A flash of movement. But it wasn't the sword. Instead the man's hand shot out and grabbed the front of Theo's shirt and hauled him up. Theo gagged, kicking uselessly. The man's grip was tight like a vise, the spikes on his knuckles piercing through his shirt and digging into skin.

The man leaned so close his mask brushed Theo's nose. Theo recoiled, but couldn't escape the stony grip. He had the uncanny sense the man was examining every inch of his face.

A hiss from behind. The man stumbled, then let go. Theo fell in a heap to the ground. Gasping for breath, he lifted his head to see Lodo engaging the man, swiping furiously with his claws, but the man parried every blow.

Zenith came rushing forward, back on his feet. In a blink, the armored man switched the sword to his left hand and blocked Zenith's attack. With his right hand, he caught Lodo's wrist.

The werecat growled, sweat beading his forehead. Then the armored man lashed out his leg and kicked Lodo in the stomach.

The ensuing thud shook Theo's bones. Lodo flew across the arena and crashed into the wall. It indented beneath him, leaving a rippling trail as he slid in a limp pile to the floor.

"Lodo!" Shit, Theo couldn't just sit here and watch. The strengthening spell. Summoning his Levia, he cast it again.

As the spell flared beneath Zenith, Theo felt the knight's resolve pounding in his own chest. They could do this. They had to do this.

With a roar, Zenith shoved hard and sent the man stumbling back. An opening! He slashed at the man's face; the man brought up his sword to block, but he had raised it too high, leaving his chest undefended.

Zenith drew his left arm back and slammed his shield into the armored man's chest.

The man doubled over. Zenith wouldn't let up; animated by both his and Theo's fury, he swung his sword down.

Again the armored man blocked, but his arm was trembling. Now or never. Theo clenched his hands into fists, picturing the spell he'd just been studying. If all worked out, it'd give Zenith's sword the strength to slice the enemy's wicked black blade in half.

"Out of the way, Theo!" Darian's shout scattered Theo's thoughts. He whirled around just as Darian came charging forward.

Her rapier crackled with blue lightning. Theo gaped. While Zenith kept grinding against the armored man's blade, Darian lunged at his unprotected midsection.

The man didn't have time to react. The rapier struck him in the chest and the lightning surged through his entire body. The man writhed, lightning flashing and sparking at his joints. Its harsh glow danced off Darian's face, turning it into a grim mask.

She leaped back, rapier raised but no longer blazing with lightning. But she'd done her job: the man lay twitching on the floor.

Heart hammering, Theo stepped closer. Meanwhile, Zenith rounded on Darian.

"My liege, that was incredibly dangerous! Using your powers without Lady Meg's support – "

Darian shrugged, though she was breathing hard and her hair was matted with sweat. "It put him down."

She faced the fallen enemy again. "Now you're going to answer a few questions."

Theo was within a few feet of reaching them when his Levia seared. "Darian – " he cried out.

Purple light exploded beneath the armored man. A diagram. Zenith and Darian backed off, and as they did the man rose gracefully to his feet. Even in the flickering glow from the spell, his armor remained impenetrably black.

Theo's Levia thrashed madly, responding to the waves of ice-cold power radiating from the diagram. Not just the diagram, but the armored man himself.

The color drained from Darian's face. "You have a wizard? No....you're casting the spell."

"Impossible, my liege. He's a demon!" Zenith shouted.

No, it's true. Theo could barely hear his own thoughts over the terror rushing through his head. Beneath the armor, this person was no demon – or Tielan – at all.

Rejuvenated by the spell, he wasted no time barraging Zenith with sword swipes. Zenith parried them all, but each step drove him further back and his arms trembled from the strain. Not to mention he was stuck on the defense.

Darian bounced on the balls of her feet, rapier ready, but she didn't attack. On its own, the rapier could do no damage to the man's armor, and Theo sensed she didn't have any more lightning attacks left.

A groan from the opposite wall. Trembling, Lodo hauled himself to his knees.

A ferocious slash knocked Zenith to the floor. The armored man whipped his sword down, but Zenith brought his shield up to block. Terror surged in Theo's heart when instead of glancing off, the sword's serrated edge pierced the solid crystal.

Augmented by wizardry, the armored man had become even stronger. Now – I have to do something. I'm also a wizard.

As Zenith struggled, as the man methodically carved through his shield, Theo reached for his madly rushing Levia. He closed his eyes, picturing the spell that he hadn't quite finished copying earlier this afternoon. But he knew what it was supposed to look like.

Warm light bloomed, flooding the world behind his shut eyelids bright red. Theo snapped his eyes open.

The same diagram blazed beneath Zenith, casting pink highlights upon his armor. Snarling, Zenith hurled his shield aside. With its blade caught in the shield, the sword jerked out of the man's hand.

"Zenith, go!" Theo screamed.

Zenith didn't waste any time. He flowed to his feet, sword swinging. The blade glowed soft pink – not as bright as the spell he'd used to defeat the dragon, but still pulsing with Theo's power.

A loud crack. The man stumbled, his helmet split in two down the middle. One half slid down and hit the ground with a resounding crash, followed quickly by the other.

The man's breathing rasped. As he regained his footing, he lifted his head, shaking loose locks of black hair out of his face.

His eyes locked with Theo's.

Theo's heart squeezed into a tight knot. He had seen these eyes before. Five years ago, on an awful night he'd never forget no matter how much he wanted to.

"I'm done being your trained monkey. Don't go chasing after me."

"No." The word came out a thin croak. If it weren't for the deathly silence that had fallen, he wouldn't have heard it at all. "No. You're...."

The armored man straightened and lifted his head. Giving Theo an unobstructed view of not only those dark eyes, but a strong jaw, long nose, straight cheekbones. Harder and sharper, but still the same as in the photo Theo had looked at only last night.

"It's been a while, Theo," Victor said.