The door had barely closed behind Skylor when Chen whipped toward Clouse. "How is this possible?"

"Sire, though I am many things, I am not all knowing." Clouse stated dryly. "As I mentioned previously, I need to research magic that can mimic that of the Elemental's."

"I need answers yesterday! If his brand of magic differs from the Elements and it's attempted to be absorbed it could destroy the diamond and all I've worked for."

Clouse habitually bit back his thoughts on that statement. He and Ronin had done most of the work at Chen's behest.

"I will start on it now." Clouse resigned himself to even more sleepless nights for the foreseeable future.

Clouse began his descent from the dais when a thought occurred to him. "Sire, your daughter still doesn't know the fate of the thief. She might have forgotten given Mishal's and his entourage's appearance, but she will likely remember soon."

Waving a hand, Chen brushed off the warning. "I'll see to it."

Content to let Chen deal with his infuriating offspring, Clouse headed back to his quarters. Away from prying eyes he transported himself to his underground study. For a moment he stood, running a critical eye over his bookshelves. The majority of his books and scrolls were devoted to magic or the Elements in one form or fashion. While Clouse had read most, if not all, his library's contents, none of the titles immediately stood out as helpful for his new questions.

Muttering a searching spell under his breath, Clouse watched purple light hover over ten or so books and scrolls. More than Clouse would easily be able to read in one night. With a long suffering sigh he sent a curl of magic to summon Ronin. Gathering the illuminated manuscripts, Clouse waited impatiently for Ronin.

The man appeared in a flurry of feathers that quickly shifted to human features. Breathing heavily Ronin rose, but for once didn't bite out a snarky comment.

Clouse gestured to the books he'd piled on his table. "Tonight we are researching magic and its manifestation."

"I thought you bragged you were plenty strong with yours." Ronin grumbled.

Clouse stomped down the urge to throw Ronin across the room with his magic. He couldn't risk dazing him when too much was at stake with too little time to manage it. "Start reading. Alert me for anything that hints at another source of power beyond Elements or traditional sorcery."

"Fine. Have the half blind guy do hours more of reading." Ronin grimaced at the stack of books. "Nothing wrong with this image."

"It's called cruel irony, like my reliance on you. Get to it." Clouse punctuated his words with a blast of magic that shoved Ronin toward the table.

Continuing to grumble under his breath, Ronin pulled a scroll from the pile and sat down with a thump. Clouse followed behind him, picking up the nearest book.

Hours ticked by. The stack of read literature grew larger, with no success finding anything helpful.

"There has to be something!" Clouse pounded the staff on the floor. Sharp white light flashed through the room, reminding Clouse he hadn't transferred the siphoned energy out of the diamond since absorbing Ice.

Ronin jumped, his eye shooting wide open for the first time in an hour. Groaning, he shook his head. "I ain't seeing nothing but different ways to practice your brand of magic. One of these had a buncha' information on what rocks and jewels can do for sorcery, but you seem to know all about that already."

Indeed that particular scroll had been the key to everything Clouse currently worked for. It had given the information on how magic or Elements could be contained and harnessed for something greater. In his travels to study magic he'd found his diamond staff with its siphoning abilities. While Chen had never let Clouse practice with the diamond on Skylor or the other nobles, Zane arriving several years ago gave the perfect outlet to determine the range of the diamond's capabilities. Especially once the young man's memory and his father had been dealt with. From there Clouse learned how to offload the energy into other crystals, so as not to overwhelm the diamond. Something he needed to do now before adding new Elements to the mix.

Mentally shaking himself for his oversight, Clouse rose from his seat. "Keep reading. I'll be back before sunup."

Ronin's grumbling faded behind him as he headed back into the deeper sections of the tunnels.

In the busyness of the last few days Clouse hadn't had time to take Lightning's Element. In retrospect he could have done it when Lightning was first brought in, but Clouse admitted he had been more excited about having the Element in his reach than thinking critically about the situation. He didn't know how the diamond would respond to holding two Primary Elements' power, as thus far he'd been careful not to absorb Earth and Ice in the same period. Better safe than sorry and ruin years worth of meticulous planning.

