Mica Rexton pulled himself from the floor using the chair as leverage. Blood ran down his nose and temple, but the pain had left him long ago. He felt numb and confused. That Mekiah had been something else. He couldn't describe the crazy feeling he got when they were together nor could he comprehend what it could mean. It shouldn't have happened, this fight. Cassius should have been trained by now after serving under Iza's thumb for so many years. If he wasn't trained now, there was no chance for anyone else.

Mica wiped his nose and sat in the chair. He caught his breath as he pulled out his phone and dialed the alert signal. The message was sent and in about thirty seconds the alarms would go off. It had been a solid five minutes since Cassius had run from the office, but he couldn't have made it too far. If he made it past the security box, he would have a tougher time getting through the guards at the front gate.

He should have been angry. A Mekiah had overpowered him and escaped under his watch. It was embarrassing, humiliating. No general would ever admit to being beaten by a Mekiah.

But he was impressed.

Cassius had shown so much power that it was unbelievable. And it was under a Dissipater as well which meant he had much more to show.

A wailing siren sounded off in the hall. He stood from the seat and walked to the door. As he peered out with one hand covering his bloody nose which was still running with blood, he messaged out another command and hoped they hadn't captured Cassius too soon. He was confident they hadn't. The Mekiah was stronger than anyone would anticipate and would fight until he couldn't anymore. It was going to be hard to break him down, but Mica was sure he could do it. Once he had Cassius in his corner, he would have the most powerful Mekiah in Xtavia. For that, he would do anything.

The blood ran down his lips. He hadn't bled this long since he was knocked down when he was five. And that had been his own fault when he was testing out his own powers.

No one had ever beaten him down like this before. It was humiliating but wondrous at the same time. The anger he should have felt was just awe and though he would punish the Mekiah for what he did, it just proved how much the Mekiah was worth. He needed his hands on him, to have him on his team. But there was something else that was starting to change his plans.

General Iza wasn't going to give Cassius up without a hard fight. He wasn't worried about overruling him. He was in fact the highest ranking general in Xtavia, but it was Iza's unethical attachment to the Mekiah. He'd moved passed viewing Cassius as a Mekiah slave on his SWARM. Somehow, he'd started to think the Mekiah was his own personal slave. The bond would have to be broken and he wasn't unnerved about that. What he was unsure about was Iza's reaction and what he would do if Cassius was removed. If he went rouge, it would mean Iza would have to be put down and replaced. Which they couldn't afford to do with the limiting numbers of Remus without strong powers. An Exteru could fill in, but their numbers were limited as well.

But this would have to be figured out later.

He walked out the office. Outside the door was a faint trail of red trailing down the wall and around the corner. He bent down and examined the red. It was blood.

The pen was back in the office, covered in blood most likely. He frowned at the trail and looked around. The blood was heading towards the entrance, but there might be another way to get outside. Cassius was probably panicking now, though he was smart and would figure a way out if he was caught.

Mica stood up and turned around in the opposite direction as the blood. He wasn't going to hope this worked because it was going to work. Cassius was smart for a Mekiah and powerful too. He was just what Mica needed to finish his plans, but if he didn't knock him down a few pegs he would be the one on his knees.

And that was not acceptable.

As a smile crept across his face, he planned his next move after he had the Mekiah in his possession. There wasn’t much time for him to plot out every little task. But his planning had started long ago and now that everything was coming to fruition, he could see the future coming. He couldn’t control everyone’s decisions, though he could influence their choices. With Cassius, it would be difficult since the Mekiah wasn’t attached to anyone, but he would find a weakness. It would only be a matter of time before he had the Mekiah eating out of his palm, a trained Tracker to heel at his side and to do as he said. It was almost too perfect to think about when the Mekiah was escaping and he was here bleeding. He wouldn’t say they were the same because they weren’t. Power might be common ground, but even that had major differences.

He pulled back his hand and gazed down at the blood coating his fingers. Rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, he imagined a world without all of this. It would be a boring, pointless world in which he would be someone a little more attached to the people around him. He couldn't predict who he would be in the future, but he doubted it would be much different than who he was now. Cold, unforgiving, and a right out dick. That’s what they thought about him behind his back, though they would never let him know that to his face. The cowards back in Keshtin didn’t give a damn about honesty and would rather hide behind a mask than show who they really are.

Oh, how strange the world was. And how defenseless it would be once he showed who he really was.