William stretched, rising from his chair and blinking as he looked around the room. Roy had made his way over to the pantry to try and find something to eat, but that was normal for him. Roy was always hungry, and while William could eat, he wasn''t in a hurry to tap into their meager stock in the pantry. He would much rather go and have a fine dining experience. They could save the cans for when they were out in the field.


    "When''s the last time you checked on our prisoners?" Willaim asked, and Roy paused at the door, his head dropping against his shoulders. "You did check on them, Roy?"


    Roy turned with his hand on the pantry''s door handle and a half smile on his face. William sighed. He couldn''t trust Roy not to slack off, mainly because that was the essence of his brother. Where he had their father''s intelligence, Roy had their mother''s lackadaisical work ethic. William had already guessed what Roy had been doing in his free time while William had been napping. He didn''t disapprove, but he wished his brother would keep his predilections in moderation.


    "Did you clean up the girl after?" he asked. "You didn''t feed her to Fido to clean up the mess, right?"


    "I washed her down with a bucket." Roy shrugged. "Don''t worry. I didn''t choose any of the valuable ones and left her in shape to still earn a price over meat. I know what I''m doing, brother."


    That was too true. Roy did know how to pick from the weakest stock for his fun. That one would sell for less, but if she were one of the less valuable ones, the loss would be a small percentage if she sold on normal margins. Much like William''s punishments, even Roy''s predilictions had an eye for business. Even if they hadn''t been related, they were good matches working together. They knew what the business was and how to optimize it.


    "You know, brother." William made his way across the room, lightly patting Roy on the shoulder. "I am most glad that we share blood. This world is made all the nicer knowing that there is one other like me in the world, above the unwashed masses."


    Roy smiled at him, and they shared the moment, standing in the room together.


    Click.


    William turned as he heard the noise coming from the hall. It sounded like the front door had unlocked itself, but that was impossible. Only he and his brother were free of cages in the building. He hadn''t heard anyone walking down the hall either. Roy let go of the pantry door and followed his gaze. The torrent of rain outside was louder for a brief moment, and then it softened again a few seconds afterward. William was certain. Someone had just broken in through the front door.


    "Roy," William said. "Be a dear and go out the back to contact the Port Authority."


    "I can do that." Roy nodded, cracking his neck side to side. "I''ll even throw the bar on Fido''s cage on the way out. He can be your backup."


    "Very good," William said. "Time for the mongrel to earn his keep."


    They would need to go out into the hall for Roy to reach the back door, which meant William would also need to block in the intruders. He didn''t want them to run, so he hatched a plan. He would need to block and trap them so the authorities could clean up the mess. That would end the way the thieves deserved: being hanged on the gallows. He stalked toward the door, his hand out as he opened his gate.


    Power rippled through Williams''s arms and legs as the energy of his curse flowed out from his heart and through his limbs. It was a cloudy sensation, like rising above the mundane world to see the truth of things. It was like he had stepped out of a dark cave into the sun''s bright light. His curse allowed him to access the ideals behind the world. He could manifest creations of pure thought and bring them into reality.


    "Form Barrier!" he yelled as he jumped around the corner, focusing his mind on the shadows moving in the darkness.


    Puff. Thud.


    Above the two figures, a red object roughly the length of the hall appeared, one side perfectly straight before being connected between the two points by the curve. To the eyes of a lesser person, it might have appeared to be a capital ''D,'' but William knew better. It was a barrier to trap his enemies inside. It fell over the two figures, encasing them inside, and was easily almost as tall as half of the wall. Willaim smiled as he stepped out into the hall and motioned for his brother to run.


    "Go, I will hold them here!"


    "I''ll be back quick!" Roy ran off down the hall.


    If he found one of the bells placed all around the city, they could have the Port Authority there in minutes. Along with security, if Roy managed to grab a few of those boys, they should have enough force in minutes to stop whoever was trying to break in. William smiled. That was why no one tried to threaten the slavers in West District. Even if a person had a personal vendetta against one of the brothers, they would be fools to try and come after them in Dry Turtle.


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    He smiled as he looked at the wall he had created. All he needed to do now was wait.


    "Demon''s Divide!"


    From inside his barrier, a man yelled out, and a line of white-hot light bisected the red wall in front of him. William quickly raised his hand, forming the next image in his mind. Whoever the intruders were, they were about to break through. He would need a weapon, and only the strongest would do. He smiled as the image raced through his head—a fitting weapon for himself. He called out the form and grasped for the handle.


    "Form Axe!"


    Puff.


    A long shaft formed in his hands, red and gleaming, and he pulled the axe into his hands, taking it in one hand as he reached for the whip on his belt with his free hand: two sharp spikes, gleaming and bright stuck out of one end. A more critical person might call it a lower-case ''k,'' but William knew the truth. The true form of an axe, the basis of all axes, dropped into his hands. He smiled, stepping to the side as the orange light from the wall before him glowed brighter and exploded out in a rain of hot material.