The energy store room was set in an alcove hidden behind a wall of rock a few tunnels away from the machine's workroom. Close enough that Clouse could slip in unobtrusively, but not close enough that the prisoners, or guards, knew of it. Any insubordination among the prisoners- and guards for that matter- was paid for in blood, but that didn't mean unforeseen incidents couldn't occur. The Sound Elemental breaking loose, as short a span as it had been, served as a recent example.

Ensuring he was alone, Clouse removed the glamor and stepped inside the room. Rows of shelves lined the space. Glowing crystals, predominately a harsh white but with a smattering of other colors, filled the shelves. Barrels of dull translucent crystals encircled the floor. Choosing an inert crystal, Clouse held it up to the staff's diamond face.

White light mixed with threads of light and dark green shot from the diamond into the crystal. Clouses' arms shook under the strain of rushing energy. The light cut out and a rush of fatigue fell over Clouse. He took a deep breath. Once the worst of it passed he gently placed the now glowing crystal on the self with the others. Allowing himself another moment to regain his composure, Clouse gazed over the dozens of pulsating crystals. Soon his machine would be complete and these crystals would be so much more than pretty baubles.

When Clouse no longer felt like he'd fall over in a stiff breeze, he made his way to the workroom. Hot, acrid air hit his face. From inside the doorway he was pleased to see the shell of the machine significantly further along than it had been on his last visit. Glancing further around the room, Clouse saw what he had come for.

The newest conscriptee, the so-called Master of Lightning.

Lightning, a boy really rather than a man Clouse noted idly, had his own work station set up a few feet away from the other workers. The boy moved sluggishly, cuts and bruises trailing along his face and arms.

Captain Pyth joined Clouse and took note of his gaze. "We had to muzzle him for a while after he woke up to prove our point. It didn't take too long for us to come to an understanding."

Lightning stilled in his work, his eyes flicking toward the two of them by the door. Another guard stepped forward, brandishing his dagger. Flinching, the boy quickly lowered his gaze to the desk.

"He's been down here for a couple hours and already making headway on the inner mechanisms that the others couldn't figure out." Pyth nodded appreciatively. "If all continues smoothly everything should be ready within the week."

"Good." Clouse eyed Lightning again. "I need his Element. Take the vengestone off."

Captain Pyth pulled a set of regular shackles off of the wall. He stalked over to Lightning who leaned backward.

"Hey! Wait! What are-?" A heavy thud cut off the boy's words. His head flung violently to the side, the rest of his body's momentum halted by the shackles holding him to the table. Blood trickled from his nose.

"No talking unless spoken to." Captain Pyth snapped.

The boy didn't try to respond, although the dazed look in his eyes probably had more to do with it than Captain Pyth's words. He also didn't appear to notice as the vengestone shackles were switched for iron ones.

In his periphery Clouse saw the men at the other table flinch in anticipation. They'd seen it happen enough times to know what to expect.

Clouse held the staff's diamond over the boy's head. Cries of pain filled the room as Lightning leapt from the boy's chest in brilliant blue arcs, fizzling in the air before disappearing into the jewel. The force of it shook the staff, making Clouse's hands tingle. A breathtaking display if Clouse were one to appreciate such. Instead when the light died he nodded to Captain Pyth.

Stepping back from the shaking boy half lying on the bench, Clouse turned to inspect the machine up close. Behind him he heard Captain Pyth switch the cuffs once more.

"Take him back to the cells." Two guards moved to carry out the captain's orders.

Ignoring the guards dragging Lightning out, Clouse ran a critical eye over the metal shell. The craftsmanship truly was fabulous. The hull was nearly as large as a small house, angular with a focused point coming down near ground level. A panel sat half open with space visible for the inner workings Lightning still needed to finish. Though he only had been working for a few hours, Clouse could see Lightning indeed had made strides where the older blacksmiths hadn't.

With the eclipse fast approaching it did truly feel like things were coming together quite nicely. The boy did seem thoroughly motivated to work at the moment, but extra incentive always provided better results. Clouse's thoughts trailed to Ronin and his wench. There had been mention of a girl Lightning fancied. Maybe after this he'd have Ronin find and tail the girl. General production numbers had been down lately anyway so more hands would be beneficial. Another peasant disappearing from the street would hardly be noticeable. And the threat of harm to her might be enough to encourage diligence through the post siphoning fatigue the Masters' grumbled about.

