“Make it quick,” said Aurin, summoning his second and final Minakai in a flash of orange light.

  Zeera appeared and both Diamond and Heart recoiled. No doubt, they had known this was a possibility, but to be faced with a ten-foot monster intent on tearing their monsters asunder was something they could never truly prepare themselves for.

  “Guilgon, you have the advantage,” said Diamond. “Make sure you—”

  Guilgon never got to hear his master’s orders. Zeera had body slammed the dragon with a thunderous snap, breaking several of its ribs. As Guilgon’s head smacked the ground, he fell unconscious. The dinosaur arose and grabbed Guilgon by the tail as Flaround drew in a deep breath. Zeera flung the limp dragon at the fiery dog, blocking its fireball and flattening it.

  As Guilgon was banished by its master, Zeera charged forward. Flaround was awkwardly climbing to its feet, but it was unable to stand straight before a hefty tail smacked it into the barrier, eliminating it from the battle.

  Heart fell to her knees in despair. “No!” she wailed.

  “It is fine,” said Diamond through gritted teeth. “Don’t be such a baby, yeah?”

  “Fifteen seconds is not enough. What if—”

  “Shut up.”

  Aurin smiled as the barrier vanished. He patted Zeera on the arm as the dinosaur stared down the two masked tamers. He was enjoying seeing them frazzled. Heart had taken the loss badly, and Diamond clearly found her reaction tiresome.

  “Trouble in paradise?” prodded Aurin.

  “Hardly,” scoffed Diamond. “It is simply disappointing that we lost so quickly.”

  “Get used to it.”

  “Till we meet again, Aurin,” said Diamond, throwing a smoke bomb.

  “I will get even,” said Heart, throwing one of her own.

  When the smoke cleared, the two had vanished. Aurin had not been prepared to wrestle their masks from them and if he had tried with Zeera, the epic Minakai would likely have crushed their skulls in the attempt. No, he would save that for another time.

  “I wonder how they knew I was here?” Aurin asked the dinosaur, who simply snarled. “They must have been following me for most of the morning. I didn’t see anyone…”

  Aurin froze as a sudden thought struck him. He had been alone all morning except for when he had been with Holly. He had a horrible, sinking feeling in his chest. He banished Zeera and summoned Skrow to his side.

  “We have to get to the Underground Dojo immediately,” said Aurin, climbing on the undead bird’s back.

  Skrow squawked and took to the skies. Aurin clung to Skrow’s neck as the black bird sped over the rooftops, making a beeline for Hazelton Stadium. He landed on the square and Aurin slid from him, gunning for the bank. He slid down the grass and tugged on the door, only to find it locked.

  “I don’t have time for this,” he grumbled, summoning a confused Shamtile. “I don’t care how you do it, mate, but get us inside the tunnel.”

  With a screech and a wave of his arms, Shamtile dug an underground passage in the river walk and gestured for Aurin to follow him. Seconds later, the two emerged in the tunnel leading into the dojo. They sprinted to the end and banged on the door, hoping to not have to break in further. No more than half a minute later, the door whooshed open, revealing Gray.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Aurin,” he said with a tilt of his head. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

  “I’m sorry to barge in like this,” said Aurin, at which Gray waved a flippant hand, “but I need to speak to Holly.”

  “Of course,” said Gray, inviting Aurin to follow him.

  The dojo was quiet this morning with a single tamer running through drills with his Peekawe and Funglie in one of the marked battlefields. The pit in Aurin’s stomach grew as he walked. He was dreading what he might discover in a few minutes, but he had to know the truth.

  Gray guided Aurin down a side passage and into a small canteen where the dojo members were polishing off what was left of their breakfasts. Among them, to Aurin’s surprise and relief, was Holly. She was sitting with an empty plate in front of her, sipping on a cup of tea. She waved over at him.

  “Is everything alright?” asked Gray with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yes, thankfully,” sighed Aurin.