    William sidestepped the explosion as the two figures stepped out into the light from the break room. William recognized them immediately. The shorter one in simple clothes with dark skin was Alexander Ortega, also known as ''Tin Man'' Ortega. He was the outlaw who had reduced August to ash and lived to earn a one million doler bounty. Beside him was ''Sword Saint'' Sayed, a lesser-known outlaw with a more modest bounty of twenty-five thousand dolers.


    Even Sayed would have been more than enough for William to live the good life for a while if he turned in the bounty. However, William recognized them more from their time together on the shuttle when he had first marked their group as a target. He knew that he couldn''t take them all at once, so he had decided to have Roy pick off the one he thought was weakest. ''Thorn Queen'' Leah was in one of his cages. He shouldn''t have been surprised that her comrades would come to rescue her.


    The question was how they figured out that Roy had taken the girl and how they had found his warehouse so easily. William would need to solve those problems. Otherwise, he would need to relocate his operation. He couldn''t have ne''er-do-wells like the two outlaws coming in and messing with his operation. That would just be terrible for business.


    "I see we meet again." Wiliam smiled, holding his axe to the side as he faced the two outlaws. "What brings you to my fine emporium in the middle of this Scion''s forsaken rainstorm? I never imagined someone with your tastes would be interested in my trade."


    "You know why we''re here," Ortega said, cracking his knuckles. "Tell us where she is, and we might let you live."


    "Such fine heroes." William laughed. "Ready to ride in and save the damsel from the evil slaver. I don''t know what you''re talking about, boy. All I know is that you''re breaking and entering, and the Port Authority frowns on messing with businesses!"


    "Sayed." Ortega leaned forward.


    "I do not see the other," Sayed said, holding his glowing blade out beside him. "We must hurry. Let me handle this slaver while you find Erin. The Port Authority could already be on their way."


    "You don''t want to just jump him?" Ortega asked.


    "I am not aware of how jumping over him would help, but I wish to make sure he pays for what he has done."


    "Alright." Ortega snorted, taking a coin from his pocket as he stared at William. "Yell if you need help."


    William had no idea what they wanted, but he wasn''t about to let either pass. The entire plan depended on him delaying both of the men. If Ortega managed to free Leah, then there would be more witnesses to speak. The Port Authority might question whether there was an unmarked slave running around outside a cage. He cursed Roy''s laziness for delaying and himself for taking his nap. If they had taken the time to do their jobs, this wouldn''t have been a problem.


    He hadn''t even had time to properly forge the papers for Leah. At least with the prince''s papers, they had time to do that on the trip.


    Crack.


    "I don''t think you boys understand your situation," William said, cracking his whip on the ground next to Ortega to draw his attention. "I''m not letting either of you past me."


    Ortega didn''t respond to him or his attack. Instead, the outlaw looked at the burly swordsman beside him, nodding once as Sayed took a wide stance, the blade held high above his head. William tensed, holding up his blade as Sayed took in a deep breath. Something was coming, and only the two outlaws knew what. He would have to be prepared if he hoped to hold his ground.


    "He''s all yours," Alex said.


    "Demon''s Thrust!"


    Ting.


    Sayed rushed forward, and William raised his axe to intercept the sword. Metal rang out as William caught the sword in the top spike of his axe, but he couldn''t hold Sayed''s thrust back. The man hit him like a speeding slipship, and William''s boots slid back on the smooth floor as Sayed drove hard against him. The swordsman didn''t stop in his thrust as he forced William back. Sayed grunted, and William pushed against him, but it wasn''t enough.


    Thump.


    William''s back hit the wall on the far side of the hall. Sayed had pushed him to the far side of the building with his thrust, and only William''s burning arms kept the man''s sword from his heart. William felt a smile creep across his face as the rush of battle filled his mind. He hadn''t had a good fight in a long time, and the ''Sword Saint'' seemed willing to provide. He would only have to hope that Roy had managed to free Fido before he escaped out the back. That would have to prove enough of a distraction for Ortega until the Port Authority arrived.


    "You think you''re hot stuff." William grunted as he pushed back against Sayed''s sword. "But I''ve dealt with a hundred outlaws like you who think they can look down on me for being a slaver. I''ll show you how strong you need to be to capture people. I''ll show you why I''m superior, and you''re inferior!"


    He kicked out with his foot, catching Sayed on the knee and sending the man off to the side. William threw himself to the other side of the hall, dropping his whip as he held out his hand. He needed more than just his axe to fight the swordsman. So he called on a shield.


    "Form Shield!"


    Puff.


    He reached out and grabbed the handle on the shield. A less sophisticated man might say that the shield looked like an oddly shaped red ''G,'' with most of the empty space covered except for his handhold, but William knew better. It was a shield to push back the strongest of fighters. He held it up between himself and Sayed, ready to fight the man to the death.


    "Let''s get on with it," William said, clapping his axe against his shield. "I''ll show you why I''m feared far and wide!"