Humming thoughtfully to himself, Clouse headed back to the crystal room. Once the human Master was out of the equation, Lightning transferred easily to a new host, much more readily than most of the other Elements. Clouse filed that information away for later.

With the diamond mostly dormant again Clouse gauged his internal clock. Still an hour or so before dawn, well before Chen would be demanding answers. Clouse only had two crystals containing Earth's dark brown glow. While the power from Primary Elements far surpassed Secondary and below, it never hurt to have more on hand.

The stall-like rooms used for shutting the workers in during their scant rest time were on the far side of the general work cavern. However, between the cell block and the main work cave another tunnel had been dug. This one to house the. . . higher risk prisoners. Twenty vengestone floors and bars caged each cell. Two sets of shackles, vengestone and iron, were set into the floor. No torches lined these walls leaving the tunnel in inky blackness.

Only a couple of the cells were occupied, but, if everything went according to plan, every cell would be occupied before the month was out. Clouse muttered a spell and purple torches brilliantly lit the length of the hall. Hisses of pain drifted out of three of the cells.

"Wha-?" An aborted question came from the fourth cell.

Clouse ignored him, but noted he'd need Pyth to further discourage Sound from talking. At the end of the hall were cells intended to hold Primary Elementals. Clouse unlocked one of the occupied cells. The scent of unwashed body and bodily fluids hit like a physical slap, but Clouse ignored it with practiced ease.

Earth's wielder kept his head down as the door opened, a curtain of unkempt hair blocking his face from view. Vengestone manacles bound his arms behind his back and were attached to a length of chain set into the wall. His ankles were similarly bound together, in the iron shackles, then secured to the floor.

Clouse stepped closer until he stood directly over the disheveled prince. He didn't say anything, but from the light Clouse could see fine tremors wracking Cole's body. Without preamble Clouse called to his magic. Vibrant purple engulfed Cole, concentrating on his wrists. The manacles fell to the ground with a dull thud. Cole drew in a sharp breath. The purple haze vanished but in the same moment Clouse held the staff above Cole's head. Harsh white light mingled with glowing brown strands as Earth seeped out of its host. Clouse fought to keep his hands steady. Ice, and even Lightning, were more difficult to draw out than other Elements, but they didn't fight the same way Earth did. Clouse looked forward to studying the nature of Earth in particular once time allowed for it.

When the light died down Cole slumped over, landing heavily on his shoulder. A soft cry escaped him on impact. Before he could pull himself upright Clouse's magic reattached the vengestone manacles. Short, shallow breaths echoed loudly in the small space.

Turning to leave, a raspy voice halted Clouse before he locked the door. "You won't have to worry about any repercussions."

Clouse raised an eyebrow. The prince hadn't spoken since awaking in the cell several days ago. Neither was that what he expected the first words to be of an imprisoned royal.

Cole stared past Clouse at something only he could see. "The king." He clarified. "If I go missing he won't care."

"Shouldn't this be the time you would say otherwise, to incite some fear from your captors to let you go?" Condescending but Clouse was suitably intrigued, especially if he didn't have to stave off a war so soon after his own coup launched.

Cole laughed bitterly. "You'd be doing us both a favor. Though I suppose you don't plan to kill me yet." His eyes flickered to the diamond staff.

Clouse mentally shook himself. He wasn't here for any sort of conversation, especially with prisoners. He left without another word. The torches winked out as he walked past, leaving the cave in stifling darkness.

For the third time that night Clouse added more Elemental power to the crystal stores. His internal clock pinged it as somewhere near dawn. Fatigue weighed heavily on his limbs and thoughts especially after fighting the Elements so many times in rapid succession.

But he couldn't sleep yet. Making his way back to his library Clouse was irritated but unsurprised to see Ronin slumped against the table, snoring softly.

Clouse struck his staff against the floor. Ronin jerked upright, papers flying everywhere with the action. Clouse glared but it held no effect when Ronin merely groaned and rubbed his working eye.

"Still nothin' but Elemental powers and the magic/sorcery thing you already do."

Still stuck at square one. Clouse nodded absently. He doubted Chen would be pleased with such an answer. He himself hardly was, but Clouse did have more texts he could consult before officially calling it quits.