  “Then I’ll ask no further. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like, my friend.”

  Aurin walked over to Holly and sat across from her and Rick. “Good morning,” said Aurin.

  “Morning!” called Rick enthusiastically, despite being no more than four feet away from Aurin.

  “Good morning again,” laughed Holly. “Have you thought of some more advice to share?”

  Rick saw the look on Aurin’s face and nudged Holly in the ribs. “Everything alright, mate?” he asked.

  Aurin threw back his head and exhaled. “It’s fine,” he said, “but my mind wandered to places it shouldn’t have and I owe Holly an apology.”

  “Heh heh,” guffawed Rick.

  “No, not like that!” snapped Aurin. “I was attacked by Diamond and Heart no more than ten minutes ago. Holly, you were one of the precious few people I’d seen all morning, and certainly the only Minakai tamer who I know to have skill.”

  “Well, thank you,” said Holly with a smile before realising the implication. He smiled faded. “Oh, you thought it was me, huh?”

  “Yes,” said Aurin, nodding in shame. “I’m sorry, but I had to come here and be certain it wasn’t you.”

  “I can vouch for her being here since she brought the breakfasts back more than ten minutes ago,” said Rick. “Mate, you’ve got problems that some of us can only imagine. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

  “He’s right,” said Holly, her voice cracking slightly. “I understand, honestly. It’s maybe not the nicest feeling for you to have thought that I was jumping you in the street, but… yeah, let’s leave it in the past and move on. At least you can say for certain now that I’m not one of The Blackjacks.”

  “Morning!” called Nolan as he walked in, looking sweaty.

  “Early morning workout?” chuckled Rick as the lanky man grabbed a foil-covered tray, an empty plate, and some cutlery from the counter.

  “Yeah, and I’m beat,” said Nolan with a sigh. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Thanks for saving me some. I’m on breakfast duty tomorrow though, yeah?”

  “And don’t you forget it!” laughed Holly. “You had twenty-five people going hungry last week.”

  “Just be glad it wasn’t the whole dojo who signed up for breakfast,” grinned Nolan. He looked at Aurin. “What’s new, Aurin?”

  Aurin simply stared at him, the realisation hitting him like a tonne of bricks. How could he not have seen it before? The gangly frame, his manner of speech. It was so obvious and yet he had missed it.

  “Nothing,” said Aurin, forcing a smile. “I just stopped by to say hello.”

  Shamtile tugged on Aurin’s sleeve, looking up at him, but Aurin’s mind was running through so much that he didn’t notice. He had to speak to Luna immediately.

  “I’ll see you all later,” said Aurin, almost knocking his chair over as he rushed for the door.

  *

  “And you’re sure,” said Luna, still rubbing her eyes. She had been repeatedly woken up by five phone calls, which she had been too sleepy to answer. It took banging on her window to finally break her from her slumber.

  “Positive,” said Aurin, leaning against the wall of Luna’s house.

  “You just told me you suspected Holly was Heart and that you were wrong, right?”

  “Yes, but that was a hunch based on circumstances. Everything else lines up. He’s been careful, but enough of the pieces fit together. He’s the right height, the way he speaks the same way as Diamond, the fact that he arrived at the dojo shortly after me, and what Holly said about him beating Rick.”

  “Why does that matter?”

  “Because he was trying to dupe me into thinking he was weaker than he was. Who better to monitor me than someone who wanted to be my student? It worked for Conrad, right? Well, who was the one who pushed the hardest and took it the worst when I said no?”

  Luna’s eyes widened. “And who was with you the first time Heart attacked?” She gasped and clasped both of her hands over her mouth. “It was his idea for me to go with Holly and help her with finding the right medical supplies.”

  “That settles it then, doesn’t it?” asked Aurin, dragging his hand across his face. He knew he was right and he hated it. “Nolan is Diamond.”

  “Two down, two to go,” said Luna glumly.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: