tomorrow morning. General Iza—”

Cassius froze. His body went cold and his heart dropped. He clenched his knees so hard it caused pain.

Before him, his plan began to crumble. Rexton knew what he was doing whether he actually knew what Cassius was planning. For some reason, he had done the worst to Cassius in under an hour of meeting him and what Iza would do to him once they were alone would fill in the physical pain. Together, Rexton and Iza could make a great duo, if only they didn’t hate one another.

Now he couldn’t speak. His hands trembled and a spark of magic lit inside him. The anger pooled inside him and as he felt it grow, he glared at Rexton, wishing he would keel over. Everything he’d worked for was falling apart and if it wasn’t for this fucking jackass it would have happened. His chances were slim if he was transported by Rexton’s men. Iza didn’t trust him but he was loose with guards because Cassius was a good docile Mekiah.

Cassius wasn’t dumb. He knew escaping while in Rexton’s hand he would be setting himself up for immediate death and though Iza had a chance of capturing him, he wouldn’t be expecting it.

But his temper was hard to control when he hit his limit. It’s why he made the stupidest move of his life.

He was out of the chair. Rexton’s became nothing but a target and with his arms outstretched, he released all the pent of anger. It came out in gushes that made the Dissipater buzz and rattle. He grabbed Rexton by the neck and yanked him down but as he went to kick his legs out from underneath him, Rexton flipped him around. The Dissipater was overloaded with magic. It sent out a wave of shocks to keep the current under control, but it wasn’t enough to stun. Cassius yelled out and pushed the magic through his hands. Smoke rose from his palms and seared through Rexton’s skin.

“Fuck!”

Rexton let go of Cassius. He could smell the burnt flesh and it made his stomach flip. Before he could turn, Rexton came after him again. His nasty skin touched Cassius’s arm and he felt the vomit come up to the back of his throat. The skin peeled back and left trails of blood down his arm. He jerked his arms back and slipped out of Rexton’s grip. He gagged as he looked down at his arms. The smell wouldn’t go away and the feeling of the leftover flesh clinging to his own was the most disgusting thing he’d ever felt.

Cassius looked over at Rexton. His hands were bleeding and where the skin was missing there were already scabs growing. Cassius stared in amazement. The power he’d felt wasn’t just a facade. The wounds on his hands weren’t the worst Cassius could do, but it should have stayed longer than a couple of seconds.

His mind changed. He ran towards the door, ready to face the worst out there than what was in this room. But as he reached the door he felt a stabbing pain in his leg. He fell to the floor, yelling out as he reached behind him. His knees hit the ground hard. He held himself up with one hand as the other searched for the pain.

He looked down at his leg and cried out once more. A pen was sticking out from his calf, embedded at least two inches inside. He couldn’t stop to think about what he was doing. He grabbed the pen and ripped it out and got back on his feet. Rexton wrapped his arms around his neck and squeezed.

Cassius clawed at his hands. When it didn’t work, he wiggled his head down and sunk his teeth in. Rexton whirled them around and twisted Cassius’s neck. But his hold loosened and he slipped away.

Rexton jutted out his elbow. It hit Cassius square in the jaw and he fell back against the desk. He flung out a shot of fire. It hit Rexton’s arm. The hit threw Rexton off and as he tried to put the fire out that was spreading across his jacket, Cassius took the shot and ran head first into Rexton’s chest. They both flew across the room, Rexton landing on his back and Cassius sprawled along him. Rexton gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. With a new found spurt of energy, Cassius punched Rexton in the face and sprung up for the door. He hoped Rexton stayed down, but he couldn’t rely on hope alone.

He ran out of the room and looked around the hallway. There was no one and how they couldn’t hear them fighting or his Dissipater going off, threw him off for a moment. The confusion held him in place and he couldn’t think what to do next. The only thing he could do was run and he had to choose the direction quick. He picked the opposite way the training area was and ran as fast as he could.