"You're to keep your eye on Mishal and his siblings. There's something about them that is off, and the timing is too coincidental."

He didn't give Ronin further warning before turning him back into a falcon. Ronin squawked indignantly. Clouse ignored him. Turning to his desk he wrote out a quick note.

"Give this to Morro. He's to 'guard' them while you keep a more subtle eye on things."

Huffing Ronin took the note in his beak. Clouse waved him away in a flash of purple. Resigning himself to a long day ahead, Clouse continued to pour through his texts. He dozed off at some point, but woke quickly when his head hit the desk top.

Hours later Clouse had finished going through every book the spell highlighted. Nothing more than what he already knew. Gritting his teeth he knew Chen would be chomping at the bit for answers. Answers Clouse didn't have. That left everything circling back to Elemental powers or sorcery. Unless something was wrong with Skylor's Amber. . . Clouse mused on the thought. It was possible the Secondary Element had a maximum absorption capability or if it already absorbed one Primary Element it couldn't do more. Theoretically he could test that out by having Skylor absorb Ice but it was too soon for the questions that would cause.

Rubbing his eyes, Clouse debated on retiring to his room for some rest. However, he knew Chen's temper would rage if he realized Clouse surfaced and didn't immediately report in. Well, if Chen wouldn't deign to come to the lower levels, Clouse did have another matter he'd been neglecting lately.

Clouse left his books piled on the desk and turned to a hidden catch within the bookcase. It swung outward soundlessly. Following a short path, the tunnel opened into another large cavern. Bones crunched under Clouse's feet. A deep rumble came from deeper in the cave. Clouse conjured up a flame in time to see a two-ton purple snake beelining his way.

"There you are my dear." The snake halted in front of Clouse, lowering her head to nuzzle his chest. He gently rubbed under her chin. "I'm sorry, Pandora, I've been so busy lately. I will have a special treat for you soon though. It's not often you will get to feast on royalty." Pandora hissed in response.

All too soon Clouse knew he needed to leave. "Soon I will have more time to spend with you." He promised.

Pandora nipped playfully at him before zipping back to her own tunnels. With a sigh Clouse returned to his study. Cryptor stood waiting for him.

"What now?"

Cryptor gave a partial bow. "Apologies sir, but the king has rung several times for you. It appears he does not want to wait any longer for your return topside.

Resisting the urge to knock his head against the wall, Clouse merely nodded. He'd been pushing his master's patience as it was. Purple enveloped him and Clouse stood in his chambers.

The light outside showed it was later evening, likely dinner had already finished if Clouse's grumbling stomach had any say in the time. Just as well. Hopefully Chen had retired from the meal to his own rooms. Less audience to bear witness to the king's surely foul mood.

Clouse groaned. He definitely needed sleep if this was where his mind was going. Schooling his features Clouse headed for the king's rooms. However when he arrived only a cursory guard stood outside the door rather than the usual contingent. Which meant Chen was still with his daughter or had retired to his office off the throne room. Hoping it was the latter, Clouse made his way to the office.

The king's bodyguards stood at attention at the throne room entrance. Small relief that Clouse wouldn't have to see the princess just yet. The king had likely told her about Kai's "demise" in the dungeon and that was yet another conversation he did not look forward to.

Inside his office Chen sat mulling over paperwork. He looked up, irritation on his face turning to calculation when he realized who'd entered. With a wave Chen dismissed the guards to stand outside the room. Clouse muttered a spell, soundproofing them against any possible eavesdroppers.

"I've searched every book in my collection on the origins of magic but have only found documentation on Elemental powers and the type of sorcery I possess. Unless the boy is something this world has never encountered he has to fall in one of those two categories."

Chen frowned, leaning back in his chair. "So it would seem. Time is running out. Have Captain Pyth bring Mishal in for a more. . . thorough questioning. I need to know the source of his power. If it's Elemental, take it and keep him with the others. If not, scramble his memory like you did Zane's. That should avoid making it too messy regarding his siblings if his power isn't Elemental. If it is," Chen laughed without humor, "well, I doubt the younger ones would last long in the lower levels which will take care of the problem."

For the first time in a long time Clouse wholeheartedly agreed with the king.